Have you ever thought about the significance of numbers to your law firm? No, I’m not talking about re-watching “A Beautiful Mind” or diving into the Matrix (though, red pill or blue pill? ). I’m talking about the sequential steps to ensuring your business doesn’t end up like the Death Star (#TooSoon?).
1 – The Highlander Principle: There can only be one…but in this case, it’s your life! This is the only life you’ve got. You should be striving to run a business you can be proud of, while living a life that’s even better. And honestly, sometimes the business has to come first, but you should take steps to minimize those times.
2 – Double Trouble: Ever seen Batman face the dilemma of choosing between saving one of two people? That’s kinda like the decision in business growth. There’s only 2 ways to grow your firm
Sell to more people OR sell more to the same people
Most of us have a plan in place for selling to more people, but we skip the idea of selling more TO people. Your clients already bought from you once, what else do they NEED that you can provide in an amazing fashion and make it a win-win for you and them?
3 – The Triumphant Trifecta: Here are the 3 questions I think we all need to answer to help us make decisions
- How much money do I NEED to make?
- When do I WANT to work? (total # and times of day)
- What work do I want to be doing?
When you’re unsure about making a change to your firm or not, come back to these questions.
Does a decision help you make more money (in your pocket?) Does a new hire help you focus on the right work? Does finally getting that assistant help you get to the amount of work you want to be doing?
If it’s a hell yes on all of them – great, easy decision. Same if it’s a no to all 3. If it’s split…that’s when it becomes tough, but at least this framework will help you narrow it down to the tough calls.
4 – Fantastic Four Days: Ever thought of restricting your workdays to four? I really think we should go from working 5 days a week to 4 (or less). Then take all the chores, errands and other things that you save for the weekend and put them into the random weekday you’re off.
I can get grocery shopping done twice a fast on a Tuesday at 10am v Saturday. I can get in to see the doctor sooner on a Wednesday than a Friday. Heck, I can get to 3-4 times the amount of rides at Universal during the week v a premium weekend.
So 4 days of work, 1 day for chores, 1 day for others (especially if you’re a referral driven firm, you might need Saturdays to see the people who don’t have a day off during the week), and then one day for you (or God…or both).
And if you’re super cool (like even cooler than I am) you can even batch your work days.
You could have one day to channel your inner Donatello, innovating and strategizing. One day for Leonardo-level leadership. One day for Raphael-style hustle. And one day for Michelangelo-moments of creativity.
5 – Quintessential Reviews: Aim for the stars. 5 of them to be exact. NOTHING has impacted by firm more consistently than more 5 star reviews (mostly on google).
Make sure every client feels they’ve had a service worthy of Captain America’s salute.
6 – Six Sensational Core Values: Remember when Iron Man had those six infinity stones (oops, spoiler)? Well, what are the six (or less) non-negotiables, the principles that power your firm’s arc reactor? The core values that govern everything you do, HOW you do it and WHO get’s to do it with you.
For us our core values are
- We are DRIVEN by our Clients Needs
- We are DRIVEN to provide the best client experience possible
- We are DRIVEN by a desire to be better everyday
- We are DRIVEN to succeed as a team
- We are DRIVEN to connect with those who share our values
Yes…I know we only have 5, I am letting you have up to 6 (because a 6 star review would be CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY).
7 – The Magnificent Seven Queries: Here are the 7 questions you should answer for EVERY marketing campaign you have
- Who am I trying to market to?
- Where are they?
- What’s the best way to talk to them?
- What problem am I REALLY solving?
- Do they know they need a lawyer?
- What should they do after seeing this?
- How should I follow up?
8 – I am going to go ATE lunch…I kid, I kid.
But seriously, that’s all for this week – next week we will dive into Dwight Eisenhower and his matrix…aka…a way for you to do less and get more done!
Until then, have a great weekend!