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BUILD. NOT BILLED.
TM
MAY 2018
BUI LDING BLOCKS
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GROW YOUR BU S I NE S S
In the Best Way Possible
L ike just about I operate with an eye on growth. In working toward this continuing every other small- business owner,
to deliver stellar results? Most likely, not at all. When businesses attempt to provide services that are outside their scope of expertise, the results speak for themselves. The client walks away with a service they did not quite expect, and not for the better. They’re frustrated and are probably going to tell others about their poor experience. If you do want to say yes to more people who walk through your door, a great strategy is to expand your wheelhouse — but expand it before you commit to a client. Add services that complement what you already do. A business that installs fences may begin offering temporary barriers to construction sites. People who do lawn maintenance also do tree trimming. The company I use to help take care of my in-ground sprinkler system is a great example of this. Pacific Lawn Sprinklers, a phenomenal company (and Steven is the absolute best!), offers sprinkler services in the warmer months, and in the winter, they take care of my outdoor Christmas decor. They put everything up and take everything down. Their services complement one another. When it comes to growth, however, you never want to forget about your existing client base. They can be your biggest advocates and your biggest source of new clients. It’s all about referrals and retention. Far too many businesses try to go after new clients and skip right past their existing clients. It’s another unsustainable approach to growth. It’s expensive and immensely time consuming. Pursuing referrals and retaining existing clients is far more cost-effective This is when you turn to the relationships you’ve established with existing clients. You want to know the secret to building a strong relationship with the people who do business with you? It can be as simple as staying in touch with them. I keep in touch with my clients with a regular email message, as well as this monthly newsletter, for example.
goal, one of the most important things I’ve come to realize
is that not all growth is good growth.
Think of it this way. When you plant a garden in spring, you plant all your favorite fruits and vegetables. You water and care for them, but you inevitably have some weeds. So, you take steps to eliminate them. You install garden liners or you pull them up as they appear — all so intended plants can grow and thrive. The thing is, it’s easy to grow quickly. Any business can price themselves accordingly and get clients left and right. But when you price yourself “accordingly,” what are you really doing? You’re undercutting your competition in a race to the bottom. If you underprice your services to get a market share, chances are you will get that market share, but at a great cost to you and the long-term success of your business. Or worse, someone can just as easily come along and undercut you. It’s impossible to stay the lowest-price leader and maintain margins. It’s simply unsustainable. Another mistake entrepreneurs make when they’re desperate to grow is developing a habit of saying yes to anyone who walks through their door. A potential client walks in or calls and asks for a service that isn’t quite in your wheelhouse, and you say “Sure!” hoping it will work out in the end.
The problem is this is a poor growth strategy and it can damage your reputation. You may be able to deliver for the client, but will you be able
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GROWTH IS GOOD Welcome Our New Marketing Director and Summer Associates
Do You LOVE Tell us about it for a chance to win a $150 Target gift card. Entries are simple — just give us a call and tell us you love your newsletter for one entry. Or post a picture of you with your newsletter on our social media page to receive two entries! The winner will be picked on July 29. Good luck, and thanks for showing us some love. Justin goes on to say, “One of the most integral elements of my life has always been reading. In doing so, I fell in love with the works of the great poet Maya Angelou. For me, her words continue to transcend pages into the simplest understandings of life. She left the world with one of my favorite quotes that I incorporate daily into my own life: ‘My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.’” SARAH BEECHAY AND SAMANTHA GELLER are our summer associates. Both have recently completed their first year of law school at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law. Our firm benefits from being literally down the street from such a great law school. YOUR LOVE LAW FIRM NEWSLETTER? I ’ve never wanted to work alone. My dream has been to work for myself and create a great team that delivers on a promise: to provide legal guidance to business owners and entrepreneurs in a way that makes them happy to interact with their attorney. At Love Law Firm, I want to create a completely unique experience. As our firm grows, I’ve been very careful to hire people who respect that promise. Always hire for fit. You can teach someone to do any position. But you must hire people who you want to work with and who you want to let your clients interact with. To that end, I wrote two crazy job postings for my marketing director position and my summer associate positions. They had the same qualities: I expected the candidates to understand our firm, to think about our clients, and to write something more than the usual cover letter. I had dozens of applications for the positions — most submitted by people who did not read my instructions on how to apply. The people I did hire, obviously, got it right! JUSTIN THOMAS is the marketing director for our firm. He is a lifelong Freeport resident and a graduate of St. John’s University with a B.S. in public relations. He never expected to work for a law firm, but it does come naturally to him. His great-grandfather was one of the first African-American lawyers in Nassau County. Justin brings his passion to managing the marketing, communications, and social-media presence for the firm. Due to his own dream of being a marketing professional, he says, “Seeing an entrepreneur’s idea blossom into a successful business is one of the most rewarding aspects of working with our clients.”
Hailing from Bloomsburg, PA, Sarah graduated from Pennsylvania State
University’s Schreyer Honors College with a degree in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Her dream is to use her law degree to empower marginalized people and offer legal assistance to those who need it most. She draws inspiration from the words of Cornel West: “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” Sarah also says, “I’m really excited to work for the Love Law Firm because of the friendly culture and the focus on clients. I love to meet new people and learn about them, so I can’t wait to learn about your needs as a client of the law firm and help your business grow! Together, we can conquer any challenges you face, and working with you will teach me everything I need to know about starting and maintaining a business.” Samantha is a native Long Islander and a graduate of Queens College with a B.A. in history. She finds inspiration in her older brother who raised her and “gave up nearly everything” so she could become a law student. To him, she says, “I am forever grateful.” Samantha is inspired to help business owners and entrepreneurs because she says, “Love Law Firm is something I care deeply about because of the approach it has with each and every client it retains. Each client is made to feel that they are important, valued, and
Justin Thomas
Sarah Beechay
Samantha Geller
heard. I hope to learn from our clients the value of cultivating a lasting business relationship, and I hope that they challenge my knowledge in different areas of law.” The many and varied clients of Love Law Firm will do exactly that. Growth is good, indeed. Please join me in welcoming Justin (justin@ lovelawfirmpllc.com), Sarah (sarah@lovelawfirmpllc.com), and Samantha (samantha@lovelawfirmpllc.com) to Love Law Firm!
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O ne of the single smartest decisions I ever made was asking a group of six friends out to lunch in 2016. I thought we could get together and just chat about business for an hour or two. Little did I know what one lunch would become. Since then, this group of six friends has expanded into a group of more than 25 women who are entrepreneurs, business owners, and business influencers. We meet once a month to talk about our businesses. These women are incredible. Every month, after our 90-minute lunch, I leave inspired. We all leave inspired. We sit down and talk about real issues impacting our respective businesses. We talk about how to get new clients, ideas on expanding market share, best hiring practices, and the key things slowing down our success — as well as, conversely, the factors contributing to our success, to name just a few topics we’ve covered.
In many respects, the Business Forum allows us to serve as an informal “board of directors” for one another. It’s part advice forum, part cheering squad. There are no limits. Nothing is off-topic. All ideas are welcome. I started this group with a simple intent. I wanted to sit down and talk with fellow women entrepreneurs. I wanted to forge new professional connections and help others do the same. I am committed to seeing that everyone who participates in the forum gets something out of it, whether it’s support, advice, or even a lead on a new client. We help one another grow as professionals and do what we can to contribute to the success of one another’s businesses. If there is an opportunity for growth, we’re there to support each other along the way. Success, after all, is a collaboration.
AROUND THE FIRM
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People want to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Trying to sell to someone who has never bought from you before is, again, expensive. In fact, it’s the most expensive way to get new clients. When you want your garden to grow and want it to grow well, it takes a lot of hard work and TLC. You will have to tend to your garden every day, but once you begin your harvest — the literal fruits of your labor — that’s when you’ll know it’s completely worth it.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide information about Love Law Firm, PLLC’s qualifications and experience. The information provided in this newsletter does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Any prior results described in this newsletter do not guarantee a similar outcome. Love Law Firm, PLLC’s distribution of this newsletter is not intended to create, and will not create, an attorney-client relationship with you. May 10 Long Island Business Expo, Nassau Coliseum — let’s attend and support Long Island businesses! May 11 LIBF Women’s Lunch — ask me about attending! May 28 Offices Closed — remembering those who gave all! June 8 LIBF Women’s Forum Lunch — ask me about attending!
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Isn’t it time you learned to love your lawyer?
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Growing Your Business the Smart Way! INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1
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Welcome Justin, Sarah, and Samantha
Show Us Some Love
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The Story Behind the Long Island Business Forum
Around the Firm
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Grow Your Business Through Referrals With a Dose of ‘No B.S.’
GROWTH THROUGH REFERRALS
Book Review: ‘No B.S. Guide to Maximum Referrals & Customer Retention’
Growing your company is expensive. Many businesses spend way too much in an attempt to acquire new customers but skip right over referral and retention campaigns. They want to market to a segment they’ve previously had zero contact with. This practice isn’t just costly; depending on your goals and where you are as a business, it can be a huge mistake. But it’s a mistake you can avoid — and Dan S. Kennedy and Shaun Buck are here to help. This is exactly why they co-authored the “No B.S. Guide to Maximum Referrals & Customer Retention: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Plan to Securing New Customers and Maximum Profits.” They wanted to share their insight with other small-business owners and entrepreneurs who are struggling to grow and spending way too much money in the process. The title of Dan and Shaun’s book may be a mouthful, but it tells you exactly what you’ll find in its pages. You’ll find a no-B.S. plan to secure new customers and maximize profits. The operating word here is plan. This book will not do the heavy lifting for you, but it will lay down the foundation you need to focus on your overall goal: growth.
You want to grow your business and acquire new customers. On paper, it’s a straightforward goal, but it’s one that requires a lot of work and planning. This is where Dan and Shaun, along with a bevy of other business professionals, come in. They have answers and advice, and with a track record of success in the realm of referrals and customer retention, it’s advice that holds serious weight. Dan shares his No. 1 strategy for retention. Shaun breaks down the secret to maximizing referrals, and there’s not just one secret. There are many. After all, not everything is going to work for everyone’s business. You can take their ideas right out of their guide and see what works. This doesn’t mean you’re going to find success on the first try. That’s the road to growth. You learn, you find what works — and what doesn’t — and you adapt. The “No B.S. Guide to Maximum Referrals & Customer Retention” is not a one-stop shop for growing your business. It is a stellar resource. It’s an accessible starting point to learn more about referral marketing, and it’s a look inside the heads of professional marketers who have been around the block a time or two.
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