Don’t Let an Outdated Website Drag Down Your Estate Planning Practice

By Foster Web Marketing The problem with websites is that they aren’t a one-and-done-thing. You have to add content. You have to keep up on the maintenance. And, over time, you have to be able to recognize when it’s time for an upgrade. Technical standards for websites change every few years. People’s expectations for websites change, as well. The website that looked and worked great three years ago probably doesn’t look or work so well today. And that’s why, every few years or so, you need to redesign your website and bring it up to speed with today’s standards. If…

The Outstanding Success of an Estate Planning Attorney’s First Year in Practice

Interview of Attorney Leigh Cowden by Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach I had the opportunity to meet Leigh Cowden virtually through a Facebook group she formed called Lawyers Doing Seminars.  I followed a lot of her success and she gave me the opportunity to share some of our own seminar marketing tips with the group on one of their monthly Zoom sessions.  From there, she began to inquire with me about what we do and attended our Ultimate Level event in Dallas in May.  I have followed her progress over the past few months and she then shared with the…

5 Tips for Building Your Estate Planning Referral Network

By Foster Web Marketing Many estate planning firms rely heavily on referrals—and, more often than not, those referred clients tend to be “perfect clients” for the firm. From the start, they’re already more inclined to hire you because they’ve been sent to you by their family or friends. They’ve already heard wonderful things about you and your staff, and they know that you’ve already helped people in situations similar to theirs. It should be absolutely no surprise that these are the types of leads that are most likely to convert into real clients and cases for your firm! A significant…

The Top 8 Mistakes Estate Planning Attorneys Make When Buying or Selling a Practice

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law If you’re an estate planning attorney, like it or not, you will exit the practice of law someday. And I’m sure if you’ve already built a good practice, you would like to see a smooth, professional transition of your clients when the time comes, as well as maximize the financial return for all of your many years of hard work. If you’re an estate planning attorney who is still building your practice, you are probably looking for the cheapest…

How Law Firms Are Harnessing the Power of AI in Marketing

By Foster Web Marketing With the rapid advancements in 2023, law firms are increasingly recognizing the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and applying it to their marketing and lead-generation strategies. These innovative strategies may be new, but they’re powerful. And the firms that embrace them have been able to quickly gain a competitive edge, streamline their processes, and drive more profitable growth with fewer resources. Below, let’s take a look at some of the ways law firms are harnessing the power of AI in marketing and putting themselves on the cutting edge of this emerging trend. Understanding AI in…

Most Estate Planning Websites Are Designed to Fail

By Tom Foster, Owner and Founder of Foster Web Marketing The websites for most estate planning law firms suffer from a common problem. It’s a problem that is completely obvious to visitors and potential clients, but it often goes undetected by the lawyers that own the website. In the lawyers’ eyes, their websites appear to be attractive and contemporary, with all the bells and whistles needed to attract, convert, and retain their ideal clients. However, in the eyes of their visitors, their websites are falling flat. So, what’s going on? What is this problem that’s so pervasive that it affects…

5 Reasons Estate Planning Websites Attract the Wrong Clients

By Foster Web Marketing You’ve launched an awesome website for your estate planning firm. You’re getting loads of traffic. You’re eagerly waiting for your perfect clients and referral sources to knock on your digital door. But—wait a minute—why are you getting so many inquiries from folks that aren’t a great fit for your firm or seem to be looking for legal services you don’t offer? If you’re scratching your head and questioning the value of your investment, I don’t blame you. But I also know it’s also a problem that can be solved when you dig deep into your website…

Is Workplace Stress Killing You? We Can Help.

By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach If you’re running your own estate planning practice, chances are, you’re stressed. Running your own law practice is no easy thing to do.  Meeting with clients.  Dealing with difficult cases and situations.  Getting documents out the door.  On top of the actual lawyering stuff, dealing with the normal day-to-day business activities.  Hiring the right people.  Making sure they’re working efficiently.  Making sure that your employees are getting along and managing any conflicts that may arise.  Dealing with toxic employees.  Figuring out how to get new clients through the door.  Making sure you meet payroll….

Should You Be “Tweaking”?

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Most estate planning professionals would love to make more money, while reducing their work time and stress. Unfortunately, many believe that in order to achieve these lofty goals, you have to do a complete “makeover” of your practice – – and that degree of change is scary! However, this is more myth than truth. In fact, there’s a universal business principle sometimes called “the law of incremental change”, which I call “the law of tweaking” (shame on you if…

Are You Spending Too Much Time (and Money!) to Bring In New Clients?

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law I recently conducted not one, not two, but three different coaching consultations in a single week with fellow colleagues who all expressed to me the same major challenge in their practice.  If three firms, in such a short period of time, happened to share this same issue with me, then I thought there must be others out there who must be grappling with it too!  Hence, this article. All of these firms complained about spending far too much time…