One of secrets of highly successful attorneys is that they make time to plan for the future. We recommend meeting at least once per quarter with your senior partners (even if You are the entire partnership) to evaluate achievements, set new goals and work on your power plan for the next quarter.

I was recently coaching a partner in a small west coast law firm about their plans for this year when he said, “I'm not sure I see a point in setting goals because everything seems to quickly conspire against us and we easily get so caught up in the day to day operations of the firm that we don’t have time to focus on our goals. Then by the next time we meet, the priorities have all shifted."

Perhaps you can relate. It’s easy to set goals; the hard part is staying focused on them long enough to accomplish them.

Here are 4 tips for staying focused and achieving your goals in 2006:

1. Ask someone to hold you accountable.
Accountability is key when it comes to keeping your commitments. Whether it’s your business partner, an attorney in a different firm, or one of our business coaches, set up a regular time to meet with someone you trust and who has your best interests at heart and request they keep you accountable. Simply knowing that they will ask you about your progress every week can make a big difference to a lot of people.


2. Make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. goals.
This is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, and Timed. A good goal needs to incorporate all of these criteria. It is not sufficient to say “I want to be a millionaire.” That statement may be measurable, but does not include time frames, it does not lay out a specific game plan for how you will accomplish this goal, and it may not be realistic for you at this point in time.

An example of a SMART goal is: “I want to meet in person with a minimum of 4 different potential referral sources every month for the next 6 months and ask them to send me business.”

• Are you tired of waiting around for referrals and need to rapidly increase your revenues?
• Are you satisfied with how fast your revenues are growing?
• Do you want to stand out and stand apart from your competitors?

Practice Made Perfect is a 90-day intensive marketing program specifically designed to help attorneys at small law firms create and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy.

• Discover how to give your firm an edge on the competition
• Create and implement a proven 6-month marketing plan
• Find out how to create dozens of referral partners
• Leverage your technology and beat the big boys
• Significantly increase your revenues in 2006

Our next group starts February 16 and is filling fast.

Speaking of goals, have you taken time to create your 2006 marketing plan? If not, we have a great resource for you: on January 26 we will be sponsoring a 1-hour teleseminar on “ 5 Easy Steps to Create Your 2006 Marketing Plan.”

In this 1-hour teleseminar you will discover:

• A 6-step process for creating your 12-month plan
• What a sample marketing plan looks like
• Creating metrics to define your success and Return on Investment (ROI)
• How to apply a systematic approach to new business development
• 3 Tips for finding 3 new clients in the next 30 days
• A simple approach to begin experiencing results from your growth plan in the next 30-60 days

Your |nvestment is only $29 (Regular $49)— this includes access to downloadable recording of the seminar for future learning and a workbook.

Space is limited. Register today online or by calling 800-447-3852

Announcing the Rainmaker Retreat

We are very excited to launch our brand new 2- day power workshop for attorneys. Join us for a weekend that will forever change the way you market your firm.

At the end of these 2 power-packed days you will understand and be able to apply the core concepts and sec’ret strategies of top leg@l marketers and you will experience dozens of opportunities to put these into practice in your firm through the use of Action Steps and Action Groups.

Our first event will be co-sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bar on March 29. More info to come.

See Stephen Fairley present the "Becoming a Rainmaker" seminar at:

• The New York State Bar Association's Annual Convention (Jan 23)
• The Los Angeles County Bar Assoc (Feb 28 & March 1)
• The Maryland State Bar Association (March 30)