[Fredslist] Fw: [Expert Communications] Oct 08 Expert News

Fri Oct 31 18:34:00 EDT 2008

FYI.  Fellow Experts.  Gerry

 Gerald M. Goldhaber, Ph.D.
President and CEO
GRA, LLC
800 6th Avenue, Suite 26G
New York, NY 10001
(212)379-6661 (O)
(917)279-2303 (Cell)
www.goldhaber.com

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Expert Communications <expertcomm at earthlink.net>
To: geraldgoldhaber at yahoo.com
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2008 6:31:19 PM
Subject: [Expert Communications] Oct 08 Expert News

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
  Expert News
  The Practice-Building Newsletter for Expert Consultants
  October 2008
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 

* Marketing Brief  Your Phone Style: Asset or Liability?
* Training Center  The A-Z Guide to Expert Witnessing
* Expert Excerpt   When an Attorney Calls, What Do You Say? 
* Bonus Tip        What Time Is It There? 

Expert News is published monthly by Expert Communications. 
We provide training tools and marketing materials, coaching and websites
for expert witnesses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marketing Brief
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         Your Phone Style:  Asset or Liability?

In this day of virtual business transacting, telephone technique is
important.  Major business deals are initiated, developed, and
consummated without the parties ever having met each other except by
phone.  Ongoing business relationships are sometimes maintained only by
phone.  Make no mistake -- we assess people’s intelligence, manners,
sincerity, business acumen, and other attributes through telephone
conversations.  And this is true especially for professional service
providers.

Considering the value of your telephone skills as an asset in your
marketing, don’t take them for granted –- improve your technique.

1.  To convey warmth across a cold telephone line, smile.  The first
time you do it, you may feel idiotic.  So what?  You’re probably alone
anyway.  There’s a reason successful sales professionals talk about
“smilin’ and dialin’.”

2.  Don’t multi-task while you are talking on the phone.  Even if the
person at the other end can’t hear you hitting keys or shuffling papers,
they can feel your inattention.

3.  Unless you are 100% sure you know who just answered the phone, don’t
immediately say their name.  Instead, identify yourself.  Most of us
have embarrassing stories to tell of enthusiastically saying, “Barbara?”
and, after a poignant pause, hearing a cold, “No, this is Robert’s wife
Sandra.  Who is Barbara?”  Gulp.  Although this could happen more easily
in personal life, just adopt it as a rule, even in business.

4.  Do identify yourself immediately; don’t make the person answering
the phone ask you.  “Hello, this is John Blair.  I’m returning a call
Ms. Lawyerly left for me about the Smith & Wesson case.” 

5.  Don’t get bent out of shape when the gatekeeper asks not only who
you are but the reason you are calling.  That is what he/she is paid to
do, in order to screen out time wasters.

6.  When your party gets on the phone, don’t launch into a lengthy
discussion or story without asking them whether they have enough time to
hear it or even whether it is a good time for them to talk at all.

7.  Don’t interrupt.  We all have to work on this one, because we are
all moving too doggone fast!  I do find, however, that I am less likely
to commit this discourtesy when I am listening intently and really
focused on what the other person is trying to communicate.

If you find yourself interrupting, realize you’ve probably been thinking
about what you want to say next rather than concentrating on the other
person’s communication.

8.  Don’t get so involved in your thoughts and expressions that you lose
your vocal pitch and enunciation and drop to a mumble.  This usually
occurs when you are multi-tasking (see point above).

9.  Don’t use a speaker phone unless a group conversation is needed
and/or you need both hands free.  If you frequently need your hands free
while talking, e.g., to go through voluminous files, you might want to
use a headset.  And, for heavens sake, never have another person in the
room listening to the speaker phone without letting the party on the
other end know (rude, rude, rude).

10.  When you have to make a call you consider difficult or challenging,
get up for it.  Literally.  Stand while you make the call.  Your body
gets more oxygen, your voice sounds fuller, and you just feel more
powerful.

Many consultants have scads of clients and associates they have never
met in person. Because of their ability to convey their knowledge,
skills, and "realness” through telephone talk, they are
able to establish a profitable relationship and produce momentous
results for their clients.  Fortunately, until video telephones become a
universal reality, they don’t have to know we’re doing it in sweats in
the winter and shorts and T-shirt in the summer!

Best of success to you,
Rosalie
---------------------------
(Rosalie Hamilton is the Expert's Expert on marketing. She is a
consultant, coach, outsourced marketing provider and the author of *The
Expert Witness Marketing Book* http://www.expertcommunications.com)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quote
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking
about.
-- Unknown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Training Center
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          The A-Z Guide to Expert Witnessing

The most up-to-date, comprehensive, must-have resource for every expert
consultant.

Sections include:

- Qualifications
- Bulletproofing an Expert CV
- Properly Forming and Expressing Opinions
- Bulletproofing an Expert's Report
- Preparing to Testify at Deposition & Trial 
- What Clients Look for in an Expert
- How Attorneys Locate Expert Witnesses
- Fees, Billings, & Collections
- Expert Witness Liability & Risk Management
- among many other topics, all highly relevant to your expert practice
and success.

What I found most valuable were:
the resource lists - checklists for CVs and reports; 
directories of different resources such as legal journals, bar
associations, etc.; and especially the model documents - fee schedules,
expert reports, and consulting agreements.

To learn more about this 626-page hardbound text or to order your copy -
see http://tinyurl.com/6orfga or contact me, Meredith, by phone, fax or
email using the contact information below.

Sidenote:  The other feature of this book that's great is the examples
of different situations experts might encounter, especially specific
deposition and cross-examination questions and the right and wrong way
to respond with explanatory analysis - not only educational but
entertaining too! :)

Best of success to you,
Meredith 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Expert Excerpt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        When an Attorney Calls, What Do You Say?
      How to Handle that Initial Call from an Attorney

It is important to establish a system to formalize the business
relationship so that you and your client-attorney both understand
precisely who is hiring you, when you are hired, and what you are hired
for.

There are many things you may be asked to do for the client-attorney
besides testifying. You may make literature searches, run tests, build
demonstration models for court, advise the client-attorney about the
strategy and/or theory of the case, identify issues which may have been
overlooked, propose questions for interrogatories and depositions and
much more. You may simply read some documents and give an opinion or you
may do a lot of hand-holding.

The attorney in search of an expert will either call or write you. If he
or she knows (from past experience or attorney referral) you have worked
on similar cases, you may receive a copy of the complaint and a cover
letter asking if you are interested. If he or she is not sure you are
qualified, you will probably receive a telephone call in which the
calling attorney will try to judge your abilities.

Make it clear that until a written agreement has been signed, you do not
want any confidential information. Some unscrupulous attorneys will
call, give you some details but not hire you so that opposing counsel
can’t hire you.

Do not give away too much in this initial contact. Ask questions.

You too may wish to investigate the potential client-attorney and case
before you sign a contract or engagement letter. It is no fun and it
certainly won’t help your professional reputation to deal with an
incompetent attorney or one without integrity.

Does he or she sound proficient? Is this a widely known,
well-established firm? Is he or she new in the game? Check with other
experts and attorneys. Look up the caller online, call the local bar
association to ask if there are any outstanding claims.

A great part of your decision to accept or reject the case should depend
on your judgment about the case and the calling attorney addressing it.
Is the caller trying to push you toward a favorable conclusion? Is the
caller unreasonable to work with? If, at any time, you realize the
client-attorney is incompetent, unreasonable, or dishonest, sever the
relationship.

A responsible client-attorney wants to know as soon as possible if the
case is weak. He or she is relying on the expert to point out both the
strengths and weaknesses. The expert is providing a screening service.
If the case is weak, the attorney will want to cut losses and save
money. Plaintiffs may drop cases or not even file them and defendants
may be encouraged to settle. 

Expert witnesses are not hired to bring good news or to draw out cases;
they are hired to provide an objective, factual opinion.

-- Excerpted from *The Expert Witness Handbook* by Dan Poynter.  See
more about Poynter’s book at http://tinyurl.com/6emb9v

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legal Levity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               What’s “Normal”?

Q: My question, sir, is have you met patients whom you’ve spoken to
casually who have given the impression of being normal, when, in fact,
they were mentally deficient?

A: God, that’s a great question. Went to school with about a half dozen
guys like that.

-- excerpted from a court transcript, Texas Bar Journal Sept 05

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bonus Tip
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 What Time Is It There?

Due to recent newsletter subscribers and questions from experts in
Australia, the United Kingdom, and Africa, I had to figure out the time
zones so I didn’t call in the middle of the night.  Mom told me about a
great site called http://WhatTimeIsIt.com , where you can find any time
zone you could want.  Through the “Convert between timezones” function,
you can plug in different continents, countries, states – very helpful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fine Print
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Expert Communications
Expert Witness Marketing & Training
140 Island Way, #288, Clearwater, FL 33767
Tel 727-467-0700 Fax 727-467-0800
meredith at expertcommunications.com

*Expert Communications* - We provide expert witness training tools and
coaching, and create marketing plans, materials and websites for expert
witnesses.

Find additional articles and resources for experts at
http://www.expertcommunications.com 

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