Many years ago, when I was making appearances for other attorneys, I was hired by the wife of an attorney who had become ill and couldn’t work for the better part of a year. He could talk to clients on the phone but couldn’t leave home. During his convalescence, I handled his court appearances, depos and arbitrations. I thought about that recently when I read a question posed by James Clear in his newsletter: “If…

The deluge (of emails and ads) is almost over. At least until later this month when they pick up again. ‘Tis the season. And there’s something to be learned from watching it all. In particular, the power of deadlines. When you know there are only a few hours left before you “lose” a discount, or there are only a few widgets left before they are all gone, it plays to our innate “fear of loss”.…

There are many elements that go into an effective marketing campaign. And by campaign, I mean all of things you do to bring in new clients and repeat business and otherwise build your practice. All of it. Headlines and email subject lines, offers, building trust, building relationships, stimulating referrals, client relations, SEO, effective website navigation, content marketing, engagement, copywriting, and the list goes on. Some factors are much more important than others. But there is…

“What’s your best productivity hack?” That’s the question posed to a group of busy executives whose answers were reported in an article I just scanned. (That’s one of my hacks: scan more, read less). Anyway, a surprising number mentioned a specific type of multi-tasking they do. Several of the respondents use their driving time to make calls. It lets them use what would otherwise be downtime to get some (billable) work done. That surprised me…

Got an email recently from a business consultant who contacts me a few times a year. That’s her first mistake. A few times a year and people forget who you are or why they signed up on your list. Or IF you signed up on your list. But I remembered her and didn’t send her email to spam. Unfortunately, even though we’ve spoken, she didn’t remember me. Her email started like this: “Hi David”. So…

  In interviews, Jerry Lewis was routinely asked for the secret to comedy. He would often ask the interviewer to repeat the question. Before they could finish asking, Lewis would interrupt with the answer: “Timing”. Which usually got a laugh. Because it was a display of spectacularly bad timing. Sometimes, he’d go in for seconds. “Okay, ask me again.” After they repeated the question, Lewis would say nothing. Dead air. Then, after a few beats,…

In interviews, Jerry Lewis was routinely asked for the secret to comedy. He would often ask the interviewer to repeat the question. Before they could finish asking, Lewis would interrupt with the answer: “Timing”. Which usually got a laugh. Because it was a display of spectacularly bad timing. Sometimes, he’d go in for seconds. “Okay, ask me again.” After they repeated the question, Lewis would say nothing. Dead air. Then, after a few beats, he…