the [non]billable hour

Showing Jim Drazen the Power of Blogs

Just a test for Jim Drazen.  How are you Jim?

Powerpoint your way to writing success.

Cliff Atkinson (on his Beyond Bullets blog) has some excellent tips for writers.  He suggests working through your idea first -- taking multiple opportunities to present it to others -- before commiting it to writing.  He even goes so far to suggest writers prepare a powerpoint presentation before writing a word.  Here's why:

This approach can actually reduce the risk that an idea will be rejected, because it's been pre-tested in the marketplace of ideas first, and pre-qualified against 3 principles:

1. Your idea grows stronger as it moves from the abstract to the concrete. An idea in your mind doesn't do anyone else any good until you communicate it to other people. Get your idea out early and find out what the world thinks.

2. Whatever doesn't kill your idea makes it stronger. Ask people what they think, and appreciate people who disagree -- they're the ones you can give most credit toward strengthening your idea. Get feedback, find out what works, discard what doesn't, and keep moving forward.

3. Your excitement for your idea is what gets other people excited. As you share your ideas with other people in person, you have the unique opportunity to demonstrate the passion that will help you overcome the forces that will surely work against your idea. Without your passion, no one else will become passionate.

I have been really struggling with my MoreSpace essay.  I love my outline and ideas, but I am having a difficult time making it "flow".  I'll give Cliff's ideas a try and you can be the judge when you read the essay -- if Todd doesn't fire me from the project first because I'm behind.

LexThink Fun

How would this look on a t-shirt?

and Speaking of LegalMatch ...

Kirsten Osolind, on her fantastic re:invention blog weighs in with some smart steps companies can take to extinguish negative online publicity:

1. ACKNOWLEDGE RESPONSIBILITY RESPONSIBILY
If your company has done wrong or had an issue, acknowledge the issue/wrong, take responsibility, and provide an overview of what you are doing to address it. Respond on the site where the negative publicity occurred if possible and if warranted, on your company website.

2. GO TO THE MATTRESSES - BUT DON'T GO ALONE
If the online criticism is unfounded/false/incorrect, utilize your network FIRST. Solicit help from loyal customers and advisory boards - asking them to post personal positive feedback, articulate your key messages, or provide enthusiastic endorsements to counter the negative claim. Ask them to question the person who made the unfounded online claims and solicit more specific detail from the negative evangelist. You'll be better prepared to answer on behalf of your company.

3. TRY PAID SEARCH
Paid search (paid inclusion, pay-per-click) can work to counter negative publicity. You can articulate your key messages to your target audience, showcase customer endorsements, and push down the negative comments.

4. DO GOOD AND BE GOOD
Continue to offer good customer service and good quality products. Over time, loyal and satisfied customers will help douse the online flames and evangelize truth over fiction.

5. LITIGATE AS A LAST RESORT
As a last resort (and we mean a LAST RESORT), companies can pursue litigation, contacting site owners directly or spam checking/reverse link look-ups.

I almost left that last one out. ;-)

LegalMatch Apologizes

Several weeks ago, I got a telephone call from Randy Wells, the LegalMatch CEO. Randy wanted to meet with me in person, and (after I was certain the purpose of the meeting was not to serve me with summons) I suggested we meet during LegalTech New York. (Full Disclosure Time: LegalMatch picked up the tab for my trip to NYC.  I did not agree to do anything in exchange for the trip, other than meet with Randy Wells.)

Randy and I had a nice conversation during dinner – most of which was “off the record” – and we discussed LegalMatch’s reputation problem. I told Randy that, though my blog has become sort of a clearinghouse for LegalMatch comments pro and con, my only problem with his company’s service was (and remained) the methods they used to entice lawyers to subscribe to their LegalMatch service.

While Randy assured me that things were changing inside LegalMatch, I suggested to him, in true ClueTrain fashion, that he needed to open a dialog with all those who seem to really hate his company, including the people who continue to leave unfavorable comments on this blog.  

Randy took my advice, and has sent me the following letter that I post (unedited) in its entirety. If you have comments, feel free to leave them to this post, because I know LegalMatch is reading.   Otherwise, call Randy directly. His telephone number is at the end of the letter.

 

OPEN LETTER FROM RANDY WELLS, CEO OF LEGALMATCH

To Our Colleagues in the Legal Community,

 On behalf of LegalMatch, I would like to personally apologize for a number of overly aggressive sales practices conducted by the company in the past. After consulting with many individuals and groups within the legal community and after a thorough review of our internal practices, it became clear that LegalMatch was less than professional in its approach.

As a result, since taking over the position of CEO at LegalMatch, I have implemented a number of improvements to our marketing team and their practices that will immediately address and rectify these issues, including: 

1)  A new training program with focus on best-in-class, professional marketing practices.
2) A new improved compensation system that is no longer 100% commission based - reducing the ‘sell-at-all-costs’ mentality.
3) A reorganization of the marketing team that will make it much more customer-centric and friendly.

In addition, the company’s founder, Dmitry Shubov, understands that in order for the company to continue it’s phenomenal growth (53% 2004) that he must divest his majority stake in LegalMatch.

There are several negotiations in process.

Given Dmitry’s vast experience in the online legal category, LegalMatch will retain his services as an outside consultant.

This decision, along with our new programs and ongoing improvements, marks the end of one chapter in the company’s history, and the start of an exciting, new chapter in our continued growth. Our mission today is to build on these renewed values and principles that aim squarely at serving the legal community. Helping consumers find qualified attorneys and helping attorneys develop and focus a law practice is at the core of our company’s vision today.

Once again, I hope you will accept this apology and invite everyone to give LegalMatch another chance in the near future.

If you have any questions, please feel to email or call me directly.

 
Sincerely,

Randy Wells

CEO of LegalMatch

Randy.Wells@legalmatch.com

415-946-0896

 

What is your client surprise budget?

Kathy Sierra has this wonderful post on the Creating Passionate Users blog.  She gives several examples how businesses have made their products and services "playful."

Surprises are one of the best things you can do--psychologists claim that intermittent rewards can be more engaging than consistent rewards. Remember, surprise=delight.

I worked for a guy who ran an exclusive, foofy, insanely expensive health club. He took 100% of what should have been (back then, when Ads were King) his advertising budget, and instead put ALL of it into a monthly "member surprise" budget. Nobody ever knew what was going to happen. You'd be in an aerobics class with 100 people (it was a big place), and as you walked out, suddenly there were carts loaded up with bowls of frozen yogurt and a toppings bar. You're in the weight room when the employees start walking through handing out exclusive t-shirts, always with his logo, and always with a fun quote, that you knew would never appear on a t-shirt again. Members collected these things like rare beanie babies. The late-night exercise classes were the hardest to fill, but he would take the worst time slot and make it interesting... the 9 PM folks might walk out of class only to be handed a wine cooler or even a relaxation CD.

It always felt like a party in there! And employees fought over the chance to be the one who got to hand out the cool stuff. And there was no hierarchy in deciding who got to do that...everyone from the janitors to the office bookeeper might be "picked" to be the hero. I had never before, and never since, seen the kind of loyalty among both staff and members that I saw in that place. His attrition rate for both members and employees was less than half the industry average for health clubs at the time.

Thanks to Johnnie Moore for the link.

One Way to Raise Prices

John Jantsch has a great tip in this post titled You've Got to Sing Like You Don't Need the Money.  Here are some excerpts:

Generate more leads, more opportunities, more clients than you can possibly serve, and then raise your prices.

Here’s the theory – If I have more demands on my time than I can meet. I can look someone squarely in the eye and name my price, because I don’t “have” to get the order.  ...  Too many business owners find themselves enslaved by maniac clients that rob them of their value. Just say no can apply to marketing too.  Lastly ... nothing is more appealing than security. If a potential client sniffs even a whiff of desperation, your selling effort will move away from your terms and you won’t have the guts to name your price.

Now, I don't advocate raising prices all the time for all of your clients, but if you are serving those "maniac clients" or feel totally overwhelmed by your work load, why not take John's advice and see what happens?

Eye Tracking for Web Sites.

Where should you put the most important information on your website?  Read this.

Blogs for Project Management

I found a post on the Cutting Though blog a while back titled 10 Ways to Use Blogs for Managing Projects.  Next time you are looking for a cheap and effective way to manage a project in your business, think blog! 

How can you let law practice get in the way of blogging?

As I posted last week, I'm moving to California.  My wife is taking a temporary (now between 9 and 18 months, we're told) assignment with Nestle in Glendale, California.  My wife leaves in two weeks, and I'll follow around March 15th or so.  What this means is very light blogging.  I have set aside today for blog and LexThink related stuff, so while I can't promise an all-request day like my friend Dennis Kennedy did last week, I'll be clearing out some cobwebs and throwing a bunch of stuff on-line.

Who knows, as my wife and I prepare to sell our house and clean out all of our accumulated junk, I may decide to host the first-ever combined real garage sale and virtual idea garage sale in the history of the internet.