Like stress thoughts, physical cues are signals that anxiety, tension, anger, humiliation, or some other "negative" emotion is increasing internally. Learning to recognize these cues can bring more awareness in the moment, thereby empowering you to make better behavioral choices.

Examples:

• Increased heartbeat
• Warm ears
• Dizziness
• Tightness in the stomach
• Pacing
• Foot or finger tapping
• Clenching fists
• Feeling of drowsiness

Learning to recognize stress thoughts and physical cues brings the focus and control back to yourself. Learn what emotions you are reacting to internally. Learn to focus on your tension level, your word choices, your tone of voice, your body language, and your behavior. You become empowered to make better choices. You can consciously change your behavior to bring about alignment and an effective solution for all concerned.

For more tips, check out our "Stress Thoughts and Physical Cues" tool.

Labels: management

Happy New Year! The turning over of the calendar is a popular time to get a fresh start. If you're like most Americans, you have vowed to get in shape, quit smoking, or spend more time with family and friends. But what management and marketing resolutions have you made? Below find some tips from our consultants to help you get started.

Harriett Greenbaum: At this time everyone should do an assessment when it comes to his or her marketing. First of all, what went well? These are things you want to continue doing. Secondly, what have you done that hasn't or won't bear fruit and is not worthwhile? Stop doing those things. A very important third is what have you not done or only done minimally that you feel you need to do to be successful in your marketing? Numbers one and three then become your marketing initiatives for the New Year.

Linda Hardenstein: Create business plans and goals that incorporate managing more effectively by identifying your strengths so you can delegate appropriately, be more productive, and have more balance in 2010.

Larry Kohn: Since the most important issue in rainmaking is confidence in the value you offer, one smart resolution is to improve the training program for the lawyers to whom you delegate. As they learn, you will increase your willingness to delegate. When that happens, you have more time for rainmaking and you will be more enthusiastic as you describe the capabilities of your support lawyers to your prospects.

Jeffrey Miiller: Get clear about your goals for 2010. In the past, you may have been vague when it came to planning for the future. You may not have set specific goals, other than to bring in more business.

This year, resolve to be more focused and efficient by writing a brief marketing plan with clear, obtainable goals for each of the following categories: new targets, referral sources, public speaking, client service, internal marketing, and articles. Use these examples to get started:

• New targets: Identify three new potential clients, introduce yourself, and add them to your database with a follow-up date and clear next step.
• Referral sources: Identify three new potential referral sources, introduce yourself, and add them to your database with a follow-up date and clear next step; every month, check in with one past referral source.
• Client service: Visit client X at his or her office and do a thirty-minute educational seminar for the staff; take client Y to lunch and conduct a casual satisfaction survey.
• Internal marketing: Every month, take at least one fellow partner outside of your practice group (a cross-selling opportunity) to lunch.
• Articles: Write and publish one article.

In essence, your 2010 marketing plan will be a checklist, keep you focused, and motivate you as you check off the goals you have accomplished. It's a simple resolution and one that you can get excited about.

Labels: management, marketing

by Lawrence M. Kohn

Earlier this month, we discussed reaching out to people as a way to weather tough economic times. Another way to generate business in the short term is to start a blog. Blogging is a technology that's new and exciting because it does a couple of important things.

First, blogging helps you condense an important topic into a couple of paragraphs, allowing you to communicate something important in a limited number of words. In addition to communicating something that might be important to a prospect, you're scripting sales dialogue. Writing a blog post clarifies your thinking about a particular issue that could be a need of people with whom you want to do business.

Then you send the blog out into cyberspace, and the world begins to get exposure to you. But that's only the beginning, because you should also send an email to everybody you know, saying, "I've started a blog. I invite you to take a look at it. I've made an entry. Please give me your comments."

The fact that the blog exists is a reason to reach out to people and communicate with them. Then you might begin a dialogue with people that you know or don't know about a particular issue, and we're seeing that turn into business in a relatively short period of time.

For more tips, check out our ABA Publishing Presents podcast "Business Development in Tough Economic Times."

Labels: marketing, rainmaking

Stress thoughts are thoughts that indicate internal tension is rising. They almost always focus on the other person and keep the focus off of the self. When thoughts are focused on the other, control over the situation appears to be in the hands of the other. Noticing when these thoughts are occurring puts the focus back on your own behavior and can help you realize your internal pressure is rising. Noticing stress thoughts can indicate that you need to change your tone or behavior in order to avoid creating an unnecessarily negative interaction.

Examples:

• "What an idiot."
• "She has no idea what she is talking about. I wish she would just shut up."
• "All he does is complain."
• "Get your paws off my fax!"

For more tips, check out our "Stress Thoughts and Physical Cues" tool.

Labels: management

by Lawrence M. Kohn

Last week, we discussed reaching out to people you already know as a way to drum up business during tough economic times. It's also important to reach out to people you may have fallen out of touch with.

Many of our clients are finding success in this area with social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Plaxo. By logging in and seeing whom you already know, these sites identify the people whom they know that you also might know but have forgotten about. For example, you might have gone to law school with someone whom you had a good relationship with but have allowed to slip through the cracks. You might be able to reconnect with him or her on a social networking site or by going through the roster of your alumni association.

Start really looking at these names, one name at a time, and asking yourself, "Is there a marketing opportunity here? Is there a way for me to reach out that I feel comfortable with?" In some cases you won't. It'll be too distant. But in other cases, you'll say, "Well, I'd love to talk to him or her!" Pick up the phone right then and there.

So many times, our clients have picked up the phone and called somebody they hadn't talked to for years who said, "I can't believe that you're calling me right now. I have a need for a lawyer in your state. Here's a problem I've got." Of course, we can't promise that that's going to happen, but it's happened so many times with clients of ours in the past that we feel comfortable in saying that the odds are good that you could pick up the phone and somebody might even need you right now.

For more tips, check out our ABA Publishing Presents podcast "Business Development in Tough Economic Times."

Labels: marketing, rainmaking

by Lawrence M. Kohn and Robert N. Kohn

We've coached hundreds of professionals and executives across the country and have come to the conclusion that the single most important business skill is a commitment to commitment. This means a clear, deeply rooted philosophy that promises are made to be kept. It is a lifestyle that becomes your reputation, and it will dramatically enhance productivity in your practice in at least two fundamental ways:

1. It creates trust. When people trust you to fulfill your commitments, they will go to extremes to maintain the alliance. Your clients will remain loyal. Your vendors will try to give you the best deal. Your co-workers will put in extra hours, and your prospects will see you as the preferred provider.
2. It ignites your passion. Over the years we have worked with hundreds of clients who have felt frustrated with their inability to motivate themselves or their partners to bring in new clients. Creating a reasonable plan is always the first step. However, the next step is to confirm their commitment to execute the plan. Everyone should verbalize his or her commitment to others in the firm. It's a good idea to shake hands to formalize the promise. Once the commitment is verbalized, the passion kicks in. When you're passionate, you're productive.

There are two elements to communicating your commitment to commitment. The first is communicating that you live up to your commitments. Most often, this is accomplished in small ways: returning calls, meeting deadlines, arriving promptly. Failure to live up to your promises -- even the small ones -- invites reciprocity.

The second part is letting people know that you expect them to live up to their commitments. This requires that you discuss your understanding of the meaning of commitment. Your ability to talk comfortably and directly about the value of commitment will reveal its significance and build the foundation for a productive relationship.

For more tips, check out our article "Four Communication Rules to Maximize Productivity."

Labels: communication, management, productivity

by Robert N. Kohn and Lawrence M. Kohn

Selling is always important, in good times and in bad. However, selling is particularly important during a recession because there's more competition pursuing less business: Clients are more cost conscious. They may be looking for lower-price firms. They may be sending out less work to their existing law firms. And to make matters more difficult, many lawyers who previously hadn't done as much marketing are now trying to do it more. So in order to compete, to get what work is out there, selling becomes more important.

One of the lessons learned from this recession, or any recession, is that selling always has to be a part of your practice. You should always be thinking about who your best contacts are and whom you should be communicating with so that when the recession comes to an end, you're going to be in a better position to take advantage of the recovery.

Think about the relationships you have today and the people you know right now. People often know more people than they're aware of. Now, if you've only been practicing law for a short time, maybe you don't know many people, but if you've been practicing law for several years, you've probably come into contact with many more people than you're even aware of. Go through your Rolodex and mailing list and start compiling a list of names of everybody you know who's in a position to help you because they either know somebody or they have needs themselves.

We're not suggesting that you would necessarily call everybody or reach out to everybody, but it's important to know who these people are. It takes a long time to build relationships with strangers, but with the people you've already met, the relationship process is further along. They're more likely to trust you; they're more likely to accept your call. So the very first step when you get started in marketing is to go after what we like to call "low-hanging fruit" -- the people who are most likely to help you today because they know you and because you feel comfortable reaching out to them.

So for a short-term, immediate benefit in tough economic times, look at whom you know and recapture the people you've allowed to slip away. And for the long haul, once you meet people, never let that happen again. Put those names into your database and stay in touch with people for the rest of your career.

For more tips, check out our ABA Publishing Presents podcast "Business Development in Tough Economic Times."

Labels: marketing, rainmaking

by Jeffrey Miiller and Jill Kohn, PhD

The perception of overlawyering -- that lawyers are constantly looking for ways to bill more hours -- is an all too common issue that must be addressed. It is important to clarify with the client that your firm is obligated to consider all of the issues relating to the matter and explain the risks and options along with estimated costs. It is up to the client to then decide how to proceed on those issues. Make it clear that your goal is not to bill more hours but rather to make sure the issues are fully understood and addressed.

For more tips, check out our article on "The Top Five Reasons Why Clients Leave and How to Prevent It."

Labels: management, why clients leave

by Robert N. Kohn and Lawrence M. Kohn

When building your muscles, no pain means no gain,
But pain when you're selling might make you refrain.
So look for the reasons why you resist,
And you'll find solutions to help you persist.

The first step in overcoming your discomfort with selling is to become aware of your thoughts about selling. Pay attention to your "internal voice," which is your stream of consciousness. Everyone has an internal voice. You may not be aware of it all of the time, but it is always with you, and it profoundly influences your feelings and actions.

If you are uncomfortable with selling, then your internal voice becomes your "negative voice." You develop a pattern of dwelling on the reasons why you shouldn't sell.

Your negative voice tends to be habitual and automatic. It's like a knee-jerk reaction. Whenever you imagine yourself doing some selling-oriented activity, your negative voice argues, "I can't do that" or "I don't want to do that." You literally talk yourself out of selling.

We are not saying that your negative voice is always wrong. Sometimes your anti-selling beliefs are valid. For example, there may be a risk of being overly pushy with some of your prospects. If you follow up with a prospect incessantly, without offering value, there is the possibility of harming a relationship. So you want to acknowledge your negative voice.

But often your negative voice is prejudiced and incorrect. You jump to conclusions that may be based on unclear and erroneous assumptions. You focus only on the negative and ignore all of the safe and effective things that you could be doing.

So avoid the knee-jerk reaction of accepting your negative voice as fact. Instead, develop the habit of challenging your negative voice. When you do, you will probably find that many of your long-held convictions about selling are untrue.

We have had many clients who were extremely reluctant to sell. Many of them told us that a meeting with us was worse than a trip to the dentist. Every idea that we suggested would be instantly shot down. But as we helped them become aware of their anti-selling sentiments and find ways to comfortably overcome them, their attitudes became more positive. They became more accepting of selling ideas and more enthusiastic about business development. They developed a proactive selling attitude.

A wonderful thing happens when you develop a proactive selling attitude. You begin to notice selling opportunities that you didn't realize existed. Selling opportunities are often all around you. You may know people who can help you meet quality contacts. There are organizations that may be fun for you to join that could also bring you into contact with quality contacts.

There are many safe and effective ways to sell. When you consistently and constructively think about ways to improve your selling, you will alter your pattern of automatic negative thinking and open your mind to solutions.

For more marketing tips, check out our book Selling in Your Comfort Zone.

Labels: marketing, selling in your comfort zone

by Lawrence M. Kohn and Jill Kohn, PhD

Two posts ago, we discussed the elements of delegation. Among these was deadlines. Setting and meeting deadlines is so important to any working relationship that it's worth revisiting the topic in more detail:

Deadlines are difficult to meet if they are not clear. They should always be set with a specific date and time.

Never set a deadline of ASAP because the lack of precision only creates confusion. To some, ASAP means drop everything and work overtime to get the task done. To others, ASAP might mean "as soon as practical" or, worse, "after significant avoidance and procrastination."

The discussion about a deadline may take the form of a directive or it may be the subject of negotiation. It is a good idea to discuss the factors that drive the decision-making process. It may be appropriate to challenge basic assumptions about timing. It may also be appropriate to initiate conversations with those who are relying on the delegatee for other tasks. These conversations have the risk of becoming frustrating, so everyone must try to be patient and respectful.

When deciding the deadline, both parties should consider the other commitments of the delegatee, time required to do the work, time for the delegator to review it, and time for subsequent improvements. If at all possible, the deadline should also allow for a cushion to accommodate the unexpected.

It should be understood that the deadline is a commitment and not just an estimate. In the event that the delegatee feels a deadline is in jeopardy, he or she should notify the delegator the moment the possibility of missing a deadline arises. It is never acceptable to miss a deadline without providing the delegator with immediate notice when the deadline is at risk.

Failure to comply should be considered a serious infraction. If a task is not completed on time, the delegator should immediately contact the delegatee and remind him or her that deadlines are commitments and failure to meet commitments without prior notice cannot be tolerated. Compliance with deadlines should be included as a factor in compensation and promotion.

This focus on compliance with deadlines may sound harsh, but it actually builds morale. A person's reputation as trustworthy may be their most important asset, and this process teaches people how to be trustworthy. It also allows the delegator to feel confident that deadlines will be met. This dramatically reduces stress and allows the delegator to focus on other priorities.

In addition to building morale, teaching respect for deadlines is one of the easiest and most effective methods for improving productivity. When people consistently take deadlines to heart, they will give more attention to their commitments and not make unrealistic promises. Realistic commitments produce timely results.

For more tips on setting deadlines, check out our article on "The Elements of Effective Delegation."

Labels: delegation, management