Family Wealth Planning

I get scared too

One of the parts I am enjoying the most about this coaching business is I get to see the success of others as it happens.

It's more exciting than I could have imagined.

We have a new credit card processing company and they wanted to see testimonials from people using my Client Engagement System, so I had the chance to read through all of them yesterday and I saw a theme I wanted to share with you because I know it will help your success.

Here's what it is:

#1:  Each person who has had success jumped in and USED THE SYSTEM despite skepticism or fear - they took a risk and went for it.

#2:  They each very quickly adapted the system to their style and their clients.

And without fail, each person tells me that moving through their fear and using the system resulted in new clients for their office and more money in their pocket.

If you can apply these two steps to EVERY new thing you come across, you'll be infinitely successful.

I spend quite a bit of time learning from people in other industries.  For example, last night I listened to one of my teachers Bill Glazer interview a mortgage broker about his lead generation system.

Now, I could have been thinking - my business is nothing like his, this has no application for me.  I don't send out loan applications, I don't have the kind of money he has to spend on lead generation, I don't, I don't, I don't.

It's that kind of defeatist thinking that leads to stagnation and ultimately failure.

My success comes from observing everything I come across, finding the similarities, pulling out the nuggets, and then adapting them for my law practice.

And, hey, don't think there wasn't a part of my mind thinking those negative thoughts.  Everyone has them.  Even me.

But, I've learned to hear them, thank my brain for sharing and move beyond those small fear thoughts.

I don't let my fear thoughts hold me back from success!

So, when you find yourself not trying something new because you can't figure out how to make it work for you, look deeper.  Find out if it's your fear that's stopping you before you give up.

And then, push through it.  Give it a try. And, see how successful you can be!

Dedicated to Helping You Love Your Practice,

~ Alexis

PS - If you haven't already learned how to get 97.5% of your prospects to say yes, you have another chance today at 3p ET.  At last count, we had 5 lines left.

Go to http://www.familywealthmatters.com/teleseminar right now to register before it's too late.

The biggest mistake I see ...

I'm feeling quite grouchy today because the launch of the Family Wealth Planning Institute website is still not coming along as quickly as I would like.

It's unfortunate because I would have sent a lot of business to this company I'm using for my website,but the difficulty in using the system is getting me close to admitting I've made a mistake, throwing in the towel and starting over.

But, persistence is my middle name, so I'm not ready to give up yet. In my experience, right when things are at their worst, they turn around and you get exactly where you wanted to go.

So, I'm holding out hope for the website yet. I'll keep you posted.

You might think I'm getting ready to say that the biggest mistake I see is lack of persistence or maybe even not knowing when to throw in the towel.

And, those are big mistakes, but they are not nearly as big as the single biggest barrier to success.

This is so important that I'm not even going to make you go to my blog and read it.

I'm going to tell you right here. This is that important.

The #1 biggest barrier to success is:

A fear of taking risks that hinders your willingness to invest in your business, take on increased overhead, hire staff or even just an assistant, invest in programs or mentoring, and generally make your business work for you instead of you for it.

Look around at other businesses you respect and ask yourself did they require an investment of capital?

Yes, they did. They weren't built on free resources.

The single biggest factor in the speed in which my success occurred was my willingness to invest in my business.

The day I stopped looking at my law practice as this little law practice and starting looking at it as a real business that requires capital to grow, like any other business, my success grew exponentially.

Was it scary? Heck yeah! I hate debt. I've never carried credit card balances.

And, I was scared to death.

But, I realized that if I wanted my business to grow, I'd have to feed it.

The free resources out there, such as listserves and free mentoring from friends and colleagues were okay, but they just barely scratched the surface. I knew there was something huge I was missing. And, I was determined to find it.

And, what I found out was that to get real guidance, to find out what I really needed to know, to go where I really wanted to go, I was going to have to pay for it.

I would have to invest in myself.

I have a friend who wants to launch an information business, but she's trying to build it on free resources, questions on listserves, attendance at free or very cheap events and is unwilling to invest in the mentoring that I believe is necessary to propel her business to the next level.

Will she learn eventually?

Maybe. But, it's going to take a long time and overall, it's going to be MUCH more costly.

I'm not a huge fan of the trial and error route.

My success has come from learning from others. I've looked at who has what I want and I've gone out and paid them (oftentimes huge sums of money!) to teach me what they know.

The return on my investment has been incredible.

Not all the time of course. I've invested in some things that didn't work for me or didn't provide that much value. But, I've chalked those mistakes up to lessons learned, moved on and found what did work for me. I didn't let it make me afraid to take another chance and invest again.

The single best investments I've made (and the most expensive) were in private coaching where I had the opportunity to work one on one with my teachers and really learn what they knew in depth - Scott Farnsworth (www.sunbridgenetwork.com) and Dave Dee (www.davedee.com) were and are two of the most influential teachers I've had.

I won't share with you here the worst investments I made; I'll save that for a private post on the Family Wealth Planning Institute Inner Circle Forum when the darn website finally gets launched!

But, I will reiterate that growing your business requires investment. Invest in yourself. Move beyond your fear. Get into the discomfort. And watch your success explode!

Dedicated to Helping You Love Your Practice,

~ Alexis

PS - This email wasn't a pitch for private coaching with me because there aren't any private coaching spots left. And, it's really, really expensive. But, there are less expensive ways to learn what I know. If you haven't already done so, start by attending my free teleseminar where I tell you how I get 97.5% of prospects who come into my office to say yes.

It's happening again this Friday at 3p ET; you can register at http://www.familywealthmatters.com/teleseminar

So many questions ... I've got answers!

I've gotten so many questions regarding the Kids Protection Plan System for Attorneys and the Kids Protection Planning Kit for parents that I figured I'd better answer them here.

You can read more on my blog in two places:

http://www.familywealthplanningblog.com/2006/12/family_wealth_p.html

and

http://www.familywealthplanningblog.com/2006/12/the_kids_protec.html

I'm not going to repeat the whole history of the system as you can read all about it on my blog.

Here are two of the most frequent questions I've received:

Question #1:

"I just re-read Alexis's blog entry explaining the Kit and I'm a little confused.  Is the cost $995, plus membership in the Institute, plus 50 to 75% of what I charge for each kit that I sell or incorporate into an estate plan? Could I market a Kid Protection Kit on my own?"

Let me first differentiate between the Kids Protection Plan(tm) System for Attorneys and the Kids Protection Planning Kit(tm).

When you license the Kids Protection Plan for Attorneys System, you have the license to offer the Kids Protection Plan(tm) as an add on service to clients in your office.  You don't pay anything each time you prepare one of these plans in your office.

We charge $1000 extra for the plan when it's added onto a trust-based estate plan or $2,000 for it when prepared with a Will and ancillary documents.

You will need to purchase the Kids Protection Plan(tm) binders, which we will make available to you at our cost.  We are having those binders designed now and they will be approximately $15/binder. With your license, you will also become a Master Affiliate of the Kids Protection Planning Kit.  As of right now, that means that for each Kit you sell to a consumer (this is a do it yourself Kit for the consumer) you keep 50% of the electronic price or 25% of the hard copy price.  You can read all about the Kit at www.kidsprotectionplan.com.

You also keep the lead generated by this sale.  Almost every person that purchases a Kids Protection Planning Kit very likely also needs a plan to address the disposition of their assets, which the Kids Protection Planning Kit does not do.  The Kit was designed specifically to illuminate parents about the need to plan not only for their children, but also to protect their assets.

Question #2:

"The blog says the license expires if you don't continue with a membership.  Does this mean we can no longer use the documents received if we don't keep paying a membership fee? I have developed documents of my own to address many of the same issues. I only wanted to purchase yours to see what you have that I might supplement with so I am concerned about exactly what expiration of the license means.  Does it mean we can no longer use any of the materials recieved, or we just can't sell the kit?"

You may only offer the Kids Protection Plan(tm) as an add on service in your office if you are a Family Wealth Planning Institute member.

If you are not a member of the Family Wealth Planning Institute, you can incorporate the template documents into your own documents, but you MAY NOT call what you provide a Kids Protection Plan(tm).

You can call them something else.

Why is this important?

I am about to launch a national campaign that over the next 6 months will establish the Kids Protection Plan(tm) as the planning tool that parents look for to protect their kids.

And, will establish Family Wealth Planning Institute attorneys as the premiere planning attorneys for parents.

ONLY Family Wealth Planning Institute members can offer the Kids Protection Plan(tm) to their clients.

I hope this issue of my e-newsletter answers all of your questions.

If it doesn't, please do email support@familywealthmatters.com.

Dedicated to Helping You Love Your Practice,

~ Alexis

PS - Oh yeah, if you are planning on licensing the System, you'll want to get in on it now.  If you are one of the first 17 you get in at the very, very reduced price of $995 plus you'll get the full HotDocs upgrade as soon as it's ready and the marketing plan. https://martinneely.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nifshnat

Is your website an expensive business card?

Happy 2nd week of 2007!

I used to have a flat website.  Truthfully, it was nothing more than an extremely expensive business card.

People told me how nice it looked, but it really did nothing for me at all.

It didn't capture leads, it didn't convey how I'm different, it didn't have my personality, it was really quite blah.

I've been working on my website this weekend and getting ready for the official launch of the Family Wealth Planning Institute website.

The FWPI website will list all of the FWPI member attorneys so that families looking for a local Personal Family Lawyer(tm), can search by their city and state.

I'm launching a marketing campaign in the next few months that I anticipate will send thousands of people to www.familywealthmatters.com looking for legal guidance and peace of mind.

As you can imagine, getting the website built has been an experience and a half!  I'm no techie, that's for sure.

It made building my personal website seem to be a piece of cake.  I made some substantial changes to my site today, which I can do with a fair amount of ease because I invested in a content management system so I can edit my site myself.

My website has some very specific components that make it great for marketing and your website should have these things too.  If it doesn't, you are likely losing out on much of the benefit of your site.

1.  It must have your personality;

2.  It must have compelling information;

3.  It must hve a way to gather leads;

4.  It must make a compelling offer;

5.  It must speak to your visitor and encourage them to stick around for a while.

The more you can get your visitor engaged in your website, the more likely they are to engage you.

Feel free to surf around on my site - www.martinneely.com - but, you do not have my permission to copy it unless I've expressly licensed it to you.  And, I'm very serious about that.

Look for the launch of the FWPI website soon.  Wondering what you need to do to get listed on the FWPI website?

It starts with membership in the FWPI.  For now, check out my blog.  I'll have more details for you soon: http://www.familywealthplanningblog.com/2006/12/family_wealth_p.html

Dedicated to Helping You Love Your Business,

~ Alexis

PS - The first 17 purchasers of the Kids Protection Plan for attorneys system get bonuses worth $1,500 (that's more than the entire cost of the pre-release system!) and we only have 5 spots left.  We're having an implementation call on Friday for purchasers only, so if you were thinking of getting in, now's the time. Read all about it on my blog:

http://www.familywealthplanningblog.com/2006/12/the_kids_protec.html

Who you hang around DOES matter

When I was a teenager, I was what you'd call troubled. And, got into lots of trouble. A big headache for my parents!

And, I hung out with the worst crowd. You know the 14-year olds with tattoos, piercings, and mohawks who hang out on the corner smoking? Those were my friends.

As you can imagine, my parents were more than a little freaked out!

And, I remember constantly saying to my parents:

Moooooommm, Daaaaadddd (I don't think I knew how to talk without whining), they're my friends. Who cares what they look like. Don't judge a book by its cover.

My Mom and Dad were concerned (rightly so) because they knew that who you spend time with influences your life significantly. And, the kids I was hanging around were definitely not influencing me towards anything good.

Obviously, I turned things around or I wouldn't be where I am now. And, when I look around me at the 5 people I spend the most time with, I am overjoyed to see that they are all people who have a positive and loving energy. All people I respect greatly.

That's important because who you spend time with IS not only a reflection of you, but also a darn good indicator of your success.

So, when I decided to change my life and not be a troubled teenager any longer, I also changed the people around me.

And, when I started making changes in my thinking from negative, limited thinking to positive, abundant thinking, I too changed the people around me.

And, when I wanted to make more money, again I found people who were making the kind of money I wanted to make and spent more time with them.

I heard a story about Mark Victor Hansen, I believe. He was making about $2mm a year and had hit a ceiling. He was talking with someone who told him - look at the people around you. And, each of them was making around $2mm/year.

Mark joined a mastermind group with people doing what he wanted - making $20mm a year and fairly quickly he broke through the barrier he had previously been experiencing.

So, look around at the people in your life and consciously spend more time with people who have what you want.

Dedicated to Helping You Love Your Practice,

~ Alexis

PS - Uncertain where to find a group of people who are making the kind of money and having the kind of success you want? Request a MasterMind group coaching application by sending an email to support@familywealthmatters.com.

Alexis Neely - Ultimate Fighting Champion

I got the pleasure of taking a grappling/kick-boxing class last night.

Like what they do in Ultimate Fighting.

If you don't know what that is, it's where two guys get into a ring without any protective gear and beat the living heck out of each other.

One of our instructors, John Marsh, is on his way to becoming a champion.  This guy is built like a mack truck.

Oh, and he has real cauliflower ears from getting hit so much!

He's the real deal.  I think his calf was the size of my thigh.  You can see photos and read his stats here if you are interested in fighting. http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?FighterID=9

The class was a great way to get out my agressions, except that the other two girls in the class I was supposed to be sparring with, were too wimpy for me and the guys were three times my size.

I did a little sparring with the friend I went with and he smashed my foot.  Ouch!

I was amazed at John's ability to anticipate and manuever out of any situation.  And, he taught us a great lesson that is as critical in business as it is in ultimate fighting.

Want to learn what it is?

Go over to my blog and check it out.

http://www.familywealthplanningblog.com.

Oh, and while you're there, if you post a comment and subscribe to my blog, I'll send you a free book that I know you'll like.

You have to be one of the first 25 to post and subscribe to get the book.

Dedicated to Helping You Love Your Practice,

~ Alexis

PS - Private coaching starts today!  I can't wait to share with you what my coaching clients and I accomplish together.  While it's too late to get in on private coaching with me, it's not too late to get in on the MasterMind groups.  If you want in, email support@familywealthmatters.com for your confidential application.

Business lessons from the world of ultimate fighting

Last night, I took a class with fighter John Marsh and he was telling us that when he teaches us a move, it's critical to repeat what we learned at least 50 times after the class is over because by doing so, we would build that move into our muscle memory. 

And, then when we were really in a fight, we wouldn't even have to think about what to do, our bodies would remember what to do and just do it.

That made a whole lot of sense to me because it's the same way in business.

I use a very specific script each and every time I meet with new clients regarding their estate planning.  And, I stick to the script every time.  The only way I can do that is because I have practiced the script again and again and again. And, then practiced it some more.

It takes the same kind of discipline that is required of any kind of a champion. 

If you want to be the best, you must practice and build the necessary skills into your muscle memory or in our cases into our mind memory.

Consider Tiger Woods.  Sure, he was born with natural skills, but he practiced, practiced, practiced and then practiced some more to become a champion.

So, if you want to be a champion, do the same.  Don't give up.  Keep practicing until it becomes part of your muscle memory.

Back in the office?

Are you back in the office today and ready to kick off your best year yet?

I am. Sort of.

I came back from Canada yesterday and today I'm meeting with one of my private coaching clients to strategize an upcoming product launch.

I won't actually go into the law firm office until Thursday and when I do, it will be just to see clients. And, that will be the only day this week I'll be there.

The rest of the week I'll be here in my home office working with my coaching clients and on Family Wealth Planning Institute business. And, the beauty of that is I can do it from anywhere!

At this point, I find that going into the law firm office actually takes away from my efficiency.

The systems are in place to make the law firm run and if I go in, I tend to mess things up for my staff.

I've really learned to let go over this past year and it's been great for me and for my team.

One of the most important factors to making this work is setting proper expectations for your clients and for your team.

For one tip you can implement very easily right away that will help to do that go to my blog where I'll lay out just what you need to do. http://www.familywealthplanningblog.com

Most attorneys are making a critical, but easily remedied mistake and over the past few weeks I've gotten to observe it. After reading my blog post, you won't make this mistake again.

See you on the blog.

Dedicated to Helping You Love Your Practice,

~ Alexis

PS - Adding the Kids Protection Plan(tm) to the services you offer clients with minor children is a great way to differentiate yourself from other attorneys in your area. Read about it here: http://www.familywealthplanningblog.com/2006/12/the_kids_protec.html

The first 17 people to order the pre-release system get a HUGE discount and other benefits. I have 5 pre-release systems left.

I'm Out of the Office

Over the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to see a lot of out of office messages.  And, most of them suck.

Here's an example:

"I'm out of the office and I'll be back on January 4"

It conveys almost no useful information at all. If I'm a client emailing my attorney and I get this message, I'm going to be really annoyed.  If I'm a prospect, I'm not going to be very excited about working with this attorney. 

This one is only slightly better:

"I'm out of the office, but will be checking email periodically.  I'll return on January 4.  Have a great new year!"

At least I know that my email  messages will reach my attorney and there's a bit of warmth and caring conveyed with the last sentence.

Here's one that is acceptable, but not ideal:

"Hi.  I'm out of the office until January 4.  If you have an emergency, please call [insert name] at xxx-xxx-xxxx or email xxxxx@xxxx.com.  I'll be checking email periodically, but will not be able to respond until after I'm back in the office, so please make sure to call or email [insert name] for emergencies. Have a great new year!"

Here's the best out of office message:

"Hi.  I'm out of the office celebrating the New Year in Canada.  I hope you too are having a great time!

If you have an emergency, please call [insert name] at xxx-xxx-xxxx or email xxxxx@xxxx.com.  I'll be checking email periodically, but will not be able to respond until after I'm back in the office, so please make sure to call or email [insert name] for emergencies. 

Also, if you'd like to schedule time to meet with me in the new year or refer a friend, family member or client to meet with me, please email xxxxx@xxxxxx.com with the details.

If you are emailing to arrange to have me come speak to your organization or to create a fundraiser for your group, please email xxxx@xxxxx.com with specifics and we'll get back to you with my availability.

I look forward to talking with you real soon!

Warmest regards,

Alexis"

As you can see, this "best" message has warmth, specific information, and reminds people that they may want to refer people to me or have me come speak to their group or organization.

This out of office message can be a valuable communication tool if used well OR it can convey the wrong message to potential and existing clients and your referral sources.

I hate New Year's Resolutions ...

Happy 1st day of 2007!

I guess you can tell from the subject line, I'm not a big fan of the New Year's Resolution.

Why?

Because I've never known a single person to keep something they identified as a New Year's Resolution.

Don't get me wrong, I think the new year is a GREAT time to make changes in your life. That's why I'm so excited to work with my private coaching clients at this time of the year.

Whatever you do now sets the foundation for the rest of 2007 and I can assure you that my private coaching clients are going to reach all of their goals this year.

But, it won't be because they made New Year's Resolutions.

It will be because they spent time the first week of the year going through a strategic planning process that will get them clear on what they want to happen in 2007 and set forth specific action items for ensuring their success. And, each of my coaching clients will be held accountable to carrying out those action steps.

I used this process for the first time back in November of 2003 just after starting my law practice and every single 3-year goal I set back then came to be - and it all happened in the year 2004, not the 3 years I had expected!

Now, that's a powerful process.

One word of caution.

Once you get a taste of what you really want, it will be VERY difficult to settle for anything less. So, if you are happy with mediocre, you may want to stay there and not reach for your wildest dreams.

However, if you want to have everything you ever wanted from your life, you can.

It won't always be easy and it won't come without requiring you to face your biggest fears, but I can tell you that on the other side of those fears is the greatest joy you can imagine.

Make 2007 the year you move beyond mediocre, through the fears, and into the rest of your life.

Dedicated to Helping You Love Your Business,

~ Alexis

PS - Ready for the accountability you need to make your dreams come true?  I can't take anymore private coaching clients, but starting in February, I'll have a MasterMind group that might be just right for you.  Request your application from support@familywealthmatters.com.  First applications in will be given highest priority.