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May 2010, Issue #48

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In this issue:

Tolerations & Internet Marketing

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I think that it is time for a couple of "odds and ends" in this newsletter. So let me start with a "Best of Thomas Leonard". Who is Thomas Leonard? He was the father of modern professional coaching. He passed away seven years ago at a relatively young age...in his early 50s from heart disease.

One of the concepts he popularized was the notion of "tolerations". What are tolerations? Well if you really want to see a list download it off my website to help spark your thinking. We humans tolerate a lot in life. It comes with the ticket to the game. A toleration is anything in your life that you put up with, accept, take on, are dragged down by (other people's behavior or even our own) etc. It can be major or it can be minor.

OK so now that you know what they are how do you deal with them? Well, first make a list. Just by acknowledging them and writing them down you will be well on your way to eliminating some of them. Next, prioritize the list from the most to the least negatively impactful to you. You don't have to take on every area of your life if you don't want to do so in making the list. Just focus on your practice now if that is your concern. Now looking at the list pick three to five to focus on first. Don't make them all big or tough ones. Make some of them small ones that are easy to handle.

Now put time on your calendar to get them handled if needed and treat it like an appointment with a client. Things that are put on the calendar are done or so says time management/productivity research. If it is a major thing to fix, put multiple times on your calendar until it is completed. Remember that we are looking for progress and not perfection in this process. It is a marathon and not a sprint.

Once you complete one on the short list of 3 to 5 then mark it off. If you are making no progress on the list then maybe you need to hire a coach he says with a smile. When you have your 3 to 5 complete then go back to the master list and redo the process.

Now, just for fun you might want to add tolerations to the list as you run across them since you first did the original list. Thus, you are constantly adding and subtracting from the list. Over time there should be less adding and more subtracting as you see the master list go down.

I have been involved in Internet marketing since 1994. I am becoming more and more drawn into Internet marketing by my clients and strategic alliances. By that, I mean I spend more time coaching on Internet marketing issues as well as learning even more about internet marketing than any other issue I coach law firms about. The single biggest mistake virtually all of them have made is thinking they can delegate Internet marketing to someone on the team or a vendor that they found or worse yet found them. Vendors have a hammer and you my friend look like a nail to them. They will sell you (usually out of their ignorance and enthusiasm as well as your ignorance) what they have as their favorite tools. They may be a techie. They may be a designer who makes pretty sites. They usually are not Internet marketers. They usually are not SEO experts. If they are SEO experts, they usually are overpriced.

I usually first meet these clients via my free consult on their website. We are on the phone and I talk about their website. I ask them first what they want to accomplish out of the call today. I then tell them unfortunately I have to tell folks many things that will be in the realm of what is not working about their website and that is liable to be upsetting. They always say they want to hear the truth and usually it is not very pretty what I have to tell them. It means they wasted money (sometimes big money), need to make changes, spend more money, become an educated consumer and put time into the project. Few are thrilled with that information. So don't call me for your free consult if you are not ready to hear the bad news. The good news is then you will be on your way to getting clients from your website he says with a smile.

Comments, ideas, questions or topics you would like to see addressed in future newsletters? I would love to hear from you. Just reply to this newsletter and tell me what you think.

Best regards,

Henry Harlow
Founder, www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com