Spotlight Branding - June 2021

Spotlight Branding - June 2021

JUNE 2021 (800) 406-7229 SpotlightBranding.com

Stop! Are You Sure You Want to Let Your Team Stay Remote? THE FIRM-KILLING DOWNSIDE OF WORKING FROM HOME

Despite the title of this article, I want to start off by saying I’m not a diehard pro- or anti-work-from-homer. I know there are benefits to working remotely. Companies that do it can reduce their overhead, cut costs on breakroom snacks, and increase morale with employees who are excited to work in their pajamas. In fact, I’ve seen more and more surveys indicating that teams want to work from home. But just because your team wants something doesn’t mean it’s good for your business — which is why I’m an advocate for office culture. Yes, that’s right. Despite what Facebook and Square apparently believe, I think the cons of long-term remote work outweigh the benefits. The biggest con is the chilling effect working from home can have on company culture. It’s difficult to build your firm’s culture with an all-remote team. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it isn’t easy like it would be in an office. And without a good company culture, your firm is as good as dead. As you might recall from past newsletter articles, I’m a big believer in having solid core values and a strong company culture. I believe that a vibrant, positive culture is the key to Spotlight Branding’s identity and growth, and to your firm’s, too. You can achieve that through team-building activities (which, yes, can be done remotely) and through the mood, vibe, and energy of your office (which can’t). There is no “vibe” over Slack or Google chat. In order to create and maintain a culture, you have to make your employees feel something.

They need to be invested. And it’s much harder to tap into those feelings from blocks, miles, or even states away.

be any more spontaneous collaboration on the way to the kitchen or the bathroom because, well, your employees won’t have to pass any colleagues to get there. The third problem is more of an issue for your employees than it is for you: If your company goes remote, what’s the point of having full- time, U.S.-based workers? I’m serious! I’m sure your team is great, and I love supporting domestic companies and products, but if you move to a permanent remote model you may end up overpaying for the work your team does. I’m not afraid to say it: You could hire in a part of the country where cost of living is lower, or move your workforce overseas, and save quite a bit of money. (This is the moment that, if you’re an employee, you should remember to be careful what you wish for!) As I said, I’m an advocate of office culture. My team came back to work as soon as we felt safe, keeping COVID-19 precautions in place. But if you do decide to shift to a permanently remote model against my best advice, at least do it the smart way. Double down on building your culture, encourage collaboration, and consider saving some money and hiring workers who are overseas. To learn how to hire internationally, stay tuned to our future newsletters. I’ll have a special guest step in to create an article to walk you through it.

“Without a good company culture, your firm is as good as dead.”

The quick and dirty truth is that it takes far more effort and intentionality to build culture online than it does in person. And if you’re like most of the lawyers we work with, you probably don’t have the time or inclination to go that extra mile. Unfortunately, if you continue to let your team work remotely without doubling down, your firm’s culture will start to fall apart around you. You might not even notice until it’s too late. The second problem with working from home is that collaboration may fall off a cliff. I love technology, but reaching out to a coworker over Zoom or Slack, even if it only takes one click, isn’t the same as poking your head into their office. For one thing, it’s missing that exciting, tangible, personal element. For another, it’s bound to happen less often. If your team is working remotely, there won’t

–Marc Cerniglia

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Jeremy Baker had a dream of running his own law firm. After nearly two decades of “big law” practice, Jeremy finally made the decision to pursue that dream and enlisted Spotlight Branding for help. Over the next few months as Jeremy worked to get everything in place to open up, he also worked closely with us, staying in consistent communication with our team to create his new firm’s online presence that he said “exceeded my expectations.” We designed a premium website, helped to write social media and blog content that reflected his voice, and sent out newsletters to his email list. With his new firm up and running, we’re excited to watch Jeremy grow his business, and we’re proud to be at the top of the list for reasons he was able to make his dream a reality. SUCCESS STORY: BAKER LAW, DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION COUNSEL

WANT MORE REFERRALS AND BETTER CLIENTS? Visit SpotlightBranding.com/NL to schedule a call!

If You Want a Healthy Business, Nurture a Healthy Mind

SCHEDULE TIME TO DO THINGS YOU FIND RESTFUL. We have a pretty good idea of how to improve our physical health in various situations: If we’re cold, we throw on an extra layer. If we want to lose a few pounds, we exercise and eat some vegetables. However, when it comes to improving our mental health, we might be at a loss. According to the Harvard Business Review, the best way to rest your mind is to force it to work on a singular task, such as a puzzle, craft, or exercise routine. So long as you find the activity restful and it takes your mind off work, you should set aside time to do it for the sake of your mental health. LIMIT THE NOISE AROUND YOU. The world is a chaotic place — it always has been. The only difference is that now, we have the means to see everything happening on our planet through our computers and smartphones. It’s good to stay informed, but when we let the media noise dictate how we feel on any given day, it might be time to curtail social media exposure. The world will continue to turn, even when we’re not looking. The above tips are by no means prescriptive. You can take parts of one or a couple of them and leave the rest. The point of sharing these tips, however, is to encourage you to do something . As an entrepreneur, you can’t afford to ignore your mental health and hope everything is okay. So, take some of this information and use it to build success in your business and your life.

Entrepreneurs drive the economy forward with innovative solutions to big problems in business. How different businesses have weathered the pandemic this past year is proof of that. However, while entrepreneurs generate success for their businesses, one aspect of that role isn’t discussed enough: their mental health. According to Dr. Michael Freeman, a psychiatrist who studies how entrepreneurship affects the brain, entrepreneurs are more susceptible to a number of mental health conditions than non-entrepreneurs. They’re 30% more likely to suffer from depression, 29% more likely to live with a hyperactivity disorder, and 11% more likely to fall on the bipolar spectrum. The confidence of your customers and workforce depends, at least in part, on your mental health, which is why every entrepreneur should consider seeing a mental health professional. However, abiding by a few basic principles can also help you nurture a healthy mental state. PIVOTWELL AND STAY POSITIVE. The unexpected will happen. Ironically, that’s all you can expect as an entrepreneur. So, when you put together plans to grow your business, make contingency plans as well. Just because you have those back-up plans does not mean the worst will happen. If something unexpected does happen, instead of immediately considering all the possible negative outcomes, think of the potential positive outcomes instead. Remember that just because the steps to achieve your goal might shift, it doesn’t mean your goal has to change.

More Referrals. Better Clients. Higher ROI.

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and desires. Are they scared? Sell them reassurance. Are they in a hurry? Sell them speed. To go back to Donald Miller’s “Building a StoryBrand,” this simple mindset switch centers the client as the hero and makes you the guide. It might sound complicated to craft a different sales pitch for every client, but you can use the exact same tactic each time to put yourself on the path toward nurturing a happy client. Instead of going into the room with answers, go in with 5–10 questions like these: • What do you hope your life will be like when this case is over? • How would you like to feel in six months? • What are you afraid of? • How would you describe your ideal lawyer? • How long are you prepared to wait for your case to be resolved? Questions like these will help you unearth what is important to your potential clients, sell your services to them more effectively, and prevent basic sales mistakes. Without it, you’re taking shots in the dark. Say, for example, that you’re a divorce attorney and you’re proud of your firm’s efficiency, so in consultation, you emphasize speed, speed, speed. But the client in front of you doesn’t care about speed — they’re willing to wait as long as it takes if they get the house and their boat in the end. If you don’t unearth that motivation, you will continue selling to them the wrong way — and probably lose them as a lead. Don’t underestimate the impact of the client’s needs, wants, and desires. Instead, make them the center of your story and train your team accordingly. Your consultation rate will soar.

Think about how consultations usually go at your firm. What talking points do you and your team bring into those meetings? If your answer is “who we are, what we do, and the cost of our services,” there is a fundamental flaw in your consultation model keeping you from converting clients: You’re selling yourself instead of selling solutions. Every client is different, so you can’t sell to all of them the same way (by selling yourself). Instead, you and your team need to tailor your sales pitch to the client, selling the answers to their needs Turn More Consultations Into Happy Clients WITH THIS SIMPLE MINDSET SWITCH

RESOURCE OF THE MONTH

FEATURED EPISODE From Our Newest Podcast, Center Stage

Time Tracking Made Easy USE CLOCKIFY TO SEE HOW MUCH TIME YOU’RE ACTUALLY SPENDING ON TASKS! Time management is a HUGE issue for many attorneys. We’ve had obstacles related to time management in our office, too, and to figure out where we could improve, we worked backward. In order to figure out how to solve a time management issue, you need to first understand where all your time is going in the first place. much time you’re spending on things like marketing, bookkeeping, and more. If you’re billing your clients hourly, Clockify can also help you track the time you’re spending on individual cases. Track your time for 60–90 days to get a good idea of how much time you’re spending on various tasks and look at the reports Clockify generates for you. You might be surprised just how much time you’re spending doing non-legal work! Visit Clockify.me to get started. Want more tools for your law firm? Visit SpotlightBranding.com/rotm That’s where Clockify comes in. Clockify is a free time-tracking tool that allows you to separate your tasks (projects) into various categories so you can see how

If you’re looking for more great resources to drive your business forward, take a look at this episode from our newest podcast, Center Stage. 012 – Going Solo With Attorney Jeremy Baker Are you thinking about taking the leap and opening your own firm? Attorney Jeremy Baker was in your shoes at one point, and he decided to take the leap. Now, he’s running a successful solo practice and joins us to talk about his experience and provide some insight on his journey. If you want more referrals, better clients, and higher ROI on all your marketing, call us today at 800-406-7229 to schedule a consultation! Listen to this episode and find even more at

SpotlightBranding.com/centerstage and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, or over a dozen other platforms!

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

9624 Bailey Rd., Suite 270 Cornelius, NC 28031

(800) 406-7229 SpotlightBranding.com

THIS ISSUE INSIDE

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Is Working From Home Destroying Your Firm? Success Story: Baker Law Limit the Noise Around You How to Turn More Consultations Into Happy Clients Resource of the Month Going Solo With Attorney Jeremy Baker How to Ensure You Don’t Miss Out on Repeat Business

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Have Your Past Clients Forgotten You? THE EASY WAY TO CAPTURE REPEAT BUSINESS AND REFERRALS

A few months ago, a Spotlight Branding client told us a story that is every lawyer’s worst nightmare. It all started when our client (we’ll call him Justin) got a phone call. “Hello!” said the person on the other end of the line. “I’m looking for a lawyer who can help me with a family law issue.” “Oh, I’m sorry!” Justin told the caller. “Family law isn’t my specialty. But I know another lawyer who is excellent at it. Let me give you her name.”

remember her name or figure out how to find her. So, I went online and found you instead!” Justin’s heart sank. He was thrilled that the caller had found him online and was inspired by the content we’d helped him create, but he also felt awful for his friend. This client, with their thousands of dollars of repeat business and potential referrals, had almost gotten away. It’s chilling to think you could be that family law attorney, losing clients without even knowing it, despite being excellent at your job. Maybe you are that lawyer, and you just don’t realize it! How would you know? Fortunately, you can prevent this from happening to your firm. To ensure you aren’t forgettable, you need to do what the

family law attorney didn’t do: Bring every new client and contact into your firm’s Content Loop™. The Content Loop™ is Spotlight Branding’s tried-and-true method of keeping your firm top of mind. (Find out more about it at SpotlightBranding.com/NL.) To leverage its power, invite your new contacts to join your mailing list or social media pages, then put out consistent content like a monthly newsletter, social media post, blogs, and videos. This will keep your name fresh in your network’s heads and ensure you capture their repeat business and referrals. With the Content Loop™ in your back pocket, you’ll never find yourself forgotten like that family law attorney. Your name will always be in your client’s inbox or newsfeed, just a click away.

When Justin passed on the name of the other attorney, his caller gasped.

“Oh my gosh, I actually worked with her three months ago,” they said. “I was very happy with her work and wanted to get in touch with her again, but I couldn’t

More Referrals. Better Clients. Higher ROI.

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