No Leverage = No Profitability
“Are you the biggest producer in your firm?” we asked. “Absolutely,” the attorney told us with pride. He was a new Atticus client, but this was not a new conversation for us. In fact, it was all too familiar: the owners of most small firms are typically the firm’s largest producers, along with the firm’s biggest marketers. Then they wedge the firm’s many management tasks into any time that’s left – meaning they don’t have much of a personal life. And the fact that they are not well leveraged means they aren’t producing much of a profit either. “How many associates do you have?” we asked. “Two, but they aren’t that productive. In fact, I out bill them both,” he answered – again with a hint of pride. “Do they have daily or weekly billing goals?” “No, but they do have yearly billing goals,” he said. We expected as much. “How effective is that at motivating them?” He paused and said, “Not very good, I guess.” Not very good indeed. In order to train good producers, it’s best to take their large production goals and break them down into small goals, which are reviewed often. Large goals discussed once a year tend to fade away in the minds of...
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