Building a Law Firm

Out with the old… in with the new.

Here are all the new places you need to go... Like the new Facebook page to get access to the daily recordings - https://www.facebook.com/thechristophersmall/ Follow me on instagram to get a live peek into my life PLUS other super fun content (i.e. this is likely the place I'll do my rants...) - https://instagram.com/thechristophersmall The podcast - subscribe and review to be entered to win my top 10 influential books of all time - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-unconventional-...

LinkedIn Magic with Steven Perchikov | BLF 137

Got a real treat here for you all today. Steven Perchikov the LinkedIn master comes onto the show to talk about how law firm owners can use LinkedIn to get new clients. And, if you want to go farther, faster, click the link below to check out a cool masterclass he put together: https://buildingalawfirm.com/linkedin Enjoy! -------------------------------------------------- The perfect law firm has four elements: 1. consistent quality leads 2. proven replicable sales process 3. processes ...

How Heather Increased Revenue 33% Instantly | BLF 136

Today's episode is a special one because the advice in here is IMMEDIATELY actionable. I know this to be the case because Heather implemented the advice and on the same day saw results! To find out exactly what I'm talking about, listen to the show! The perfect law firm has four elements: 1. consistent quality leads 2. proven replicable sales process 3. processes and systems 4. owner scarcity or expansion If you can master those four pillars you can start a law firm and build a law firm...

3 Common Law Firm Marketing Video Mistakes | BLF 135

I have been doing a bunch of law firm marketing recently in the form of video marketing. I love it for many reasons, one of which is law firm SEO, and another of which is that it just gets us a ton of business. And I see you all out there trying to do the same thing, However, I see a couple of the same mistakes happening over and over and over again, and I wanted to point them out to you today to save you the trouble. First, making your law firm marketing videos on your personal Facebook ...

How to Use Content to Get Law Firm Clients Fast (the ENTIRE framework) | BLF 134

Want more after listening to this? Go to http://q2workshop.com for information on joining me LIVE and in person to work through this process. Ever wonder EXACTLY how I use content to get new clients to my law firm? Well, today is your lucky day. I break it all down here. ------------------------------------------------- Building a Law Firm works on three pillars: 1. consistent content 2. paid advertising 3. Mindset If you can master those three pillars you can start a law firm and build...

What to do (and NOT do) when Business Slows Down | BLF 133

You ever experience a slow down with your law firm? I have - many times. And I will again. Here are some of the things I do to keep from going crazy AND break out of those slumps as fast as possible... -------------------------------------------- Building a Law Firm works on three pillars: 1. consistent content 2. paid advertising 3. Mindset If you can master those three pillars you can start a law firm and build a law firm that will give you EVERYTHING you want in life. These videos ...

Fix Today’s Problems Today… | BLF 132

Common "tomorrow problems" 1. “I need to work on my business and not in my business.” 2. I need to hire an attorney right now when you don’t have consistent revenue or client acquisition systems. 3. I need a new CRM/etc. when I don’t even have clients. Today’s typical problems… 1. I need more potential clients at my door. 2. I need to sign up more of the potential clients that come through my door. 3. I need to be organized enough so that shit doesn’t fall through the cracks. 4. I n...

The Difference Between Winners and Losers | BLF 131

I listened to a podcast the other day that talked about the difference between winners and losers, and I decided to come up with my own list... 1. Winners do the thing when they don’t feel like it. Losers do the thing when it conveniences them. 2. Winners play the long game. Losers quit early. 3. Winners embrace failure. Losers run away from it. 4. Winners invest in themselves. Losers go it alone. 5. Winners don’t make excuses. Losers blame everyone and everything else. 6. Winners hang ...

How to Create Awesome Law Firm Videos…

5 Law Firm Owner Lessons from My Visit to the Dentist | BLF 128

I went to the dentist today. No cavities, but I learned a little about my business. Here are the 5 law firm owner lessons from my visit to the dentist. Cheers, Christopher Small

Lessons from My Office Day in LA | Building a Law Firm 127

Transcript Below... Hey, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Building a Law Firm Podcast. I'm your host, Christopher Small, and this is the Internet's most passionate show about the business of law firms. What is up everybody? Hopefully, you're having a great day, a great week, a great month, a great year. The year is almost over. And, I've been doing some big things to get ready for next year and I'm going share some of those today. But, before we get to that, I wanted to let...

How to Get More Law Firm Clients with Less Work

If you own a law firm and take client meetings of any sort, you know the pain and frustration of actually getting a meeting set up and having it actually happen. There tends to be a lot of back and forth, particularly when someone enters their information on your website on a fillable form. In fact, I'm certain that most of the people that contact you that way you never even hear from again. You reach out to them with the information they provided but all you get in return is crickets. Tod...

5 Law Firm Website Must Haves

When you are starting a law firm there is no more important asset than your law firm website. It creates credibility. It creates trust. It establishes expertise. And, if done right, it can generate a TON of clients. Here are five elements every successful website has. And if your law firm website does not have these things, you are going to lose in the end. 1. Home page/landing page. 2. Blog. 3. Projects. 4. Testimonials. 5. Contact. Cheers. Christopher Small If this isn't eno...

Where Have I Been? | Building a Law Firm 124

It has been quite some time since I last posted a podcast show here, and I wanted to end the drought and tell you a little bit about what I've been doing. It all boils down to four main things. First, the law firm got REALLY busy. So busy, in fact, that my manpower and systems were being pushed to the limit. So... I had to do change something. Second, I hired a new full time paralegal, expanded the office, and got her up and running. Then, the personal life started kicking in. Third, I ...

Don’t Let August Slip Through the Cracks

Don't Let August Slip Through the Cracks August is a month when most people take a vacation. Not much work gets done. It's REAL easy to write August off and tell yourself "in September I'll get back in the game." It's REAL easy to say "my potential clients are taking August off so why even try?" I'm here to tell you that that's fine. Go ahead and do that. But know there are people like me who, although they are taking time off in August, still have their head down and are busting their b...

Three Law Firm Marketing Video Tips for Even Better Results | Building a Law Firm 122

 Three Law Firm Marketing Video Tips for Even Better Results My two video shows, Estate Planning TV (see it at http://cmslawfirm.com) and WA Probate TV (see it at http://pain-free-probate.com) account for a tremendous amount of my business. There are brand building advantages. There are law firm SEO advantages. There are no like trust advantages. And I'm always trying to get law firm owners to create a show for their law firm so they can get new clients on the regular. Most of the tim...

Stop Listening to Law Firm Marketing Advice from Your Mother | Building a Law Firm 121

 Stop Listening to Law Firm Marketing Advice from Your Mother I was playing golf with a guy last week that was not good. He wasn't terrible, but you could definitely tell he was a beginner. As we made our way around the course one of the other guys that was with us, who was also not a good golfer, started giving him tips for changing his swing around. After a few holes of listening to this I leaned over and said to the guy... "If you actually want to get good go get a lesson from a pro...

3 Hidden Reasons You Won’t Advertise Your Law Firm | Building a Law Firm 120

3 Reasons You Won't Advertise Your Law Firm When I started my law firm I was 100% against law firm advertising. I thought it was unnecessary. I thought it was worthless. I thought I would never do it. And then I realized I was an idiot. As more and more time has gone by and I've talked to more and more law firm owners, I've realized most of us have some demons to exorcise when it comes to law firm advertising. The best way to do that is to call out those hidden mental roadblocks holding y...

119: It’s Not Supposed to be Easy…

It's Not Supposed to Be Easy... Systems and processes are necessary for efficiency, a consistent experience and work product, and effectiveness. But make no mistake about it, you are still going to have to will yourself to success every day. You are still going to have to push yourself to perform. You will never truly be "comfortable." So, when you find yourself struggling through the day, don't be disappointed. Rejoice in the fact that you have the guts to push through. Okay, that's it...

118: 5 Reasons Your Law Firm Website Sucks

5 Reasons Your Law Firm Website Sucks I have seen a lot of law firm websites in my day... And most of them suck. I thought I'd run down five reasons your law firm website sucks, and how to fix the problems, so you can get more clients, make more money, and have a better life. Here we go. 1. Your Law Firm Website Is All About You No one cares that you are aggressive or compassionate or dedicated, or that you have an LLM, graduated from Harvard, or are a member of the Rotary. Humans are ...

117: No More Excuses

No More Excuses Every two weeks I have a meeting with a couple of financial advisors. They are more than just referral partners, they are friends. Almost every time, without fail, by the end our lunch we start talking about marketing and what everyone is doing to get business. They keep telling me the same things over and over - and all of these entail a lot of work, a lot of hours, and a lot of grinding (think old school outreach). Then I tell them what I'm doing... a little networking, ...

116: How I’d Spend $500 on Law Firm Marketing

How I'd Spend $500 on Law Firm Marketing So you've got an extra $500 in the bank account and you know you should be using it on law firm marketing but you're not sure what to do? Today I'm going to tell you what I'd do with it (and you might want to listen since what I'm going to tell you is what I'm ACTUALLY doing in my law firm to get new clients every day). 1. BEFORE we even get to what we'd do with the $500 for law firm marketing we need to do something VERY important... We need to do...

115: 5 Law Firm Lessons Learned from My Vacation

5 Law Firm Lessons Learned from Vacation A few weeks ago I took a vacation. We packed up our bags and went to Palm Spring, California for 6 days. I played golf, I jumped in the pool, I went to Stagecoach, I hung with my family, I had a really fun time. On the way home from the vacation I was reflecting a little bit on our time there and putting it into context with where I originally was in my law firm ownership journey. I realized something, in fact, 5 things. I wanted to talk about thos...

114: How to Get Your Law Firm Into the Google Maps Three Pack

How to Get Your Law Firm into the Google Maps 3 Pack In my private Facebook group for my Lifestyle Law Firm Accelerator peeps someone asked a question about getting their law firm into the Google Maps 3 pack. More specifically, their question was about paying someone five hundred dollars a month to do this! I told her not to worry, getting into the three pack wasn't that difficult IF she followed my advice and did what I suggested she do. Here's what I told her: 1. Claim your google maps...

113: How I’d Start a Law Firm TODAY

What I Would Do If I Were Starting a Law Firm From Scratch TODAY I figured today would be a good day to get a little tactical and stop talking about mindset all the time when it comes to starting a law firm. So today we're going to hop in the hypothetical machine and imagine what I'd do if I were starting a law firm today. I came up with 4 things I'd do right off the bat, and you're probably going to think they are a little strange (just trust me, it works). So, if you are starting a law ...

112: Your Lawyer Ego is Your Enemy

Your Lawyer Ego is Your Enemy Ever wonder why starting a law firm is so hard? Why your law firm marketing efforts don't work? Why, no matter what you do you seem to always regress to the middle? The reason is simple - your ego is getting in the way. In this week's episode I talk all about my conversation with my friend Ryan, a chiropractor and business owner, about why it's so hard for professionals to get out of their own way when it comes to starting and running a successful business. ...

111: Pricing Law Firm Services Clients Can’t Wait to Pay

Pricing Law Firm Services Clients Can't Wait to Pay Yesterday I had an interesting conversation with one of my law firm owner clients about pricing. He was trying to figure out how to price a one off product he was presenting to a client and he was having trouble settling on a price. See, he'd already made the fantastic decision to stop billing by the hour and instead bill for value (which means thinking about what the client is actually getting instead of figuring out how many hours somet...

Should I Start a Law Firm YouTube Show? | BLF 110

Should I Start a Law Firm YouTube Show? To answer this question I must first ask you a couple of other questions. 1. Are you interested in being seen as a thought leader in your law firm/city/practice area? 2. Are you interested in people coming to see you ready to sign up? 3. Are you interested in ways to create trust without having to do anything personally? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you MUST have a YouTube show for your law firm. Yes, a law firm YouTube show ...

109: Great Law Firm Owners Don’t Have to Wake Up Early

 Great Law Firm Owners Don't Have to Wake Up Early For some reason I had it in my head recently that to be successful I had to wake up early. I spent a lot of time thinking about what a great law firm owner I'd be when I started waking up at 5 am every day. The journaling I'd do. The meditating. The reading. The legal work. It was going to be AMAZING. And then something happened that kind of threw it all off. The alarm started going off at 5 am, and I didn't wake up. EVER. On the ...

108: Your Attitude is Your Liability

Your Attitude is Your Liability I had a conversation with an Infinity Clients Workshop member the other day that really kind of made me mad. See, things weren't going well for him. He was encountering a lot of resistance in his life. And while he was telling me what was going on I kept hearing a theme repeated over and over and over. "They" are doing x, y, and z. And "they" aren't doing x, y, and z. And if only "they" would change what they were doing things would be wonderful. It was a...

107: 5 Mistakes of Struggling Law Firm Owners

5 Mistakes of Struggling Law Firm Owners I see it all the time. Law firm owners struggling. Grinding hard but not seeing the results they want. And they can't figure out what the problem is. Well, today I decided to tackle five of the most common mistakes I see struggling law firm owners make. 1. Negotiating 2. Scarcity mindset 3. Inconsistent 4. Wrong priorities 5. Wrong sequence If you want the full explanation of these, listen to the podcast. Cheers. Christopher Small P.S. - L...

Q2 Law Firm Goals | BLF 106

Q2 Law Firm Goals In the last episode I looked back at my Q1 law firm goals and reflected on how I'd done and the progress I made. This time we're looking forward to Q2 and laying out our law firm goals. To get the full scoop you're going to have to listen to the episode, but I can tell you a couple of things I'm going to be focusing on this quarter: 1. Creating good habits around scheduling, particularly around waking up at a specific time and completing a morning routine. 2. Focusing p...

105: Q1 Law Firm Goals Review

Law Firm Goals Q1 Review Can you believe the first quarter of 2018 is already over? Are you and your law firm where you expected you'd be right now? Sadly (though expectedly), I'm NOT where I thought I would be. In fact, I'm not anywhere CLOSE to where I thought I'd be. Do you want to know why? Do you want to know how you can use my shortcomings and my process with your own law firm? Then you'll want to make sure you check out this episode. Cheers. Christopher Small P.S. - I've got a...

104: How I Create Systems and Processes

 How I Create Systems and Processes Systems and processes are everything. I have a coaching client who knows how valuable they are, is dying to create/implement them, but just can't. His excuse is that he just doesn't have enough time. Here's the truth - you don't need time. You can start your law firm, build your law firm, and build processes and systems at the same time. Today I'm going to tell you how I do it, and the simplicity of it all is going to blow your mind. If you want to...

103: Why You Should Avoid Bitcoin

Why You Should Avoid Bitcoin Bitcoin was, for a long time, the hottest thing going. The returns were staggering. There seemed to be no end in sight to it's growth. We all know things have changed recently, but I wanted to talk about why you should have never invested in Bitcoin in the first place. The fact is, you already have an investment vehicle at your fingertips that can give you 100%, 200%, even 100% returns. All you have to do is pour your money into it and watch it grow. And the...

102: How to Create a Lifestyle Law Firm

How to Create a Lifestyle Law Firm I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is, it is 100% possible to create a lifestyle law firm. What is that? It's the thing that allows you to do EXACTLY what you want to do. Spend time with family. Golf. Make beer. Draw. Practice law. Whatever that thing is that you want to do, the lifestyle law firm supports you in that endeavor. The bad news is, there are no shortcuts, and if you do it wrong you get the OPPOSITE of the lifestyle law fir...

101: It’s Time to Stop Talking…

It's Time to Stop Talking... Do any of these things sound familiar to you? "I need to work ON my business instead of IN my business." "I just don't have time to create content." "I need to do a little more research on that thing before I launch it." "I'm perfecting it a little more and plan to finalize it soon." If so, then today's podcast is for you. The theme is to STOP TALKING AND START DOING. No more researching, procrastinating, excuses, catchy phrases, or anything else that lets ...

Networking Secrets: Be Selfish | BLF 100

Networking Secrets: Be Selfish... When it comes to networking and starting your law firm it's really easy to fall into the habit of saying yes to everything. Yes, I'll take that coffee with you. Yes, I'll go that "networking" event. Yes, I'll go to that bar association event. When I look back on that time spent, however, I realize that, while it felt good at the time in reality it was a huge waste of time. What I should have been doing instead was being selfish with my time. I should h...

099: Mindset Secrets – The 25 Hour Work Week

Law Firm Mindset Secrets: The 25 Hour Work Week I was sitting around the other day thinking about everyone in Infinity Clients Workshop and how I could better help them get ahead with their law firms and I started doing some calculating. My law firm is successful by the measure of most people, including myself. In year one we did right at $100K. In year two we were just under $200K. And in year three I'm shooting for $400K. The thing is, I have a lot of other stuff going on. 3 kids under...

098: SEO Secrets – How Long Before My Law Firm SEO Works

SEO Secrets: How Long Before My Law Firm SEO Works? When I started my first law firm 8 years ago or so I thought SEO was the best thing since sliced bread. It was easy. It was cheap. It was effective. That trifecta was a winning combination in my book. And I used law firm SEO to make a lot of money. Then things changed. First, the rules changed. It became a lot harder to do what I used to do and stay out of trouble. And second, the market changed - everyone and their brother became an SEO...

097: Mindset Secrets – Why I Love Law Firm Marketing

Law Firm Mindset Secrets: Why I Love Law Firm Marketing I love law firm marketing. I love doing whatever I can to get new clients to come to my firm. And by the end of this episode I want you to love law firm marketing too. I wasn't always this way, though. In fact, far from it. Marketing felt a little sleazy to me. I thought it was a little weird injecting myself in people's lives who were having problems. Over time, however, things shifted. I began to it as my DUTY to reach out people ...

096: Email Marketing Secrets: ONE Thing That Makes All the Difference

Email Marketing Secrets: ONE Thing That Makes All the Difference If I asked you to list a few things that you think might be this ONE thing that I'm talking about you'd probably come up with some ideas. Make sure the headline is catchy. Check your analytics and make sure they are getting opened. Start with a story and then go from there. Don't make them too long. Always end with a call to action. But, when it gets right down to it, there is ONE thing that will make all the difference w...

095: Mindset Secrets – Embrace The Monotony Of Success

Law Firm Mindset Secrets: Embrace the Monotony of Success If there is one lesson that I've learned over the years that has had the most profound effect on my business it is this: business success takes time. It takes waking up day after day, having a plan, and executing on that plan, knowing that it's going to work, but knowing that for it to work IT TAKES TIME. That's why this mindset secret, embrace the monotony of success, is worth an entire podcast episode. If you are starting a law ...

094: Mindset Secrets – Stop Playing By The “Rules

Mindset Secrets: Stop Playing By the "Rules" All of us live by unwritten "rules" we tell ourselves. "I don't have enough experience to enter this market." "I look too young to be taken seriously." "Credit cards are dangerous and should never be used." "If my peers don't think highly of me then I must not be that good." "If I charge a lot for my services and make a lot of money I am a bad person." These "rules" exist only in your head. The sooner you release yourself of these rules and ...

093: Facebook Ads Secrets – The Path to Clients for Your Law Firm

 Law Firm Facebook Ads Secrets: The Path to Clients for Your Law Firm If you are starting a law firm or struggling with your law firm you probably know you should be doing some sort of law firm advertising but your not sure what to do. You know (or you've heard) that Facebook can be an amazing source of clients but your not sure how it works, what the process is like. Today that all changes. I'm going to break down for you the path to law firm clients using Facebook ads. The truth is, ...

092: Google Ads Secrets: Avoid This Costly Mistake

Google Ads Secrets: Avoid This Costly Mistake At some point after starting a law firm you are going to realize something: there is a ton of money to be made by using Google Ads. Realizing it, and making it work for you are, unfortunately, very different things. I know because I've seen this from law firm owners time and time again when it comes to google ads (and pretty much everything else that is new). And avoiding this costly google ads mistake will not only save you money but it will ...

091: Networking Secrets – Two Questions I Ask Everyone

I love networking. It makes me a lot of money. But I used to suck at it. I used to hate it. And part of the reason for that was that I didn't know how to approach it correctly. I was looking for the wrong things. I was talking to the wrong people. I was having meeting after meeting with seemingly no results. And then I realized, I was asking the wrong questions. Networking is a lot more about finding people that are congruent with you and your goals and your plans than it is about findin...

090: The Secret to Great Law Firm Advertising

The Secret to Great Law Firm Advertising For at least the first two years of starting my law firm I did ZERO law firm advertising. I survived heavily on SEO and luck, I think. And, I believe my law firm growth suffered because of that. Today I wanted to talk to you about the secret to great law firm advertising. It's something I discovered after a lot of wasted time and money, so hopefully after reading or listening to this you won't make the same mistake. The secret to law firm advertis...

089: Cheap Law Firm Does Not Equal Efficient Law Firm

Cheap Law Firm Does Not Equal Efficient Law Firm I saw someone in the Facebook Group talking proudly about being a true solo, a true one man law firm, and looking for help and guidance on how to make that set up even more efficient. I felt too bad to bust his chops right there in the group, so I'm doing it here on this episode of the podcast. The truth is, you cannot run your law firm on your own. Sure, you can start a law firm as a one man shop. I did that myself. But as soon as you have...

088: Five Law Firm Owner Networking Mistakes

5 Law Firm Owner Networking Mistakes I talk to law firm owners all the time and I hear and see networking mistakes all the time. Today I wanted to talk about five law firm owner networking mistakes I see, and how to fix them. Because this is a post for a podcast, I'm just giving you the five. If you want the details, you have to listen! 1. Continuing to take bad meetings. 2. Keeping score. 3. Using it as your primary source of business. 4. Trying to have sex on the first date. 5. Usin...