Client worry vs. Client planning

Can we all agree that usually when someone needs the services of an attorney that that represents a bad day in their life?  A buddy in my church group owns a small business and received a letter from the IRS to audit him, his wife, and business for 2008.  I met him for lunch a week after and he didn’t eat a bite of his food, looked completely freaked out, and assumed the worst.

He told me that he did his taxes using software and that his records from 2008 and earlier were lost when his computer crashed.  He called a friend of a friend who does tax law.  The attorney told him that he handles audits all of the time, knows how to talk with the auditors, and that this should be resolved in a couple of weeks.  The attorney apparently didn’t ask many questions, he “had seen this a thousand times”.  Without knowing better, he went with the attorney.

3 months later the audit had expanded into the year prior and the year after and all he had was a large recurring bill to show for it.

Over the holidays, we had he and his wife over and he had lost weight and his wife said that she wanted him to see a doctor to be treated for depression.  They were all scared and he said that his attorney was a nice guy but he was falling apart. The attorney would ask for what the IRS was asking for.  He would give the information and they would keep asking for more.  The attorney had no luck “nuancing” the IRS. No plan, just death by a thousand paper cuts.  It was simply tragic.

I saw him last week and he was a changed man.  He settled on a much lower fee, about 50%, than he was billed by the attorney and terminated the relationship, changed to a tax attorney that I had placed and referred him to, and brought the audit to a close.  Paid a few bucks, but not as much as he had feared.

The difference.  A meeting with our pastor who told him it was time to, “stop worrying, and start planning.”  Where the first attorney facilitated just enough worry to keep the process going and bill for every minute of it, the second attorney asked a lot of questions and laid out a roadmap. What to expect, more likely timeline, and to get all of the information instead of little by little.  He took control of the process instead of letting the process control him.  No nuance, no games, full disclosure.

I share this for 2 reasons:

1. The first attorney billed a lot of hours that were never collected on.  Would that time have been better spent developing clients, spending time with family, or any other thing?  Multiply that by other clients and that is a lot of wasted time and money.
2. Attorneys tell me that 85-90% of their business comes from referrals.  People statistically will  tell 3 people of a positive experience and 11 of a negative.  Not only did the attorney lose a client and any chance of referral, they have someone that will probably actively dissuade others from using them.

Ironically, my buddy probably ended up paying the IRS the same either way.  He also paid his attorney bill, wrote a reference on the attorneys LinkedIn page, and referred a couple of other small business owners to him.

Do you facilitate worry, or do you facilitate a plan? Which one do you believe is best for your client and your bill to collection ratio?

Would you rather have several clients that you have to resell your work to and justify your billing only to get half, and no referrals, or clients that actively help you secure new business?

If you are interested in learning how other attorneys have created a repeatable process that helps facilitate a plan for their clients, increase their collection rate, and increase their referral base, feel free to contact me at: Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com, 850-893-8984

Creating new revenue- Lobbying cross-marketing

Creating new revenue- Lobbying cross-marketing

With a new governor in Florida and lots of new faces in the legislature, people working in and around government are awaiting significant changes. Some of which are already being established.

What does this mean to your practice and your clients goals and needs?

Having to deal with everything from construction, transportation, healthcare, education, economic development, real estate, land use, insurance, corporate taxes there are issues on the table that will affect everyone and every business that does business in the state.

Living and working in Tallahassee, I speak with a lot of attorneys and lobbyists, and many national and regional firms have offices to help facilitate their clients legislative needs. Many, however, do not, or have conflicts that precludes them from handling the legal and lobbying work. A lot of firms simply are not set up to handle how lobbyists bill and develop clients vs. how attorneys do. Some attorneys that I have spoken with don’t want to send their lobbying issues to another firm for fear that once that firm starts working with their client they will take their legal work.

Several attorneys that I have spoken with have found huge advantages to identifying a lobbyist that is outside of a law firm, however, and/or using different lobbyists to handle issues specifically with the House, Senate, agency level, cabinet, committees, and Governor’s Office.

Three reasons:

Lobbyists are your eyes and ears for upcoming legal issues that will require your services for your client. Often risk mitigation.

Independent and focused on specific legislative needs of your client.

A value-add for and deeper relationship with your clients. The more service options that you can offer, the more they will use you for their legal needs.

In full disclosure, I am not a lobbyist, and do not collect a fee from any lobbyists. If you would like to explore how this could be an additional source of revenue for your practice, I would be happy to recommend the names of lobbyists, with high integrity and several years of experience, that meet your clients specific needs within which ever branch of government that their needs rest.

Feel free to contact me at: Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com, 850-893-8984

S.M.A.R.T Goals in 2011

S.M.A.R.T Goals for 2011

The holidays and completion of a trip around the Sun seem to make folks reflective. How is 2010 turning out?

Looking at this time next year, what do you want to be able to say about 2011? I’m not talking about your basic new years resolution that in many cases fails to make it through January. I’m talking about goal setting. When I sit with clients, and when I do my goals, we start with that premise and work backwards.

I use a guideline that has been around a while but is still useful, while adding in a dash of what is “really” important. The “really” important things don’t involve making money at all, but seem to keep priorities straight and ultimately facilitates overall success. Volunteering 1 hour a week, making time for a date night with my wife once a month, daily devotional with family. Somewhere down around 5 or 6 I have a financial goal that I break down into how many calls need to be made, emails sent, actions in pipeline.

S.M.A.R.T goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. Starting with Dec. 31 2011 as your end time, what things can you do that would facilitate your career, personal, family, and spiritual growth?

Script the first plays and last plays of your day: As a football fan, you hear teams that plan the first 5-10 offensive plays. Those 5-10 plays set the foundation, build the momentum, and are practiced over and over to ensure that they provide the best opportunity to win the whole game.

Why the first and last? How much time is wasted in the morning before anything gets accomplished? By having the 3-5 things that you do everyday, is there a good chance that those will get perfected? What would 1 call to an existing or prospective client per day do for your business? A 5 minute stand up meeting with your colleagues to discuss what they are working on for that day in 30 seconds or less. Who needs support, cross-selling opportunities, networking... Have them written on your desk and check them off as you go. At the end of the day, doing those 2-3 things that clear your mind and enable you to go home and focus on something other than work.

This shouldn’t be a grind to do, but empowering. I did a top 100 list about 13 years ago before the term “Bucket List” became vogue. As I do those things, I write about them. One day it will be a fun legacy for my kids to know what I was thinking and feeling when I walked into Yankee Stadium, swam in all 4 oceans, ate a Big Mac in Red Square, and went to Mardi Gras (may keep a few details out of that one). Skydiving, learning Spanish, and learning guitar are on the 2011 list. Let it touch every aspect of your life.

What do you want to happen in 2011?

Andrew Wilcox, President of Wilcox and Hackett, LLC, Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com, 850-893-8984

Networking Inside Your Firm

When most people think of networking they look toward the outside world. People often confuse networking with sales, and thus think it is only important for the sales professionals and c-level executives. Even those with the outward focused jobs will make this mistake, and only include customers, prospects and referral sources in their networking efforts. While networking will lead to client development success, if you only look at it in this manner, then you are missing the boat.

You need to invest the time to get to know the people inside your firm with the same gusto that you look to build relationships in the external business community. Those who work with you can be amazing resources. You never know who in your life will be the person who can provide you with the next opportunity.

There are many ways you can get to know those in your company, and there is no right or wrong methods. The point is to invest the time to make, grow and keep your business relationships, and this can only happen when you make the other people a priority.

*Ask questions of those you work with to discover both personal and professional information. People want to feel important, and when you inquire about them, it shows that you are concerned with them. Many professionals get so wrapped up in their own lives that they fail to notice the people in their office unless they need them for something. Taking a few minutes on Monday to ask the receptionist about her weekend will not impact you productivity. If you really have an inflated view of your own self importance that you believe that a few moments of conversation with your co-workers is a waste of time, then YIKES!!! Get over yourself!!!

*Plan or attend office events. I know, the emails about "Cake In The Break Room To Celebrate Mary's Birthday" might seem like they are intrusive, but Mary's birthday is important...to Mary!!! Joining a group to occasionally goes for happy hour is also a chance to bond with others. The summer family picnic may not be how your spouse wants to spend a Saturday afternoon, but too bad....you have to go! If you always fail to participate with your co-workers, you can rest assured that they will notice and feel separate from you at some level. Take the time to engage in activities with those at the office. It will come back to help you in the future.

*Assist others in their jobs. Find ways to lighten the load of others if you can. Each of us has times in our jobs when we are overwhelmed. It is not fun to feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. When you see someone is swamped, ask them how you can help. In most cases just the acknowledgement that you recognize how hard they are working on a project will strengthen your relationship.

*Share information. Too often people see their co-workers as competition. WRONG, you are all on the same team. If you discover some industry information or other valuable knowledge that can help them excel, forward it to them or take the time to otherwise educate the rest of your office. Create and build deal teams from different practice areas to better understand the issues facing a range of clients and how you can address them together. Why get one piece of business from a customer when you can get it all!

*Be approachable. Many people put off a vibe of superiority. Co-workers fear having to go into their office or running into them in the elevator. Don't be like this. Be open to getting to know those in your company and drop the facade that you are so tough. Unless you like being a jerk (oh, I know some of these people!), then find ways to make it delightful for others to interact with you, even when dealing with difficult situations.

*Have lunch with colleagues. You have to eat anyway, if you do not have plans with clients or prospects, invite a co-worker to grab a sandwich with you or eat with them in the break room. If you find yourself eating at your desk or alone at a restaurant more than once a month, you should make it a priority to change that habit. Meals are a great time to get to know people at a deeper level. One associate that I worked with made a point of scheduling lunches with the rainmakers in his firm as a 2^nd year associate. This lead to being invited on client development calls with the rainmakers and starting to build their own book of business.

The advantage to building stronger relationships within your firm is that people will look out for you. Those who are distanced from co-workers often find them trying to undermine them. Offices where people have cultivated real friendships are more productive, have less office politics, and have less turn over. All good things.

If interested in learning more about how a plan can help you set up an effective network contact me at: Andrew Wilcox, (850) 893-8984, Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com

How to win by losing?

Having a view into a cross section of law firms around the world, I see that most firms are looking for more client development results from their attorneys, are operating with a lower headcount, and are dealing with longer client development cycles or all of the above. Adding to head count is one solution but developing your attorneys to focus on the best opportunities is a better way to optimize your law firm client development effectiveness. When I was the Senior Sales Director of a multinational company, we would frequently be asked by our Managers and reps to bid on RFP’s that were sent to us unsolicited. They were clearly written by a direct competitor and we could quickly see that opportunities like those were generally a huge waste of resources. Focusing your resources on winnable opportunities, and eliminating the others quickly is the number one way to increase your win ratio. I've identified an objective method to achieve that goal. If you are not going to win an opportunity, the best course of action is to lose it as quickly as possible to invest as little time and resources as possible. Here are some best practices to identify opportunities that you will win by “losing”: 1) Qualify Your Prospects – If the opportunity is an unsolicited RFP, ask for access to the key stakeholders in the initiative and determine why they issued the document. If you can’t get access, or identify a qualified reason to compete, why bother? 2) Assess Your Chances of Winning - Assume a low likelihood of winning the business and seek data which would cause you to increase your odds. It is important to evaluate the opportunity in light of the resources needed to pursue other opportunities that you may have uncovered yourself and have a higher likelihood of winning. 3) Three Buyer Phases - Look for clues about your standing as it relates to where your organization enters the sales/ client development process. Phase 1 - Needs Analysis - Straw man attorneys/firms come in at the end of this phase so if all the heavy lifting has been done that’s a pretty good indication you are wasting your time. If the buyer is pressing for price and doesn’t have any questions, that’s another clue that a competitor has this opportunity wired and the buyer is just getting bids for the file. Phase 2 - Evaluation - Look for buyers making a bona fide good faith effort in understanding your solution. If access to key executives outside of purchasing is denied, that’s another sign that the buyer is just putting your organization through the motions. Try to schedule a review during this phase to determine if the buyer will commit resources to truly evaluate your option and identify issues other than price to be addressed. Phase 3 – Commitment –During this phase, the buyer needs have already been identified and the proof of your solution has been thoroughly evaluated. If you feel that the buyer has not been thorough in evaluating your people and product, it may be an indication that the objective is to get a low price from you that they can use to negotiate with the wired attorney/firm. Walking away from opportunities is difficult and anti-intuitive. Most law firms don’t have unlimited resources, and one characteristic of a mature, high performing client development organization is the ability to assess where best to allocate resources. Focusing your energy only on deals that can be won is a key ingredient that will pay dividends.

Please contact Andrew Wilcox, Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com, 850-893-8984

How do your clients measure your legal work?

One of the quickest ways that I can invoke silence in a seminar is asking attorneys if they know how their clients measure the success of the legal work that they do for them.

It amazes me that this simple step of alignment, and huge opportunity, is missed all too often. The client has a legal need and as luck would have it I am an attorney that can handle that need…

In this day of alternative fee agreements, RFP’s, and the like, how does that separate you from everyone else looking to secure business?

I get asked all of the time to be measured on Client Development Process implementation. Some of the more common metrics are: Reduction in RFP’s, hit rate on RFP’s, Increased bill rate per partner, profit per partner, marketing expense pay back ratio. These are all granular items that can be tied specifically to my offering.

One of the main reasons that the answer is unknown is because the question is a business one that is not be asked of a business unit. A General Counsel has a legal need generated by a business unit. One that probably several firms in your area can handle. So they go with the cheapest or the one that appears to fit in a billing range, set by them. Without value established, it’s just a number, and a number that most likely someone will come under to get the business. Not always, but often.

You get delegated to people that you sound like. If you sound like an attorney, chances are you will end up talking with attorneys. Those attorneys from a business more than likely talk to several attorneys at several firms. Many that probably do the same or similar work as you. Do you want to play bill rate bingo?

Rainmakers talk to all levels of a business and have targeted conversation tied specifically to goals associated with each job title. A CFO has different business goals than a COO. A CMO has different goals than a VP of HR. A CEO has an eye on all of them but has their own business goals. These goals are things that they are measured and bonused on.

Having these individual conversations with each enables you to identify costs. How much product liability they have with a new product launch, merger and acquisition goals, on-boarding, turnover cost, retention. What do these things do to affect stock prices, credit ratings, etc?

Value and vision before service and price. Once you know an organizations business goals and what is holding them back from achieving them, you can offer a vision of how engaging in your services will help them achieve those goals. Without value, cost is the only variable. This helps you determine if this is business that is even worth it to you. Is it business that is best served by a trusted member of your referral network?

Regular meetings to review success metrics of your business relationship. So you have won the business. Every quarter, schedule a meeting to go over metrics that you all have agreed to measure the relationship on. If you things are on track or better than planned, is there a better time to leverage more business? If things are not going as planned would you rather wait until they decide to go with another firm or make adjustments accordingly?

In the race to cut costs, you have two ways to play the current environment. Buy the business and destroy your bill rate, or create value and help businesses achieve their goals, satisfy a need, or solve their problems.

I have worked with several firms to create measureable results and would welcome the conversation with your firm.

Please contact Andrew Wilcox, Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com, 850-893-8984

Client Development aka SALES

So when you were approaching law school graduation, after pulling countless all nighters, eating lots of cold pizza, writing tons of papers, researching every nuance of cases you finally get to the big day.

You graduate and you tell your parents, “Mom and dad, I’ve worked so hard, made you so proud, what my real purpose in life is and what I am destined for is…SALES!”

Okay..probably not. Truth is, in effective organizations, you can call it whatever you want, but their life blood is sales. From the receptionist (some firms call, Directors of First Impressions..love that one), to the legal secretary, law clerks, associates, to the managing partners and support staff. They all play a role, whether it’s offering a cup of coffee to a waiting client, returning a call or email about an issue in a timely manner, or simply having a conversation to better understand their business issues.

In my seminar, I often hear terms associated with salespeople: pushy, liars, prone to exaggerate, insincere, not to be trusted. But, most people like to buy. So if people buy, but hate being sold to how does anyone make any money? How do salaries get paid?

Effective sales is not pushy or insincere. It’s where you facilitate the buying process by getting and staying in alignment with a prospective client with the outcome being you have helped them achieve a goal, satisfy a need, and/or solve a problem.

That’s the end result. First, you have to develop leads and a pipeline. Then, someone has to say, “tell me more”.

Next issue will discuss developing effective referral networks and qualifying opportunities in or out quickly.

Andrew Wilcox, (850) 893-8984, Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com