For the L.A. Lakers, it was a long time between championships. After being called basketball’s first dynasty for early back-to-back wins, the Lakers started to see long gaps between titles. During the 2008 NBA Playoffs, the team was embarrassed by the way they lost the finals to their longtime rival the Boston Celtics. After the loss, they made a team commitment to keep at it until they won – a commitment that paid off in the 2009 finals.


Similar to the Lakers’ challenges, making a commitment to a comeback success is related to an often-overlooked concept in legal sales – an approach I call Maximizing Rejection. Simply put, if you don’t win a proposal, are passed over for new client work, or aren’t even invited to the dance, do not go in the corner and let yourself disappear. Instead, make sure that you continue to be present. As you continue to gain more experience in lawyer marketing, you’ll realize how important your investment with the company or agency is, and why continued follow up and follow through is so worthwhile.


Things not going your way? Here are some suggestions on turning things around:

• If another firm has been selected for an engagement, call back to follow up with your prospect in 3-4 months. Remind prospective clients that you look forward to working with them in the future, and ask if they are getting what they expected and what they need from the firm that was hired.
• Keep clients who’ve received proposals on your “touch” list and make sure to follow through with a contact 2-3 times a year. Consider inviting them to be on a panel with you at an upcoming professional/bar association event—it’s a great way to reconnect.

Practicing proactive legal sales is a matter of recognizing that the prospect made an investment in spending time with you and your proposal. They got to know you–and if you were close in the finals, keeping in touch will enhance the prospect of future work. Don’t give up – stick with your commitment to your prospects, continue doing your best work, and close the sale.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 9:33 am and is filed under Closing Skills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.