Trying to attack the phone

Okay, now I am trying to deal with the phone.  I am so tired of picking up messages from the office and my cell phone for business, along with the messages from home.  Yes, the office phone and the home phone transcribe the numbers and email them to me (and clog up my email), but so far the cell phone, Verizon, does not transcribe the messages (I think).  Also, the office phone, which is Vonage, is terrible.  I am constantly repeating myself and the connection is awful.  I don't know if it is Vonage or the internet provider, but our internet provider was up graded and seems to be working wonderfully.

So now I am trying to figure out what to do.  I have a dormant Google Voice account, which I have had floating around in the back of my head thinking that it might be a fix, but I am trying to understand what to do next with it.  I could port my Vonage number to the Google Voice account (which will also transcribe), and maybe even set up my cell phone to forward to the GV account (I think) and then all of the messages would be transcribed and in Google Voice.  Still trying to understand if I can look at the messages somewhere other than on my phone.  Downside of Google Voice - International Calling is not free - I don't use it that much, but I do use it sometimes, but it will probably be cheaper than Vonage monthly.

I also looked at Skype, but their website is very difficult to get any real answers.  They have cool videos that give you a conceptual look at the whole thing, but every answer has a disclaimer, e.g. your number is portable if you live in a country that has number portability - Why not just have me answer a few questions, like what country I am in, and then give me an accurate answer.  I probably need to figure out how to talk to a person.  But then I am not clear on whether the voicemail gets transcribed.

Okay, so I kinda am leaning toward Google Voice, if I can figure it out.  But then there is the issue of fax numbers.  I have to have a fax number because I work in an industry (law) where faxing is very popular, and I can almost never get people to scan and email instead.  I don't know if Google has some sort of email fax, but I know that there are email fax services.  I need to investigate that further, and see if the fax number is portable, although I am not so worried about changing that number.  Clients and prospects do not fax to me, they email or leave voicemail.

Anyway, this is my technology struggle for today.  Comments welcomed.

Getting Started! Marketing 101

I used to have a blog called Let's Talk Tech for Lawyers, but somehow it got lost, wasn't updated and I cannot find it anymore.

But that is kind of nice, because then I can get started all over.

I am on a one woman mission - and it may be mission impossible.

My goal is to try to get lawyers, who are notoriously slow to embrace change, to look at technology not as the enemy, but as their friend.

This is no easy task.

But what I have learned, after giving many presentations on the wonders of social media, is that lawyers need to decide first to become marketers.  Typically, this is perceived to be the evil side of practicing law.  Bringing in new clients is critical, but most lawyers want to roll up their sleeves, start doing research and get ready to produce the final product.

After years of being taught that advertising is bad and soliciting clients is worse, in order to avoid the label of ambulance chaser, most lawyers go out of their way to ignore business fundamentals when it comes to their practice.

Now, I embrace the technology, but I also have an old fashioned approach to business.  Step 1 is have a business plan, and not just a document that gets filed away and dusty, but an actual living, breathing business plan.  If you are a solo practitioner, this is a daunting task, but it is uncomplicated by the fact that you alone determine what goes in the plan.

The exercise of writing a business plan will help you understand several things about yourself and your business.  It will help you identify who you are and what you want to do.  It will force you to look at yourself, your practice and determine what direction you want to go.

For example, my vision for my practice is to bring peace to families.  That covers everything I consider - from whether to accept a case or to volunteer for an activity or to do a presentation.  If what I am doing is consistent with that vision, then I know I am on track.

This is Marketing 101 - know where you are and where you want to be.

Once you have done this, then you need to look at ways to get your message out - whether through printed media, social media or networking or other methods.

So, step 1 - a business plan.  Do a quick internet search and you will find plenty of advice on how to do that.  Get a feel for it, and then produce a business plan.  Once that is done, come back for more ideas on getting the message out.