Integrity Marketing

Is Estate Planning Really Dead?

I read a column today, published in the Santa Barbara Noozhawk and available online here: http://www.noozhawk.com/local_news/article/111009_mark_cornwall_what_about_retail_wealth_spent_on_estate_planning/, written by an attorney, proclaiming that "the business of estate planning as an attorney has all but fallen off the face of the Earth. Business is dead."

Further, the columnist wrote: "I know this not only from personal experience, but from every attorney specializing in estate planning."

I won't even go into the incredibly poor journalism of that statement (Really? Have you talked to EVERY attorney specializing in estate planning???) ... but am interested in how REAL estate planning attorneys -- like you -- respond to that statement.

Please take a moment and leave a comment here -- if you are a practicing estate planning attorney -- and let us know how business is going for you. Is it dead? Steady? Booming?

Note: If you read the entire column, you discover that the attorney is actually pushing his own elder law seminars to inform and protect wealthy elders who are vulnerable, at least in part because they have disregarded proper estate planning. Certainly an interesting marketing approach. What do you think of THAT?

Benefits of Becoming a Low-Cost Provider

I will write more on this topic next week, but I am anxious to share with you a gratifying success story from one of my clients. I just got off the phone with her from our monthly coaching call, and with her permission, I share this with you. About this time last year, we were focusing on 2005 goals. She wanted to get away from day-to-day drafting. Spend more time meeting with clients, delegate more to staff, have more time with her family, and pursue some other interesting aspects of her thriving estate practice -- specifically, she wanted to get involved in appellate work.

We discussed several aspects of this plan, including protecting her revenue stream and profitability while pursuing new interests. One thing we talked about a lot was making a plan to free up time in her schedule to pursue the appellate work. She was already working too many hours, it was clear she could not add something to her schedule without first clearing some empty space.

Long story short ...
She just finished arguing a case in appellate court about whether a copy of a signed will is sufficient to establish the content of a missing well ... I was treated to a most enthusiastic re-telling of the courtroom banter and the ins-and-outs of the case ... Sufficient for me to note that she is very happy with this new aspect of her practice which provides her such an intellectual challenge.

She is pleased to see her firm is now tasting from the whole estate law pie -- contested litigation, estate administration, probate, appellate work, as well as estate planning. She has a new associate and a legal assistant to handle most of the drafting -- which she then reviews ... Precisely as she had wanted.

"Now I mostly just meet with clients," she said. "I have handed off most of the drafting."

She continues to pursue more creative outlets for 2006.

But, you may ask, what happened to her profitability? She has a new associate and an assistant? What happened on the expense side of the ledger?

Well, my buttons are about to bust on my sweater as I tell this story. She met with her CPA last week and, to her chagrin, they will owe a substantial tax bill this year. She whined to her CPA, who responded --  "What are you complaining about? You more than doubled your net income this year!"

Yes, that was NET. She was able to pursue her dreams, serve her clients, and still TAKE HOME TWICE AS MUCH MONEY. Her CPA congratulated her, "You have really gotten your expenses under control!"

”So,” she asked, "how do we avoid paying these taxes?"

Her CPA replied, "Don't make so much money!"

Of course, neither of us plans to incorporate THAT into the 2006 marketing plan.

So, certainly one of the benefits of becoming a low-cost provider is the freedom to pursue your dreams, to pursue intellectual challenges -- while still meeting your financial commitments. Do it well enough, and you may find that you can have your cake and eat it, too. For this savvy client, she is enjoying her work, pursuing new challenges, and taking home TWICE AS MUCH money as she did before!

Some of her strategies?

Ahhhhh -- now that's material for yet another posting! Stay tuned next week and we'll look at some of the VERY SMART things she has done to get where she is ... And the new challenges that accompany such success!

In the meantime, HAPPY THANKSGIVING. And thank you. I am reminded daily of the many many blessings in my life, not the least of which is the privilege to work with such interesting,  challenging, and giving people. I am thankful for each of you.

Portraits of Low-Cost Providers

Click here to learn more about the benefits of becoming a Low-Cost Provider.

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Protect Your Profitability

I was disturbed this weekend when I (probably by mistake) received a solicitation (I think that word is more appropriate than "invitation") to attend what is promoted as a one-day workshop to help me build a thriving estate planning practice. The solicitors say that in just one-day with them, I could discover the techniques and strategies for doing just that.

Hmmm ... I said to myself. Just one day?

Sound too good to be true?

Hold on to your pocketbooks, folks! The agenda includes a brief session on working with professional referrals, and another brief session on working with prospective clients -- both completed BEFORE lunch! Guess what happens after lunch? That's when the sales presentation begins! For the rest of the afternoon they are going to put more tools in your toolbox -- a concept which they say will make you more powerful!

I may have been born at night, but it wasn't LAST night!!!! I know a fellow who crafts custom cabinets and does finish carpentry work. He has quite a toolbox. But, believe me, it is NOT the tools that make him powerful! It's his skill, his reputation in the community and the steady stream of people clamoring for his services that make him powerful. You or I could have all of those tools -- and after I used the hammer and the pliers, the rest of them would be only so much extra weight to lug around ... not to mention HUGE debt to pay (those tools are not cheap!!!!) Yes, friends, our sincere solicitors say we will leave their seminar with powerful tools -- which I suspect they want us to PURCHASE from them ... hence the half-day sales presentation. How much will I pay for this half-day infomercial? Well ... let's add it up:

Tuition: $195 (the actual cost is $295, but somehow, if I register, I get a $100 discount ... go figure?)

Travel: ??? I estimate plane fare, taxis, and parking at $200, plus two nights in a hotel for another $200, and if you're like me, you're going to want to eat sometime, too, so add another $100 for two days of restaurant meals. Call it $500.

Opportunity: Now, here's the real clincher -- the OPPORTUNITY cost. You could be working. Let's say you could billing clients (that IS the idea, right?) for a minimal $150 an hour. Now how much is it costing you to shut down your office and travel to this infomercial extravaganza? Two days of billable time: $2,400!!!!!!!
(Assuming you were ONLY billing by the hour. Your costs may be quite a bit more!!!)

Gullibility: What if, on top of all of this, you are convinced to load up your toolbox with expensive new tools you may never need, may already have, or can't use? The cost of this little excursion could easily top $10,000!!!

Excluding the gullibility factor, I think this workshop is going to cost you at least $3,150. And what are you getting? In terms of true education, you are getting anecdotal stories from your colleagues about how to work with clients and referral sources -- certainly worthwhile information, but you are only going to get about two to three hours of this instruction before the sales presentation begins!!!!

Okay, they must be pretty proud of that time, because they are asking you to pay about $1,000 an hour for it!

On the other hand, you COULD sign up for our online course -- Building Profitable Referral Relationships -- and get TEN SESSIONS of concentrated instruction -- including checklists, worksheets, and thought-provoking exercises to complete on your own ... time-tested strategies that have worked for literally hundreds of our clients ... delivered to you online, without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home or office.

By leveraging technology, we help you become a low-cost provider! Download the lessons, review them at your leisure -- before or after work, even during your lunch hour. Oh, and by the way, unlike the solicitors in our example above, we don't limit your "free" tuition to ONE GUEST. You can share this course with everyone in your office -- including your associates, partners and staff members. In fact, we encourage you to share with everyone in your office. No extra charge!

The cost for this ten-session workshop is only $149.

No, that was not one thousand forty-nine dollars! Just one HUNDRED forty-nine dollars. That's it. No travel. No downtime. No "opportunity" cost. And no gullibility factor, either. Just solid education. Proven strategies to help you build a thriving estate planning practice.

No, we're not getting rich at this. But we sure hope you will!

I encourage you to take a look, weigh the costs, and choose to invest wisely. This course will help you build a lifetime stream of qualified referrals -- regardless the state of the estate tax. And, when you're done, you will have money left over to actually implement the strategies -- hey, what if you spent the other $3,000 actually marketing yourself and your practice? Like taking people to lunch, presenting workshops, giving clients the red-carpet treatment, setting up (or revitalizing) a website ... hmmmm ...

Here's the link. It doesn't make sense to undermine your own profitability ... to enhance someone else's! Remember, profit is only what's left after expenses.

Start now. Build Profitable Referral Relationships (profitably!).

2005 Practice Survey Results

2005 Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey Results

We have completed a comprehensive review and report of the results of our 2005 Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey. If you participated in the survey, you will receive a copy as an email attachment.

If you did not participate, but would still like to review the results, you can download it here: http://www.mycoachnet.com/main.htm

Please note that there is no charge to download the survey, but you will be required to register and a dynamic download page will be generated for you. During the registration process, the shopping cart's default will automatically ask you for your credit card information. Please just skip those fields -- we do NOT require your credit card information to process the transaction (but there does not appear to be any way to remove that from the programming).

Here is some of what you will learn from the survey report -

• Demographics -- average annual gross revenues, average firm size, average number of years in practice;
• Impact of EGTRRA 2001 on firms over past five years;
• How many of your colleagues would leave the practice of estate planning if the federal estate tax were permanently repealed?
• How are your colleagues planning to adapt to a radically changed tax environment?
• What are the survey implications for marketing and practice management?

Also, please note that we will presenting these survey results on Friday morning, Oct. 28 at the Southern California Tax & Estate Planning Forum in San Diego. For more information about the forum, see their website at http://www.clenet.com

Effects of Estate Tax Reform

2005 Practice Strategies Survey

REMINDER -- The survey will be active until Thursday morning, Sept. 1st

I will be compiling some of the comments from the survey and posting them here over the next few days. To get a FREE copy of the final report, you must register and participate in the survey online at:  http://www.estateplanningpartners.com/2005_Survey.htm

Also, please remember to forward this email to your colleagues and encourage them to participate as well.

Because we ran our last Practice Strategies Survey in 2001 (results published in Trusts & Estates magazine -- download the article at the bottom of the survey), one of the questions we asked attorneys was how federal estate tax reform has affected their estate planning practices over the past five years. Here is a sampling of some of their answers:

Q. How has federal estate tax reform affected your estate planning practice over the past five years?

More drafting of short trust amendments to conform to changes in State law caused by the federal changes.

Except to adjust some of the numbers and allocations when the exemption changes it has not affected our practice at all.

I think that it has lowered the average price that the person in the 1mm total asset range is willing to pay for estate planning documents

It has caused us to have more business, due to state decoupling and the impermanency of the federal law from administration to administration.

Last Three Days to Participate

2005 Practice Strategies Survey

Our 2005 Practice Strategies Survey is going very well. I am compiling some of the comments and will post them here later today.

REMINDER -- The survey will be active until Thursday morning, Sept. 1st -- when we will shut it down and begin tallying the results. PLEASE -- if you have not completed the survey yet, do so now. Your input is important, especially as we close-in on September and the possibility of another Congressional vote on the issue of permanent repeal of the federal estate tax.

Here is the link to the survey:

http://www.estateplanningpartners.com/2005_Survey.htm

There is nothing for you to buy, we are not selling anything. Everyone who completes the survey will receive a copy of the final report. Also, there are some great articles available to download at the bottom of the survey page, including the Trusts & Estates article summarizing our 2001 survey, and a Lawyers' Weekly article about practice diversification strategies.

Finally, please take a moment to forward this message to your colleagues -- or post it on any of the listserves to which you belong. We appreciate your assistance with this market research project, and your colleagues will appreciate the valuable information that results.

2005 Practice Strategies Survey

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist wrote in the Aug. 11 Wall Street Journal that he will bring estate tax repeal to a vote when the Senate reconvenes in September.

"With the future uncertain for so many families and businesses, the need for Congress to act today is urgent. I had hoped to bring this critical issue to a vote before the Senate adjourned for the recess, but an anticipated filibuster slowed me from reaching this objective. Therefore, when the Senate returns the first week after Labor Day, I will ask my fellow senators to state their position on this issue, to make it known by casting a vote whether they favor or oppose the death tax. There will be no more hiding on the issue of permanent death-tax repeal."

How has estate tax reform impacted your estate planning practice? Would permanent repeal mean permanent change for you? What do your colleagues think? What are their plans?

If you have not taken the 2005 Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey, please click through here and give us just about one minute of your time. Your input -- combined with that of your colleagues -- will help chart a course for success, no matter what happens with the federal estate tax. Everyone who participates will receive a free copy of the final results report.

We ran our first Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey in 2001, asking attorneys about the anticipated impact of EGTRRA 2001. As an added incentive to participating in this year's survey, we've included a link to the COMPLETE 2001 SURVEY, TABULATED RESULTS AND COMPILED COMMENTS at the end of the questionnaire. We are certain you will find this an interesting read!

Click here to take the 2005 Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey

2005 Practice Strategies Survey

2005 Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey

We ran our first Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey in January and February 2001, gauging attorneys' attitudes toward the prospect of estate tax reform circa EGTRRA 2001. Results of that survey were published in the April 2001 issue of Trusts & Estates magazine.

Another result of that survey was an article I wrote two years later for Lawyers' Weekly USA, after passage and initial implementation of EGTRRA.  The article highlights the importance of key diversification and management strategies for estate planning attorneys. 

Here is an excerpt:

What we find is that many firms are struggling with critical issues of survival. Their revenues are down, they feel pressure to reduce their fees, and their referrals have vanished. In stark contrast, other firms are not only surviving the changes but are flourishing. Their common themes: diversify carefully (in ways that make sense for your practice); manage the financial aspect of your practice closely; and focus your marketing efforts on client and referral relations.

I encourage you to go online now and participate in our 2005 Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey. Everyone who participates will receive a free copy of the final results report -- and will be adding value to this important research project.

Click Here for the Survey.

As an additional incentive, you can now download the full Lawyers' Weekly article, "Beyond Estate Planning -- Diversifying the Estate Planning Practice" at the end of the survey.

Also, please help us get the word out about this survey to your colleagues by forwarding this message, or posting it to your key listserv memberships. There is nothing to buy -- nothing to sell.  But you will be helping yourself and your colleagues meet the challenges of fundamental change in the field of trusts and estates.

Practice Strategies Survey

2005 Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey

Please help us get the word out to estate planning attorneys about our 2005 Estate Planning Practice Strategies Survey. This is your chance to collaborate in a research project that will help you -- and your colleagues -- and your colleagues plot a course for success regardless the outcome of federal estate tax reform.

Click Here to Refer this Post to a Friend

If you haven't completed the survey yet yourself, please click here now. It will only take a few moments of your time -- and there is nothing to buy or sell! Everyone who completes the survey will receive a free copy of the final report.

We ran our first online Practice Strategies Survey in 2001, asking estate planning attorneys how they would view life in a world without federal estate taxes. We found that attorneys were cautiously optimistic about the future, realistic about the challenges, and determined to broaden their practice focus and marketing efforts to remain in the field. The results of that survey were published in the April 2001 issue of Trusts & Estates magazine.