Legal News

How to Be Productive During the Holiday Season - Part III

By Brian Harris

By Neen James
Special to the Legal

This is the final part of a three-part series on making the most of the holidays.

In my previous post, I started a list of tasks, actions or projects for you to implement some of your strategies to jumpstart your personal marketing plan over the slow holiday period. Now that we?re getting back into the swing of things, it?s more imperative than ever that you keep these going! A few more actions you can take to get moving include:

Shop online for client gifts. This is especially true around the holidays, but it?s a useful tip to keep in mind all year. Avoid the stress and hassle of the stores by allocating two hours to complete your gift buying online. First make a list of those you want to buy for and some suggested gift ideas. (Which you can reference all year for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) Secondly, log onto popular websites that allow you to purchase multiple products from one location (and you can save on shipping). Finally, order as much as you can from that store and request the gift-wrapping service. For a small extra charge you will receive your gifts wrapped and ready to give to someone. This is far more productive than you spending time buying the gift-wrap accessories and trying to wrap it last minute!

Conduct a client appreciation event. This does not have to be an expensive or lengthy firm party, a simple elegant event is all you need to do to recognise your clients and thank them for their business. Be creative. Use your conference room and bring in an external caterer. If you are a single-attorney firm without a big office space, use a popular café or restaurant and provide light refreshments. Just take the time to say thank you and invite the team and other suppliers so they can also thank your clients too.

Visit a new networking group. Many networking groups meet during the holiday season because they are serious about building their book of businesses and still making valuable connections. Find out which groups are meeting and plan to attend at least two new groups this holiday season. This is the perfect time to develop new relationships and valuable connections.

To continually grow your book of business you do need to be mindful of the seasons, but don?t slow down in slow months ? get more productive. Use this time to get a head start on all those 2011 meetings you can conduct when people return from vacation, ensure plans are in place to achieve your annual results, tidy your work environment so you are not distracted by clutter, and new networking opportunities. Embrace the cooler weather for indoor meetings and events and enjoy all that the season can bring for your business growth.

Neen James, MBA CSP, is the President/CEO of Neen James Communications, LLC. An international productivity expert and native born Aussie, Neen delivers engaging keynotes that have educated, and entertained audiences with real-world strategies that apply in all roles, whether at work or in life. Neen also provides one-on-one consulting and mentoring to women on a variety of business issues and topics. To find out more about Neen, visit her at www.neenjames.com/bio.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on January 05, 2011 (boomark / email).