Learn How to Embrace Confidence and Profit with Charley Mann
Let's be real: we're in business to make a profit. It's good to be kind, but as a lawyer, you've got bills to pay, people who need salaries, overhead costs — we can't work for free. It's time to stop being ashamed that we're working for profit while seeking justice for our clients. You can’t become the best law firm around if you don’t have resources to work with.
In this episode, Charley Mann discusses critical elements of improving profits so you can become the best law firm you can be. We begin by explaining the relationship between law firm owners and profit. We'll also discuss advertising and streamlining processes to scale your law firm. One critical element that law firm owners need is confidence. The bridge to success is in front of you; all you have to do is step on it!
If you're a legal practice looking to boost profit and become the best law firm you can be, this episode is for you!
Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:
- Learn why profit is a critical element of being a law firm.
- Discover tips to improve your company and become the best law firm around.
- Understand how important confidence is when running a law firm.
Resources
- Join the Law Firm Growth Summit’s Facebook community
- Get to know more about Charley through LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Visit the Great Legal Marketing
- Check out Get Staffed Up
Episode Highlights
Charley’s Background
- Charley has been working with law firms for more than a decade.
- His career path changed when he met Ben Glass. While working with Ben, Charley saw how entrepreneurship changed other people’s lives.
- His life mission is to give law firms a voice to achieve their business goals.
- Everyone has a place in their company — including you. Being the best law firm requires knowing no one should have too many hats!
On Marketing and Advertising
- Marketing costs are always higher than your advertising costs because they include the salaries for people you hire and giveaways in addition to advertising.
- Marketing entails embedding your brand in the community and creating a positive experience to get more referrals.
- Every law firm should have an advertising budget. The percentage of your income dedicated to ad spending depends on your revenue.
- The percentage typically is high — up to 15% if you have low revenue — but decreases as your profits grow.
Moshe: “The reality is if you want to have a result, you need to operate from ‘be, do, have.’ I need to start being the person in that future picture first. When I start being that person, then I'm going to start doing the things I need to do. And then I'm going to have what I want."
Act Like A CEO Of The Best Law Firm
- Make decisions consistent with the goals of your company.
Charley: “If you have decided that you are the future owner of a $3 million law firm, bring that into the present, and start making decisions as if you were a $3 million law firm owner.”
- There is a difference between taking the leap of faith and getting caught in the cult of entrepreneurship.
- Cult entrepreneurship is when you believe something is your dream because someone else tells you it is.
Take The Leap of Faith
- Be confident and act your role — if you’re the director of a movie, make decisions as if you were the director, because you are!
- Act as if you’re the owner of the law firm you want, and decide based on that perspective.
Charley: “That's what I like in all of this too — is taking that leap of faith. That bridge is there for you to cross it; you just have to have the confidence to step on to it.”
- Check your probability of winning or losing cases to get a better depiction of your cash flow.
Super Profit Practice
- Super profit practices refer to firms that aim for maximum profitability for the owner.
- You need about six to seven people to be a million-dollar company.
- Envision what the best law firm looks like and structure your processes and workforce according to that vision.
Charley: “You just have to have the financial discipline to start talking stuff away.”
Advantages of Offshore Staffing
- Offshore staffing helps save money and increases the power of your workforce. Listen to the full episode to know how you can maximize outsourcing.
Charley: “But you use those resources to achieve efficiencies as you grow and prevent complete depletion of your profit margin.”
- Know what you’re good at and what you want to do.
- Understand your business metrics and let them guide you in making intelligent decisions.
The Revenue-Per-Employee Model
- Some employees can be combined into a single role in your company, such as an attorney plus their VA.
- An employee in your company should be producing revenue approximately five times what you're paying them.
- The owner should get at least 25% profit at every stage of the business.
Fixing Revenue-Per-Employee Problems
Charley: “I balance in the direction of future expected revenue because…you need the capacity and operations to realize the enterprise you are running in reality.”
- Understand your capital outlay to produce the results you want
- Fix the unnecessary redundancies in the workforce.
- Find the process problems and solve them.
- Revisit your pricing.
On Building Profit
- You won't be able to expand your business if you don't charge enough.
Charley: “…there are people, like myself and Moshe, who believe in you more than you believe in yourself. And all that we're asking is for you to meet us where we already are for you.”
- You will flourish and serve your community if you believe in yourself.
- You need confidence to become the best law firm.
About Charley
Charley Mann is a marketing specialist and executive coach who trains solo and small business owners how to advertise their practices to generate more money and live the lifestyle they choose. Moreover, because he knows how to transform a losing business into a profitable one, it has become his life's mission to teach every lawyer about the benefits of education-based direct response marketing.
Before entering the marketing scene, Charley graduated from George Mason University with a bachelor's degree in theater. After graduation, he was exploring numerous options when he came across Ben Glass' philosophy, which piqued his interest. While working with Glass, Charley honed his copywriting, SEO, print advertising, and online marketing skills.
You can connect with Charley through LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Author
Moshe Amsel
Author
Moshe Amsel the host of the Profit with Law podcast is not an attorney. As the owner of a successful accounting firm DreamBuilder Financial and Law Firm Growth coaching organization Profit with Law, Moshe has proven that there are better and different ways for a law firm to do business and be successful.
