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Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude |
November 2009 |
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 I felt this month's topic would be fitting for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday.It's your attitude, not your aptitude that determines your altitude in business and in life!In the spirit of Thanksgiving - Gratitude is one of the most powerful ways we can shift our current path. Consider the following quote:
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into
enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order,
confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into
success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into
important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for
today and creates a vision for tomorrow." Author Melodie Beattie
Sincerely,
Stephen Fairley
888-588-5891
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Keep Your Mindset Positive
Here's a real life confession: I'm an information junkie.
I scour 20 to 30 different websites every day, keeping track of dozens of stories. I watch the nightly news religiously. I also support the weekly news magazines. I suspect I'm not the only one with these habits. With the overly-negative slant of most news bureaus, it has become increasingly difficult to keep my mindset positive.
Dwelling on the recession will not improve it, but it will make you depressed. There will be winners and losers during this economic crisis. Your actions today will determine your fate tomorrow.
At a fundamental level, you need to stay focused on what's important, on taking positive action, and on obtaining results. You cannot afford to allow forces outside of your control to control your attitude or morale.
So take positive action now by writing down what you can control, including:
 What you pay attention to.
- Whom you pay attention to.
- Whose advice and counsel you seek.
- The action you take on your marketing plan.
- The number of hours you work.
- How you react to negative people.
- Whom you allow to continue working at your office.
Let's talk about that last one a little more . . .
Require Every Single Employee to Either Make You Money or Save You Money:
You can't afford to have employees who are 100 percent overhead. Every single person should be able to identify at least two ways they can either save you money or make you money.
I recall one of the last conversations I had with one of my employees a few years ago, when she politely explained to me, "Stephen, I don't make you any money; I'm pure overhead." That attitude is fine . . . if you're in a Fortune 500 company (her previous employer), but not in a small business. Within 30 days she was gone.
Here are a few ways your employees can either save you money or make you more money:
- Collect an overdue payment from a former client.
- Analyze every bill you receive to check for errors; then look for ways to reduce fees. (Look especially at your cell phone bill, Yellow Page & advertising bills, and bills that do not come on a monthly basis, making them harder to track.)
- Have a staff member or office manager use your VISA reward points to purchase gift cards to an office supply store. (One of my staff members did this and saved us over $600.)
- Book your travel on Southwest Airlines instead of a higher-priced one. (They have the best frequent flyer awards program in the industry.)
- Make sure your monthly invoices go out on time.
- Follow up with every prospect who has called your office for any reason in the last six months. (Most people do not follow through after their initial call, but the need remains.)
- Create a monthly online newsletter or e-zine to keep in touch with current and former clients, prospects and referral sources.
- Call your bank to get them to reverse minimum balance charges and other miscellaneous fees on your checking account.
- Chase down the promised referral fee from other attorneys - better yet, have employees create a written system for tracking when referrals are sent out, when cases are taken, and when the fees come in.
- Schedule a luncheon with you and a potential referral partner.
- Turn billable hours in more quickly so invoices can be sent out.
I've never seen a law firm that could not improve efficiency at least a little bit.
Hold a brainstorming session with your staff on how the firm can save money or reduce expenses and then ask for volunteers who will be responsible for taking action on the items.
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Check Out Upcoming Events!
Friday, December 4 & Saturday, December 5 - Las Vegas Rainmaker Retreat!- Many attorneys want to know if they can still have a life while they are building their business and learning how to increase their revenues and referrals.
That's why it's crucial for you to attend the2 day Rainmaker Retreat being held the week after Thanksgiving. This is where we teach lawyers how they can have it all; increasing the number of clients they have, doubling their income, and yet work less.
"The Rainmaker Retreat was the best business investment I have ever made for my law practice!"
Peter Schaeffer, JD, MD, Solo, Riverside, CA
"This program was the best marketing presentation I have ever attended and I have done lots of marketing and attended many marketing seminars. Stephen is articulate, extremely knowledgeable and bright. I will implement many of his very practical and terrific strategies. Stephen is the best and no one else is even a close second!"
Jeffrey Matsen, Partner, Estate and Asset Protection, Costa Mesa, CA www.jrmatsen.com
"Stephen Fairley has totally changed my perspective on marketing. The Rainmaker Retreat program is mandatory!"
Joseph Arnold, Partner, Fresno, CA www.arnold-blea.com
Register here for our next Rainmaker Retreat
Thursday, December 10 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm · Atlanta, GA Wealth Counsel Education Conference - Westin Peachtree Hotel: Stephen Fairley in conjunction with Jeff Matsen of Wealth Strategies Counsel, will be presenting a two hour workshop entitled: "Becoming a Rainmaker" at their Atlanta Education Event. The two hour workshop will uncover the core concepts and key principles of the proven Rainmaker Marketing System. To register or get more information call 1-888-588-5891 or email info@therainmakerinstitute.com
*We would like to send you a DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at the 2 day Rainmaker Retreat. Yes, we know you are skeptical (we wouldn't have it any other way).So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, we will let our clients do the telling.Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.
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