Join us as we celebrate the journey of our podcast and express our heartfelt thanks to all our listeners for their unwavering support and for spreading the word about our show. As we usher in the New Year, it's the perfect moment to reflect on the milestones we've achieved together in the past year.  In this episode, we're reflecting on some of the most impactful episodes that have not only educated but also inspired our community.  We also share our 10 favorite episodes from the past year! Thank you so much to everyone who has listened to and shared this podcast, we really appreciate it! Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal   More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: Don’t forget to share our podcast with your colleagues Click the share button in your podcast app and send it to a colleague or on your social media feed Feel free to tag us too @NextLevel_Legal on X (formerly known as Twitter) or @nextlevel.legal on Instagram & Facebook.  And leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen And once you have subscribed - please leave us a 5-star rating and review as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.     -- Until next time, don’t forget…..   Your Law Firm is a business -- take it to the next level.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.  

Have you ever felt like you’re drowning in work, yearning for a vacation, yet dreading the thought of the chaos that might ensue in your absence? This episode is here to show you how to plan for time away from the office effectively. We'll walk you through the importance of proactive planning for your leave and how to leverage your calendar. Don't forget to share these secrets with your team; after all, a well-rested team is a productive one! We'll discuss how to choose a designated person to handle the urgent matters that may pop up. With our tips, you can have a stress-free vacation, knowing that everything is under control back at the office. From going over open cases to creating a comprehensive plan for handling them, you'll be equipped with everything you need for peace of mind during your vacation. We also introduce the concept of creating a "vacation hot sheet" to ease the burden on your team while you're away.  So sit back, relax, and let us show you how to enjoy your well-deserved vacation without compromising your law firm's operations. Show Highlights: The importance of proactive planning for time away from the office and how it benefits business owners and their teams. Effective preparation for handling emergencies and making early decisions regarding notifications and communications during vacations. The need to review open cases before leaving the office for vacation and creating a plan for handling them. The concept of a "vacation hot sheet" to alleviate the burden on the rest of the team during vacations. The importance of setting boundaries, delegating tasks, and using technology to achieve a better work-life balance. The role of clear and proactive communication with clients and team members before taking time off. The importance of taking time off for mental health and productivity, and the benefits of outsourcing services to streamline tasks. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal For information about all our episodes and to sign up for our email newsletter: http://nextlevel.legal  More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY. Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: MELANIE: Action Steps Put it on the calendar NOW Add a time block to your calendar NOW to review all open cases before you go Make your decisions about emergencies, notifications, and communications now. Some will be specific to the time out, but many can be determined now and used with regularity. If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen And once you have subscribed - please leave us a 5-star rating and review as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.     -- Until next time, don’t forget…..   Your Law Firm is a business -- take it to the next level.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Want to dial up your law firm's profitability? Let's explore how time tracking can make a significant impact on your bottom line. We unpack the importance of investing in automatic time tracking software and strategies to effectively implement it in your firm, regardless of whether you bill hourly or work on a flat fee basis. We help you see the big picture of how time tracking can streamline operations and boost profitability. We also share personal experiences and demonstrate how critical time tracking is for managing a growing business. By combining a blend of software, calendars, and task lists, we exhibit how you can create a holistic overview of your daily activities. We also introduce you to the concept of task templates and how they can minimize redundancies. Hear a real-life story of a business owner who saw a whopping 20% increase in revenue by simply upgrading their time tracking system. We emphasize the importance of designating a team member to be accountable for tracking time and explain how this can be a game-changer for your firm. Listen up as we share ways to effectively communicate with colleagues and clients for accuracy in tracking and billing. We guarantee this episode will provide valuable insights into making your law firm highly productive and profitable. Show Highlights: The importance of time tracking in law firms. Strategies for effective time tracking, including investing in automatic time tracking software and assigning a dedicated person for this task. Utilizing a multi-pronged approach for time tracking and task management using software, calendars, and task lists. The role of task templates in reducing redundancies and increasing productivity. The significant impact of technology in time tracking. The necessity of clear communication with colleagues and clients for accurate time tracking and billing. The possibility of hiring a remote team member to assist with time tracking as a cost-effective solution. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: Melanie: Buy the software: this is a problem with a $5/day solution. And if you’re really feeling starved for cash, skip Starbucks, buy the software, and your billing will increase, and your income will increase to a point where you won’t have the same stresses that were causing you to need that coffee in the first place. Designate your Time Tracker - ask them to listen to this episode and put a time on the calendar to sit down with your time tracker after they’ve listened and make sure that you both are on the same page about how they are creating your time entries. If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. And once you have subscribed - please leave us a 5-star rating and review as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.     -- Until next time, don’t forget…..   Your Law Firm is a business -- take it to the next level.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Have you ever wondered how artificial intelligence can revolutionize your law firm's growth? Get ready to have your mind expanded as we have a discussion with our resident AI guru, Michael Green. As GNGF's project manager and AI lead, Michael takes us through the innovative ways he's deployed real-time marketing strategies and AI to yield impressive results for our law firm clients. This isn't just theory; this is a tangible, real-world application of AI that's actively being used by our team.  We're not keeping these secrets to ourselves. Join us as we pull back the curtain and explore how you, too, can harness these cutting-edge strategies within your own law firm. We're also thrilled to share our conversation on the strategies for growing your firm while maintaining your health and happiness. For those craving more, we revisit the subject of generative AI from episodes 95 and 99.  Show Highlights: AI technology's role in revolutionizing law firms' operations and growth. How AI technology can help law firm owners in implementing innovative strategies to drive their firm's growth. The use of AI in content planning, generating ideas, and creating efficient newsletters for clients. How the ChatGPT model can help in creating unique digital art and content for marketing. The benefits of AI implementation in law firms. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  https://streamlined.legal/videos Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal Michael Green - https://gngf.com/team-members/michael-green/  https://4.gngf.com/nextlevel118 Link to a presentation of examples: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eO3a-HQ1FCya8JWjC9TEJxE69AF3OG3Bxwh7tEWwnZY/  For information about all our episodes and to sign up for our email newsletter: http://nextlevel.legal More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: MARK: Try building your persona and brand voice using ChatGPT and use some of the prompts to generate some creative email newsletters to send to your email list.  If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. And once you have subscribed - please leave us a 5-star rating and review as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.   -- Until next time, don’t forget…..   Your Law Firm is a business -- take it to the next level. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Prepare yourself to venture into the fascinating domain of Google's Search-Generated Experience (SGE) and grasp the profound effect it could have on your law firm's digital marketing approach. We touch on the remarkable AI-powered search model, empowering you to leverage it to your advantage. Get ready to gain fresh perspectives on the shift towards longer and more specific queries, the changing user behavior, and the necessity of a robust search advertising strategy to stay ahead. Our deep dive into Google's SGE uncovers how the tech giant is harnessing AI and machine learning to revolutionize the user search experience. We'll unravel how this could impact your law firm's website traffic and guide you through the implications for your digital marketing efforts. Furthermore, we explore the transformation in Google's advertising strategy and how it's fueling revenue growth. We underline how you can wield your expertise, authority, and trust to gain a competitive edge in Google Search.  This episode is brimming with invaluable insights whether you're a tech aficionado eager to understand the latest advancements or a law firm owner striving to navigate the digital marketing landscape. We'll discuss how Google's SGE could alter user interactions with search results and the potential shift from search-generated revenue to banner ads, video ads, and other advertising formats.  Buckle up for an enlightening conversation aimed at keeping you one step ahead in the ever-evolving digital world. Show Highlights: Understanding Google's Search-Generated Experience (SGE) and its potential impact on law firm's digital marketing strategy. Google's shift towards AI and machine learning to enhance user search experience. Google's evolving advertising strategy and how law firms can leverage their expertise, authority, and trust for competitive advantage. The impact of Google's SGE on user interactions with search results. The potential decrease in website traffic due to zero-click search results and the need for a robust search advertising strategy. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  https://streamlined.legal/videos  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal For information about all our episodes and to sign up for our email newsletter: http://nextlevel.legal More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: MARK:  Action Steps Don’t change what you are doing from a content and SEO perspective if you follow the approaches we have talked about – which is to create content with the user in mind and create content in a way that provides expertise, authority, and trust signals to Google. If you aren’t doing Google paid ads for search ads, you may want to look into starting.  Talk to your agency or find one, as running Google ads on your own can be costly if you make mistakes.  Of course, if you haven’t done so already: Subscribe and follow our podcast so you will be notified when our next episode goes live.  If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. And once you have subscribed - please leave us a 5-star rating and review, as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.    -- Until next time, don’t forget…..   Your Law Firm is a business -- take it to the next level.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Imagine a world where a 32-hour workweek was the norm for law firms. Intriguing, isn't it? Well, that's one of the things we're discussing with Corine from Streamlined Legal on our listener questions episode. We dissect the complexities and cultural shifts needed for this dream to become a reality. From tackling inefficiencies such as attorneys doing paralegal work to under-utilized administrative staff, we pull apart the existing work model and put forward a compelling case for a shorter work week. We also plunge into the realm of digital marketing, exploring how law firms can navigate this landscape and reap the rewards through website updates and other strategies. There will be challenges – dips in traffic, trusting a vendor, and planning for major changes. Yet, trust us, it's worth it. Additionally, we tap into the often-overlooked power of podcasting as a tool to elevate your law firm. From broadening your reach to impacting your firm's culture, podcasts can be a game changer. So, join us as we challenge the status quo, embrace innovative strategies, and push the boundaries of what it means to run a modern law firm. And remember, it all begins from the top. Show Highlights: The possibility of implementing a 32-hour work week in law firms, with the potential benefits for both attorneys and administrative staff. Common inefficiencies within law firms, such as attorneys doing paralegal work and under-utilizing administrative staff. Exploration of digital marketing strategies for law firms, including the importance of investing in website updates and online outreach. Advice on handling potential dips in traffic when making significant changes to digital marketing strategies. How to lead a team and navigate uncertainties, with emphasis on adopting a learning mindset rather than needing to have all the answers. The impact of podcasting on a law firm's reach and culture, and how it can help take a firm to the next level. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  https://streamlined.legal/videos Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn102// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn109// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn110// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn111// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn112// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn113// For information about all our episodes and to sign up for our email newsletter: http://nextlevel.legal   More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS:  Melanie’s Action Steps Yes! — we always want to leave our listeners with some ACTION STEPS.  And today it’s easy!  When you’re done listening today, hop back into your podcast app, grab that episode that we mentioned today that caught your attention and give it a listen to take your firm to the Next Level.   If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen And once you have subscribed - please leave us a 5-star rating and review as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.     -- Until next time, don’t forget…..   Your Law Firm is a business -- take it to the next level.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Ever wondered why DIY videos have caught fire in marketing strategies? Imagine harnessing the power of such tools to elevate your brand's visibility! In this episode, we decipher the wonder behind DIY videos, and we'll guide you on how to craft your own DIY videos and where to showcase them for optimal exposure.  We also show how DIY videos can help position you as an industry expert. We'll paint a picture of the rewards of creating these videos, from forging a robust relationship with potential clients to setting yourself apart from competitors. You'll get practical advice on crafting short, engaging videos that keep your audience hooked and the ideal platforms to amplify their reach. We'll share insights on creating videos that resonate with your audience, from the crafting process to leveraging different expression methods. Moreover, we delve into how to create captivating content for your social media posts, even without an original video. Show Highlights: The importance and benefits of DIY video marketing for businesses. The power of DIY videos for establishing oneself as an industry expert and building rapport with potential clients.  How DIY videos can serve as an effective marketing tool. The importance of maintaining high-quality video content and the evolving standards of quality.  The importance of having a running list of topics for DIY videos, leveraging client questions and interactions as a source of content ideas. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal For information about all our episodes and to sign up for our email newsletter: http://nextlevel.legal More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: Melanie’s Action Steps Come up with one thought you want to share with potential clients or referral sources. Sit in your parked car with your smartphone, go to the camera app, hit record, identify yourself, and share your one thought, speaking to the camera as if it were that potential client or referral source. Get over yourself and post that video on social media (or better yet, send it to someone to post it for you). Block the time on your calendar now to rinse and repeat at a regular cadence you are comfortable with.   If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Once you have subscribed - please leave us a 5-star rating and review, as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.    -- Until next time, don’t forget…..   Your Law Firm is a business -- take it to the next level.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

In this episode, we started off at ClioCon 2023 with our special guest, Melissa Shanahan, founder of Velocity Work. We take you through the top highlights so far. We were captivated by Del Friday's enlightening talk on mental health and the power of micro steps, a vital tool for navigating through the stressors of our industry. The connections and camaraderie we've experienced with colleagues and vendors have been equally enriching, offering us an expanded perspective on the legal field. Imagine using FBI negotiating strategies in your legal firm. Sounds intriguing, right? Well, we're bringing you just that in the second half of our show. We discuss the insights of former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss and how these strategies can be transposed into the legal world. We also shine a light on the phenomenal work of the Clio Client Support team, an essential pillar of the ClioCon experience. Finally, we share how Melissa's Law Firm Owner Podcast is empowering law firm owners to level up their businesses. Remember to hit that subscribe button and share this episode with your colleagues. Packed with invaluable insights, this is an episode you don't want to miss! Show Highlights: The highlights from ClioCon 2023. Del Friday's talk on mental health and the power of micro steps in combating overwhelm in the legal industry. Legal negotiation tactics inspired by former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss. The role of the Clio Client Support team in enhancing the ClioCon conference experience. The importance of attending conferences for personal growth, networking, and understanding industry innovations. How to extract maximum value from conferences, be it through attending sessions, networking, or utilizing resources like the Clio Client Support team. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal https://who.is More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY. Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. —-------------------------------- Information on our guest host: Melissa Shanahan – Velocity Work: https://www.velocitywork.com/  Melissa Shanahan founded Velocity Work after several years at a consulting firm focused on the growth of private practices all across the U.S. After coaching over 350 doctors, dentists, and lawyers – she chose to narrow her services to law firms only and started Velocity Work. The host of The Law Firm Owner Podcast and an extremely effective coach for attorneys running their own firms, Melissa brings her A-game to everything she does. Her energy is infectious and the material she is teaching will forever change how you think. From mindset to vision, to productivity and tracking firm data, Velocity Work has helped hundreds of attorneys grow their firm on their terms. ACTION STEPS: Melanie’s Action Steps If you haven’t bought your ticket for the Clio Conference next year. If you’re a Clio user, in my mind, it's a no-brainer. If you’re not a Clio user, check out the agenda once it gets released. It may very well be a great opportunity for you as well, especially given the tracks they have that don’t have anything to do with the software. We’re talking about marketing, and we’re talking about financial awareness. I want you to listen to the Law Firm Owner podcast hosted by Melissa Shanahan. If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen And once you have subscribed - please leave us a 5-star rating and review as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.     Until next time, don’t forget…..Your Law Firm is a business -- take it to the next level.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Join us as we continue to tackle the topic of ownership in the legal marketing landscape. We share our experiences in assisting clients to understand and take action on key marketing assets, and we dissect how to ensure your law firm retains secure ownership of vital assets such as websites, social and directory platforms, content, analytics and data platforms, and chat and call services. Moreover, we also cover the crucial steps to guarantee tracking numbers remain yours, even after parting ways with an agency. We give you a comprehensive guide on how to maintain the reins of your website's domain and the necessary measures to protect it. Unveiling potential issues that may arise when a website vendor tries to levy outrageous fees for domain ownership, we offer advice on how to effectively navigate such scenarios. Plus, we emphasize the significance of controlling social media accounts to maximize potential client interaction. Previously, photographers owned the rights to the photos, and customers purchased them at a high price. However, we caution on the importance of reading contracts carefully to ascertain who owns the content. Additionally, we explore the intricacies of managing licenses, duplicate content, and the implications of using stock photos on multiple sites. Don't miss out! Show Highlights: The importance of maintaining control over law firm marketing assets. The significance of website domain control and strategies to retain ownership. The risks of high charges for domain ownership by website vendors and how to navigate such situations. The changing dynamics of photo shoots and photo rights. The importance of seeking a second opinion on content and agency contracts and when to negotiate or create new original content. The issues related to managing licenses, duplicate content, and implications of using stock photos on multiple sites. Strategies for ensuring ownership and control of key marketing assets when switching between different agencies. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY. Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: Mark’s Action Steps Check your contracts with your agency.  Take the action step for each item we mentioned in this episode where you are not in full control of these key online assets.  Of course, if you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe and follow our podcast so you will be notified when our next episode goes live. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

In this episode, we bring to light the important role of ownership and control in law firm marketing. As we navigate the transition to a new agency, we uncover the significant marketing assets every law firm should consider, including websites, social and directory platforms, content, analytics, and data platforms, as well as chat and call services. We offer an in-depth look at each of these assets, exploring why it's vital to retain control and ownership and the steps to take if you don't currently possess it. Listen in as we examine the unique challenges law firms face when switching marketing agencies, focusing on website control and lease agreements. We highlight the importance of understanding contractual terms related to website ownership and the potential benefits and drawbacks of proprietary platforms. We also shed light on the implications of agencies creating their proprietary dashboards, with an emphasis on Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads accounts. Be prepared to gain a wealth of knowledge that will leave you questioning the level of control you currently have over your firm's key marketing assets. Show Highlights: Understanding the role of ownership in law firm marketing. The challenges law firms face when transitioning to a new marketing agency. The pros and cons of proprietary platforms for websites and how to understand the contractual terms related to website ownership. Importance of control over domain, social media accounts, and directory platforms for establishing a law firm's online presence. The significance of having access to historical ad campaign data and potential pitfalls associated with data-overriding scripts. Guidance on how to verify ad expenditure accuracy and avoid hidden pitfalls in law firm marketing strategies. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: Mark’s Action Steps Check your contracts with your agency.  See if you own or control the logins to a lot of the platforms we mentioned.  Of course, if you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe and follow our podcast so you will be notified when Part 2 of this topic goes live next week so you can learn more about what to do about these items we discussed. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Join us as we tackle the vital subject of leadership in the second part of our two-part series. This episode aims to help listeners navigate the intricacies of effective leadership by sharing our experiences and techniques developed over the years of running our businesses. We begin with the concept of engaging in honest and open communication, which sounds simple but is often a challenging feat in a professional setting. We discuss how open dialogue can help build trust within teams and share our experiences and lessons on being more comfortable with transparent communication. We continue to unpack leadership by discussing clear expectations and effective communication. We discuss how setting standards and communicating effectively with teams can foster a productive environment. We then shift our focus to maintaining positivity in leadership, where we share techniques to reframe problems and foster a positive environment.  Listen in as we unpack these insights and share our personal experiences to help you improve your leadership skills. Show Highlights: The importance of open and honest communication in leadership and its role in building trust within a team.  Setting clear expectations for team members and how it contributes to a more productive work environment. The significance of maintaining a positive attitude in leadership and methods to do so. Techniques for reframing problems as challenges or puzzles to encourage solution-oriented thinking. The impact of celebrating small and big victories in fostering a positive and engaged workforce. Strategies for improving leadership skills and overcoming struggles associated with leadership. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal Books Mentioned in This Episode: The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success: https://www.amazon.com/15-Commitments-Conscious-Leadership-Sustainable/dp/0990976904 The Measure of a Leader: https://www.amazon.com/Measure-Leader-Leadership-Methodology-Effectiveness/dp/1475967950  More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY. Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS:  MELANIE: Action Steps - I’d like to tackle all 3 of these at once! First I want you to come up with a current challenge that you’re having in your business, maybe it’s a cashflow rollercoaster like my client, maybe it’s too many internal emails like I’ve suffered from in the past….. And I want you to ask yourself 3 questions: Am I communicating honestly, and openly with my team about this challenge? Do we as a team have clear expectations around this challenge? What are 3 positives about this challenge? (It’s not always easy to see but they are there!) *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Unlock the truth behind the struggle of leading in a dynamic business environment in this episode. We shed light on the underlying causes and provide practical solutions to address this issue, underscoring the importance of recognizing leadership issues and how an external viewpoint can be instrumental in identifying areas requiring attention. We also share some insights into how honing leadership skills can facilitate growth and change. Reigniting the spark in leadership roles is easier said than done. But don't fret, we've got you covered. We share some proven strategies for fanning the flames of passion before burnout sets in. We also focus on the importance of accountability, both personally and as a team leader. We delve into how failing to trust our team and their expertise can lead to burnout and why it's vital to create an environment that embraces innovation.  Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation! Remember, your law firm is a business. Let's take it to the next level. Show Highlights: The challenges of leading in a dynamic business environment and recognizing leadership issues. Importance of an external viewpoint to identify areas of attention for improving leadership skills. Strategies to reignite passion in leadership roles and prevent burnout. The impact of a leader's passion on the team and how internal changes can fuel it. The importance of accountability in a team and trust among team members. Exploring causes for struggles in leadership. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal:https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: Melanie Review: can you relate to any of these identifiers? Schedule time to listen to Part 2 of this series so that you can develop some more action steps to help combat the struggle to lead. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Listen in as we welcome Thomas Schaffer, partner at Schaffer & Associates, a successful three-attorney law firm based in Toledo, Ohio. Tom shares his journey of establishing the firm, surviving the initial years, and the growth they've achieved with a dedicated team and effective internet marketing. He also discusses the unique operating principles of Schaffer & Associates that set it apart from other law firms - implementing a four-day work week! Tune in as Tom gives a detailed account of how they made the four-day work week possible without compromising client service and coverage. He shares the firm's strategies for staff rotation and automation and talks about the positive impact on productivity, morale, and work-life balance. If you're a law firm considering this approach, you won’t want to miss Tom's valuable insights and advice on making the most of a shortened work week! Show Highlights: Schaffer & Associates successful implementation of a four-day work week without compromising client service. Benefits of a shortened work week, including improved team morale, productivity, and work-life balance. The process of adjusting work schedules and employing strategic hiring to ensure client service coverage during the work week. The positive financial impact and continued growth of the firm despite the change in work schedule. Insights on maintaining team culture and client satisfaction while implementing new operational strategies. Challenges and lessons learned in implementing a four-day work week in a law firm setting. Tom’s advice for other law firms considering adopting a shortened work week. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/22/business/four-day-work-week-uk.html   https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/4-day-work-week-trial-yields-overwhelming-success-in-u-k-researchers-say  https://www.schafferlawyers.com/ https://www.schafferlawyers.com/team/thomas-schaffer/  More Information About Our Hosts: Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: Mark: We will reference some of the studies Tom referenced in the show notes.  Think about what Schaffer & Associates has experienced with this change, and maybe think about how you can work to provide a better quality of life and mental health for your team. And don’t forget the productivity increases that Tom mentioned.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Does your workspace feel like a chaotic mess that drains your energy and productivity? You’re not alone! Today, we're getting real about the relationship between workspace, productivity, and overall life satisfaction. You’ll hear about the stress-inducing impact of disorder and practical strategies to manage your work environment, whether it's a corner in your living room or a dedicated home office. We'll underline why a physical space that separates work from non-work is essential and give you the lowdown on how to optimize it to your advantage.  Believe it or not, your digital world needs spring cleaning, too. We'll guide you on a journey to digital zen, offering tips on finding your files quickly and effortlessly. We’ll discuss working with organization enthusiasts and how this could bring you surprising joy. We’ll also talk about how sunlight increases serotonin levels, leading to improved sleep, stronger immunity, lower blood pressure, and even weight loss. Join us today to transform your workspace into a haven of productivity and well-being. Show Highlights: Exploring the transformative power of an organized workspace on productivity and overall well-being. The significance of digital organization and its impact on ease of access and collaboration. Introduction to Biophilic design and its profound impact on integrating nature into workspace. Understanding the benefits of natural sunlight on health, productivity, and its role in serotonin production. The negative impacts of artificial lighting and lack of sunlight exposure. Emphasizing the necessity of regular movement in the workspace for better health and productivity. More Information About Our Hosts:  Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: https://www.greenroofs.com/2019/03/27/the-global-impact-of-biophilic-design-in-the-workplace/  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-natural-light-is-the-best-medicine-for-the-office-300590905.html   https://healthcare.utah.edu/press-releases/2015/04/walking-extra-two-minutes-each-hour-may-offset-hazards-of-sitting-too-long   Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal https://streamlined.legal/   https://streamlined.legal/videos  https://gngf.com/consultation  https://gngf.com/  ACTION STEPS: Melanie Sit in your space and look around (you may need to do this a couple of times as you’re making changes to your space) Find the disorganization Find the nature Find the light And think about how much you move daily while working Go to your nearest IKEA or hop online and buy a fake plant (or real) Is there a way to incorporate more natural light into your space, can you move your desk to the other side of the room, or simply change the way that it faces? If you’re limited by the building you’re in, are there ways that you can work outside with some regularity or take calls while you walk around? Lastly, if you have a smartwatch, set the reminders or alarms so that you are reminded to step outside at least once during the work day, twice would be even better. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Join us for an engaging chat as we unlock financial tech and process hacks to optimize both your business and personal life. In the world of business, we're putting a spotlight on corporate card platforms, like Ramp, which provide a seamless interface for managing company credit cards and virtual cards. We also discuss integrations with Quickbooks and Xero, receipt requirements, expense management, and connecting to Outlook and Gmail. Learn how tools like Airbase, Brex, and Mech can transform your financial processes, save time and money, and significantly streamline your operations. Switching gears to personal finance, we introduce you to some stellar apps and tools that can revolutionize your money management. Listen in as we share how leveraging the right financial tools can help you save money and stay on top of your financial commitments. Learn how to harness the power of social media and word-of-mouth to grow your audience.  Whether you're running a business, managing personal finances, or producing a podcast, this episode is packed with insights to help you thrive. Show Highlights: Personal finance management apps, including the Rocket Money app for tracking and managing subscriptions and Card Pointers for maximizing credit card benefits. Promoting podcasts and growing audience reach using advanced tech tools. The importance of leveraging technology to simplify business processes, such as accepting credit card payments and utilizing online banking services for small businesses. The significance of documenting financial procedures in business processes. Personal finance management and budgeting, emphasizing the importance of keeping track of subscriptions and regular expenses. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: https://ramp.com/ https://www.lawpay.com/ https://gravity-legal.com/ https://www.novo.co/ https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn007/ https://www.rocketmoney.com/ https://cardpointers.com/ https://mint.intuit.com/ Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal https://streamlined.legal/  https://streamlined.legal/videos https://gngf.com/consultation  https://gngf.com/ More Information About Our Hosts:  Melanie Leonard: streamlined.legal —-------------------------------- For help automating key processes in your law firm and implementing legal tech (especially around Clio & Lawmatics), check out the free videos and resources at https://streamlined.legal/videos to streamline your law firm TODAY.   Mark Homer: Get Noticed Get Found —-------------------------------------------------- Every day, the Get Noticed Get Found team (GNGF) helps ambitious law firms push through their growth plateaus. If your marketing budget is $80,000 or more a year and you are interested in learning how the GNGF team can help take your law firm’s marketing to the next level, schedule a conversation with our team at https://gngf.com/consultation  or give us a call at 513-444-2016.   If you are just getting started but want some hand-holding and guidance as you spend more time and money in marketing, check out GNGF’s sister company https://lexcelerate.legal, which provides marketing help through group coaching, training videos, and downloadable guides for solo and small law firms. ACTION STEPS: Think about one of these hacks that you want to add to your business or personal life Create a reminder for tomorrow to set up the app or process We also want to hear from you - send us your favorite smartphone or any tech hack to hello@nextlevel.legal, and we might feature it in our next Tech Hacks episode *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.  

Get ready to unlock the secrets of transforming your law firm’s online presence! Our special guest, Ashleigh Achor from GNGF, walks us through a captivating real-life success story of a Utah-based criminal defense firm's journey from obscurity online to the spotlight. With her expert guidance, this firm leveraged the power of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to improve visibility, and Ashleigh is here to spill all the details. In our discussion, Ashleigh breaks down the strategies that worked wonders for this law firm - think optimized content, meta descriptions, keyword targeting, and cross-linking. She also shares the essence of being patient, setting realistic expectations, and the importance of monitoring progress with analytics tools for long-term success. All these strategies helped the law firm not just improve its online visibility but also fuel its overall growth. Law firm marketing strategy has never been this exciting or accessible, so tune in, take notes, and let us take your firm to the next level. Show Highlights: Importance of optimized content, meta descriptions, keyword targeting, cross-linking, patience, setting realistic expectations, and progress monitoring with analytics tools for SEO success.  Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like traffic, visibility, impressions, clicks, and conversions are used to measure the firm's online success.  The firm's continuous SEO efforts led to a significant increase in clients from organic search, contributing to overall business growth.  The importance of tracking and data analysis in fine-tuning digital marketing strategies and recommendations for law firms aiming to replicate this success. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Watch Videos: https://streamlined.legal/videos Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn006/ https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn010// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn039// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn040// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn041// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn042// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn043// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn044// https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn053/ ACTION STEPS: Mark: If you want to have some of the success of this real-world law firm example - go back, listen, and take the action steps in the following episodes: Episode 6 - Should I Invest in SEO vs. PPC? Episode 10 - What Are the Best Online Marketing Tactics? Episode 39-44 - SEO Series   Episode 53 - Branding for Your Law Firm *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Elevate your law firm's success by mastering the art of KPIs in flat fee firms. We guarantee you'll walk away with valuable insights on how to select and track the right KPI that will truly drive your firm's growth. Not only that, but we'll also share our expertise on how to overcome the common challenges of tracking KPIs and how to ensure their accuracy. We’ll guide you through the advantages of providing cost certainty to your clients and the importance of offering an estimated timeline for each matter. Discover how to use data to provide your clients with more accurate information about the length of time a matter may take and how setting expectations during the client consultation process can greatly enhance client satisfaction and trust. Remember, having a handle on accurate data doesn't just make you sound smart, it empowers you to make better, more strategic decisions that will take your firm to the next level. Join us and let's take your firm to the next level! Show Highlights: The importance of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for flat fee law firms and how they can be used to drive growth and profitability. How to select and track the right KPIs for your firm, including overcoming common challenges and ensuring accuracy. Insights on how to use data to make decisions, such as adjusting marketing efforts, automating services, and eliminating unprofitable services. The advantages of providing cost certainty to clients and offering estimated timelines for each matter. How to use data to provide clients with accurate information about the length of time a matter may take. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Watch Videos: https://streamlined.legal/videos  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal ACTION STEPS: MELANIE: Start tracking your time (and your team’s time)!  Even for your flat fee cases, this information will help us make a lot of decisions. Start tracking data now! It doesn’t have to be perfect, but the sooner you start collecting it, the sooner you can use it. Make a custom field in your software or, better yet, ask a team member to do it for you.   Ask your team to calculate the days from open to closed or the value of the time spent when closing a file. Put a time block on your calendar to look at the data you’ve started collecting in two weeks just so you can make sure they are collecting the way you’ve asked. And then block time two weeks later to see what you’ve got. Do the same thing once a month, and you’ll start seeing trends in the numbers that will tell you if your gut was right.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Listen in as we unlock the secrets to effective nurture campaigns for your law firm. With a focus on continual connection and introducing your firm to prospects and leads, we share examples and practical advice to build a strong and beneficial campaign. Learn why leading with optimism is vital and how a well-structured nurture campaign can provide your clients with hope and a path to a better solution. Don't miss our offer of a PDF download filled with real-life examples and tips to aid in your campaign creation. Navigate the world of email copywriting with strategies that grab attention and engage different types of audiences. We also unveil tools and strategies for building a successful campaign, including an exploration of CRM features, the use of MailChimp, and even the legal implications of postcard-sending companies. Get ready to take action and build your nurture campaign today! Show Highlights: The importance of developing nurture campaigns for law firms, and how to structure them. Strategies for keeping law firms at the top of prospects' minds after they've downloaded a lead magnet. The concept of 'top of mind awareness' and the importance of consistent contact with past and potential clients. Techniques for engaging email copywriting, including using different types of subject lines and media. An overview of various tools and strategies for creating successful nurture campaigns. The role of CRM features, the use of platforms like MailChimp, and the legal implications of using postcard-sending companies. How to personalize nurture campaigns to build a relationship and provide hope and better solutions for clients. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  https://streamlined.legal/videos  PDF: https://4.gngf.com/nextlevel-email Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal ACTION STEPS: Mark If you don’t have your lead magnet to be able to get the email address of your prospective clients who just aren’t ready to call, go back to Episode 23. Once you have your lead magnet, build out a five-email sequence following the flow we discussed earlier. Then put the emails into a drip/nurture campaign workflow in your Legal CRM tool or just use MailChimp for now. Enjoy the few additional clients you will gain from your leads. And of course…please share our podcast with your colleagues, which you can do right from your podcast app.   If you are listening and haven’t subscribed yet - please Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you will be notified when our next podcast episode is released.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Join us as we dissect the differences between advances and retainers, flat fees and fixed fees, and how the American Bar Association (ABA) defines these types of fees. We stress the importance of checking with your state and jurisdiction for any differences in their rules regarding fees and billing. Listen closely as we dig into the challenges and helpful aspects of the ABA's Formal Opinion 505, a significant development that emerged in May this year. We examine the ABA's opinion on flat fees, fixed fees and how these fee structures influence the language used in engagement letters. Listen as we talk about the importance of using language such as non-refundable and earned upon receipt and why regular reviews of these fee structures are critical. Plus, we shed light on the importance of setting funds in the correct trust or operating account as per your jurisdiction. Show Highlights: Exploration of American Bar Association's (ABA) definitions and interpretations of legal fees such as advances, retainers, flat fees, and fixed fees. Discussion on the ABA's Formal Opinion 505 and its implications on legal fee structures. Examination of terms like non-refundable and earned upon receipt in client engagement letters and their significance. Insight into the ABA's viewpoint that all fees are refundable unless they're a specific retainer, dating back to 1908. Analysis of the ABA's take on flat fees, fixed fees, and their impact on the language used in engagement letters. Importance of setting funds in the right trust or operating account as per jurisdiction rules. Encouragement for regular review and adjustment of fee structures in line with ABA guidelines and jurisdictional rules. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal ACTION STEPS: MELANIE: Check with your state or other jurisdiction!  Review your engagement letter Make sure that what you’re telling the clients and how you’re actually billing them matches with the letter. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Ever feel like you're trudging through the weeds of daily tasks without having time to strategize for the big picture? We're here to tell you it's time to pause, look up, and take that much-needed skyward glance. This episode is a deep dive into the importance of strategic meetings where the collective wisdom of the team comes into play. We're giving you a roadmap to sort, prioritize and take action on the plethora of ideas that usually crop up during these sessions. Trends can guide our growth strategy, and we explore how to leverage them. We also emphasize that it's not a one-person job, the wisdom of the team is paramount. From sorting to prioritizing, we explain how to sift through ideas that come up and take action without feeling overwhelmed. We offer practical tips to identify ideas that can propel your business forward and share an interesting 'keep, kill, combine' exercise for brainstorming sessions. This episode is a must-listen if you’re seeking to grow your business or firm, so join us as we break it all down for you. Let's look at the sky together and chart your path to success! Show Highlights: Importance of strategic meetings and trend analysis in propelling business growth.  Utilizing collective team wisdom to turn ideas into actionable plans. Prioritizing ideas based on ease of implementation and value through a comparison grid. Harnessing the power of strategic meetings to avoid getting lost in the day-to-day operations. The significance of identifying business and industry trends for continued growth. Utilizing team members' expertise and experience to understand trends and create meaningful strategies. Strategies for focusing and prioritizing ideas, including a 'keep, kill, combine' exercise for brainstorming sessions. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal ACTION STEPS: Get your calendar and pick 4-8 hours you can set aside to work to get out of the weeds and look up at the sky.   During that time, if you have a team, ask them to join and come prepared with some issues and trends they are seeing. If there is no team, look at your own data and maybe grab a colleague or coach to help out. Identify ideas that can help work toward solving or leveraging that trend. Prioritize and pick one or two things that you will work an extra hour or two a week on for the next few weeks to implement into your firm. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Join us on a captivating journey as we dissect the ABA Opinion 506 on non-lawyers in the sales and intake process. Listen in as we break down the implications of this opinion in a way that's easy to understand and practical to apply. We'll explore the importance of understanding and adopting best practices to ensure your firm's growth while maintaining ethical standards. We also discuss the ethical obligations of lawyers when it comes to non-lawyer assistance and we unpack the intricate details of rule 5.3 and its impact on your legal practice. Additionally, we look at the role of non-attorney salespeople, examining their tasks and responsibilities in light of the ABA Opinion 506. We emphasize the importance of clear guidelines and boundaries to ensure they do not stray into unauthorized practice of law. Tune in and equip yourself with the knowledge to navigate this complex aspect of legal practice. Show Highlights: Understanding the implications of the ABA Opinion 506, which addresses non-lawyers in the sales and intake process of a law firm. The ethical obligations of lawyers when working with non-lawyer assistants, including providing appropriate guidance and supervision. Distinguishing between delegation and abdication in a legal practice and exploring the responsibilities of lawyers in managing non-lawyer roles. The importance of reviewing engagement letters and service agreements to ensure ethical engagement with clients. The need for law firms to have policies and procedures in place to manage the involvement of non-lawyers in the sales and intake process. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal ACTION STEPS: Review your intake policies & procedure Or make some Review your engagement letter or other service agreement with your clients to make sure that they are offered an opportunity to discuss the fee agreement and scope of representation with the lawyer *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

We're celebrating our 100th episode and two-year anniversary of Your Law Firm is a Business. Take it to the Next Level, and we're incredibly grateful for the support from all of our listeners! To show our appreciation, we're joined by Corine Rogers, the problem solver extraordinaire at Streamlined Legal, to answer some great listener questions that have come in. Listen in as we discuss the challenges and rewards of growing a law firm and how to navigate the new obstacles that come with it. Growth presents new challenges, but that's a sign of progress. We discuss how some aspects of running a business may get easier with repetition, but new levels of growth often bring new difficulties. Just as with parenting, we find that in business, it's not necessarily that it gets easier, but rather a different type of hardship. We also explore the importance of having team members who are motivated to challenge themselves and grow with the business and the need for holding people accountable with objective measures and metrics. Finally, we touch on the importance of understanding and utilizing the software at our disposal and how it can help us manage our growing firms more efficiently. We discuss the challenges of outgrowing software and how to approach making changes to your processes and systems to avoid having to switch to a new platform. So, tune in and gain valuable insights as we share our experiences and advice on taking your law firm to the next level! Show Highlights: Celebrating growth and overcoming challenges in a law firm business.  Surrounding yourself with motivated team members to challenge themselves and grow with the business.  Holding people accountable through objective measures and metrics.  Utilizing software to manage growth efficiently in a law firm.  Testing business processes by going on vacation to see how the firm runs without you. Building checklists and processes for when things break and learning from the experience. Achieving a mindset shift to understand that not every outcome will be perfect, but aiming for a majority of satisfied clients and employees. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal ACTION STEPS: Yes! — we always want to leave our listeners with some ACTION STEPS. And today it’s easy!  When you’re done listening today, hop back into your podcast app and grab that episode that we mentioned today that caught your attention, and give it a listen to take your firm to the Next Level. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

In this engaging episode, we explore how AI can help law firm marketers become more efficient and effective. We discuss different ways to incorporate AI into law firm marketing, covering the caveats and warnings of using AI, use cases of using AI safely for marketing, and specific examples of how to speed up content research and content outlines. We also touch on how Google is making fast tweaks to the way they handle AI and what they consider quality content, as well as the adjustments they have made to their Quality Radar Guidelines. Finally, we take a look at specific examples of how AI can be used to generate posts for Google business profiles as well as other social media posts. We talk about AI tools that can help repurpose and repackage content, as well as use AI to learn when your audience is most active and what hashtags they use. Additionally, we cover tools such as chat GPT and Publr which can help create social media posts and suggest images. Listen in as we discuss the difference between Google indexing and email marketing and how AI can help with creating emails and split testing. Show Highlights: Integrating AI into law firm marketing for improved efficiency and effectiveness. Using AI to expedite content research and outline creation for web pages and social media posts. Utilizing AI tools, such as chat GPT and Publr, to generate Google business profile posts and other social media content. Harnessing AI for email marketing, including creating headlines, messages, and split testing. Leveraging AI for content creation strategy, generating topics and keywords for web pages, and analyzing existing content for improvement. Navigating the potential pitfalls and precautions when using AI in law firm marketing. Examples of AI usage in advertising copy, printed materials, and landing pages. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal Large Language Model AI Tools: ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com  Jasper: https://jasper.ai Copy.ai: https://www.copy.ai/ Writesonic: https://writesonic.com Brevo (formerly sendinblue): https://www.brevo.com/ FeedHive: https://www.feedhive.com/features/ai  Buffer: https://buffer.com/ai-assistant Publr: https://publer.io/features/ai-assist  MailChimp: https://mailchimp.com/announcing-email-content-generator/  Constant Contact: https://www.constantcontact.com/features/ai-marketing  LawMatics - LM[AI]: https://www.lawmatics.com/lmai/ ACTION STEPS: Get a ChatGPT account and leverage the show notes to start some prompts to do some content research  And of course, don’t forget a very important step today… be one of the listeners that help us get to our goal of adding 200 more listeners before our 100th episode by sharing our podcast with your colleagues or on your social media feed:  @NextLevel_Legal on Twitter or @nextlevel.legal on Instagram & Facebook.   EXAMPLE PROMPTS DISCUSSED ON THE PODCAST: To draft Content with Suggested Links/Citations, make sure the prompt contains these 4 parts: Assign a Role / PoV Directive Voice Outcome Example: “You are a writer for my law firm’s website, in charge of marketing our services via educational content. Please describe the impact of a sexual harassment claim on the victim's lifetime earnings. Please maintain professionalism, and cite your legal sources, but express empathy for the victim and their circumstances. The aim of the content should be for other victims to contact our firm.” Please verify all sources! CREATE CONTENT OUTLINES FOR LONG TOPICAL PAGES (SEO Friendly) Start With: What are the most popular sub-topics related (your keyword or practice area) You will get a list of detailed topics to choose from for an outline for your page.  Then for each sub-topic, you want to include on your page: Follow with: “What are the most popular sub-topics related to (sub-topic)?” Follow with: “List Without Description The Top 5 Most Popular Keywords For The Topic Of (sub-topic)” Follow with: “List Without Description The Top 5 Most Popular Long-Tail Keywords For The Topic Of (sub-topic)” Now use your knowledge and your own words to flesh out each outline, and be sure to include some of the keywords and long-tail phrases in your copy. You could record a video talking through it and send it to a copywriter too.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

In this episode, we tackle the vital topic of protecting your law firm's website from being stolen. Listen in as we break down the concept of an internet domain, the importance of domain name servers (DNS), and website hosting. It's essential for business owners to understand these basic internet concepts to prevent website loss and ensure smooth operation. Plus, we celebrate approaching our 100th episode and ask for your help spreading the word! We also explore the process of determining who owns a law firm's website and the necessary steps for transferring domain ownership. Learn about the importance of knowing where a domain is registered and how to use the “Who Is” tool to find out. We discuss potential complications that can arise when dealing with an agency that won't let go of the domain and the need to be mindful when creating a new domain to avoid SEO issues. Discover why it's crucial to separate domain ownership and hosting. Finally, we emphasize the importance of separating your domain name server from your website host for added security and faster loading times. Discover how using Cloudflare for hosting DNS can cache images for quicker loading times and increase your website's security. Don't miss this essential episode for ensuring the safety and success of your law firm's online presence. And as always, thank you for your continued support and for helping us reach our goal of 200 more listeners before our 100th episode! Show Highlights: Domain names, DNS, website hosting, and internet concepts to protect law firm websites What the “Who Is” tool is and how it can benefit you. How separating DNS services provides increased security and faster loading times. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/9175/83/how-to-transfer-a-domain/  https://who.is/  ACTION STEPS: Try the WHO.IS tool. Know where your domain and DNS are located, and make sure you own those accounts. If you do not, figure out who does and get that transferred to you as soon as possible. It is a pain to do this, but you only do it once – check out the article in the Supporting Resources above. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Is managing your law firm's email inbox taking up too much of your time? Are you constantly juggling court filings, client communications, and incoming leads from website forms or answering services? In this episode, we tackle these challenges head-on and provide practical solutions to streamline your email management process. We kick off by discussing how to use email filters and rules to ensure the right person receives the right information at the right time. By automating these processes, you'll no longer be overwhelmed by unread emails and can focus on more important tasks. We also explore the world of Zapier – a powerful tool that can help you gather information from website forms and answering services directly into your intake software without lifting a finger. Lastly, we emphasize the importance of delegating tasks such as setting up filters and rules to a trusted team member, freeing up even more of your time to focus on growing your practice. Don't miss out on these valuable insights designed to help you conquer email management once and for all. And don't forget to subscribe and leave a review to help us continue spreading our message to more law firm owners like you. Show Highlights: Streamlining your law firm's email management Managing email communication for legal practice Automating email management for law firms Automating intake with Zapier Outsourcing email filters Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal ACTION STEPS: Pick one of these If you don’t have any of these issues, you‘re off the hook this week! Write it out, starting with step 1. If the email comes into your inbox, then what is step 2? What do you want to happen next? Then create the rule or filter or zap! This is probably not the highest and best use of your time so find someone on your team to do it for you, outsource it, or grab a drink and find a youtube video that you can follow along to. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Are you ready to hit the road or take to the skies but not sure how to make the most of your journey? Fear not, fellow travelers! We have got you covered with our top travel tips and tech hacks to make your trips efficient, enjoyable, and stress-free. We start by discussing the importance of lightweight laptops and tablets, such as the Apple MacBook Air and iPad Air, for staying productive on the go. Then, we share our favorite travel accessories, like noise-canceling headphones and tech pouches, to keep you organized and in control. And that's just the beginning! Discover how using digital boarding passes, Apple CarPlay, and rideshare apps can make your travel experience as smooth as possible. Learn how to maximize your travel efficiency and convenience with personal and business profiles for Uber and Lyft, offline Google Maps, and even investing in high-level credit cards for access to airport lounges and other perks. Trust us, you won't want to miss these essential tips and hacks for your next adventure.  Buckle up, and join us on this informative and entertaining journey! Show Highlights: Preparing for a business trip and starting with the basics Essential tech for work trips and how a smartwatch can help streamline tasks discussed Travel accessories that make traveling more convenient Tips to make traveling easier Tools to maximize travel efficiency Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Schedule a Consultation: https://gngf.com/consultation  Visit the Website: https://gngf.com/  Visit streamlined.legal: https://streamlined.legal/  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal  Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal ACTION STEPS: Plan a trip! Business or fun or both! There is something healthy about changing up your environment, not just for work but for life in general. It gives you a new perspective and changes the dynamics of your interactions with those people that you’re traveling with, whether it’s colleagues or family members. Doesn’t have to be long, but I’d recommend at least 48 hours. Fly or drive, stay in a hotel or at a friend’s house… Just GO! Once you have that trip planned, then you can take another listen to this episode and determine what you need for that particular trip. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

No matter the industry, AI has been the topic of many conversations lately. We aren’t sure what it is, how to use it, if it’s beneficial, or if it’s a threat. We held out on talking about it on the podcast because we like to be able to provide action steps to take law firms to the next level. We have now tested the use of AI at GNGF and finally feel confident to share what we have learned and what AI features we are leveraging across our agency to help our clients. We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: Free or low-cost AI tools we trust The importance of the prompt Using AI for Google Business Profile posts Creating a year of social media posts in under two hours Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: https://gngf.com/consultation  https://gngf.com/ https://streamlined.legal/  ChatGPT - https://chat.openai.com Jasper - https://jasper.ai Copy.ai - https://www.copy.ai/ Writesonic - https://writesonic.com/ PromptVibes - https://www.promptvibes.com/  OneUp Social Posting: https://www.oneupapp.io/  HootSuite.com: https://www.hootsuite.com/  Stock Photos: https://istockphoto.com or https://stock.adobe.com  Twitter: @NextLevel_Legal Instagram or Facebook: @nextlevel.legal Social Media AI Prompt [FIRM NAME] is a law firm practicing [TOP LEVEL PRACTICE AREAS] in [CLIENT LOCATION/AREAS OF SERVICE]. Act as their digital marketing expert. Write [NUMBER OF POSTS] different [NUMBER OF WORDS] captions about the practice [PRACTICE AREA SUBJECT FROM AM] for my social media posts. Include a call to action to contact the firm at the end of the caption. ACTION STEPS: Get a ChatGPT account and leverage the show notes to start some prompts for social media posting. At a minimum, start with creating posts for your Google Business Profile. Double-check the post text against the ethics rules in your state (ask ChatGPT). Create 52 posts across the various practice area topics you want to focus on so you have one post per week. Setup up a social posting tool like the ones we recommended. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

When your firm receives a call, how is it handled? Does it go to an automatic receiver, or does a receptionist answer it? What is the conversation like? Do you think your firm makes a good first impression, or do you lose more potential clients than you gain? In this episode, we have a conversation with Maddy Martin, the Senior Vice President of growth at Smith AI. Smith AI is a 24/7 customer engagement platform best known for virtual reception and outreach. Maddie is a nationwide speaker that's been recognized over the last six years for providing CLE on law firm communication and growth. Listen in as we discuss the top mistakes to avoid when outsourcing your first impression. Show Highlights: The problem with firms holding tasks too close to their chest and not delegating them The benefits of auditing your firm's call handling Why you need to answer every inbound call How to handle potential clients that are agitated or pushing back The importance of providing a pronunciation guide to your virtual receptionist Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Book A Consultation at GNGF: gngf.com/consultation  https://assets.website-files.com/5b15ca3d02dd414c89ecc3ed/63b49ffc463bd54609cb9a51_Smith-SMB-white-paper-12302022-Fortifying-Your-Frontlines.pdf ACTION STEPS: Call, text, or message your firm and see what kind of response you get. Did they follow your instructions? Did you get the first impression that you’re trying to give?  Schedule to do it regularly… *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

In this episode, we have Marissa Portuondo from streamlined.legal to discuss one particular firm's journey to improving its intake process. The case studies involve real, small to mid-sized law firms that were struggling with their growth, intake, employee management, and more. With streamlined.legal’s help, these firms have been able to take beneficial action toward success, and we are now able to learn by hearing about their progress. We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: Challenges streamlined.legal saw when they began working with them How they turned the ship around How they created a system for the new admin The importance of using forms during consultations How the admin knows what to do to move potential clients toward engagement How the new processes affected the firm partners Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy streamlined.legal  youtube.com/@GetNoticedGetFound youtube.com/@streamlined-legal ACTION STEPS: MARISA: Make it EASY to get hired Remove yourself and other attorneys from the screening process Get the info you need on the first call If paid consult, do not schedule until payment is received Automate your ELs so you can discuss with PNC at consult and don't lose the sale Actually get hired before you convert matter into Manage Gives staff a clear signal that matter is ready to be worked on - avoid work being done before you are formally hired Avoid issues with the Bar in the event of a dispute with the client *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.  

In this episode, Mark talks about one of the most mission-critical systems for any law firm - email. Email is a system that doesn’t get the respect it deserves and is often overlooked. However, there are some things to consider before diving into using email in your law firm. Mark shares all the important information you need to know before setting your business up in an email system to ensure it works for you. We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: The standard email options Mark sees The benefits of Cloud email The risks of other email options A quick dive into the ideal law firm internet setup (this gets a little technical!) Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  streamlined.legal  youtube.com/@GetNoticedGetFound youtube.com/@streamlined-legal ACTION STEPS: If you are not using enterprise cloud storage, do some research and think about the benefits and potential cost savings I outlined here. If you are using an enterprise cloud storage provider like Google Workspace or Office 365 - do a little research on some of the admin steps for selecting the geography, looking into HIPAA if that applies to you, or some of the other legal-specific features like vault and retention policies. Don’t forget a very important step today…be one of the listeners that help us get to our goal of adding 200 more listeners before our 100th episode by sharing our podcast with your colleagues or on your social media feed:  @NextLevel_Legal on Twitter or @nextlevel.legal on Instagram & Facebook.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

In this episode, we are breaking down flat fees! Flat fees serve as a great opportunity to provide more certainty and benefit to your client. They are also beneficial to you if you understand how much time, effort, and expenses go into every case. It will take a little work to know how much you put into every case, but the more you know, the better off you will be! We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: What value billing means What it costs to provide a flat fee service Where we can get in trouble Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: 5 Ways Flat Fee Attorneys Earn More by Clio Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy streamlined.legal youtube.com/@GetNoticedGetFound youtube.com/@streamlined-legal  ACTION STEPS: If you are already offering a flat fee service, take some time to see if you have the data you need to determine how much that service is costing you to provide. If you have the data, then compare it to how much you charged so that you can see how profitable you were. And if you don’t have the data, figure out how you can start collecting that data for the future, and yes, for some of you, that will mean tracking your time. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

In this episode, we discuss the book, “The Checklist Manifesto,” by Atul Gawande. Gawande is a doctor, so the majority of his examples are from a doctor’s perspective. However, many concepts are transferable between industries, including the legal field. Listen in as we go into where checklists came from, how they are beneficial, and their legal application. We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: Why have a checklist, and how the checklist came to be The problems a checklist is designed to fix The legal application The difference between a checklist and a workflow Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.  Supporting Resources: streamlined.legal  The Checklist Manifesto  Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy ACTION STEPS: Go back to your office and either look into your file or talk to your team and ask, “Do we have any file we consider a checklist?” I want you to take that checklist once you find them. Take a look at it and identify if it is a checklist or a workflow. If it is a checklist, then use it to build out some workflows in more detail. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Can you believe we are already celebrating the second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business? We certainly can’t! In this episode, we spend some time reminiscing on the past two years of episodes and going over a few of our favorite moments. We will wrap up by discussing what we anticipate for the next two years. We couldn’t have made it this far without our listeners – thank you for supporting us, and we are eager for another two years with all of you! We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: A couple of our favorite episodes and key things we taught each other What we have learned about hosting a podcast What we want the next two years to look like Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: All Podcast Episodes  Episode 15  Episode 54  Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy ACTION STEPS: The first action step is to go back and listen to some of the episodes we mentioned on this podcast. The second step is to help us with our goal of getting just 200 more listeners before our 100th episode by sharing our podcast with your colleagues or on your social media feed:  @NextLevel_Legal on Twitter or @nextlevel.legal on Instagram & Facebook. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

We had some fun at the 2023 ABA Tech Show! We went to many sessions, discovered many new and interesting vendors, and, of course, learned about a lot of new technology. From the keynote to the lunch and learn, every session was informational. There was also a notable thread throughout the sessions surrounding AI and what its impact has been and will be in the legal field. Listen in for a quick recap of the sessions we experienced. We hope to see you there next year! We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: The keynote with Jack Newton “Process Mapping Made Easy” with Jen Lee Law and Danielle Hall “Better Client Communication Through Automation” How to become an anti-fragile law firm ChatGPT for lawyers Flat fee billing with Ashley Pepitone and Regina Edwards Humanizing your client experience with technology Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy ACTION STEPS: Go to your calendar now, mark off the days of the next ABA Techshow… Check that out online and see that exact dates. Put them on the calendar now so you’ve got that time blocked and go ahead and start looking at the reservations, start looking at different products that we are they’re gonna represent again here next year and all the major practice management software, in here if you’re using of those there are such a large variety of technology that they represented and go ahead and make a plan to come next year, you have a whole time to prepare for this. Go ahead make your plans now and see you next year at tech show. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Danny Ozment from Emerald City Productions. We discussed many aspects of getting started in podcasting as a lawyer, including how a podcast can turn into actual prospective clients for a law firm. A podcast helps to gain listeners' trust, build relationships and eventually generate leads and referrals. If you are ready to settle in for the long run, a podcast can help you uplevel your business in ways you never expected. If you haven’t heard part one yet, we recommend going back to it so you can hear all of Danny’s tips for starting a podcast as a lawyer! We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: How to think of the target listeners when recording How a podcast can turn into actual prospective clients for a law firm What you should think about once you start a podcast What technology to use Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy emeraldcitypro.com ACTION STEPS: Don’t overthink it Start ugly Contact Emerald City Pro and schedule a call *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

This episode is a bit meta because it’s a podcast about podcasts! We have a conversation with trusted expert Danny Ozment about how law firms can leverage podcasts to grow their business. The conversation was so good that we had to split it into two episodes. Danny is the founder of Emerald City Productions, which in full transparency, is the company we use to produce our podcast, and since we know him and his team so well, we knew he would add a lot of value to our listeners on this topic. Danny has a background as a musician and conductor but took the leap nine years ago into helping creators with podcasts. Enjoy, and don’t forget to tune in next week for part two of the conversation! We are coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Show Highlights: Why lawyers should consider podcasting Different approaches for podcast topics for a law firm How to get started And many tips along the way! Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy emeraldcitypro.com ACTION STEPS: Don’t overthink Start ugly Contact Emerald City Pro and schedule a call Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

In today’s episode, we have a special guest – Corine Rogers, the Problem Solver Extraordinaire at streamlined.legal! She is on the show to help us with one of our favorite segments, answering your questions. As a reminder, if you ever have questions for Mark and Melanie, you can email us at hello@nextlegal.legal or tweet us at nextlevel_legal. We are also coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Thank you, and we hope you feel better informed after listening to this episode! Show Highlights: What the heck is a non-attorney salesperson? How can they handle scheduling consults for me? Got any tips for dealing with change that is causing friction with my Office Manager? How do I hunt for things to “zap” on Zapier? Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy Episode 79 Episode 58 Episode 56 ACTION STEPS: When you’re done listening today, hop back into your podcast app and grab that episode that we mentioned today! Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

We have another real world example client to break down with you! In this episode, we have a conversation with one of our GNGF account managers, Josh Schuler, who walks us through an example of a full-service marketing client. We go over when the law firm started, where they were struggling with a strategy, the different strategies Josh uses with this firm, and how they began to see success along the way! We are also coming up on our 100th episode and second anniversary of Your Law Firm Is a Business – but we need your help. To celebrate, we want to add another 200 unique new listeners before we reach our 100th episode. You can help by sharing our show on social media and tagging us or leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. If we hit the goal, we will provide fun giveaways, including things from some of our tech tips episodes. Thanks for your support, and enjoy this episode! Show Highlights: The main issue that led the example client to hire GNGF and work with Josh’s team. Some of the strategies and tactics they used in the beginning with this client. The three buckets of onboarding for GNGF. What they already established with another company before switching to GNGF. What is a Chico Combined Strategy? How long it took to change the search engines’ perception of the law firm and begin creating conversions. How they are helping this client move up the marketing funnel. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: gngf.com/case-studies/cro-implementation-results-in-lead-growth/  nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn006/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn010/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn39/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn040/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn041/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn042/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn043/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn044/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn053/ nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn081/ Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy ACTION STEPS: If you want to have some of the success of this real world law firm example, go back and listen and follow the action steps in the following episodes: Episode 6 - Should I Invest in SEO vs. PPC Episode 10 - What Are the Best Online Marketing Tactics? Episode 39-44 - SEO Series   Episode 53 - Branding For Your Law Firm And we talked about moving up the marketing funnel just a few episodes ago in Episode 81 - 2023 Marketing Trends from Growing Law Firms  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

In episode 69, we covered the first three levels of influence from Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence.” The first three are reciprocity, liking, and social proof. Go back and listen to that episode for a further breakdown of those three if you’d like to hear them before diving into the final four. In this episode, we are continuing with a breakdown of the last four levels of influence. Influence has a lot to do with sales, but it goes much further than that. We use the power of persuasion throughout our day-to-day lives, sometimes without even realizing it. The seven levels of influence will overall help you achieve more yeses and help more than just yourself. Listen in for part two of the seven levels of influence. Show Highlights: How influence shows up in your firm every day. Why we use authority as a decision-making shortcut.  What the effects of status symbols are on our clients. How to use scarcity to influence your prospective clients. How to make decisions easier with consistency. When the best time to ask for a referral is. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy Buy Robert Cialdini's Book  ACTION STEPS: Pick one of these Levers of Influence (Reciprocity, Liking, Social Proof)  Where have you seen this acting in your firm?  Where would you like to see this act in your firm? *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

We are back with another episode of tech hacks! These episodes are becoming a fun addition to each quarter, so please continue to send your tech hacks over to us. Each episode is sharing technology tips that will help make life as a lawyer a little easier. In this episode, Melanie and Mark share smartphone hacks for lawyers to improve productivity, time management, and more. From apps to daily practices, this episode is full of tips for getting the most out of your smartphone when your laptop is not available or when you have a few minutes to spare before court.  Listen in for this quarter’s episode of tech hacks, and don’t forget to share any of your tips with us for future episodes! Show Highlights: Take advantage of a practice management app like Clio. Use apps that are already programmed on your phone. Meditation and health improvement apps we enjoy. Recommended apps for scanning documents. Tips for not letting your phone own your time. The benefits of voice over IP phone apps. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: https://gngf.com/consultation  https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2022/11/08/fast-forward-comparing-1980s-supercomputer-to-modern-smartphone ACTION STEPS: Think about one smartphone tech hack that you want to add to your smartphone or a process you want to start using with your smartphone. Use your voice assistant on your smartphone to set an alarm or reminder to set up the app or process.  We also want to hear from you - send us your favorite smartphone or any tech hack to hello@nextlevel.legal and we might feature it in our next Tech Hacks episode. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Marketing funnels are a powerful tool for bringing in new business. There are workshops and courses dedicated to teaching business owners how to use them. Because marketing is tied to your business goals, you have to know which tools are the right ones to grow your practice.   Shiny object syndrome can create distractions. While some cutting-edge tools making their way to the market can be beneficial, there are some tried-and-true methods that can help swing your firm into another level of growth. The days of Yellow Pages ads may be gone, but the digital world has created more exposure opportunities.   In this episode, Mark and Melanie are talking about marketing funnels. Many law firms begin to move up the marketing funnel once they’ve built a foundation, leveraging CRMs to save money and attain huge ROI. There are many commonplace tools that you can implement to better meet your client’s expectations.   You’ll hear what the AIDA marketing funnel is, what marketing funnels are available to you, and the concept behind CRMs. Other attorneys are leveraging remote work tools in their practices to reach clients, and they’re probably things you’re already familiar with.   Show Highlights: Why many law firms are beginning to move up the marketing funnel once their foundation is built How CRMs can be leveraged Why commonplace tools are being implemented to better meet the diverse ways clients expect to learn and communicate with law firms What the AIDA marketing funnel is and how it works Awareness Interest Desire Action The different types of marketing funnels and their effectiveness The concept behind a CRM, how they can create a full-circle customer relationship management, and some examples of CRMs How you can save money and attain huge ROI by using a CRM How to use commonplace digital tools to meet the diverse ways clients expect to learn and communicate with you Why you should want to communicate with clients using different methods and the services you can use to implement these options How attorneys are leveraging remote work tools in their practices to reach clients Why you should take advantage of client portals Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy https://gngf.com/consultation    ACTION STEPS: Think about where you are with your law firm business and your marketing strategy. Would one of these strategies help you take your firm to the next level? For many firms, the easiest place to start will be incorporating more digital tools for client communication or implementing some tracking for their intake process that they can then incorporate into a CRM later on.  Write down the strategy you want to add to your firm in 2023 and start to do some research.  If you want some help, of course, feel free to reach out to my team.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

How much time could you save if you could automate some of the tasks in your practice? What would you do with those extra minutes or hours? It could change your ability to continue to grow your firm. Software automation is getting easier to use. You no longer need an API to connect your apps. Instead, you can use one app to manage several tasks at once. In this episode, we’re introducing you to Zapier and how it can make you happier. Zapier is an app that will let you connect different apps or software. What makes Zapier so valuable is that you don’t have to enter information twice or use multiple systems to do the same things with different files. We’ll explain what “zaps” are, how they work, and why you need them in your life. Simplify processes like follow-up emails, scheduling consultations, and moving files into your designated DropBox folders. Don’t miss how adding Zapier to your firm’s operations can help take it to the next level. Show Highlights: What Zapier is and what it does How Zapier automates digital processes, which can decrease time spent in other areas of your practice Using automated time entries and expenses in Zapier Letting Zapier help organize your files and folders in DropBox or OneDrive Allowing Zapier to send client emails for updates on their cases How you can use Zapier as a marketing tool Setting up zaps that schedule consultations after payment is completed Using Zapier to send a welcome gift to new clients How you can take your firm to the next level using Zapier Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy https://streamlined.legal/videos    https://zapier.com/   ACTION STEPS: First Step: Go back and listen to Episode 5: Where Do I Start with Automation, especially if you’re not sure where to start even thinking of automations that would be helpful for you and your team Second Step: Brainstorm one automation that will be helpful to you or your team; it can be small, there are no awards for the best law firm automation, and everyone has to start somewhere Third Step: Make a plan for setting up that automation Do you have someone in-house that can do it, or will you outsource it? Keep in mind that this may not be the highest and best use of your time However, depending on where you are in your practice’s growth, you may have more time than money and want to figure it out yourself; in that case, YouTube is your friend *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Melanie has a busy schedule, so finding time to listen to an audiobook can be difficult. Surprisingly, though, when a popular memoir was recently released, she found the time to listen to several chapters. Our priorities shift according to what’s important to us, and sales in your law firm business are no different. If you are not prioritizing your sales and sales goals, it could be time to consider delegating those tasks to someone else. In this episode, Mark and Melanie share seven signs that you should fire yourself from sales at your law firm. If you don’t have time to handle these tasks, you’re probably ready to bring in some help. Show Highlights: Why you should fire yourself from sales and put someone else in charge of it The reason you should still act as the sales manager, meaning you’re delegating sales to your employee--not abdicating from them 24 hours is too long to respond to a lead Why you should hand over lead follow-ups to someone else if you aren’t following up Giving potential clients an out means you need to fire yourself from sales Fire yourself from sales if you’re dreading consults and unsure when you’ll complete the work Service quality is suffering because you’re wearing too many hats You’re quoting different prices to different clients for the same service You have a consistent marketing message and cadence that brings qualified prospects to your firm The action steps you need to take your firm to the next level Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy ACTION STEPS: First Step: Count up how many of these signs you’ve noticed within your own firm so you’ll know how urgent the situation is 1 or 2: You may want to start thinking about the situation 3 or 4: I’d prioritize making a plan 5 or more: Find someone today! Second Step: Think about who will wear the hat next: Do you have someone already on your team that has the time to do it and that you could train on how you want it done? Don’t just assign it to someone else that doesn’t have the time; this is a critical function of the firm’s success so we want someone that can give it the time and attention that it deserves Taking it off of your plate because you are overwhelmed just to put it on someone else’s full plate is not a good solution Is this an opportunity to hire someone that will be able to pay for themselves with the amount of sales they are able to make? Remember that this doesn’t have to be a full time position and the salary can be based on their sales performance *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

We hear it all the time: Writing down goals makes them more achievable. Before you write down the goals, you have to identify what they are. What if your goal this year was to make this your best law firm year ever? Creating more revenue or profit isn’t necessarily the goal that will motivate you. Instead, as you’re planning out your year, you should also consider the other changes you could make in your business to make your law firm even better. In this episode, Mark and Melanie share how to identify the goals you want to achieve for your law firm. They outline the specific action steps you need to take and break it down even further into quarterly, monthly, and even weekly objectives. Show Highlights: How to identify when you made the most revenue, took home the most profit from your business, and you were in control of your time Why focus is the secret to creating your best law firm year ever and how to choose the key measure that will create your best year Why writing down a goal and the “why” behind it will help you keep going The one thing that separates last year from this year is change How to rank your goals to make the most impact on your year and overcome  the overwhelm Break the year into quarters and months, and create measurable monthly milestones Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF The Legal Marketing Academy ACTION STEPS: Go back and answer the initial questions about what were the things that mattered if you look back at your best law firm year yet?   Spend some time thinking about your NUMBER ONE goal for this year and WHY that goal matters? Spend a little more time on the WHY than the goal number Sketch out the things you need to be doing different by the end of the year to hit that number? Rank them in order of largest impact and also fastest to accomplish. Remember, you may want to work on quickest items with biggest impact first Put the no more than three things you are going to move forward each quarter. And then break it down into months. DO NOT COMPROMISE ON YOUR MONTHLY GOAL - Think about having an accountability partner or even an outside coach if you have the resources. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

Identifying trends in any industry is vital for forecasting where your law practice may be going and where you want to take it. Clio is a company specializing in legal software, and they also release a yearly report to pinpoint trends in the legal field. This episode of Your Law Firm is a Business. Take It to the Next Level is part two of a deep dive into Clio’s Legal Trends Report. We’re recognizing and discussing items that stand out and analyzing what they may mean for lawyers in the future. Josh Lenon, Lawyer-in-Residence and Data Protection Officer at Clio, joins Mark and Melanie again for part two of this breakdown. His job is to translate lawyers to technologists and technology to lawyers. He’s helping them break down what the statistics mean in Clio’s Legal Trends Report. Show Highlights: Why reviews are an output metric and the reason attorneys should understand the influences behind the reviews they receive Why answering the phone is one of the strongest investments you can make and the reason synchronous communication is still preferred How your affordability and billing methods affect the clients you attract in your practice What offering a flat fee service can do to increase your business Why using technology doesn’t have to be impersonal Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF  The Legal Marketing Academy Joshua Lenon bio: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/joshualenon  Clio Legal Trends Report: https://4.gngf.com/nextlevel-clio-LTR  Streamlined Legal videos: https://streamlined.legal/videos    Action Steps: When you’re done listening today, go download the Legal Trends Report, we’ll put the link in the show notes but a quick Google search for Legal Trends Report will get you where you need to go. Review the Table of Contents, jump to the section that interests you the most and read that section.   Then, using what you learned in that section, come up with one Action Step of your own that you can implement in your firm using what you learned.    *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

Identifying trends in any industry is vital for forecasting where your law practice may be going and where you want to take it. Clio is a company specializing in legal software, and they also release a yearly report to pinpoint trends in the legal field. This episode of Your Law Firm is a Business. Take It to the Next Level is diving into legal trends of the past year, including revenue, attrition rates, and cloud-based law practice management. Josh Lenon, Lawyer-in-Residence and Data Protection Officer at Clio, joins Mark and Melanie. His job is to translate lawyers to technologists and technology to lawyers. He’s helping them break down what the statistics mean in Clio’s Legal Trends Report. Show Highlights: What Josh’s role is at Clio, and how he guides the technology based on his experience as a lawyer What information the Clio Legal Trends Report provides, and how it’s changed since 2018 How utilization rates may change in the future Why cloud-based practice management is a driver of growth How digital freedom has changed the ability to work on the go Why lawyer dissatisfaction seems high right now Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF The Legal Marketing Academy Joshua Lenon bio: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/joshualenon Clio Legal Trends Report: https://4.gngf.com/nextlevel-clio-LTR Streamlined legal videos: https://streamlined.legal/videos  ACTION STEPS: When you’re done listening today, go download the Legal Trends Report, we’ll put the link in the show notes but a quick Google search for Legal Trends Report will get you where you need to go.   Review the Table of Contents, jump to the section that interests you the most and read that section.  Then, using what you learned in that section, come up with one Action Step of your own that you can implement in your firm using what you learned.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

As a law firm owner, you saw a problem and decided to try and solve it by starting your business. When you did this, you had to work hard. You had to put a lot of effort into professional development just to get your firm up and running. In this way, professional development comes naturally to many entrepreneurs. The problem is, this makes the professional development of your team a challenge. You expect your team to work on it independently but many of them won’t. Not everyone wants to start their own business or has the perspective of an entrepreneur. It is your responsibility to make sure they are developing professionally. If this feels overwhelming or confusing, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn why the professional development of your team is so important and practical strategies for promoting it! Show Highlights: The benefits of professional development. How professional development opportunities lead to employee retention. Why professional development should be fostered, not dictated. Practical ways to build professional development into your company culture. Why having one-on-one meetings with your direct reports is crucial. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Harvard Business Review Article: https://hbr.org/2022/04/3-ways-to-boost-retention-through-professional-development Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book A Consultation at GNGF The Legal Marketing Academy Action Steps: 1. Write down each role at your company. Remember some people may be doing multiple roles right now, depending on the size of your firm. For each role, write down the key responsibilities that define someone being successful in that role. 2. Next, jot down the skills required to handle those key responsibilities. 3. In your next one-on-one meeting with each of your team members, review the document with them and ask them to score themselves on a scale of 1-10 in each of the skills so that you can help them identify areas to get additional training and improvement. 4. Let them know that you encourage them to take one hour a week or a couple of hours every other week for training or an all-day class once a quarter on company time. 5. Bring it up and follow up in future one-on-ones. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

We’re back again with another episode of listener questions! Over the past few weeks, we’ve covered some great topics here on the podcast. We’ve talked about hiring coaches and consultants, compounding growth, building influence, and more. These are important things to consider and we received a lot of great questions about them. Today, we’re going to take some time to answer a few of these questions. Joining us again is Corinne, problem solver extraordinaire over at Streamline Legal. Listen in and get your questions answered! Show Highlights: Things to consider when hiring a coach or consultant. Tips for choosing the best coach possible. How to choose the best task management software. Why you should start simple with task management software. How to practice reciprocity with your team. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Episode 67 Episode 68 Episode 69 streamlined.legal Action Steps: 1. When you’re done listening today, hop back into your podcast app, grab one of the episodes we mentioned today that caught your attention, and give it a listen to take your firm to the Next Level. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

Links are extremely important in your SEO efforts. You want to make sure you have enough links and that the ones you have are high quality. That is how you can ensure that your content will attract the right people and get more ideal clients through your doors. We recently went through a situation with one of our clients at GNGF where they did some things they should’ve have with their links. We were able to help them through the situation and get them back on track but it taught us a good lesson. Today, we want to share more about this situation and explain what our client should have done instead. Take this cautionary tale and apply the things you learn today regarding link building do’s and don’ts and you will be well on your way to massive SEO success! Show Highlights: A review of local SEO. What backlinks are. What you need to work on before focusing on link buildling. The big mistake our client made. The right way to do link building. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Book A Consultation with GNGF Local “Without” Link Building Article Episode 39 Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Action Steps: If you are paying for links, please stop. Additionally, delete any enticing emails that promise the world if you buy high DA (domain authority) links. Start with the basics that we covered in the first few SEO episodes we did. Rinse and repeat this and track your metrics. Start to think about how you can garner local-oriented links. Can you get some press on an important case? Can you speak at a local event or bar association and get a link to your website? Even having links for events and local teams you sponsor could help. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

Data can be a pain. There is so much to track and make sense of. On top of that, we have to worry about taking ownership of it and keeping it safe. For many law firm owners, they are overwhelmed by data in and of itself, so adding the component of migration just scares them even more. That is what we will be discussing in this episode. We’re talking about how to move and take your data with you. This is important for any law firm owner who is either switching softwares or moving to a new firm. These can turn into stressful situations when you don’t plan for them and move your data correctly. So, tune in and you’ll learn when to start planning for data migration, what to take into consideration when you do, and how to create a successful plan that keeps your data organized and safe. Show Highlights: Why you should start thinking about data migration before ever putting data into a software. When you need to create a solid plan for data migration. The best timing for data migration. Things to take into consideration when making a plan to move your data. How workflows can help with this process. How to decide which data you don’t need to transfer. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Action Steps: 1. Contact your current PM and CRM software via email, phone, or their help section and find out how easy it is to export your data. For some, it is as easy as clicking a button on the screen and it downloads a .csv file for you. For others, you will have to request that the software provider export it for you. In that case, find out how long it takes and if there is a fee for this service so that you can plan for both. For older software, you may need to hire a specialist that knows how to export the data for you. 2. Document what you learn (with a date and how you got the information) in a Word document somewhere in your firm's digital files so that you can reference it later when you need it. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

We get questions all the time from law firm owners who are wondering what kind of marketing will work best for them. They want to know what’s working right now and what marketing tactics will bring them the most results. The problem is, our answer is always, “It depends.” Of course, we have some general rules of thumb. We share marketing tactics all the time here on the show. The key is, how you apply them largely depends on your firm’s revenue and profits. In this episode, we’ll cover what your marketing budget should be depending on the size and revenue of your firm, from brand-new to established and growing firms. We’ll also give you some marketing strategies to guide you through all of this information. Tune in! Show Highlights: What percentage of your revenue should go towards marketing. How much you should spend on marketing if you’re a smaller firm. Marketing tactics you should implement at the beginning stages of your business other than hiring a marketing agency. How much you should spend on marketing as a more established firm. How to track marketing metrics. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Book a free consultation with GNGF "How Much Should You Spend On Marketing" Forbes Article "How To Get The Most From Your Marketing Budget" SBA Article Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Action Steps: Think about where you are revenue- and profit-wise. Do you want that to grow or stay steady? Set a budget for marketing based on your revenue. If you are under $250,000 in revenue, budget TIME for marketing and maybe create a small financial budget for outsourcing tasks. If you are looking to grow, think about what you need to adjust in your operating expenses and take-home to be able to budget 10%-15% toward marketing and business development. Have a strategy for how you will spend this budget and measure its success. You can refer to a number of our earlier episodes on marketing strategy, marketing KPIs, and business KPIs. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

You’ve probably heard a lot about KPIs. If nothing else, you’ve heard us mention them on the show several times. You might have a basic understanding of what they are and why they’re important but still feel confused about exactly where to start with them. Today’s episode is for you! In this episode, we’re going to demystify KPIs, as the title suggests. We’re going to explain exactly what they are and clear up any discrepancies around them. Then, we’re going to give you some examples of effective ways to use KPIs and specific goals you can set for each position within your firm. Tune in and finally get clear on this key component of running your law firm! Show Highlights: The definition of KPI. Why you need key business objectives to create KPIs. Various KPIs you might set. Leading vs. lagging indicators. Why it’s important to identify who is tracking and who is responsible for each KPI. KPI best practices. How to use your practice area and key business objectives to determine your KPIs. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Episode 8 streamlined.legal Our website Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Action Steps: What are your key business objectives? The more detail you can provide the better. “A gross income of $750,000” is better than just, “more gross income.” Brainstorm the measurements that will lead to your key business objectives. Pick one and determine how the measurement will be tracked. Place a weekly time on your calendar to look at the measurement so you can determine any trends. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

Does influence show up in your law firm? Better yet, do you know what influence even looks like in a law firm? If not, you’re in the right place! Today, we will talk about influence, how you can recognize it, and how you can increase both your influence and the influence of your firm. This topic came to us at this year’s Clio Conference. Robert Cialdini wrote a book called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and gave a presentation on it at the conference. In this episode, we’re going to cover some of the highlights from his book and presentation. Specifically, we’ll explain Cialdini’s “three levers of influence” and how you can practically use them in your own law firm. Show Highlights: What a “lever” of influence is. What the lever of reciprocity means and how it shows up in a law firm. What the lever of liking looks like. What makes people like us. How to use the lever of liking in marketing and in your law firm. The idea behind the lever of social proof. Where social proof is found in marketing. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini on GoodReads Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini on Amazon Daniel Pink's Masterclass on Sales and Persuasion streamlined.legal Our website Action Steps: 1. Pick one of these Levers of Influence: reciprocity, liking, or social proof. 2. Where have you seen this acting in your firm? 3. Where would you like to see this act in your firm? *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

You don’t have to buy cool new technology, discover the latest marketing trend, or do anything grandiose to get big gains in your law firm. All of those things fall under “shiny object syndrome.” You’re chasing the next big thing to get tons of new clients and dramatically increase your profits. The truth is, none of that works. Shiny objects won’t get you the growth you’re desiring–small consistent changes will. This happens through compounding growth. Today, we are going to talk all about compounding growth. Throughout the episode, you’ll learn why making small continuous improvements usually beats out big “swing for the fence” changes, how to avoid shiny objects, and how to decide on the one new thing you’ll focus on at a time. Show Highlights: What the compound effect is. Why you need to track your metrics to see change. How to start tracking metrics simply. Why you need to avoid shiny objects and how to do it. Why you should only focus on one new thing at a time in your firm. How small changes can lead to the biggest gains. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Book a Consultation at GNGF  The Compound Effect Episode 57  Episode 61 Action Steps: Look at what you are doing now. Do you have measurements in place that you can work to improve? For example:  Intake process How many leads are turning into consultations? How many leads are turning into clients? Digital marketing Number of leads from online marketing efforts Are sessions increasing? Are your ranking and visibility increasing? What is the conversion rate of visitors to your website to those that become leads? Utilization of your team Number of hours available to work billable work Number of hours being billed Pick a couple of measurements that you would like to improve this year and identify one or two things you can test to try to improve one of those measurements. Has the number of visits to your website gone up a lot but your conversion rate has dipped a little? There are a lot of little things you could improve in this case. Would you like more leads turning into consultations? Maybe you can increase the frequency of times you are following up with a lead or add text messaging to your follow-up. Listen to our podcast and you’ll hear a lot of ideas that can help you take your firm to the next level.  Pick only one item to work on for now. Take these small improvement items and pick one or two to work on in the next 90 days. After 90 days, measure, identify some other improvements, and repeat. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Litigation is an interesting topic for law firm owners. Everyone does it differently and you probably even switch up how you do it within your own firm. Creating a workflow for litigation may seem counterintuitive or like a waste of time. Well, it’s not. Today, we’re talking about how to tame litigation and other types of workflows. Creating workflows is challenging but it’s not impossible. It’s attainable for every law firm owner, including you! Tune in to learn how to get started and some great strategies for creating workflows that will ultimately take stress off your plate. Show Highlights: The golden rule of workflows. Why you should write follow-ups into your workflows. Things to remember when it comes to the “who” of workflows. The benefits of creating workflows. Why it’s important to add time frames into your workflows. How to plan for contingencies in your workflows. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Register for the 2023 Clio Conference GNGF streamlined.legal Action Steps: Think about and identify one part of a process that is painful for you right now. Write out the first three steps of this process. Figure out how to place them into your Practice Management software. If you don’t have software, buy some. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

If you’ve ever thought about hiring someone to help you run your law firm, you’ve probably ran into the terms “coach” and “consultant.” These terms often leave law firm owners confused because they have no idea what the difference between the two is. Many law firm owners also don’t know which one they need to hire to help them.   So, in this episode, we’re talking about coaching, consulting, and the difference between the two. We’re discussing the benefits of each and how to know when you’re ready to hire one or the other. We’ll also give you some examples of what both coaching and consulting look like to clear this issue up for you once and for all.   Show Highlights: Our definition of coaching. Where training comes in. Our definition of consulting. The benefits of both coaching and consulting. How your personal life affects your business. The value of accountability. Different kinds of coaching. Consulting examples. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook GNGF The Legal Marketing Academy Action Steps: The action steps for today are to look at what type of assistance you need. If you need some accountability help, some mindset help, help thinking about your firm’s “WHY” and value proposition, or you just want some experienced guidance from experts without going as far as a full-time consulting engagement, then maybe group coaching, training, or accountability coaching is for you. If you have a good idea of the next steps you need to work on at your firm and need some expertise in mapping your goals to actual delivered processes (whether they’re regarding financial, technology, or marketing), reaching out to consulting agencies may be the best next step for you.  It’s always a great thought exercise to put you and your business in the middle and think about how others can support you and your firm to improve. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

We’re coming to you live from the Clio Conference!   ClioCon 2022 was held in Nashville and was a great time. One of the highlights was connecting with other law firm owners and learning about each other’s practices. It’s so nice to hear how others are doing things in their firms, what tools they’re using, and where they’re working–remote or in office.   We also heard a lot of great content about how to run a successful law firm. During the conference, a variety of topics were covered including marketing, web presence, customer service, and more.    Tune into this episode as we dive into all of this further and paint a picture of what ClioCon is all about!   Show Highlights: The various topics covered at ClioCon 2022. Why it’s a great conference to attend even if you don’t use Clio. What Clio Lab is. Keynotes and other sessions that stood out to us. How to register for next year’s conference.   Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!   Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook GNGF   Action Steps: Go to your calendar and mark off the dates for next year’s Clio Conference. It will again be in Nashville at the Gaylord Opry Land Resort and will take place on October 9-10, 2023. Don’t forget to get your tickets. The earlier you buy them, the cheaper they will be. Check out the Clio Conference website or reach out to us if you need a discount code.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Your business life and personal life are intimately connected. If one suffers, the other suffers. Conversely, if you’re feeling organized and productive in one, you’re probably feeling the same way in the other.   This is why we want to share our top tech hacks today, both for business and home. These hacks include everything from apps to appliances but they will all make your life easier. Of course, some of them solve “first-world problems,” but anything you can do to make your life run more smoothly will help you take your law firm to the next level, too.   Tune in and learn about tech hacks you don’t want to miss!   Show Highlights: Our favorite appliances. Why you should schedule some of your appliances to go off at certain times. Tech tools that have helped us at the office. How tech can help your remote team feel like they’re really a part of the team. Other “tech hacks” that make life easier. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!   Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook GNGF Whirlpool Smart Washers and Dryers Instant Pot Green Mountain Grills simplehuman Trash Can Moen Smart Faucet Kudoboard How to Save Favorite Places on Google How to Create A List of Places on Google WiseStamp Calendly Splitwise How to Split Uber Fare   Action Steps: Go back and listen to Episode 35: Tech Hacks That You Will Thank Us For! Pick one tech hack that you already have the technology for in your house or office and that you want to try. Set an alarm or reminder on your phone to try that hack at a time when you expect to need it. For example, set an alarm for 7:00 pm to set the timer on your coffee maker and then reset the alarm once it goes off to help you build the habit. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.  

Today, we’re finally graduating from SEO 101! We’re moving beyond the advice we discussed throughout our SEO series and getting into some more advanced territory. Certainly, this puts us into the “taking your law firm to the next level” category, at least when it comes to SEO. Before you get overwhelmed, these strategies on city pages can be implemented by anyone. They are more advanced but you don’t need to outsource all of it to an agency. We’ll teach you exactly how to set up city pages yourself in this episode. Tune in to learn the basics of city pages, why you need them to enhance your local search engine optimization, and the step-by-step to successfully creating them. Show Highlights: What city pages are. How city pages can benefit your firm. The prerequisite to creating a city page. How to leverage your competition to create great city pages. How to create your city pages. Why cross-linking on city pages is important. A bonus way to use city pages to find prospects where there’s little to no competition. An example of a client who had success using city pages. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook GNGF Free Law Firm Marketing Consultation How to Create An FAQ Page Action Steps: The action steps for today are to decide if City Pages are right for you.  If you are ranking on the first page in maps for the area right around your office, look to see how you are ranking. Type in Practice Area / City Name (i.e. Estate Planning Attorney, Cincinnati Ohio). Look at the competition and identify which areas containing your ideal client would be the easiest to rank for (refer back to our SEO series about looking at the competition). Get a baseline of your traffic from your Google Analytics and look at Search Console for the impressions by keywords. Create one or two unique city pages with FAQs and Schema makeup and link to them from your main practice area pages. After 3 months, look at your Google Analytics and impressions by keywords. If you are seeing some success, rinse and repeat on more cities every 3 months. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

We aren’t just discussing feel-good tips here on the podcast; we’re discussing real, actionable strategies that successful law firms use every day. However, when you’re just starting out or when you’re struggling as a law firm owner, it can be hard to believe success like that is possible. That’s why we’ve decided to highlight some case studies here on the show. Today, we’re giving real-life examples of firms that have implemented systems within their businesses and are now reaping the rewards. Joining us to do so is our friend and colleague Corine. Corine is the Problem Solver Extraordinaire at streamlined legal.  Tune in to learn all about what systems can do for you and your law firm! Show Highlights: Signs that your firm needs some systems in place. How Corine and her team helped an estate management firm organize their files. A case study of a family law firm who implemented billing systems. How systems make hiring new team members easier. The importance of instituting workflows. How calendar systems can get your law firm more leads. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook GNGF Streamlined Legal on YouTube Schedule a Call with Corine  The Legal Marketing Academy Action Steps: Look at the Things to Measure Level of chaos Revenue Staff happiness Client happiness Cash flow (can you systematize it?) 3 new clients retained/wait time Are you sleeping at night? Does it feel like any of these are measuring very high as in your team or clients are NOT happy or you AREN’T sleeping at night? If you’re able to identify why, scroll back through our episodes list and listen to Episode 50 on Calendars or Episodes 36-38 on Intake and start taking those action steps! If you can’t identify why, reach out to Corine, our Problem Solver Extraordinaire at Streamlined Legal to help you identify why your KPIs are so high. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

You’ve heard of SEO (at least, you should have if you’ve been listening to the show for a while) but have you ever heard of CRO? CRO stands for conversion rate optimization. It is a very overlooked topic in the marketing world which is a problem. Your ability to optimize your conversion rate will make or break your lead generation and business growth in the long run. In this episode, we’re talking all about CRO. We explain what it is and why you should care about it. Finally, we’ll teach you the specific things you need to change on your website to optimize your conversion rate and where to start with all of this.  Show Highlights: What conversion rate optimization is and why it’s so important. Various examples of conversion points. When to start focusing on CRO. Things to change on your website to optimize your conversion rate. How to create persuasive calls to action. Why social proof is so important. How to start measuring your conversion rates. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook GNGF The Legal Marketing Academy Action Steps: The action steps for today are to experiment with optimizing your conversion rate. Get a baseline: what are your current leads per month in both raw number and percentage rate?  Look at your key landing pages that are driving phone calls, chats, or form fills and see if you can adjust some of the things we mentioned (i.e. headlines, images, body copy, calls to action, forms, or adding/highlighting some social proof).  Change just a few things and see how it affects your baseline. Rinse and repeat. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

In today’s episode, we’re tackling more of your questions! Joining us to do so is Jamie Kohls. Jamie is the Marketing and Partnerships Manager at GNGF. She’s helping us answer some of the questions you’ve sent in based on recent episodes of the show. Throughout the episode, we’re covering topics like hiring a high-quality marketing agency and ensuring they’re getting things done, optimal ways to navigate team communication, and avoiding burnout. You all sent in some amazing questions that got us thinking deeper into these topics and providing more solutions for them. Tune in so you don’t miss a thing! Show Highlights: How to hold the marketing agency you hire responsible for what they promised to do. What to do if you were burned by a marketing agency. What you’re missing out on by using only Slack and not a practice management software. Why you should store all of your firm’s documents in a practice management software. How to address burnout with your team. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Online Law Practice Strategies: How to Turn Clicks Into Clients Register for the Clio Cloud Conference streamlined.legal SEMrush https://academy.gngf.com/ Action Steps: When you’re done listening today, hop back into your podcast app and grab one episode that we mentioned today that caught your attention and give it a listen. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Over the last 50-plus episodes, we’ve taught you tips and given you action steps to help you market your law firm. Instead of diving into a new topic this week, we thought we’d tell you a story that sparks inspiration. We’re discussing a real-world example of a law firm that has applied all of these marketing tactics and had great success. Joining us on this episode is Chris Casseday, the Director of Operations at GNGF. Throughout the show, Chris will walk us through an example of a full-service marketing client that his team has helped over the last few years.  Tune in to learn where that firm started, the strategy and tactics that Chris and his team used in the beginning, some of the early measured results, and the next-level strategies and tactics that they're working on now.    Show Highlights: Some background information on this real-world law firm. What led them to want to work with GNGF. How Chris and his team got started working with this firm. How they found strong keywords for the firm’s marketing material. Other SEO strategies they implemented. The success the law firm saw in their organic growth and number of leads. What Chris and his team are working on now. How they manage the content strategy side of marketing. The KPIs they use to measure success. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Online Law Practice Strategies: How to Turn Clicks Into Clients Register for the Clio Conference streamlined.legal SEMrush The Legal Marketing Academy https://4.gngf.com/nextlevel-LSA Action Steps: If you want to have some of the same success as this real-world law firm example, go back and listen to and take the action on the following episodes: Episode 6 - Should I Invest In SEO vs. PPC  Episode 4 - Can I Use Online Marketing to Compete With The ‘Big Firms’ Episode 10 - What Are The Best Online Marketing Tactics?  Episode 39-44 - SEO Series   Episode 14 - Google My Business

You know that one person on your team? The one you’re merely tolerating and keeping around only because you don’t know what to do with them? We’ve all had team members like that. There comes a time when they’re putting a financial and emotional burden on you and your law firm and you need to let them go. That’s what today’s episode is all about. In this episode, we’re talking about how to fire someone on your team. You may have someone in mind right now or you may have had to do this in the past and wish it had gone better. Well, today we’ll cover all the bases so you are prepared the next time you need to fire a team member. This may not be a pleasant subject but it is an extremely important one. So tune in now to learn how to fire someone on your team properly. Show Highlights: Why you need to prepare for turnover as a business owner. Various reasons for firing someone. Why you should give someone fair warning before firing them. What to do if a team member is underperforming. How underperformance affects the rest of your team. How to analyze your management to make sure you’re not causing underperformance. How to choose the right time to fire someone. Why you should always be hiring for every position in your firm. Other offboarding logistics. How to have the actual firing conversation. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Next Level Legal on Twitter Next Level Legal on Instagram Next Level Legal on Facebook Online Law Practice Strategies: How to Turn Clicks Into Clients Register for the Clio Cloud Conference streamlined.legal Action Steps: Now that you’ve listened to how to make the decision and how to fire someone, do you have any team members that you’re tolerating, that maybe you should have fired already but haven’t because you didn’t know how to go about it? If so, make the decision now that you know what to do. Create a policy that says you’ll always be recruiting for all positions (then announce it to your team and actually do it). Create a draft termination letter so that you have one ready to go. Waiting until you have someone to fire makes it harder to remember some of the details such as a list of equipment to return, etc. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

We’ve talked about marketing a lot here on the podcast. We’ve spent episodes diving deep into social media, web presence, and other forms of online marketing. However, we haven’t spent much time talking about referrals. Well, that’s just what we are going to do today. This episode is all about referrals. We’re going to focus in on why referrals are so important to growing your law firm and how to increase your referrals. Melanie will also give some examples of ways she’s gotten referrals and leveraged the to grow her firm.  Referrals are one of those things that, if you will just give it a little bit of time and energy on the frontend, will pay dividends for your firm in the future. Let’s dive in! Show Highlights: Why referrals are crucial to growing your law firm. The power of asking for a referral. Some marketing ethics. How to get referrals through lead magnets. Why you should provide more referrals if you want more referrals. Why you should always thank your referrals. How to create a referrals newsletter. How to protect your referrals. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Online Law Practice Strategies: How to Turn Clicks Into Clients LFN Episode 13 4.gngf.com/nextlevel-LSA Atlanta Legal Tech Top of Mind: Gifts Leave Lasting Impressions - Boxperience Andrea Herrera Trademark Law: A Seamless Fit To Your Legal Practice Action Steps: If you haven’t yet, this week, tell 10 people you see exactly what you do and how you help people. Then ASK them for referrals. Think of colleagues, business owners, friends, and family. Remember that only 20% of people even think to give referrals. Create a list of emails of people that could refer clients to you. Other lawyers in different practice areas Other business owners Past clients Send an email newsletter to them reinforcing the understanding about what you do, examples of client success, and maybe some social proof like a great review. Then also ASK for a referral and let them know that you can help provide information or content to them for their clients.  Say thank you to someone who sent you a referral. It’s never too late to send a thank you card.   Double-check your online presence for your branded search (your name or your firm’s name). Protect your referrals. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

If you’ve ever thought about hiring a legal tech consultant, this episode is for you. We’re discussing everything you need to know before hiring a consultant. Many things make a good consultant that you should be aware of before hiring somebody. There are also many things you need to know before you actually start working with the consultant you hire.  On top of this, being a lawyer is like being a consultant in many ways. We act as consultants for our clients. Some of the things we’ll discuss in this episode are things your clients need from you as you provide your services for them. This brings a fascinating perspective to hiring a legal tech consultant for yourself.  Tune in to hear all about this and learn how to hire a stellar legal tech consultant for your law firm. Show Highlights: What a consultant is. How to know what kind of consultant to hire. What makes a good consultant. Why communication and trust are so important in a consultant. How to ask the right questions. What you need to know as a business owner before working with a consultant. Hard decisions you may have to make when you hire a consultant. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Richmond Times Article Streamlined Legal on YouTube The Trusted Advisor: 20th Anniversary Edition Action Steps: If you’re not currently shopping for or considering a consultant, bookmark this episode to come back to when you are. If you are considering a consultant, write down the answers to these questions: Did they tell you any hard truths yet? Did they take time to listen to you? Have you seen or heard about any of their solutions from other clients or themselves? If you don’t have the answers to these questions yet, schedule a call with your consultant to get some of these answers. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Advertising is an important part of marketing your law firm. Especially with the prevalence of Google Ads in this day and age, you must at least consider investing in ads. However, if you only have a certain amount of money budgeted for advertising, what is the best use of your funds? This is a question Mark and his team at GNGF get all the time. The typical answer is, “It depends on the firm.” However, one suggestion that gets brought up every time is local service ads. In this episode, we’re doing a deep dive into local service ads. We’ll discuss how to qualify for them and set them up as well as what you should be monitoring each month to maximize your ROI. Join us to learn it all and start spending your advertising dollars in the right place! Show Highlights: What local service ads are. The difference between traditional Google Ads and local service ads. Why local service ads are so beneficial for firms with smaller advertising budgets. How to set up your local service ad. How much these ads actually cost per lead. How local service ads are ranked and how to get your firm higher in the ranking. What you should be monitoring each month to maximize the ROI of your local service ads. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: nextlevel.legal ads.google.com/signup 4.gngf.com/nextlevel-LSA https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn006/ https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn016/ https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn015/ https://ads.google.com/localservices/signup https://google.com/business Action Steps: Do a few Google searches where you Google your practice area and geography area or even just “Practice Area Near Me” or “Divorce Attorney Near Me.” See if Local Service Ads are coming up in your market. On the desktop, there will typically be three ads showing a law firm partner's image, the number of reviews, and stars. If you hover over it, you will see that they are usually “Google Screened.” If so, you can likely have your firm there in that valuable ad space and only have to pay if someone calls the firm. Go through the process to be approved and verified for the Google Screened badge even if you decide to set a very low budget or immediately pause the ads after they start running.  Be sure your Google Business Profile and Reviews are in stellar shape. If you need a refresher, go back to episode 14 and episode 16 where we cover Google Business Profiles and Online Reviews. Make sure you have the processes in place to follow up with leads quickly. A 24/7 outsourced call service like Smith.ai or AbbyConnect could be a wise investment as the internet is a 24/7 world.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

The opportunity to get legal help is an imperative part of our justice system. It is something many of us may take for granted, especially if we live in big cities or other highly populated areas. However, many in America don’t have access to lawyers simply due to where they live.   Legal deserts are geographical locations with very few to no lawyers at all. These are typically rural areas with small populations. Though the issue of legal deserts isn’t well known or talked about, they are something that needs to be addressed.    In this episode, we’re starting the conversation. We’re bringing awareness to this issue as best as we can in one episode. Tune in for a more thorough explanation of exactly what legal deserts are and what can be done about them.   Show Highlights: How ABA first made the public aware of legal deserts. How this issue plays out across our nation. The challenges in defining “rural” and “legal desert.” Why we are so concerned about legal deserts. What is being done to address this issue. What limited scope representation services are. Why we need to educate the public on when to hire a lawyer. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: streamlined.legal/videos https://harvardlpr.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/04/4.-Legal-Deserts.pdf https://www.2civility.org/the-disappearing-rural-lawyer/ https://www.2civility.org/the-disappearing-rural-lawyer-part-ii/ https://www.2civility.org/the-disappearing-rural-lawyer-part-iii/ http://chicagobarfoundation.org/pdf/resources/limited-scope-representation/toolkit.pdf https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2020/08/legal-deserts-threaten-justice/ https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2020/07/webinar-video---legal-deserts-in-america--a-threat-to-justice-fo/ https://www.usda.gov/broadband#:~:text=Unfortunately%2C%2022.3%20percent%20of%20Americans,by%20the%20Federal%20Communications%20Commission. https://calawyers.org/california-lawyers-association/practicing-law-in-a-rural-legal-desert/ https://www.statebarofsouthdakota.com/project-rural-practice/ https://ujs.sd.gov/Attorneys/RuralRecruitment.aspx https://ujs.sd.gov/uploads/RARPreport.pdf https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/law-students/part-time-summer/rural-summer-legal-corps/ https://chicagobarfoundation.org/blog/bobservations/1-reason-people-dont-lawyer-need-one/ https://www.americanbarfoundation.org/uploads/cms/documents/sandefur_accessing_justice_in_the_contemporary_usa._aug._2014.pdf Action Steps: If this topic has piqued your interest, please don’t stop here. Check out our show notes where we have a slew of links to help you explore these ideas further.  Pick one article or paper to read to get a better understanding of the issues at play here.  Take a little time to think about how your firm is offering its services. Is there an option for you to offer a service that is unbundled or limited in scope? This is not just an altruistic gesture. This can be a win-win scenario when you can reach a market that will not only be helped by your new service offering but also wouldn’t have otherwise hired you. Figure out one thing that you can do to help educate the public on the types of problems you help to solve. Again, this can be a win-win scenario when you’re not only raising awareness about the issues but also positioning yourself as the expert in the area so that they are seeking you out when they encounter these issues. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

At Mark’s marketing firm, GNGF, they are very proactive about thinking about their brand and how their agency is perceived. They’ve put a lot of thought into who their ideal client is, what makes them the best for that client, and what perceptions and feelings they want clients to have about working with them. When working with their law firm owner clients, they help them think through all of these things for their own firms. Because of this amazing depth of experience, Mark is teaching us all about branding in today’s episode.  Oftentimes, when somebody says the word branding, they’re just thinking about a logo, font, letterhead, or even their firm’s name. However, branding is so much more than that. Entrepreneur.com defines it this way: “Your brand is the sum total of your customer’s perceptions, notions, and experience. It's the face, personality, and values espoused by your business and everything in between.” So, tune in to this episode and you’ll learn all about law firm branding, how to build a brand platform, and, once you have all this in place, what you should do with it. Show Highlights: What law firm branding really is. Various questions to ask about yourself and your firm to discover your brand. How to figure out your values. How to determine your ideal client’s demographics and experience. How to analyze your competition and what differentiates your firm from them. How to craft your brand platform and what to do with it after you’ve created it. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Join.gngf.com "Six Reasons Branding Is More Important Than Ever Before" by Arpit Sinha Download our Branding Questionnaire Action Steps: Go back and listen to the questions I posed to help identify points around your USPs, Values, and ideal clients. Document those USPs, Core Values, and Ideal Clients in one place. We often use a PowerPoint template but any central place where these are defined is great.  Don’t forget to think about your ideal client's specific situation, concerns, and fears and document how your firm's USPs and values support the client in those situations. Share your brand platform with the whole team and your vendors, especially your marketing team. Look at the processes you have created for your firm and see if these processes support your ideal client's situation, concerns, and fears. Additionally, reinforce your Unique Selling Points and differentiators.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Onboarding new employees is an integral part of running a law firm. You need team members to take some work off your plate and you need a consistent way to bring them onto the team. If you don’t institute a solid onboarding process, you will be more stressed and overwhelmed than you were before you hired help. So, in this episode, Melanie is going to share some of her top tips for onboarding. She has perfected the art of documenting her onboarding procedures and now has a large, well-oiled team. They’ve grown fast and even gone remote.  The three aspects of onboarding that we will discuss today are culture and connecting with other employees, logistics, and job responsibilities. Applying all of this information will allow you to get your onboarding procedures set in stone and ready to use when you’re hiring new employees. Tune in to learn it all! Show Highlights: Melanie’s personal history with onboarding. Ways to share and communicate your company culture with new employees. What org charts are and why they’re helpful. Logistics you should set up for onboarding. How to incorporate the onboarding practices you’ve used in the past. How to train your new hire for their job responsibilities. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: https://streamlined.legal/ ACTION STEPS: Make a list of all of the software that a new team member will need access to when they start so that when you have someone new you can simply work your way down the list to make sure that you’re not missing anything. Make a list of all of the hardware that a new team member will need. Bonus points if you include a link to purchase the item so that you don’t have to search for it every time you need to buy something. Find all of the written and video resources that you currently have for training and put them in one centralized place (i.e. a Dropbox folder, an Evernote, a folder, etc). This doesn’t have to be fancy but it does have to be accessible to the whole team. BONUS: If you are disappointed that you don’t have more or are feeling like you should have more, start a list of procedures that you’d like to create and save them so that you and your team can start slowly knocking them out one by one. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

It’s very easy for marketing agencies to mislead law firm owners. Whether that’s through deceptive marketing, misrepresenting their services, or overcharging, you have to be very careful who you trust to take care of your marketing.  You also need to be prepared before hiring a firm to help you. There are things you have to understand about your own firm, what kind of agency would be the best fit for you, and what to expect when it comes to working with a marketing agency. This will prepare you to make the best decision and spend your law firm’s money wisely. Through our many years in this industry, we’ve witnessed the ups and downs of law firms working with digital marketing agencies. As a result, we’ve learned many things along the way. In this episode, we’re going to share some of those things.  Tune in to learn everything you need to know before hiring a marketing agency. Show Highlights: Why you need to know your law firm’s goals before calling a marketing agency. The importance of defining your intake process. Other metrics to share with your marketing agency. How to figure out who your ideal client and marketing partner is. How to determine if you can fit marketing into your firm’s budget. How to analyze references and reviews to make sure an agency is a good fit for you. What to look for in a contract. Why marketing agencies should have transparency of data. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Mark’s marketing agency: gngf.com Action Steps: Figure out your goals, intake process, key metrics, and rough marketing budget before you reach out to a marketing agency. Where are you in your law firm's maturity? Do you have the revenue to support outsourcing a lot of your marketing to an agency? Do you need to find some marketing investment money or are you going to go down the path of some DIY (sweat equity marketing supported by a specific freelancer here and there)? Think about the pros and cons of month-to-month vs. a year-long contract. Where is your comfort in the risk and fear of trying to choose a long-term partner? Think about if you feel you are OK with one-off done-for-you type work where you drive a lot of the strategy and decision or if you want more strategic guidance (similar to the outsourced CMO vs. freelancer conversation). *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Scheduling your time is one of the best decisions you can make in your business. For us here at Law Firm Next, it has changed our lives. Blocking our time allows us to take breaks during the day without guilt, get more tasks done, communicate a realistic turnaround time to clients, and more. It is a seemingly simple process to implement in your law firm that will free up loads of your time.  In a previous episode, we talked all about the benefits of using a scheduling tool. That episode set a great foundation for why it’s so helpful to schedule your time, which tools we like, and some tips for how to best utilize them.   Today, we’re turning from the topic of scheduling tools to that of calendaring. Tune in to learn how to set up your law firm’s calendar, block your time, and make the calendar work for you. Show Highlights: Why you need more than one calendar for your team. Why you should use a digital calendar. How to organize your team’s calendars.  The importance of noting when deadlines are met. What time blocking is. How to create specific time blocks in your calendar. Why you need to define what constitutes an “emergency” with your team. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Action Steps: Review your task list and block time on the calendar for each one. Bonus: communicate these time frames to your clients so that they have realistic expectations. Decide how to mark your deadlines as complete and let the rest of your team know. Define an emergency and let the rest of your team know. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Burnout is serious.  It’s also, unfortunately, very common in the legal field. As lawyers, we’re always running around to client meetings, facing serious and heartbreaking issues, and oftentimes bringing that home with us. There’s an expectation that we’re always working. This is only amplified when we own our own law firms. This is why it is important to learn tactics to manage stress and prioritize rest. If you’re feeling burnt out, we highly recommend that you take it seriously, talk to a professional about it, and implement any necessary changes. Today’s episode is a good place to start. In this conversation, we discuss how to rest and prevent burnout. Though we are not mental health professionals, we are sharing tips on this topic from personal experience. Tune in to learn how to start taking care of yourself again. Show Highlights: How raising your rates can prevent burnout. How delegation leads to better customer service. How to build a lifestyle that supports less stress. When you may need to consider switching practice areas. How to improve your daily habits to prevent burnout. When burnout is so serious you need to consider a career change. How to pivot in your career. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Action Steps: Schedule time on your calendar to brainstorm things that you can delegate, even if you don’t have anyone to delegate to yet. Decide to raise your rates. Your new clients don’t know the difference. Find one thing that you can do regularly that you enjoy. Mine is after dinner walks with my kids. It doesn’t have to be daily, though! It can be a weekly book club or something similar. However, the more consistent you are, the better. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

This week, we have a short chat about Mark's Vacation and how it ties into next week's episode. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Do you feel confident doing SEO for your law firm yet? We hope so! Over the last month or so, we have been covering the foundations of search engine optimization. We have taught you how to set up your website and other online accounts to rank higher on search engines, specifically Google.  Today, we’re wrapping up the series. Later on, we may begin another series on more advanced SEO techniques and tools that you can utilize to market your law firm. However, today, we’re finishing this foundational series. To do so, we’re going to discuss local SEO one more time. Tune in for a refresher on what local SEO means, the benefits of doing well in your local search, and specific tactics to increase your local search ranking. Show Highlights: What local SEO is. Why you should care about local SEO. Factors that help Google push your local listing. How to pick the category to list your law firm under. Why you should include keywords in your local listing. Why you should report spam listings. The importance of reviews. What citations are and why they matter. The benefits of having an office in proximity to suburban areas. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: SEO Starter Guide Action Steps: If you haven't completed your Google Business Profile, review episode 14 where we covered optimizing your Google Business Profile. Review your categories (look at competitors). If you haven’t built earning and asking for online reviews into your law firm culture, go back to episode 16 where we covered that in detail. Google your keywords and see if any directories show up on the first few pages of Google. If so, make sure your profiles are very clean on those directories. This could be Yelp, Expertise.com, or maybe even Findlaw, Avvo, or Lawyers.com, although we don’t see those ranking as high as they used to. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

There is one business tool that your hosts here at Law Firm Next just don’t agree on. What is it? Slack. Slack is a communication tool used by many online businesses. It can act as a replacement for email in that you organize your team into groups and send quick messages to multiple people at once. For some, it helps keep communication streamlined and organized. For others, it just doesn’t get the job done. Today, we are having a high-school-style debate on Slack. Joining us is a third-party moderator, our producer Daniel Parrish. Tune in to hear each of our sides on the topic of Slack and why or why not we use it in our online businesses. Show Highlights: Why Mark and his team love Slack. Why Melanie doesn’t like Slack. Why Slack is helpful when you need a quick response. The software you can integrate with Slack. Why it’s important to house everything your company is doing in a workflow tool. Why Melanie prefers meetings to constant messaging on Slack. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Action Steps: NO ACTION STEPS TODAY. You may still be working through all the Law Firm SEO work that we covered in Episodes 39 to 44. Stay tuned next week as our next episode will be wrapping up the SEO Series and talking about “Local SEO so you can learn how to get your firm ranked in the Google local pack maps. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Streamline Legal has been fully remote for three and a half years. Melanie and her team have figured out a great system for working remotely and made it work well for them.  With the ever-changing market and more and more companies going remote, good advice on how to transition to remote operations is more needed than ever. So, in this episode, Melanie is sharing all of the tips and tricks from her organization.  She’s discussing the many things she’s learned over the past three and a half years of running a fully remote company and teaching us all how we can do the same. She’s also diving into how to keep communication strong in a remote team and navigate other logistical concerns. Tune in to learn all about how her remote team operates! Show Highlights: Why it’s important to have messaging and video conferencing tools for your remote team. Examples of good messaging and video conferencing tools. Why client portals are useful. How project management software helps remote companies run smoothly. How to organize client information remotely. How to organize your documents and files remotely. How to find the best hardware for working from home. How to set up work-life boundaries for yourself and your remote team. How to handle the logistics of a remote company. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Action Steps: Download the checklist in the show notes to make sure you’ve got everything covered. There are a few additional considerations in it such as your home office space. Go back and listen to Episode 9: Is the Paperless Law Firm a Dream? and Episode 13: I Can’t Stop Handwriting Notes to get more insight into how to make the paperless office a reality. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Tired of SEO yet?   We hope not because, today, we’re continuing the series. We’ve talked about SEO-friendly content, keyword research, and all the things you need to optimize on your website. Today, we’re shifting a bit and talking about offsite SEO.   We’ll start as we always do with the foundations: what is offsite SEO and why should you care about it? Then we’ll get into the difference between a local and a national focus around offsite SEO. Finally, we’ll teach you three ways to get quality backlinks to your website.    Join us so you can get started on improving your offsite SEO right away and have it well underway in just a couple of months!   Show Highlights: What offsite SEO includes. What a backlink is. Different examples of backlinks. Why you should care about offsite SEO. Why your backlinks must be high quality. What local SEO is. How to optimize your local SEO. Our top three tips for getting quality backlinks. The benefits of PR. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: https://www.tateesq.com/ Action Steps: Catalog all the Local Associations you are a member of and double-check that you are listed correctly on their website. Maximize that listing with information that maps to your keyword research (in a natural way). Are there other associations you can pay for a membership with ($250 is a lot cheaper than hiring an SEO firm to do complex backlink work)? If the chamber has a great website and member directory, think about joining.  Look at your current referral partners. How can you help them with some content for their website? You don’t want the same content on all of the sites but you can word things differently and provide that to a few referral partners. Make sure they link back to you. Look at things you sponsor or could sponsor. Do they have a good website? Make sure to get a link there. And remember to ask for it to be phrased a certain way. Most of the time they have no idea about SEO and won’t care or know why you are asking.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

You’ve probably realized by now that SEO is a complex topic. Some companies spend all of their time on it. There are so many different pieces involved in SEO and things to learn about it.    However, our goal is to break everything in business down into just the things a law firm owner would need to know. There’s no need to get overwhelmed by every aspect of entrepreneurial life. This rings just as true when it comes to SEO.   In this episode, we’re continuing our discussion on the basics of search engine optimization. This will be a continuation of last week’s episode where we began talking about onsite SEO. Tune in to learn more about the technical aspects of onsite SEO and how to help Google learn more about your website.   Show Highlights: What a URL slug is. How to write good slugs. Why internal linking is important. How to utilize internal linking well. What schema is and how it’s useful for law firms. How to structure your website to get it ranking in Google. What site performance means. Strategies and tools for improving your site performance. Why you should keep your plugins updated. How to make your site secure. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Yoast SEO plugin Pagespeed Insights Cloudfare WP Engine The Legal Marketing Academy Action Steps: If you have your website built, go back through all the steps from last week’s episode. If you already did the last episode’s action steps, next: On every page do the following:  Optimize your URL / SLUG  Add internal links throughout your site Work on sitewide things to help Google better learn about your website: Your Website Structure Performance of your website Create and submit your sitemap to Google Make your site secure *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

This week, we’re diving back into our SEO series.   A couple of weeks ago, we set the foundation. We explained what SEO really is, why it’s important, and how to get started with it for free. Now that you have the basics under your belt, it’s time to get into the technical side of SEO.   So, in this episode, we’re talking all about on-site SEO. This encompasses anything on your website that helps people find you. In other words, it’s how you optimize your website for searchability. This includes writing your content in a certain way and organizing its technology correctly.   Tune in to start your deep dive into on-site SEO!   Show Highlights: The importance of writing content that resonates with your ideal client. How to organize the pages of your website. How to utilize keywords well on your website. Where to come up with content for your website. How to make use of headlines. Why you should include external links in your website content. The difference between a passive and active voice. Tips for writing title tags and meta descriptions. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: The Legal Marketing Academy *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Today, we’re doing our second-ever episode of answering listener questions! We received many questions since our last Q & A episode and today we’re answering three of them.    Some of the topics we cover today include cybersecurity, hiring virtual help, and how to manage your virtual assistant well. Tune in to get all of your questions answered in these areas of business.   If you have more questions after listening through this episode, you can always send us one of your own as well. Email us or Tweet us through the links below. We can’t wait to answer more in our next Q & A episode!   Show Highlights: Little things you can do to protect your cybersecurity as a solopreneur. Why you have to be wary of hackers even if you have a small business. Where to find virtual help. What kind of qualities to look for in a team member. How to determine pay for team members. How to make sure your virtual assistants aren’t taking advantage of you without micromanaging them. Red flags in virtual assistants. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Email us: hello@nextlevel.legal Next Level Legal on Twitter ACTION STEPS: When you’re done listening today, hop back into your podcast app, grab the episode that we mentioned today that caught your attention, and give it a listen to take your firm to the Next Level. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Last week, we began our SEO series. We dove into the foundations of SEO like what it actually means, how to start thinking about it, and why it’s important in the first place. Now that we’re all on the same page, we can start to dive into the weeds a bit on SEO.   We’ll start with keyword research. This is another foundational topic when it comes to marketing and SEO. Each of the other components that we will discuss in this series depends on keyword research being done first.   Tune in and we’ll teach you what keywords are, why they’re worth caring about, some fast and free keyword research techniques, and even some advanced keyword research tools.   Show Highlights: What a keyword is. Why Google cares about keywords. Branded vs. unbranded keywords. Why deciphering your ideal client is so important. Some fast and free keyword research techniques. Tools that can help with keyword research. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Answer the Public WordStream Ubersuggest Google Search Console Semrush ACTION STEPS: Come up with an initial list of things you help people solve - not just your practice area names. Share with your team, friends, and family and ask them how they would describe how you help people. Take some of these initial ideas and enter them into Google to look for related searches or “people also ask” to get more ideas. Using a spreadsheet, I would like you to build out an initial list of 30-50 keyword phrases and group them by topics (practice areas, practice area sub-topics). If you have already done an exercise like this, maybe use one of the advanced tools like SEMRush or at a minimum look at Google Search Console for your website and see what keywords people have typed into Google that got them to your website. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

SEO has become a bit of a buzzword in marketing lately. Many law firms are talking about it, but most don’t understand precisely what it means. We may not even all be talking about the same thing!   The day has finally come when we’re going to talk all about SEO here on the podcast. There are so many different aspects of it and deep dives we could do. Because of this, we decided to break it down over multiple episodes.    Today, we’re going to do an overview. We’re just going to get everyone on the same page regarding this complex topic. Tune in to learn what SEO stands for, what it looks like for law firms, the basics of it, and why it exists in the first place.    Show Highlights: What SEO stands for Why we even need to optimize for search engines What a SERP is How many people are looking for legal services and information on Google Why it’s important to get on the first page of Google A little bit about how Google operates An overview of keyword research, onsite SEO, offsite SEO, and local SEO Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!   ACTION STEPS: Not a lot of action steps today because this was more of an overview. But I would challenge you to think about the following: Next time you do a search, notice the little words at the top that say HOW MANY results Google found. Take a look at the returns on the first page. Do those seem like valid returns? Can you see a couple types of returns as Google wasn’t sure what you were looking for?  To warm up, some extra credit: if you can, think about the questions most people have when they call your firm or chat with you during a first meeting or consultation. Look at what comes up when you type those in Google. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Did they stay or did they go? That is the question we have been asking over the past couple of episodes. What this boils down to is whether or not we make a sale. Our purpose with this series is to increase those odds in your firm.   This week, we want to hone in on the area of follow-up. You might be the kind of attorney who, like Melanie, has tried the “sticky note system” for follow-up. The truth is, that doesn’t work. Follow-up just doesn’t happen with that kind of system.   Instead, we want to automate our follow-up process. We want to make the best use of software and delegation to streamline our follow-up and increase our chances of making that sale. This is important because, without follow-up, you’re leaving it up to the client to remember you and take action.   Show Highlights: How to automate follow-up. How to provide value with your follow-up. How to build workflows that prompt your team to follow up. Best practices for post-representation. How much follow-up is too much. How to get an engagement agreement and collect money. What to do when you must decline representation. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! ACTION STEPS: Look at how you’re currently doing intake and add one extra step, a follow-up email that someone on your team sends out if we don’t get the engagement letter back in two days. Bonus: if your intake already has a lot of follow-ups built-in, take a look at the work you do during your representation and find a place there to add a follow-up step Add one automation to your current intake. If you’re not using digital signatures, start there. If you are, find someone on your team to figure out or outsource creating templates in your software to automatically create your engagement letters. Write an email declining representation (or find one you’ve used in the past), add a link to the local bar association or another attorney referral resource, and give it to someone on your team to send out each time you decline representation.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

This is a continuation of our series on Discovering Your Intake Process. In this episode, we talk more about the consultation piece of the intake process. Even if you don’t typically do a consultation, stay tuned because these things don’t happen in a vacuum. Find out whether you need to do a consultation or not and what to charge for consults assuming you’re doing them. Finally, we discuss the collection of information.   At the end of the day, you have to be very deliberate about the purpose of your consultation. So then you can decide if you're going to charge, how you're going to charge, who's going to do it, and all of the other factors that go into a consultation.  The intake process is a sales process. If you're thinking of consultation from a sales perspective, always talk about the process that the potential client will go through because they want to know what the process is going to look like. Generally, you don't give advice while you're still trying to tell somebody that you're the right fit. Therefore, there are some things you need to consider when it comes to doing consultations. Show Highlights: What is a consultation? Different purposes of a consultation  Who is doing the consultation Charging for consults: the pros and cons The collection of information  Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini ACTION STEPS: 1. Write down YOUR goals for YOUR firm’s consultations Are you selling? Are you providing information? Are you mapping out the process for the client? Are you charging? 2. If you’re not already, try charging the next potential client for the consultation (this is one of the easiest changes that you can make because chances are, they don’t know that this is something new or a change). 3. Analyze and redesign your forms for a better client experience Highlight the questions you need to determine IF you can help the client and HOW MUCH to charge them. Make those into a separate form to use before the consult and save the rest of the questions for AFTER they’ve hired you. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

This is a three-part series on Discovering Your Intake Process. Intake is where all of your marketing efforts are going to be given the opportunity to pay off. If you don’t have a consistent way of handling all of the leads that come in through marketing, you’re just wasting a lot of money on marketing!  In this episode, we take a deep dive into why you need an intake procedure. Whether you have a written procedure, a rockstar paralegal signing up clients, or neither of those things, by default, you have an intake process. Either you’re bringing clients in or pushing clients away. You and your team are responding to potential new clients in some way – and that is your default intake procedure. However, the problem with default intake procedures is that they are not consistent and, therefore, not reliable. They typically do not maximize your results or your conversion rates.  You shouldn’t be leaving the success of your sales and marketing to chance. Listen in as we help you discover and redesign your intake procedure!  Show Highlights: What intake is and what intake is not How intake interacts with marketing The benefits of having an intake procedure Best practices when creating an intake procedure (what to include and what to skip) Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: http://www.bobaguard.com/nextlevel Episode 007: Why Am I The Only Person Moving These Cases Forward? Episode 015: Top 3 Systems/Procedures Law Firms Often Overlook but Have a Huge Impact ACTION STEPS: Re-listen to Episodes 7 and 15 Write out WHO does WHAT by WHEN Share that with your team and/or find other resources to help you, VAs, call centers, software *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Are you keeping a gazillion tabs open on your web browser? Not only does this slow your computer down, but seeing all those tabs could also feel so overwhelming. But what if there was a way to avoid any of that? In this episode, we discuss some tech hacks and ways to make your life easier and make your business run smoother.  These are small things – from using apps and plug-ins to organizing your cords – that, when added up, make a big difference. You don't think about how the organization of your office or your desk area impacts your life until you organize it and realize it has been a load off of your mind. Show Highlights: Creating a new profile in Chrome Tab management hacks Tech hacks for organizing cords Using a password manager Recommended apps  How to use Alexa to make your life easier The value of time and using a location-based reminder Hacks and apps for saving money Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Episode 26: Meeting Cadences – Intentional Meetings Don’t Suck OneTab Auto Tab Discard Forest app Krisp.ai  ACTION STEPS: If you don’t have a password manager, start with that!  It will make your life easier  If you do have a password manager, pick ONE of these that jumped out to you to implement - don’t succumb to shiny object syndrome Schedule a time 3 months from now. Listen to this episode again and pick another hack to implement. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

You may not have any experience with a virtual assistant yet. And as things are becoming more virtual in our work lives these days, it's actually a great opportunity for you to explore. Hiring virtual assistants can be just one of the best business decisions you will ever have to make and there are a lot of benefits to it in terms of cost and productivity. But do you really need one? In today’s episode, we discuss the basics of getting virtual assistants and how they can help you set yourself up for success. We also talk about the benefits of hiring VAs, where and how to find them, as well as some things you need to seriously consider before finally deciding to get one or more on board. Hiring VAs is something that has worked for us because it has made our lives easier and more productive. You don’t have to dive in right away, and maybe taking some baby steps is all you need to do which includes listening to this podcast now! Show Highlights: What is a virtual assistant? Our own experiences in using virtual assistants The benefits of hiring virtual assistants What you need to do to make it work Where and how to find a virtual assistant Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Outsource Access Get Staffed Up Upwork Fancy Hands Lawfecta Virtual Gal Friday http://www.bobaguard.com/nextlevel ACTION STEPS: When you’re done listening today, hop back into your podcast app and scroll through the episode list. Chances are you may have missed one, maybe even one we talked about today.  And hop on those Action Steps to take your firm to the Next Level.     Pick one project. Confirm that you have the resources you need available for the VA online, i.e. passwords, documents, email access, etc. Pay for a service, and dive in! *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Getting hacked is the last thing you want in your law firm. But are you doing the right things to get yourself protected? In this episode, we talk about cybersecurity best practices that you need to start doing today!  Founder of GlobalMac IT, Tom Lambotte, joins us to discuss cybersecurity best practices and some security strategies that you shouldn’t take lightly. GlobalMac provides legal technology services to Mac-Based law firms. Tom is also the founder of BobaGuard, which provides cybersecurity solutions built for solos and small law firms. Tom has 16 years of experience providing technology consulting management services to law firms. As more and more law firms use technology, the cloud, and the internet, there's a growing importance of cybersecurity for law firms. That being said, cybersecurity is oftentimes misunderstood and taken for granted. And so, we're bringing in Tom to help separate the fear from the reality. The pain of experiencing a security breach is unimaginable – it’s not only going to affect you but your clients as well. And so, making sure you have that added layer of protection will give you that added peace of mind. Show Highlights: What multi-factor authentication is and why it’s important Utilizing a secured shared password vault for sensitive credentials Providing guidelines to employees when working remotely Using dark web scanning to know if your account has been compromised Using phishing simulation to identify security risks in your firm Why cybersecurity training needs to be mandatory for everyone A layered approach for strong cyber resilience Cybersecurity best practices and maintaining compliance Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: GlobalMac IT: https://www.globalmacit.com/  BobaGuard: https://www.bobaguard.com/  ACTION STEPS: 2FA (2 Factor Authentication) - list your top 5 critical accounts and DO IT. Activate 2FA on your most critical accounts. If you don’t have a password manager, get one. If you have one, learn how to use it to create unique passwords. Grab the security checklist from http://www.bobaguard.com/nextlevel *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Today we’re answering listener questions!  We can’t believe this podcast has already been going on for eight months. We’re so grateful for all of you who have not only stuck with us over the course of the show but who have also been invested enough to send in your questions.  Throughout this episode, we go through many of the questions that you listeners have sent in over the first 31 episodes of Law Firm Next. From there, we’ll dive deeper into some of the discussions we’ve started in our episodes. We hope our answers clear things up for you and get you excited to keep taking your law firm to the next level.  Show Highlights: The danger of comparing your firm to others’ firms. How to figure out the best use of your time. How to choose the automation software that’s best for your firm. When you should invest in a marketing firm. How to ease into going paperless in your law firm. How to own your leads. Bar association rules on marketing. Supporting Resources Email us your questions: hello@nextlevel.legal Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! ACTION STEPS: When you’re done listening today, hop back into your podcast app and scroll through the episode list. Chances are you may have missed one, maybe even one we talked about today.  And hop on those Action Steps to take your firm to the Next Level.      *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Joining us again for part two of our conversation on revenue vs. profit is Moshe Amsel. If you missed last week’s episode, Moshe is the host of the Profit With Law Podcast, a certified Profit First Professional, and the founder of the Law Firm Growth Summit. On top of his financial expertise, he is a paramedic and a dad of six.  In our conversation with him last week, we dove into Profit First and “Finance 101 for Law Firms.” Moshe went into so much detail in that episode and really set the foundation for understanding revenue and profit. This week, we’re moving right on and talking about benchmarks and business models. As you all know, when we talk about finances, it’s because we want something. We don’t want more money or anything that money can buy. Instead, we want quality time to do the things we want to do in our lives. You have the ability to create that for yourself. Tune in to get started right now!   Show Highlights: Why having rest cycles in your business is so important. Revenue and expense benchmarks to aim for in your law firm. The five main expense areas. What percentage of your revenue should be going to each expense category. Why you need to evaluate your business model. The danger of comparison. How to choose the right business model for your firm and adjust your benchmarks accordingly. The two mindsets people have on growth. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz https://mikemichalowicz.com/profit-first/ https://www.profitwithlaw.com/ ACTION STEPS: Download your free Benchmarks, Profit First Cheat Sheet, Profit Calculator: https://www.profitwithlaw.com/profitfirst Read the first 2 chapters of the book "Profit First" by Mike Michalowicz for free Sign up for Moshe's Training, "The 5 Biggest Mistakes that Law Firm Owners Make in the Growth of Their Business" here: https://www.profitwithlaw.com/training *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Last week in our goal-setting episode, we mentioned that we’d bring a guest on to talk about finances. Today, that guest is joining us. Moshe Amsel is the host of the Profit with Law Podcast, the founder of the Law Firm Growth summit, a certified Profit First Professional, and a business coach to many law firms. He’s also a dad of 6, a paramedic, and a former accountant and IT professional.  We truly couldn't ask for a better guest to talk about revenues, financial numbers, and goals related to finances for law firms. Throughout our discussion, Moshe explained all about the problem with goal setting and just leaving it at that. He helped us understand the importance of having a system for making sure we’re on track with our goals and course-correcting.  Today’s episode is part one of this conversation. In it, we revisit goal-setting from a numbers perspective. We dive deeper into setting revenue goals based on our take-home needs. We also talk all about investing vs. spending when we are first building our business. Moshe teaches how much we should be spending, what profit we need for that, and how to shape our mindset around all of this. Next week we will share the second half of the conversation but, for now, tune in to learn all about revenue and profit.  Show Highlights: Goal-setting in regards to revenue. How to reverse engineer your revenue goal to reach your profit goal. The profit matrix for any healthy business. Why we need to set big visions. How to translate the profit matrix into a revenue goal. Where our revenue should be going in our law firms. How to shift your perspective from that of a technician to that of a business owner. How to treat investments into your business as sprints. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: https://www.profitwithlaw.com/ Book: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz  Book: Who Not How by Dan Sullivan & Dr. Benjamin Hardy  Book: The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Our goal on this podcast is to always be authentic. We want to share our struggles as business owners because we know many of you will relate. We aren’t perfect and are still working on implementing many of the things we’ve talked about in these episodes. Today’s episode is no exception. We’re going to be talking about goal planning for the next year. What we want to harp on in this episode is that, just as with everything else in entrepreneurship, imperfect goal planning is better than none at all. Don’t let perfect become the enemy of good. Of course, we’d all love to have the perfect plan but it’s more important that we just get started. So, in this episode, we’ll teach you how. We will discuss the three steps to goal planning for the next year. We’ll break it down into where we are now, where we want to be, and what it will take to get there.  Tune in to start your new year strong with some imperfect but good goal planning! Show Highlights: Why we should think about where we want to be farther into the future. Questions to ask yourself when planning for the future. How to figure out what your firm will be known for. The power of creating a concrete 3-year vision for your firm. Why you need to analyze where you are now. Why you need to block off time in your calendar for goal planning. How to do yearly planning. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool for Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future by Cameron Herold The Vision Driven Leader: 10 Questions to Focus Your Efforts, Energize Your Team, and Scale Your Business by Michael Hyatt ACTION STEPS: 1. Get out your calendar and schedule 1-2 hours next week and another 1-2 hours the week after.   Next week, spend time brainstorming about where you want your law firm to be in the future using some of the questions I mentioned or grab one of the books I referenced to help guide you.   The following week, pick up the brainstorming at where you want your firm to be in 10+ years and create a concrete vision for what your law firm will look like in 3 years. 2. Put one hour in the calendar, take your 3-year vision, and think about the measurable things you will need to start gathering. You want to figure out where you are now so you can define where you need to go. Gather the information and know that if you haven’t done this before it may take you a few months of tracking new things at your firm in a simple spreadsheet to get started. 3. Set a time for you (and your team if desired) to take your 3-year vision and work backward to know where you need to be at the end of each year to set up the next year to hit the 3-year goal.  4. Narrow that list down to the top 2 or 3 priorities for this year and sketch out a plan. Everyone needs to be clear on who is doing what and by when so they can work on the tasks needed for these priorities as they are above and beyond the daily work. Check-in frequently and adjust as the year unfolds.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

If you joined us last week, you heard us talk about getting out of the way. We discussed how, as law firm owners, we often get in our team’s way by failing to train them on policies and procedures and not letting go. This week, we’re diving into this topic a bit deeper. We’re talking about leading people and managing people. To get anything of significance done in your firm (including writing policies and procedures) and to serve your clients better, you need to leverage your team. You must go beyond managing them and truly lead them. In the episode, we’ll discuss some of the benefits of leading our people over managing them. We’ll also explain what it even looks like to lead and give you some tips on exactly how to do it. Tune in to learn more. Show Highlights: Why it’s important to focus on people in your law firm. How your team can help you leverage your firm. The difference between managing and leading your team. Shifts to make to go from managing your team to leading it. How to hire the best people. Why you need to explain to your team members the “why” behind what they are doing. Top tools for leading your people. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: https://www.manager-tools.com/ The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More, & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier  ACTION STEPS: First, schedule one-on-one meetings with every team member that reports to you. If you have someone who reports to someone else, do your one-on-ones for a bit so people see the example you are setting. Start a note for each person and capture their goals. I like to focus on both the professional and personal goals as you hear them. Then spend time in your one-on-one sessions coaching your team members so they develop a plan for their growth. Use the time to be an outside accountability coach. Remember, you don’t always have to be the person who teaches. Just be the person who provides support and helps them get there.  Start giving more feedback. In the beginning, shoot for 10 positive feedback comments. Then move to the weekly 5-to-1 positive vs constructive ratio. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

As law firm owners, we can really get in the way. We can easily become roadblocks to the rest of our team. We do it unintentionally but, nonetheless, we are a roadblock. Perhaps you’ve found yourself in this cycle: you’re a solo attorney struggling to keep up with all your work so you hire some help. However, you’re so overwhelmed that you don’t have the time to train that help or give them the processes or procedures for the work you need them to do. As a result, they don’t have much to do and you get frustrated. So, you hire more help and the cycle just repeats itself. If you’ve been in that cycle, you know that it's not a fun place to be. However, there is good news: there’s a better way! It will take effort on your and your team’s part but the cycle can be broken.  In this episode, we’ll explain how to break the cycle. We’ll take you through the process of hiring, creating policies and procedures, and ultimately letting go of some tasks that you’ve passed off to other team members.  Going through these processes has taken Melanie’s firm to the next level and they can do the same for you so tune in! Show Highlights: Why you should start documenting your processes before you hire anybody. Why you should hire help before you need it. When to let someone go. What policies and procedures are and why they’re important. How to prevent yourself from micromanaging. What it means to let go as a law firm owner. The benefits of letting go. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! ACTION STEPS: A personnel inventory Write down the name of everyone that works for you (including your VA, contractors, and employees). Next to each name put a number 1-3, 1 being they are not fulfilling their job duties well, 2 being they are fulfilling them, and 3 being they are fulfilling them well. Then, next to each 1 on the list give some thought as to if you’ve provided them with training and expectations. This will help you decide how to move forward with respect to this team member. We’ll dive in here more specifically next week!   Go to your calendar and block off 30 minutes this week to think through your team’s processes. Identify the one policy and procedure that you think would be most helpful to work torwards in your office. Then block off an hour on the calendar next week to write out the WHY for the policy and the steps for the procedure.  As you go through the rest of your day today, after everything that you do, ask yourself why you are doing it? Is it because it's an owner’s responsibility or is there someone else on your team that can be trained to do it instead of you? If so, let it go! Schedule the time to train them and let it go! *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

If you work in the legal industry (or any industry for that matter), you’re likely familiar with the idea of death by meetings. It’s easy to feel like all we ever do at work is sit in unproductive meetings. This feeling and too many of these kinds of meetings can really rob us of our passion for our work. However, there is a better way. Mark has done extensive research into meetings and figured out a way to do them in his organization that doesn’t feel like a slow death. He calls it their “meeting cadences.” In this episode, Mark shares what these meeting cadences look like. We also take the time to apply this to law firms and explain how you, as a law firm owner, can put it into practice.  We always want to make sure that we're operating our law firms as businesses and not just focusing on the legal work that we do. So tune in to learn how to do this with meeting cadences. Show Highlights: Why a bad meeting may be better than no meeting. The meeting cadences at GNGF. What a vision meeting is. Why it’s okay to change your business’ core values over time. What a quarterly strategy meeting is. What a level 10 meeting is. How meeting cadences prevent tons of one-off meetings. Why you should have weekly one-on-one meetings with each of your direct reports. How meetings can build connections. How one-on-one meetings save you time. Tips for making meetings more useful. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool For Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future by Cameron Herold Manager Tools Podcast ACTION STEPS: 1. We are heading to the end of the year now. Think about these dates for next year: Vision Yearly Planning Date Quarterly Meeting Dates What day of the week will your weekly meeting be? When do you want to schedule one-on-ones? 2. Put these dates on the calendar. 3. If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or NOW even Facebook Podcasts (or wherever you listen)! Once you have subscribed, please leave us a 5-star rating and review as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

In order to take your law firm to the next level, you need processes. You need to learn how to streamline some things within the firm. This will increase your productivity and, ultimately, your profits. In this episode, we talk about some ways to do this. This conversation came from GNGF’s bi-weekly live interview series, Ask The Experts. In it, Mark and Melanie discuss which processes all law firm owners should put in place. They also talk about some of the pros and cons of remote work compared to in-office work and how that impacts these processes.  Having started the law firm Streamline Legal, Melanie has amazing insight into this topic. Her firm runs smoothly because of the processes and automations they have put in place. She has a lot of rich knowledge to share so tune in to learn more. Show Highlights: Why Melanie started Streamline Legal. Why law firms should use multiple different softwares instead of bundling everything into one. All of the factors to look at when choosing softwares. The benefits of having processes in place. Where to start if you have no processes. Why we need to document our processes. An exercise to help you regularly analyze your firm’s activities. How to automate things in your firm when you deal with litigation. The importance of communication tools when working remotely. How culture changes affect process changes. How to do video marketing as a law firm owner. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Stream more interviews live on GNGF's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GNGFound Browse the archives of amazing guests: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2sVTAMb9tpQ_Y-_syCE3ndC8Xgt36rDt ACTION STEPS: If you haven’t done so already:  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or NOW even Facebook Podcasts (or wherever you listen)! Once you have subscribed, please leave us a 5-star rating and review as that will help this podcast get discovered by other law firm owners.   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

All law firm owners know that the firm’s practice management software is one of the key foundations of the business. Without it, the processes of the firm would be in utter chaos.  However, what about when it comes time to switch practice management softwares? This can be a bit of a scary topic. We’ve seen firms that have had the same software for years just sitting in a server.  It truly can be a pain to switch softwares. Some firms have even had bad experiences with switching project management softwares in the past. This makes them understandably very hesitant to switch. However, we consider this a very important topic. For one thing, the marketplace for practice management softwares is huge right now. That much money can bring new options and products for your firm. There also may be new features on your current software that you just need to catch up on. We want you to be able to take advantage of these advances so tune in and learn how to update your practice management software or switch to a new one. Show Highlights: Why you need good team morale when switching practice management softwares. How to get staff buy-in. How to support your staff during the transition. Why the owner needs to participate in the transition. The importance of setting a timeline for the implementation of the new software. What to include in the timeline and how to communicate it to your team. How to efficiently transfer your data to the new software. Why you should set a cut-off date for switching billing over. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Venture Funding in Legal Tech source: https://news.crunchbase.com/news/legal-tech-venture-investment/ ACTION STEPS: Sit down with a piece of paper or a blank Word document and write down what software you’re switching to and why. Try to include reasons that will help your team, not just the management of the firm. Remember, these are the people that will be using it on a daily basis! Copy and paste that list into an email to your entire team letting them know that an implementation plan is on its way then press send. Flip the page or open a new document and list out these 3 dates, working backwards: Fully transitioned to new software Last Billing Cycle in the old software Purchase of new software Get on the phone and share these dates with your new software company, consultants, and/or team members that are going to help you implement this plan. Don’t go it alone; get help! *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

As business owners, most of us understand the value of lead magnets. We know that they’re powerful marketing tools to have in our arsenal. However, despite this understanding, many of us law firm owners still get stuck when it comes to lead magnets. It comes down to overthinking. Too many of us law firm owners try to make our lead magnets too perfect or get lost in all the possibilities. We end up doing nothing out of mere overwhelm. So, in this episode, we’re diving into this topic. We’re providing some concrete ideas for and examples of lead magnets. Our goal is to give you everything you need to create lead magnets that are all your own. Tune in to hear us brainstorm on lead magnets and get this marketing superpower down pat. Show Highlights: What a lead magnet is. Why creating a lead magnet doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. How to repurpose your content into a lead magnet. Examples of lead magnets if you work in family law. Why you should create lead magnets for hyper-specific groups of people. Examples of lead magnets for personal injury, car accident, and DUI clients. Examples of lead magnets for estate planning. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! ACTION STEPS: Look around at what you already have and brainstorm 2 or 3 lead magnets Create your lead magnet Get a form on your website to capture information about the leads before sending them the lead magnet Tell everyone about your lead magnet (tell your referral partners, put it all over your website, post about it on social media, etc.) *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

When you own a law firm, you’re always on the lookout for leads. This is why you do consultations and run marketing strategies. It’s likely a big part of why you listen to this podcast! However, when you get a lead, what do you do with it? Your answer reveals whether you RENT or OWN your leads. This is something that many law firms owners don’t think about until they are much farther along in the maturity of their business. However, it’s an extremely important concept. So today we want to jumpstart it for you and get you thinking about owning your leads even now. In this episode, we’ll cover what it means to rent or own your leads, as it may be a new concept for many of you. From there, we’ll teach you how to begin owning your leads. No matter what stage you’re at in your law firm, tune in to learn all about this very crucial segment in your marketing. Show Highlights: What it looks like to “rent” a lead. What it takes to own a lead.  The benefits of owning your leads. What it means to maximize your yields. What lead magnets are. The importance of following up quickly. How to send people to your lead magnet. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! ACTION STEPS: With every marketing investment you make, think about how you can get the email and phone number of the leads that are visiting your marketing assets, websites, videos, etc. Become amazing at follow-up. When you get a phone number or email address, send some emails, make some calls, or shoot over a text. They probably aren’t looking at just your firm so you need to be the most responsive. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Today we are talking all about scheduling tools.  When we say “scheduling tools,” we’re talking about apps that allow referral sources, clients, and potential clients to schedule a time in your calendar to meet with you. These tools are truly fantastic. The capabilities they offer and the flexibility they allow for both you and your clients could be a game-changer in your law firm. In this episode, we discuss exactly why and how you should be using these scheduling tools. We go over each of the features these tools offer that you don’t want to miss out on. Finally, we cover which scheduling tool may be best for you to use. Whether you’re brand new to scheduling tools or have heard of them but have hesitations, tune in to learn the countless benefits of using this resource to take your law firm to the next level. Show Highlights: The various benefits of scheduling tools. How to use a scheduling tool without losing control of your calendar. How these tools can enhance the quality of your customer service. Why you should create different types of appointments. Seven features of scheduling tools that you should utilize. How to decide which software to use in your law firm. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Microsoft Bookings Calendly.com ACTION STEPS: If you aren’t already using a scheduling tool, go to Calendly.com and sign up for a free account. It will limit you in the number of appointments that you can make but it’s a great way to start using it and getting a feel for the possibilities. If you are using a scheduling tool, start talking to your team about how you’re using it and write down some guidelines that you want to follow. For example, (1) never let the person scheduling the appointment pick the type of appointment, (2) never refuse to schedule over the phone; in that case, schedule the appointment in the tool for them. Brainstorm the different types of appointments that you want to set up. Generally, the more detailed the better. This ensures that you know what the appointment is for when you see it on the calendar and that the client knows what to expect as well. Some common examples are a consultation for a potential new client, a short status update call with an existing client, or a 2-hour trial prep with a current client or witness. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

For many law firm owners, marketing feels daunting. It’s easy for it to become overwhelming with all of the options, channels, and platforms out there. However, because marketing is so critical to getting leads, we have no choice but to learn how to do it. Today, we’re going to make this simple and easy for you. A couple of episodes ago, we mentioned key trends law firms should incorporate into their marketing and one of those was multiple channel marketing. That trend is the key to reducing your overwhelm around marketing. It sounds like a lot of work but you can build a process that only takes a couple of hours a week. In this episode, we discuss why a little planning goes a long way, the types of content you should create, and an outline for creating that content each week. Tune in to learn how to maintain an amazing multichannel marketing process in just two hours a week.  Show Highlights: What marketing channels are. Why you should have a quarterly marketing strategy. How to come up with content ideas. Why video should be your primary starting content source. How to repurpose your video content. Other marketing content channels to utilize. Why having an email list is so important. A weekly multichannel content strategy that you can repeat each month and quarter. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: https://searchresponse.io/people-also-ask ACTION STEPS: The first step is to sit down and jot the top 10 questions you get. If that is not coming off the top of your head, put a pad next to your phone and write down questions as you are talking to prospective new clients.  Download our PDF and follow the marketing schedule. Take six questions and record your videos. Get the videos transcribed and edit them into an article or blog (you can actually outsource this over time as well). Find a freelancer to edit and create video snippets and social media posts. Use a tool like Hootsuite to schedule the social media posts for the month. Don’t forget to create an email newsletter once a month using this content too. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

A couple of episodes ago, we talked about turning the dread we share about billing into action. We talked about all the issues and concerns around billing and how to combat them. Today, we are diving deeper into that topic. Today’s episode is all about online payments.  The truth is, offering to accept online payments just makes it easier for you to get paid. It eases the billing process for both you and your clients. Many of the concerns we talked about in the billing episode would be solved by default if we transitioned to online payment methods. Listen in as we cover some of the common myths around online payments, put them up against the facts, and discuss how online payments can affect your business. Spoiler alert: you’ll get your money faster. Join the conversation to hear more! Show Highlights: Myth 1: accepting online payments will cost you more. How online payment methods actually allow you to get paid faster and more. The time you will save by using online payment methods. Different online payment methods to consider accepting. Why you should increase your rates by a small percentage. Myth 2: your clientele prefers to pay with checks. How to manage online payments when dealing with trust funds. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: "The Lowdown on NC Lawyers Taking Credit Cards" Clio's 2019 Legal Trends Report ACTION STEPS: Increase your prices by 3% and eliminate the argument that it will cost you more. If you’re not sending your bills out electronically, research those options. They may already be included in the software that you’re using. On whatever type of bill you send, add a message to start marketing the idea that you accept online payments. Put it on your website and let your clients know. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Mark and his team are always working to uncover what is working right now in marketing. They do their research on where things are headed and adjust their client’s marketing campaigns to fit those predictions. Their suggestions are always based on data and industry research, making them rock solid.    As a result, we thought it would be helpful to have Mark pull together the marketing trends he and his team have discovered over the last couple of years and then share those trends with all of you. In this episode, Mark will also cover why we should be spending time, money, and effort on marketing in the first place. Tune in to hear his incredible insights into today’s top three marketing trends and what you can do to leverage those trends for your firm. Show Highlights: Why marketing is important for every business, including law firms. The effects marketing can have on your firm.  Trend 1: the way people find your law firm is more fragmented than ever. Why you should be using multiple marketing channels. Trend 2: consumers want to have digital service options. How law firms can adjust their marketing to leverage trend two. Trend 3: Google is one of your biggest referral partners. How to take advantage of Google as a referral partner. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! ACTION STEPS: Start investing time, energy, or even some money into your marketing to future-proof your new business.  Think about ways to take the content you already have or some content you can create and repurpose it into other marketing channels. For those of you who implemented Zoom calls, client portals, e-signatures, electronic payments, etc., BRAG about it on your home page. Trust me: very few of the law firms in your town are talking about that and it is a great way to differentiate yourself right now. Think about how you can leverage the fact that about 50% of people are searching for a law firm and not using a referral. Go back and listen to the Google My Business how-to episode and start looking into ways you can improve your search engine optimization. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Billing--it’s one of the most dreaded parts of owning a law firm.  When it comes to billing, we hear the same things from attorneys over and over again. They don’t record time for things they don’t think they should charge a client for. They write off time or give discounts for tasks that they think shouldn’t have taken so long. They delay sending out bills because they fear their client’s response or that the client won’t pay them. They don’t follow up on unpaid bills because they’re worried their client will argue or feel bad that they charged so much when they know their client doesn’t have the money. This is a no-judgment zone. Both of us, Melanie and Mark, have done all of these things in our businesses. However, we want to help you overcome this dread and avoid that vicious cycle where the bills get larger and larger and you get more and more concerned. The facts of hourly billing don’t have to be “just the way it is.” Melanie has learned ways to overcome her dread of billing in her law firm. In this episode, she’s sharing great insights that can help you not dread it quite so much either. Show Highlights: Why you need to hold your clients responsible. How to value the service you’re providing your clients for all that it’s worth. The financial impact this dread of hourly billing can have on your firm and life. What to do if you often don’t record time for things you don’t want to charge your clients for. What to do when you think something shouldn’t have taken so long. Why you should never delay sending out bills. Why you always need to follow up on unpaid bills. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: The Power of TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic): 10th Anniversary Edition ACTION STEPS: Stop writing off and discounting so much of your time and so much of your bills and hold your clients accountable. Remind yourself of your value by listening to and sharing client reviews. Every time that you write off a bill or review a list of unpaid bills, think about the impact that money would have on the firm as a whole and on each team member and family member depending on the firm. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Today we are talking about online reviews. We are so excited about this topic because it’s something attorneys can dive into that can make a big difference in their law firms.  Everyone knows to some degree that reviews are important. However, there’s a lot of confusion out there about them. There are even those who have concerns and criticism around the topic of online reviews. This makes it an incredibly interesting topic. Regardless, online reviews are a crucial part of your marketing strategy. They are only growing in importance in today’s online society. So, in this episode, we’re diving into this topic and teaching you everything you need to know about it.  Tune in to learn a clarification on the growing importance of online reviews for law firms, how many reviews you should be getting, and how to build a culture and a process for getting online reviews. Show Highlights: Why law firms need online reviews. How many reviews you need. How to make getting reviews a part of your process. Why you should choose one person to be responsible for that process. How to figure out the best time to ask for reviews. How to make it easier for clients to leave you reviews. The importance of following up. Nontraditional people who you could ask to leave a review. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B Cialdini PhD  “Say the Right Thing: Apologies, Reputability, and Punishment” by David B Wooten ACTION STEPS: Identify a champion. Set your review goal for the year (twice as many as the direct online competition). Identify the points in the process of a case where there are natural high points of client satisfaction and insert review asks in those places. Gather the links to places where people can leave you a review (Google, Avvo, Yelp, etc.). Default to Google most of the time. Teach the team how to ask for a review.   Make sure your entire team is asking for a review, especially ANYONE who interacts with a client. Your paralegal or assistant may have had to do a lot of back and forth with them on gathering documents and scheduling follow-ups and they may be the person who elevated the client sat. Let them ask. Think outside the box of traditional clients. Follow up. Respond to reviews. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

At Streamline Legal, Melanie helps law firm owners make their firms more effective and efficient all the time. She has seen firsthand what trips law firm owners up most often. Based on this experience, she had identified the top three systems and procedures that law firms overlook that have the biggest impact on their businesses. You probably already have many of these systems by default. However, don’t shrug this topic off as irrelevant if that’s the case. Today we’re going to take a deeper look at these systems to see how we can beef them up. This will truly take your law firm to the next level. So tune in to learn the importance of systems in general, which will have the biggest impact on your law firm, and the features you may need to focus in on to make the biggest difference for your business. Show Highlights: How systems can help in times of crisis. Why you don’t need to know every detail about your clients as a law firm owner. Why having an intake system is so critical. The importance of billing systems. Where most law firms waste time and energy with billing. How a file closing system can benefit your firm. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! ACTION STEPS: Start with these 3 systems: intake, billing, and file closing.  Do you have them all documented?  If not, pick the one that’s missing or start at the beginning. As we’ve discussed in the past, you don’t have to make this more complicated than it needs to be. On a piece of paper, Word document, or Google sheet, write down what you want your system to look like.  Write down WHO does WHAT by WHEN for each step. Share it with your team. Get their feedback. This will also help get their buy-in. Once you’ve shared it, hold them to it. This is the new expectation. If you don’t, you’ll get frustrated that your system isn’t working when, in reality, it’s the people not working the system. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Our episodes on marketing up until now have been mainly around the important strategies for level setting. We’ve been covering everything you need to know as you get ready to do marketing. Today, however, we will be diving into a real marketing tactic. This episode is all about Google My Business. There’s been a lot of chatter on social media recently about Google My Business and for good reason. It is a very important tool for business owners including those of you who run law firms. In this episode, we are teaching you everything you need to know about Google My Business. We’re giving you an overview of what it is and then explaining why it’s so important. After that, we’re going to give you actual success tips to make sure you are creating and optimizing your GMB profile as well as you can.   Get ready to take your law firm to the next level with Google My Business. Show Highlights: What Google My Business is and does. Why you should care about GMB. Where people search for law firms. How to optimize and claim your GMB profile. Which keywords to add to your GMB. What a tracking number is. What kind of pictures and videos you should include on your GMB. How often to post on your blog and social media. Why you need to monitor your Q&A section. The importance of reviews and how to optimize them. ACTION STEPS: If you haven’t yet, claim or create your Google My Business profile Review this podcast as you fill out the data in your GMB. We will try to get more detail added to our blog to support this episode Once your GMB profile is up and optimized, begin to think about posts, questions, and answers you can add each week Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! If you enjoyed this episode, we've also created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from it. Just go to the episode page at http://www.nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn012 to download it. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

In our episode on how to become a paperless law firm, we mentioned something called the Rocketbook in passing. We didn’t have time to dive into it then, so that is what we are going to do today. The Rocketbook is an amazing tool that can help take your law firm to the next level. However, we don’t want you to give into the shiny object syndrome. That is why we are taking the time to explain the Rocketbook in depth in this episode. We are going to teach you how to use it to become more successful and help your law firm grow. So tune in to hear what the Rocketbook is, why you need one, and what all you can do with this incredible tool. Show Highlights: The various features of the Rocketbook. What the Rocketbook app does. What OCR software is. Why you should get a Rocketbook. How to send your Rocketbook notes to the right people. Specific ways you can use your Rocketbook. ACTION STEPS: Go to the Amazon app on your phone Type in Rocketbook Click Buy Now When it’s delivered fill out the front cover that indicates where you want each of the symbols to send your notes Hand it and your phone to the tech-savvy intern in the office and ask them to set it up using the simple steps on the Rocketbook website Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: See a demo of the Rocketbook being used for Intake forms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_PYbX0OexE&t *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Last week, we dove into an article recently put out by the ABA on women in legal. We got the chance to have a great conversation with Valerie Fenchel on working mothers and women in the legal industry in general. However, though it was an amazing conversation, we couldn’t end the conversation there. As important as discussing issues like this is, taking action is even more important. It is through the actions they take that law firms can affect change. So today we are talking all about taking actions within our businesses to support the ideas and causes that are important to us. To discuss this, we will go through a few different things. We’re going to talk about values and how to understand what your firm believes and supports. From there, we’re going to discuss company culture and how important it is to running a business. Finally, we’re going to teach you specific things you can do to reinforce the culture you want in your firm.  Start taking action now by listening in! Show Highlights: How to figure out your personal values. What firm culture is. How establishing a strong firm culture helps your bottom line. Why you should make your firm culture public. Why you should never hire someone who doesn’t fit your culture. Actions you should take to support your firm’s culture. Examples of some of these actions.  Why reinforcing firm culture includes supporting both your team and your clients. How to enrich your firm’s diversity and limit your unconscious bias. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: https://nextlevel.legal/ ACTION STEPS: Think about what you stand for and stand against. Really dig into the values you want to represent to your team, clients, and community. Work with your team to define these values - we recommend aiming for no more than five. We talked about some examples for policies and systems to encourage work/life balance, your team’s personal and professional growth, and giving back to clients and community. Identify specific actions you can take in your day-to-day business that reinforce your culture and values.  *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

An article recently came out in the ABA Journal entitled “Are Women Lawyers Paying Enough Attention to Upward Mobility.” Today I, Melanie, am taking the floor to discuss it.  In order to help me, I brought on my friend Valerie Fenchel. Valerie founded the firm Fenchel Family Law where she helps women break free from unhealthy relationships. Throughout our conversation, we are addressing multiple aspects of this controversial article. The entire concept forced us to focus in on the idea of working moms in the legal industry. Valerie and I come from different perspectives (me being a mom while Valerie is not), allowing us to bring diversity to the conversation. Whether you’re a man or woman working at a law firm, I believe our discussion today will teach you something of worth. Tune in to hear some of our thoughts on this article and on the role of females in the legal industry. Show Highlights: What Valerie’s legal journey has been like. What opening her own firm taught her. What upward mobility means. Why men and women need to share domestic responsibilities. How overwhelming the expectations of legal firms are. Why we need more women partners. What the follow-up article by the president of ABA was about. The importance of revealing our vulnerabilities. Why everyone deserves the same chance to succeed. The importance of knowing your employees and relating to them in a way that gives them confidence. Why law firms need to focus on mindset and culture. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! Supporting Resources: Original Article: https://www.abajournal.com/columns/article/are-women-lawyers-paying-enough-attention-to-upward-mobility ABA Follow Up: https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/womens-success-in-legal-careers-lack-of-advancement-is-not-a-woman-problem-its-a-profession-problem *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

If you’re a small business owner, you are doing a lot of online marketing. This is obviously something that Mark talks about all the time. It covers any kind of marketing that has an electronic component to it. This includes channels such as LinkedIn, MailChimp, Facebook ads, and SEO. Because there is such a wide variety of ways to do online marketing, Mark gets frequent questions on which one is the best. People want to know what program to add to their online marketing repertoire that will change everything for them. The truth, though, is that there is no “magic pill” when it comes to online marketing. There are, however, some great tactics and strategies for you to implement in your firm.   In this episode, we’re talking about those tactics and strategies. We’re walking through the importance of mapping your marketing strategies to your business goals and the best tactics to match that strategy.     Show Highlights: The difference between tactics and strategies. Why you should differentiate between tactics and strategies. Why you need to map your marketing strategy to your business goals. How to be realistic about your business goals. Some client examples of all of this. How to choose marketing tactics after mapping out your strategy. Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! ACTION STEPS: If you haven’t done this, write down your business goals (SMART goals). Think 10 year, 3 year, and 1 year. Ask what marketing goals need to be met to help you achieve your business goals. Based on what you know or after connecting with a marketing expert, ask what the best tactics are that can help you achieve your marketing strategy and meet your business goals. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Is it possible to run a law firm without paper? Here at Law Firm Next, we believe that it is. Not only do we believe it’s possible but we also believe that going paperless is the best option for law firms.  Traditionally, law firms have always used a lot of paper. That translates to spending a lot of money on paper, ink, other supplies, and printers. You’ll also have the added stress of having to figure out where you’ll store all that paper. You may need a bunch of paper files, more furniture to store all of the paper, larger offices, or maybe even an extra storage space for everything.   All in all, paper just creates more problems for law firms. It creates finance and space challenges. The idea that law firms have to be swimming in paper this way is a myth and we’re busting it today.    In this episode, we’re going to share what kind of paper you really need, the tools you need to make a paperless office happen, and tips to make the transition as successful as possible. Tune in to learn it all!   Show Highlights: How to be intentional about how and when you use paper in your law firm. Where to start when going paperless. Tools you need to go paperless. Practice management systems that have document storage built in. How to actually make this transition. How to save the information on the paper you get rid of. Why you need to do training with your whole team when you go paperless. What the “cold turkey” method is and why you should do it.   Action Steps: Find the paper you can’t live without, write it down, and share it with your team so that everyone knows what paper you are keeping. Work with your team to decide where to put the information that used to be on physical paper (a scan, in your practice management, etc.) Stop printing - not for the environment but for better access.   Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! If you enjoyed this episode, we've also created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from it. Just go to the episode page at https://nextlevel.legal/episode/lfn009/ to download it. Supporting Resources:   *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

As the owner of a law firm, your highest goal is probably to get more clients coming through your doors. This is why we do all of the marketing that we do. However, we need to do more than just apply some marketing techniques or hire a marketing agency. We need to figure out a marketing system and know if our marketing is successful. Melanie thought about this issue with regularity when she was running her law firm. We get questions on it all the time, too. Obviously, many law firm owners ask themselves how to know if their marketing is successful. This is a very important topic. Knowing the benefit of any investment you make in your firm is crucial and marketing is one of those significant investments. So today we are talking about why we measure our marketing and what to measure. We’re discussing which metrics matter and which actually aren’t that important in the beginning. Finally, we will talk about ROI (return on investment) and some practical tips for figuring out and applying your ROI number.    Show Highlights: Why we measure. Which metrics matter. What vanity metrics are. Why you should work backwards. What ROI is. How to find your ROI and why it doesn’t need to be a perfect number. Actions steps for you to start measuring your marketing today. Action Steps:  Let’s get a sense of your conversion rate at different steps in your intake (sales) pipeline. If you don’t have tools to track, in a spreadsheet start tracking: How many people contact your firm and set up a consultation? How many show up to a consultation? How many become clients? Do you know where your leads are coming from? Try to have real numbers behind where your leads are coming from.  With a great system setup you can get these from your CRM system, but if just starting at least ask people how they found you. It is not perfect but better than nothing Pick one marketing strategy that you are working on and figure out the cost over time and how much profit you made that you can tie to that marketing strategy (see action step 2) to figure out your general ROI.    Subscribe and Review We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Law Firm Next is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot! If you enjoyed this episode, we've also created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from it. Just go to the episode page at [enter podcast page here] to download it. *** Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com