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Fall Summit 2008 Message

Message from the Academy Founders Robert Armstrong and Sanford M. Fisch

SAN DIEGO, California – November 21, 2008 - This was no ordinary Fall Summit! It was seven full days from the start on Wednesday at 1PM when we greeted prospective Members until the following Tuesday at 5PM when we ended the 2 day session with the Academy Peak Performers. After reviewing Members' evaluations, we are pleased to report that we got some of the highest marks ever. We love coming away from an Academy event where Members report that we delivered real value.

Keynote Homerun!
One reason this was no ordinary Summit was due to our keynote speaker. 15 years after holding our initial Academy bootcamp, we welcomed Michael Gerber back to inspire and motivate our attendees with his timeless message. Life has changed for all of us over the last 15 years, but Michael Gerber continues to ignite the spark of entrepreneurship in Members. His most recent bestselling book, “Awakening the Entrepreneur Within” addresses the importance of imagination in making a small business prosper and grow: “A business without a dream is like a life without a purpose.” Pure Gerber.

Michael was effective at awakening, and in some cases re-awakening, the entrepreneur within everyone in the room. His energy and passion set a tone that was carried throughout the Summit.

Boot Camp is Back!
This Summit was also special because we held a recruiting workshop on Wednesday and Thursday for those specially selected law firms interested in joining the Academy. We conducted an info packed 8 hours of training and coupled it with “in the trenches” wisdom from several experienced Members during our Thursday morning session. 

It was fascinating to watch our prospective Members come to San Diego somewhat skeptical that an organization of prosperous and unselfish attorneys even existed, let alone one that could provide the real world tools they needed to succeed. By Thursday night at the Academy cocktail party, we could see them making friends and trading secrets. By Friday morning, 7 out of 10 enthusiastically jumped on board as new Members.

Congratulations to our newest members:

1. Norm Sabin, Hickson, TN
2. Phil Corson, Lake Wylie, SC
3. Richard Gershberg, Owings Mills, MD
4. Richard Grain, Beverly Hill, CA
5. Alex Krayner, Beverly Hill, CA
6. Mike Manesh, Los Angeles, CA
7. Michael Bonfrisco, Cherry Hill, NJ

Optional Training Success
If that were not enough, once the Summit concluded on Sunday we held a Core III advanced planning workshop Sunday and Monday and had a full day workshop Monday where speaker Daniel Fortuno covered SSDI training.

Concurrently on Monday and Tuesday, we held our second two day meeting with the 2008 Academy Peak Performers.

An Overflowing Agenda!
Seven full days from start to finish and it went by in a blink of time!

Our Members who attended know we covered a lot of ground. If you were not able to attend, we encourage you to see what our educational events have to offer. 

Here's a brief summary of some of the highlights:

1. Thursday, Member Day. In addition to our regular topics, we added a new section called, The Academy Perspective. Last Fall we introduced Legacy Wealth Planning, The 16 Inconvenient Truths about the Legal Industry and Your Law Firm and in the Spring, we set forth a blueprint of how to achieve Double Digit Growth in your Law Firm each year. At this event we addressed the 10 Principles for Perilous Times which gave practical strategies for dealing with the pervasive economic doom and gloom we're surrounded by in the media. We also reminded everyone about the important role each law firm plays not only in their clients' lives, but with their staff and in their community.

We reserved the final part of the afternoon for the one and only – Michael Gerber!  It was a first time for many and a welcome repeat performance for others. Michael spoke for 90 minutes and you could hear a pin drop as he espoused his wisdom, broke new ground and energized everyone!

Michael stayed for the dinner and cocktails and Members had a chance to get their picture taken with the small business guru himself.

2. Friday provided updates from Academy partners: Lawscribe, Docubank and Penn Mutual. The Education Department followed with Recent Updates in the estate planning world.

We then moved to one of the most interesting opportunities we have seen in a long time - Funeral Trusts . About 35 Members are currently certified to offer this important solution for clients. Bryan Adams of Premier Planning gave a brilliant overview of the legal underpinnings of this service and laid out a plan that allows Members to provide clients with pre-planning and piece of mind regarding Funeral expenses. After Bryan's talk, several Members explained how this is successfully working at their firms.

We ended with overall Member Success Stories and then on to the Friday evening social event.

3. Saturday started early and quickly with a topic that was discussed for the first time ever: The Anatomy of a Financially Successful Law Firm. According to Member feedback, this topic was one of the most important ever presented by the Academy. We introduced a new concept to help attendees grow their business… what's your NUMBER! We laid out The 7 Success Factors, red flags to watch out for and how to manage the numbers. To illustrate how it all worked, we showed the financials of 4 successful Academy firms. If you missed the session, find out what the buzz is all about. Believe us… it will be well worth your time. 

Guest speaker, Glenn Garnes, a former attorney and marketing consultant, presented a step by step process to create an effective marketing plan. Then Education took over to cover Planning for Parents and Siblings and Trust Administration Common questions.

We ended the day with Legacy Wealth Planning for Clients with an emphasis on referrals. One Academy firm receives about 60 referrals a MONTH! There is a thoroughly tested system, you just need to take the time to implement it…make it an everyday part of your firm culture. One firm implemented this system in August and in 6 weeks they received 24 referrals. The combination of the Academy Referral System and the Priceless Gift DVD could radically reduce your marketing costs and create raving, referring clients.

You can be sure that in every Academy event we'll be highlighting these systems. The Academy Legacy Wealth Planning system educates clients, provides the tools to stay in touch and creates a unique transformational experience. Each Member who has used this approach now understands what a powerful, positive impact it has on people.

4. Saturday night. A panel of successful Members explained their strategies for avoiding those hundreds of time wasting activities ranging from staff or client interruptions to email that dominates us.
   
   
5. Sunday morning. Our Education team wrapped up the event Sunday morning by addressing “Overview of Fiduciary Income Taxation,” followed by the Core III level topic covering “Family Limited Partnerships.”

If you are interested in getting a copy of a session from this Summit, contact our Membership Consultant, Ivy Atkinson. And Mark your calendar now, Memphis is almost here! The dates to remember are Wednesday, April 22nd  through Sunday April 26th.

Some Points to Ponder:

1. If you missed this Summit, you were not able to be surrounded by the most successful, knowledgeable, and like minded estate planning business entrepreneurs in the country. This is not something to take lightly. More ideas and inspiration are exchanged at each Summit that produce vast amounts of revenue producing activity than any place else you can go.
   
   
2. Do not surround yourself with the wrong people who have a negative impact on what you think is possible. We addressed this at the Summit. We recognize the challenging time we are facing in the current financial crisis. However, we need to make sure we keep our own perspective in check, be careful about the media we accept and be extraordinarily diligent about crafting our message to staff, clients and prospects. There are things we can still control and our own perspective is one of them. For our clients and prospects we need to convey the message that they too can control their legal affairs and protect their wealth. People want leadership and direction and this is an opportunity to provide that to them.
   
   
3. Boom times are easy for everyone. It is the well prepared, well organized, business person who will thrive in a difficult market. Execution is the key to moving forward. 
   
   
4. Integrate your marketing now or risk disintegrating!
   
   
5. Your client database is your goldmine as long as you stay in touch with interesting relevant information. We covered this Saturday morning and showed an example of how one firm touches clients each year more them 10 times a year. The more meaningful contact—the better.
   
   
6. Clients must become lifetime clients, generational clients and then they must become your marketing ambassadors sending you referrals. Is your system in place? Client care is everyone's job in every law firm. Once you believe it, make sure you communicate it to your staff, then execute the plans that will make it happen.
   
   
7. Get clear, get focused, get results.

One Last Thought:

This is a historic time in our country and we recognize the current challenges and uncertainties ahead. Yet we know that tough times will not last. Smart, strong minded, disciplined entrepreneurs will take the actions needed to continue to thrive regardless of the economic climate around them. Consumers need what our members law firms offer, those needs don't disappear because the economy becomes temporarily shaky.

Meeting with Members at these events is not only a gathering of like minds, it's a gathering of friends and support and a source for new ideas and inspiration. If you missed the Summit, talk with us about making sure you do not miss the Spring Summit in Memphis, TN.  

The author Barry Asmus summed it up when he said, “We have no control over the economy but if we live the words we say when listing our priorities – faith, family and work – we have the antidote.  Faith gets us through the difficult times and without faith life borders on the meaningless; without family we have no roots and an irreplaceable love; without work, lets be honest, there is no bread on the table.”

Let's get to work!

See you in Memphis!

Robert and Sanford
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys 
www.aaepa.com

If you would like more information about the Academy or to schedule an interview with Robert Armstrong or Sanford Fisch, please call Erin Laverty at 858/453-2128 x111 or email Erin at erin@aaepa.com.