by Linda Green Pierce
As a recruiter and the owner of NWLS, I am self-employed. I'm a corporation, sure enough, but I'm the one who needs to make the wheels move and to stay motivated, thus I am self employed.
So it is at this time of year that I task myself with developing a plan of how my work year and my compensation goals will shape up. In my more than 20 years in this business, I've worked years in which I've put such a plan and budget together and I've worked some years by the seat of my pants, hurtling along without a plan, responding to work as it came in the door. Every year in which I've made a plan and reviewed it regularly, I have gained more clients and made significantly more money -- no matter what the economy status. It is this simple. With a plan: Hit or exceed the mark. Without a plan: floundering.
The largest number of practicing United States attorneys are self employed also. When lawyers reside in large firms and are partners, they are owners and, essentially, are self employed. I also believe that lawyers in large firms who have more than four years of experience should begin thinking of themselves as self employed at that juncture because when they reach partnership, they then become these 'self employed' owners. Better to jump in and get accustomed to planning and goal setting now.
So in a sense we're all self employed. We should all create a plan and review it monthly, track our trajectory and keep us focused and moving forward, whether partner, associate, in house attorney or a sole practitioner.
My success with a plan was largely in the review stage. When I saw in 2Q that I had by then expected to have completed a search for a GC for a certain-sized company at a certain salary range and I had yet to have that search come into my company, you can bet I was thinking hard about how I was going to bring a client or that search in the door.
When I know what I need to do and what activities I should do in order to gain such a search (the goal and its related activities both part of the plan I've already devised), I can immediately focus my energies. That, and I just hate being wrong -- even if on my own "best guess" predictions. That last challenge alone is enough to stoke the marketing flames for me.
Try for four or five goals for the year in your plan. Here's an example of the first goal:
Year in Gear Goals
Goal 1: Me: Desk Production. My desk production will exceed $__________. (You: Personal Billings.)
A. Me: Make at least ____ recruiting cold calls per day by setting aside the time between 1:30 and 3 pm each day to make uninterrupted calls. (You: Set aside a block of time per month for reviewing your goals and future planning; set aside a block of time per day for uninterrupted work on projects. Let your assistant know calls of an emergency nature may be put through; make sure he/she knows the difference and is properly coached.)
B. Me: Make at least ____ client marketing calls or approaches per week. (You: Same and don't forget that if you are an associate the internal partners in your firm are your clients, too.)
C. Me: Conduct in person interviews with at least ____ lawyer candidates each week. (You: Visit clients in person; use the telephone more and email less with direct clients or hoped-for future clients.)
D. Me: Improve the quality of searches obtained from law firms by more in-depth knowledge of the firm giving the search and increasing the number of partners who contribute intelligence to the search description. (You: Improve the quality of work assignments obtained from partners and clients by more in-depth knowledge of the company giving the work and increasing the amount of listening to the client.)
The above goals should not necessarily be your goals, but are a prime-the-pump sample to get you started. Make sure you put in some of "the hard stuff", too -- only you know what that means. For me, the hard stuff is the cold calls, even though I know this is where I've obtained some of my best clients and most impressive candidates. I'd love for my wish list clients and candidates to slide into my lap, but I know it just doesn't happen. The calls are much easier with the plan and a set-aside time. And the sense of accomplishment is a great feeling!
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