Posted In: Business Development
Two New Tools that Save me Time for Business Development
When I ask lawyers to identify their biggest obstacle to business development, the most frequent response I get is “lack of time.” I’ve recently begun using two new tools that have saved me a considerable amount of time. I’d like to share some information for these two tools with the caveat that I have no investment or stake in either of them.
SaneBox
SaneBox is designed to sort out emails that need immediate attention from those you want to read later like newletters, group postings, news briefs etc. SaneBox algorithms analyze your email behavior and determine the importance of each email. The service then moves unimportant messages out of the Inbox into a separate folder and summarizes them for you. It also has a postponement feature that allows you to drag emails into a folder and have them sent back to you on Monday morning. I spend less time each day distracted by content I need to postpone for after the fires are put out. I can reserve time later to go back and read articles and blogs to keep me up to date. There is a fee for the service but it comes with a trial period.
- You can check it out by going to SaneBox.com.
- Take a look at this article about SaneBox at Business Insider.
GetHuman
GetHuman exploits the sad fact that it is increasingly difficult to talk with a human being at major companies. Websites hide customer service and tech-support numbers at the end of long decision trees and menus hoping you’ll try to solve your problem on your own by using their site. This can be time consuming and extremely frustrating if you already know the problem you have will best be solved by having an actual conversation with a person.
In addition to getting phone numbers quickly, users of GetHuman are provided with user-tested ways to cut through all the telephone options on a menu. They even provide reviews of the types of services you are likely to get once you get through. It’s easy to use. You just go to GetHuman and enter the name of a company and best phone numbers for tech support, customer service etc. come up on the screen. Use it for all those companies that may not provide phone numbers readily or that may make you key in several options before getting to the right department. (Think Verizon, eBay, AT&T, Apple, Ticketmaster, the DMV)
Now that you aren’t spending an extra five minutes on the phone or plowing through non-essential emails, do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to reach out to that important contact on your pipeline. You’ll be glad you did.
*************************************
Craig Brown has worked with managing partners, attorneys, CEOs, and executives, as a coach, consultant and business executive for over 20 years. He is a Principal in the business development practice at LawVision where his consulting and training practice focuses on helping law firms rethink how to build clientele by reconnecting people to their core strengths.
He can be reached at cbrown@lawvisiongroup.com
Print PDF