In the first post, dedicated to using seminars and speaking engagements to bolster your client development efforts, I discussed the four most popular approaches to hosting these events. In this article I’ll discuss setting the date, finding the location and receiving referrals and clients for all of your efforts.

The date for your seminar should not conflict with the business cycles of your target audience. If you create a seminar for CPAs, for example, during tax season — don’t expect high attendance. When you consider that many people are away during the summer and too distracted during the end of the year holidays, spring and fall are usually the best times to schedule your seminar. Do remember to schedule enough time before your seminar to send invitations or place advertising in order to fill the room. Read More….

One of the most powerful ways to position yourself as an expert, and increase the number of clients interested in your services, is to conduct seminars, lead workshops and speak in front of targeted groups. I find that as part of a word-of-mouth marketing plan, public speaking can expose you to greater numbers of people, showcase your expertise and enroll new clients. It works for me, and if your practice area lends itself to this kind of approach, it can work for you. Read More….

One of Atticus’ family law attorneys once mentioned that he did not fully appreciate the benefits of checklists and systems until he decided to pursue his pilot’s license. Then the value of systemizing became abundantly clear.

When writing our book on Time Management we interviewed a professional pilot to learn the aviator’s approach to systeming. We spoke to G. Patrick Owen, who, at the time of the interview was a co-pilot on a DC 10 with Northwest Airlines. He had also worked as an instructor at Northwest and in the Navy as a carrier pilot and instructor.

I decided to take another look at this interview in light of the fact that there have been two recent and well-publicized incidents involving the failure of commercial aircraft: the first incident, in which the pilot chose to set his aircraft down on the Hudson River showed immense skill, judgement and an ability to follow systems, thus saving hundreds of lives. The second involved the crash of a small commercial carrier whose pilots were seemingly untrained and appeared to be in gross violation of their standard systems.

There is a lot to be learned from the world of aviation when it comes to systemizing. People’s lives depend on how good an airline’s systems are and how well they are followed. As a standard rule, the more dangerous the occupation, the more systemized it will be. While in your law practice you don’t have to worry that your actions will harm anyone physically, a mistake on the part of yourself or your team can do substantial legal damage. Read More….

We recently conducted a conference call in which we discussed the idea of a “Case Status Review” meeting. One of our listeners sent us an e-mail asking for more detail. Here’s her question:

“I sat in on “Survival Of The Fittest” a few weeks ago. One of your suggestions was doing a case status meeting. I shared this with the senior partner and he thought this was a good idea.

Would you be willing to e-mail bullet points on how to run one of these meetings?” Read More….

The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, a forward looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 2.1% to 82.1 from a reading of 80.4 in January. Although below the February 2008 number of 83.3, this indicates a positive trend. The index in the South rose 4.4% to 85.8; this is only 0.1% below a year ago. Read More….

In a recent Reuters News release President Obama and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke pointed to signs that the recession is ebbing as a result of a stronger Real Estate market, recapitalized banks and the auto industry rescue measures. Read More….

Read any Real Estate oriented news release, news feed or website these days and you will observe two dominant themes, the state of the economy and new forms of communication. Read More….

Anyone associated with the real estate market these days is living in very interesting times. The current downturn has affected owners, buyers, sellers, real estate agents, lenders, builders, developers, taxing authorities, retailers and educational institutions and attorneys — most notably you attorneys who have built your practice around real estate closings. Read More….