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January 2023 The Contractor’s Advantage
HarrisonLawGroup.com (410) 832-0000 jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com
GIVING BACK TO YOUNG ATTORNEYS
Through Experience and Knowledge
I find myself doing a lot more mentoring these days, and for young attorneys, building a career can be challenging. From law school to the practice of law, the road isn’t easy. I was fortunate to have remarkable mentors early in my career. I entered law practice after taking several years off after graduating. Though I gained valuable real-life experience, I didn’t gain much academic experience before law school. But I had some great attorneys to learn from about how to engage in law practice, including the mechanics of writing and litigating and the practicalities of law. The firm I worked at when I got out of law school was called Kramon and Graham, and the excellent attorneys there taught me how to function within a practice, deal with people in disputes, and be practical. At the end of the day, we’re providing a simple service for our clients. The particulars can get complex, but the clients hire us to solve their problems. That doesn’t always mean filing a federal lawsuit or something extreme, but sometimes it just means going into a reasonable resolution for them at a low cost. As I’ve gotten older and progressed in my career, I try to give back not only to those who work under me but also to the young attorneys I work with on cases. I learned the hard way by having to stay up long nights to fix something or lose a motion, but I’d rather have the young attorneys take away the lessons in a more straightforward way. One of the key lessons I try to get across to those I mentor is that we’re dealing with real people . There are a lot of complexities to law, and there can often be rancor between the parties, but it’s important to remember that we’re dealing with people. Maintaining good relations with the people on the other side of the dispute is essential. I think many young attorneys — I was certainly guilty of this — become too strident. They come on too strong, even if they’re technically or legally right. They squander the opportunities that there are along the way! The way the practice of law is currently constituted is meant to be — at least the kind that we run — about becoming an
“There are risks any day you go to trial, but helping your client eliminate those and obtain a result that they are happy with, or at least willing to live with, is an excellent skill to have.”
apprentice to an experienced attorney. I’ve seen other law firms run much more like a business. Everyone has their tasks, and they do those tasks but nothing else. Our law firm is set up in what I’ve always seen as the traditional way, where each attorney develops a skill set to hit practically any client problem within the scope of what we do, mainly construction law. I like to think that I’ve developed a reputation for being reasonable and trying to work with people. I’m always flattered when people suggest I be the one to reach out and try to negotiate something. After practicing for so many years, I work hard to communicate with people who may deeply disagree with my position, and I always try to be reasonable in support of what will work for everybody. Maybe we’re not all happy about it, but it will work. We can all walk away and put this behind us. Those are the kinds of skills that I’ve developed over many years, and I want to help mentor young attorneys to develop the same. The most basic idea of resolving a lawsuit or dispute without going to trial is eliminating all of the risks. Even if you think you have the best case in the world, you are still functioning with a certain amount of uncertainty. There are risks any
day you go to trial, but helping your client eliminate those and obtain a result that they are happy with, or at least willing to live with, is an excellent skill to have.
-Jeremy Wyatt
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com | HarrisonLawGroup.com | 1
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AVOID THE JUNK MAIL LIST By Carefully Crafting Your Copy
Email marketing is one of the most effective, highest- converting, and scalable marketing strategies out there, but it also has one of the highest failure rates. Nothing is worse than seeing your hard work in the junk mail. But that’s precisely what happens when the polished email campaign that took you weeks to perfect gets filtered to the junk folder. It is estimated that 20% of global commercial emails do not reach a customer’s inbox. This number is even higher for email marketers in the U.S., who have the lowest deliverability rate of any country at 77%. Though it may feel a bit discouraging, it is still the most trusted method for business- to-business advertising! Aside from deliverability rates, there’s another issue — your customers aren’t reading your emails! In fact, 39% of consumers have 100 or more unread emails in their inboxes, and 20% report having over 1,000 unread emails. A 2021 study in March found that only about 17% of emails were opened, with a click-through rate of around 10%. It is important to note that your emails might be going to the spam or junk folder or ending up in the trash, and there may be a few reasons why. Spam Filters There are different criteria to assess incoming emails, and after looking at each factor, spam filters assign a spam score. The score determines if an email will pass through the filter — depending on the server — and that’s how it ends up in the customer’s inbox or spam folder.
One of the reasons your emails aren’t hitting the inbox may be that you’re using spam language. Certain words, codes, fonts, or images trigger these spam filters and, in turn, make the emails seem illegitimate. Subjects and Taglines Your subject and taglines have the power to make or break your email marketing campaigns. This is because your customers make a split-second decision about whether to open the email or not when they see your subject line. So it’s crucial to have a clear, strong subject line that draws their attention! After all, if no one opens your email, no one will click through it. Out-of-Date Email Lists If your email list contains addresses that no longer exist, have been disabled, or have full inboxes, your email provider may penalize you. This increases the likelihood of your emails ending up in the junk folder. An updated email list is the core of any email marketing campaign, and by maintaining it, you can create content and offers that reach your audience directly. It all comes down to carefully crafting your copy when sending successful emails. Think of it this way: If the email was sent to your inbox, what are the chances you would open it? If you wouldn’t, you cannot expect your customers to! A well-crafted business email can reach new customers, retain existing ones, and even make a customer purchase again and again.
2 | (410) 832-0000 | jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com
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SHOWING APPRECIATION IN THE WORKPLACE Through Encouragement and Consideration
Tangible Gifts A nice, personalized gift can be a display that you acknowledge your employee’s or coworker’s passions. The more you converse with them and learn about their personal lives, the easier it’ll be to choose a more meaningful gift and bring a smile to their face. Appropriate Physical Touch This language can be tricky, but it’s about respecting boundaries. A high- five, fist bump, pat on the shoulder, and a handshake are generally acceptable, but it is best not to assume. Everyone’s level of comfort differs, so always ask before initiating any type of appropriate physical touch. If you take the time to understand your employees’ preferred language of appreciation, you can communicate more meaningfully and positively.
Have you ever heard of “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman? It’s an incredibly popular book that identifies different ways individuals prefer to give and receive love. You can communicate more effectively with your partners, friends, and family by considering their personal needs and using the language that speaks to them best. But did you know you can apply these same principles to show appreciation and encouragement at work? When you understand and use your employees’ preferred language of appreciation, your workplace culture will significantly improve. Words of Affirmation A “thank you” note or shout-out from a colleague is quite powerful, but it’s even more effective when it’s specific to an act or moment because it shows that you are paying attention to what matters. For your message to be clear,
consider describing the situation you’re referring to, discussing the behavior you are looking to celebrate, and highlighting the impact of the behavior on you, the team, and the organization. Quality Time This language is all about receiving complete and focused attention. This means taking the time for mentorships, checking in meaningfully, and creating moments for teams to connect. For employees who value quality time, having dedicated time to connect and learn from their employers and coworkers can be significantly impactful as they feel seen and heard. Acts of Service Simply picking up an extra coffee for a team member, or alleviating a work task off someone’s plate, shows that you care about their overall well-being and brings them joy.
HAVE A Laugh
Until the 1940s, alarm clocks were a luxury few people in the English working class could afford. Unfortunately, these devices could be unreliable and caused people to miss appointments or oversleep. This ultimately gave birth to “knocker-ups,” the human alarm clocks people hired to wake them up. But knocker-ups didn’t just stand at their clients’ doors and knock to wake them. They became famous for using long poles to tap on clients’ second-story bedroom windows. Some even attached soft hammers or rattles to the ends of the rods to create a more startling sound when they tapped. BEFORE ALARM CLOCKS, KNOCKER-UPS HELPED PEOPLE How These Early Morning Heroes Roused the Sleeping
The most famous knocker-up, Mrs. Molly Moore, used a rubber tube as a make-shift pea shooter and pelted clients’ windows with dried peas! Whatever the method, a knocker-up wouldn’t leave until their client came out the door and headed to work, saving thousands of employees from a waking nightmare!
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com | HarrisonLawGroup.com | 3
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Jeremy Wyatt jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com HarrisonLawGroup.com (410) 832-0000
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Inside This Edition
1. 2. 3.
The Invaluable Resource of a Mentor
Why Do Emails End Up in the Trash?
The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace All About Knocker-Ups: England’s Human Alarm Clocks A Guide to Building a Customer Loyalty Program
4.
NEW YEAR, NEW APPROACH TO LOYALTY PROGRAMS!
Choose tactics that will encourage loyalty. Loyalty programs have to stay consistent, but customers still love originality! You don’t have to neglect any new business development because the right approach can introduce unique and different benefits that excite customers. Some examples to consider are: • Premium service guaranteed 24/7 • Additional discounts when purchase milestones are reached • A point system • New benefits for referrals • Product protection with an active membership Train your employees to be well-versed advocates. Taking the time to walk your employees through your loyalty program will guarantee they are confident in explaining and promoting it to customers. They will be more invested in your program if your employees know the perks, features, terms and conditions, and all the other essential information you’re trying to bring to light. If you’re looking to kick-start a brand-new loyalty program or want more customers to sign up for your loyalty program in 2023, these tips will surely help! Achieve this, and your loyalty program will enjoy tremendous success.
The truth is that consumer loyalty is harder to find than ever. Consumers have more options available for any service or product they need, which is why businesses must set themselves apart from competitors to retain customers. And a loyalty program may be the thing that makes you stand out from the rest! Loyalty programs have proven to grow customer retention and help reach new customers organically — and what business wouldn’t want that? Start with the customer experience. A positive customer experience promotes loyalty, retains customers, and encourages brand advocacy. This also allows companies to get feedback on what customers like and dislike. The data collected helps leverage key customer insights you can implement into any loyalty program. Decide which customers to target. Based on the feedback collected, you can categorize your customers according to your objectives. These can include, but aren’t limited to, customer profitability, volumes of purchases, location(s), and buyer types. If you recognize your demographic, you can tailor your loyalty program to them. This ensures that your customers like what they see and are more likely to return or refer a friend.
4 | (410) 832-0000 | jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com
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