Thursday, May 8th, 2008
In this crazy world of competing deadlines, priorities, sound bites and instant communication technology it sometimes seems harder than ever to nurture the important relationships in our lives. We are all under such pressure to perform and to achieve there is little time left in the day to reach out and show someone that we care. For a list of tips on how to keep in touch with the important people in our lives check out my article on Slaw.ca this week. And please, if you have some additional tips to share with the readers post a comment here or on the Slaw site.
Posted in Client Relations, Marketing, Solo and Small Firms | Permalink | No Comments »
Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Part Two
I first blogged on this topic in December. Today I will continue where I left off and provide my top ten list of steps for launching a successful associate marketing and business development training program:
- Segment your training to target lawyers of a particular year of call, or practice area, so that the curriculum content is appropriate to their skill and knowledge level and can be put into immediate practice.
- Conduct strength assessments with the associates taking part in the training program. These assessments provide a measure of where they are starting from, help frame the business development process, and serve as a point of departure for developing their personal business plans.
- Launch the training program with a Mindset component. Mindset means aligning the business development approach to the strengths and values of the participants, framing business development in the context of career success, and clearing up any misconceptions about what business development is all about.
- In keeping with the active learning emphasis, hold monthly meetings, with actionable homework and feedback components.
- Connect the content of the monthly training sessions to each associate’s goals and business plan.
- Use the training program and homework items to support associates in developing the habit of integrating regular business development activities into their weekly schedule.
- Track results.
- Small groups provide the opportunity for discussion. Each training component is followed by an action item. For example, after the networking session the associates each attend a networking event. Following the event they prepare a brief memo on what worked, what didn’t, what contacts they made, how they will follow-up. At the next training session the first minutes of the class are then spent reviewing the group members’ experience of the networking event.
- Integrate partner experiences into the program through holding partner panels, or collecting business development stories from the partners for inclusion in the training sessions.
- Integrate client experiences into the program through holding client panels, sharing client survey results, or by creating opportunities for the participants to speak with clients of the firm.
Just like learning to improve a golf stoke, lawyers can best develop business development skills through putting knowledge into practice and receiving feedback on performance. Training programs require more than just the seminar component. They require action assignments and the opportunity to debrief with colleagues and a coach or mentor after the event.
Developing a successful business development training program takes time and effort, but the rewards are substantial:
• A training program with measurable ROI
• A team of lawyers who all business develop
• Increased retention of associates
Done right, programs that teach the participants new business development skills, encourage new behaviours and have measurable goals and results will have a fundamental impact on profitability and retention.
For further reading on this topic don’t miss the Hildebrant Article: Masterclass: Adopting A Business-Development Attitude: A Shared Responsibility
Posted in Business Development, Training and Retention, Marketing | Permalink | No Comments »Monday, October 15th, 2007
Clients want lawyers with niche expertise.
At a client panel I took part in last month one of the big themes that emerged was that clients want to hire a lawyer who “gets them” - who has a depth and breadth of knowledge of their industry, their profession, their business, or in essence their issues.
So a great way to build your practice is to focus on developing some niche expertise and getting known for it. The question for a lot of lawyers is how do I find my niche?
Kevin O’Keefe of Lexblog has a helpful post on finding your blog niche (which was inspired by a freelance writer’s post on finding your writing niche). In addition to his handy niche questions I have a few to add of my own:
Think about your background. What jobs did you do before becoming a lawyer? What degrees do you have? Does your family run a business? I was working with one client who casually mentioned his parents, his uncles, and his brother were all in the same type of manufacturing business and that he had worked for them before becoming a lawyer - that became his niche.
Kevin says “find what inspires you.” I agree. What is it that fascinates you? How might you draw the connection with your legal practice? Here in British Columbia one lucky lawyer dominates the ski hill business and another has secured the winery niche. There must be some nice perks with clients like those.
Another question to consider is what kind of clients do you like working with most? What do they have in common?
Ultimately finding your niche is about discovering what you like best about your legal practice and getting more of it. And for associates it’s an effective strategy for gaining ground rapidly, raising your profile, and securing your own clients.
Posted in Client Relations, Marketing | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, May 31st, 2007
I was chatting with a lawyer friend over breakfast this morning and she recalled for me, with a shudder, a business development torture session from her days as a first year securities lawyer. She was told to attend a basketball game with a group of stockbrokers. “I can’t stand basketball, and the stockbrokers were appalling. I couldn’t understand why I was there. All I got out of the experience was being asked out on a date that I didn’t want to go on.”
What was wrong with this picture?
Alignment. Business development is effective when the lawyer’s goals, values, interests, and strengths are in alignment with the business development activity. In my friend’s case there was no fit beyond the fact that she was a securities lawyer and those were securities clients. This was a case of the classic rainmaker turn off.
One associates basketball horror story would be another’s great night at the game.
Sometimes you get just one chance.
So often when we are introducing marketing and business development to associates we really only get one chance. As soon as you make the mistake of sending the wrong person to the basketball game you are sending a powerful message to that lawyer. The message they get is:
“Business development is a painful and useless activity.”
“This is not me.”
“I don’t do this.”
Business development becomes something other people do.
Values are important. I have found that the clearest statements on personal values come from lawyers when you are trying to get them to do some “business development” activity that is in conflict with their values.
For example, one associate told me he couldn’t stand going to a particular industry networking event. There always seemed to be more lawyers than potential clients and it appeared to him that the non-lawyers in the room were surrounded by a pack of lawyers with carefully prepared elevator speeches and business cards at the ready.
So does this mean this associate is not a rainmaker? Does it mean that he is going to have to get over his inhibitions and jump into the fray?
No. In further conversation it became apparent that he values relationships. He values sincerity. He is truly interested in the industry and is interested in getting meaningfully involved. It’s simply a question of developing opportunities for him to meet with people from the industry that support his own further education and give him a chance to interact with the potential clients in a different setting. We found just the thing for him but as it is still in progress I can’t reveal more!
All of this is to say that there are many different paths to business development.
One partner I know in Victoria got involved in a cooperative daycare program when she had her first child. She got to know all the parents, contributed her one day a week at the centre, and no surprise, the parents who chose to trust their children to her care naturally decided to trust her to handle their legal affairs as well.
There are as many unique paths to developing business as there are individuals. The key is to support lawyers in building an approach to business development that aligns with their own goals, distinct skills, interests, and values.
Ban meaningless acts of business development. If it turns your stomach or makes your skin crawl you know that it is not for you. Instead, discover what is for you, and set it in motion.
Posted in Business Development, Training and Retention, Marketing, Thought provoking ideas | Permalink | No Comments »Friday, May 18th, 2007
This spring I was invited to contribute to the ABA Law Practice Magazine’s April/May issue: “First Years: What every associate needs to know.”
The issue arrived in my mail last month and is now live on the web. Have a look. It’s a great guide for new associates to making the most of the first years and establishing a foundation for their legal practice.
My article is all about what new associates should know about marketing. I was directed to answer the question - what do managing partners wish their associates knew about marketing? I interviewed a number of managing partners and practice group leaders to find out what was most on their minds. Here’s what they had to say:
Understand that Law Firms Are Businesses
Invest Early and Frequently
Invest Non-billable Time with Existing Clients
Talk Less and Listen More
Develop a Meaningful Introduction
Learn How to Close the Deal
Find your Personal Style
Associates, if you want to end up with a practice you enjoy and clients you like, it is critical that you learn to chart your own course. Marketing can help you do that. It is your time to discover the kind of work and clients you find the most interesting. It is also time to explore the kind of marketing and business development activities that you like best. It might be writing articles or maintaining a blog. It could be you have a flair for presenting. Find out what works best for you while advancing you toward your goals, and do it. Don’t wait until you have some free time. Weave a little marketing into everyday. Keep your own professional goals moving forward.
Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Goals | Permalink | No Comments »Sunday, April 8th, 2007
Just a heads up to all of you in British Columbia. The CBA and the LMA have joined forces to stage a second legal marketing bootcamp taking place in Victoria on April 20, 2007.
Here’s what some of the participants of Bootcamp 2006 had to say:
“[Boot Camp] was very informative and more importantly relevant. The speakers that attended did an excellent job. . . I would recommend the Marketing Boot Camp to anyone who is serious about wanting to learn about professionally marketing legal services.” David H. Pihl, Q.C. Pihl & Associates Law Corporation, Kelowna, BC
“This course gives you the knowledge and tools to start building your own identity and future without hiring expensive consultants.” Randall Walford, Walford & Associates, Kimberley, BC
“The speakers were entertaining and had useful information. I came away from the day with new ideas and a reminder of how to involve each member of the firm in marketing efforts.” Kerry L. Simmons, Cardinal Law, Victoria, BC
This is a great opportunity for any lawyers or administrators who are interested in learning more about marketing, or getting set to develop personal, practice group, or firm marketing plans. There’s still time to sign up.
Click here to read more about this event and to register.
Posted in Marketing | Permalink | No Comments »
Friday, March 30th, 2007
One of the highlights of the Legal Marketing Association’s Annual Conference in Atlanta last week was the screamingly funny ”mocumentary” presented at the opening session. This exposé of the real world of legal marketing had conference participants in side-splitting laughter and tears.
Great news - the video is now available for viewing on You Tube!
Entilted “Truth Justice & Credibility” the video was developed for the conference by Jeff Reade of Cole Valley Software - in just two weeks time!
Reade appears in the firm in the role of the proto-typical Managing Partner. The Marketing Director is played by a member of the LMA, Michele Golivesky, the Marketing Director for the firm Swift Currie in Atlanta.
While satirical, the video underlines some of the universal truths of legal marketing. Take a minute out of your busy schedule and have a look today!
Posted in Marketing | Permalink | No Comments »Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
I attended a great LMA Vancouver lunch hour seminar today presented by Tim Leishman from Kerma Partners. (Kerma Partners came into existence in late 2006 and has already developed into an alternative to Hildebrandt in the professional services consulting arena.)
Leishman first penned an article on lawyer practices styles in 1998, and the ideas he set out provide a helpful tool for thinking about and understanding the contributions lawyers make to the success of a law firm.
Leishman sets out four categories of contribution that lawyers make to their firms: Rainmaker, Point Person, Hired Gun, Brain Surgeon. In very short form here’s how he describes each of these types of lawyers:
Rainmakers are interested in connections. They are into meeting new people. They are initiative takers. They are high intensity networkers. They approach business development from the standpoint of “how can I help this person?” Or, “how can I make it easy for them?”
Point Persons are the client managers par excellence. They are most interested in loyalty. They approach their client service from the standpoint of how can I make this person look good? They are natural team players and consensus builders.
The Hired Guns are motivated by credentials. They like to focus on publishing, presenting and building their profile and reputation. They help strengthen the firm’s reputation for expertise.
Brain surgeons are those lawyers whose insight, and intellectual prowess, put them in a category all to themselves. They are highly knowledgeable in key niche areas of law and are known for their outstanding legal abilities.
Leishman’s point is that firms would be best to work to lawyers strengths rather then trying to get them to improve in their weak areas. Trying to get a Brain Surgeon become an effective practice group leader is likely an exercise in futility! Leishman sets out two priorities for law firms:
First, lawyers should be guided to develop in accordance with their relative strengths and talents.
Second, firms should learn to identify the natural abilities and talents that are associated with certain practice styles and learn from lawyers with those abilities so that those abilities can be developed in others.
Once you know your strength you can then maximize the intensity you are putting into it, and get the most out of it.
Attendees at the seminar also offered some of their own thought provoking questions and comments. One person commented that the difficulty for many firms is that they have a number of lawyers who fall into neither of the above categories. In these cases, coaching can help to support the lawyer in discovering and developing their strengths.
Another point raised was that there is a lot to be gained for firms in having practice group leaders learn to manage their groups by leveraging the strengths of their group members in each of these areas. Rainmakers, Point Persons, Brain Surgeons and Hired Guns when brought together as a team can bring about some powerful results for a firm. The challenge is that there are currently few practice group leaders given the time, training, and support from the firm to effectively manage, or learn to manage their groups in a way that maximizes the strengths of the members.
I encourage you to take a moment to read Leishman’s article. It’s a valuable tool for thinking about lawyer marketing and business development strengths and maximizing our investments in them.
Posted in Leadership, Business Development, Marketing | Permalink | 1 Comment »Monday, February 19th, 2007
This Friday I am presenting on Marketing for the Solo and Small Firm along with Lorne MacLean of the MacLean Family Law Group at the CLE BC’s Solo and Small Firm Conference 2007.
Lorne and I have been chatting with each other over the past few weeks about what really works for building profitable and interesting practices at solo and small firms. Here are ten pointers for you to consider when planning your solo or small firm marketing initiatives for 2007:
1. Alignment. Take the time to determine what kind of firm and practice you want to build and make sure your decisions align with those goals. Develop a clear message that describes what you would like your potential clients to know about yourself and your firm, and that will distinguish you from other lawyers. Focus your marketing efforts on delivering that message.
2. Plan. Take the time to plan your marketing. Decide what you want to achieve in a given period of time and develop a simple plan of what you are going to do to get there.
3. Clients. The number one source of new work is from your current clients. Would they be open to sending you more work? Will they refer their contacts to you? Investing in your current clients is the vital first step of any marketing plan.
4. Network. The vast majority of work comes in through word of mouth referral. After your clients, your personal network of contacts is your biggest marketing asset. Have you got a system in place for keeping track of the names, addresses, phone and email for your contacts? Have you established a system for staying in touch with your most important contacts? How are you currently investing in building this network?
5. Research. Each time a new client joins your firm track how they heard about you. Talk to your clients. Find out what publications they read. Do they prefer email or printed newsletters? Do they look at legal blogs? Do they even know what a blog is? Do they use your website for anything? What would make your delivery of legal services easier for them? The more information you can uncover about your clients preferences the better you can tailor your marketing efforts.
6. Technology. Web sites, blogs, email provide the best return on investment for small firms. They are cheaper then print materials, can reach large numbers of people, and are easy to keep fresh and up-to-date.
7. CMS. Make sure you have a website that you or your secretary can update yourselves. This means you have something called a “content management system” (CMS) plugged to the back-end. These don’t have to be expensive. Adobe sells a program called Contribute for US$149 that a programmer can plug into your site and will allow you or your staff to update content with only a little training. It’s so easy I taught myself how to use it.
8. Yellow pages. Don’t invest in yellow page ads. There are better and more targeted ways to get your message out to potential clients.
9. PR. Use the free announcements available in the Vancouver Sun, Business in Vancouver, Lawyers Weekly, to announce new lawyers at your firm, new partner announcements, and other related developments. Determine which newspapers, industry publications that might be interested in quoting you for time to time or printing your articles. Contact the editors and find out how they like to be approached with story ideas and articles.
10. Recycle. Time is precious. Get as much mileage as possible out of each marketing activity you invest in. If you write an article for a publication then post it to your website. Look for an opportunity to present on the content to your clients or potential clients. Use the same material in as many ways as possible.
Posted in Marketing, Solo and Small Firms | Permalink | No Comments »Tuesday, February 6th, 2007
I had the good fortune to attend a panel discussion today held by the LMA Vancouver Chapter on “How Public Sector Counsel Select Their Outside Counsel.”
It was a dynamite session. Paul Reynolds of 2nvision consulting moderated the discussion. He spoke with three public sector in-house counsel on the factors influencing their retention of external counsel, what distinguishes the great lawyers they have worked with, and why they fire some firms.
Doug Jasinki, from Skunkworks Creative, and I are developing a five minute podcast with highlights from session for posting to the LMA Vancouver website. In the meantime here’s a brief excerpt from my notes on the session:
The best lawyers are:
- Responsive. They are prompt and respond in a timely manner to requests.
- Pragmatic. They work the file appropriately.
- Aware of context. They repeatedly invest in learning about the organization, not just for the initial sales call, and are sensitive to the organization’s particular requirements
- Team players. They work closely with in-house counsel, communicate well, and keep counsel well apprised of what is going on in a file
- Flexible. They are able to work at odd hours and on short notice when necessary.
- Pleasant to deal with! They are well mannered, and treat their clients with respect.
Listening between the lines today it seemed to me that the panelists had experienced some atrocious examples of bad client service. Here’s my take on the five easy ways to get fired:
- Don’t meet deadlines. If the client requests the Opinion for their very important meeting at 2:00 pm then hand it in at 4:00 pm.
- Communicate with the client as little as possible. Keep them in the dark. Don’t keep them updated on the file. If nothing happens on the file for weeks or months, you don’t have to contact them! Better to just let them wonder what is going on.
- Bill the client for the friendly chat you had with them on the phone.
- The client is a public agency and under public scrunity – but who cares?! Advocate as aggressively and sharply as possible, regardless of any negative media fallout.
- Be as arrogant as possible. When the CEO enters the room don’t stand up, don’t shake his hand. Turn up late for meetings and act like you are doing everyone a favour for being there.
The panelists were refreshingly candid and many of us left with a stack of notes on such topics as how to structure your business development approach, how to respond to RFPs, how to stand out as great counsel, and what are the most effective marketing tools.
The feedback I am hearing about the event has been overwhelmingly positive. As one lawyer concluded, it was great to have the opportunity to get “find out the answers to those questions that lawyers typically don’t have the guts to ask!” (Guts is my word. He used a more descriptive one!)
Posted in Client Relations, Business Development, Marketing | Permalink | 1 Comment »
