When she was approached about sewing the American Flag, Betsy Ross might have said “You want me to sew a what?” But rather than letting her personal doubts come into play, Betsy realized that an opportunity presented itself to raise the profile of a new country – and, now, the symbol that she created shows the accomplishments of Americans landing on the moon and of reaching the peak of Mt. Everest.


Much like our new country needed a little brand recognition, today’s law firms could benefit from a boost in their public profile–and many are realizing that they need outside assistance from business development consultants to increase their attorney marketing efforts.


Business development training and counseling provides attorneys with:

• Resources that are readily available
• Strategies to improve upon what’s already being done, and
• First-hand experience necessary to help them with closing skills and client retention.

The thought of working with a business development consultant might initially leave you thinking “You want me to do what?” But perhaps you’ll feel a bit more interested (and confident!) when you hear about the kinds of results that this type of partnership can bring. For example, over the course of a mere six months, our clients averaged a 285% increase in leads and opportunities. Even Betsy would be impressed by those numbers!

Your firm can’t afford to let a client’s needs fall through the cracks—especially in this economy. It always pays to give your clients above and beyond what is expected. Go the extra mile, and don’t miss the chance to tell your clients what you’ve done.
 
A client of mine was struggling from the crashing real estate and financing markets, and his practice dwindled almost to nothing. But instead of sitting on his hands and waiting for the phone to ring, he committed to stay visible to both his clients and perspective targets. He set lunches, meetings and update briefings, because he wanted to make sure that when things turned around, he could be at the top of his client’s mind. As a result, he quickly won a new real estate client who has him working on a development project he hopes will be approved when the market makes a comeback.
Keep in mind that being noticed doesn’t always require a big show. Rather, it is the little things – a written note instead of an email, a face-to-face meeting in lieu of a phone call, or sending news of recent legislation or court decisions that may affect the client.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

You’ve nurtured a relationship with general counsel for one of your star clients, and news has come down that the company is being bought. Your cozy contact with the C-Suite executives won’t amount to much when they move out of the picture, but does that mean the end of the world as you know it? Not necessarily. A client of mine who did legal work for a utility company—which amounted to about a quarter of all his business—was confronted with this problem. I advised him to take a quick look at the acquiring company’s board of directors and identify one or two that might be employed by the firm’s other clients and ask for an immediate introduction to the general counsel and head of the litigation for the acquiring corporation. He gave a compelling presentation and is now lead litigation counsel for both companies. Polish your law selling skills and line up the legal sales stars of the firm and sell like your business depends on it—because it does.

I’m sure that many law firms think the end of the year could not have come soon enough. The collapse of trusted financial institutions, layoffs at law firms (once thought recession proof) coupled with law students unsure if they will have jobs upon their graduation makes for unfortunate fodder around the water cooler. So let the hard work begin.

What are your resolutions for the new year? What tools will you be using to streamline costs while increasing visibility?

Compare this checklist with what your firm’s future plan:

*Wherever possible, cut costs (before your client cuts you). Your clients are looking for ways to reduce costs. But sure that cost reduction won’t involve dropping your firm. Take advice from a top politician – go through past invoices line by line. Cut, and then inform your client that you have done so. Honesty and transparency goes a long way toward client retention, even in a hard economy.

*Use the Net for business development. It’s free publicity. Moving forward, make sure you are making the best use of the Internet to gain exposure. Commit to updating your firm’s website at least once a week. Use multimedia – blogs, videos and podcasts – to transmit a tailored message to your target.

*Schedule speaking engagements and seminars. Be more aggressive about researching opportunities for partners to speak at events that can reach your target, and then convert the speeches into articles for future publication and more exposure.

*Commit to communicate. Again, it’s all about transparency. Don’t keep your clients in the dark. Make sure they know what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it. Schedule a meeting with in-house counsel and C-suite executives during January to discuss how to solve future challenges and goals together.

The ever-whirling wheel of change, the which all mortal things doth sway—Edmond Spenser
 
Things change. Whether it is operational, political, financial or cultural, chances are the clients you represent are changing too.
 
Never underestimate the value of honing client retention techniques and its importance in growing your business and enhancing your overall attorney marketing plan. But be careful of a myopic view. While you’re living up to your end of the relationship, understand that keeping the client happy is like a two-step dance–keep close, but be able to step back and observe.
 
As a close counsel to your client, you are most-likely privy to inside information about the latest developments that affect their business. But are you too close to the tree to see the forest? Take an objective look at how your client handles day-to-day, week-to-week, and year-to-year challenges to their operations and approach those issues from eyes afresh. If you can help your client with what keeps them up at night, you’ll both rest easy.
 
Quick Tip: Make a Fresh Eyes Evaluation part of new associate sales training and closing skills development.

The economy has thinned business all around. Often, the first reaction is to go into the marketplace full speed ahead, beef up the firm’s legal sales team and claw for new business. But while you’re expanding you business development activities, be sure never to neglect what opportunities lay right at your feet–existing clients. Survey after attorney marketing survey reveals that most business comes from existing sources, and recommendations from those sources. It’s like the old song says about new friends and old friends. The same goes for taking on new clients and retaining those already existing: one is silver and the other is gold.

In the pursuit of more business development, neglecting to give stellar service to long-standing clients (and constantly reminding said client of such attention) is to your peril. Never take for granted the reliable client who remains steady, but may not necessarily be an immediate source for additional revenue generation. Remember the power of a good recommendation! Lead generating opportunities may arise from the client’s other colleagues and non-competitive associations to be on the receiving end of some old fashioned, grass roots word-of-mouth endorsements, which is always good for you and your firm. But neglect the client, and that opportunity might just pass you by.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Good business development consultants provide a wide range of tactical options for their clients to select from. The following are added to those contained in the previous 3 blog columns. Use what works for you. Try a new one to add to the options you bring to the lawyer marketing table.
 
ENRICH YOUR RESUME It may be hard to land a speaking engagement early on, but there’s a big demand for articles. Most publications are open to senior associates, not just partners. Once the article is published, merchandise it in a somewhat different form to another outlet. Post it with your bio on the firm’s website. In other words, leverage it to the hilt.
 
EXPAND YOUR CONTACT LIST Reconnect with colleagues from law school or earlier. Some of them may be working in-house. Others may own businesses. Ask for their input on substantive professional issues. Provide a contact list to your marketing department.
 
More next time. Enjoy the Labor Day weekend.

Invisible Marketing is a concept requiring a sharp eye and ear. It is a component of “permission marketing” where a client or prospect provides you with an offer to market to them! When conducting workshops with our law firm clients, we will spend at least 1/2 hour tuning in to invisible marketing.
 
For example, we all know that great work and referrals are the 2 best sources of future business development. But complaints, yes complaints, are another great source of business by building a strong relationship. If a client calls and complains that something is not going well with a current engagement, they want to keep working with you. So fix it, fix it fast, and remind them periodically that you fixed it fast by ending a periodic conversation with “just want to make sure we are meeting all of our targets,etc.”
 
Another invisible marketing tactic is to ask clients why they switched to your firm. At the right time in an engagement, you might learn what they are happy with, and what problems the previous firm had. You can build on the success and avoid the problems.
 
Next time we’ll address two more invisible marketing tactics:

* “What’s new?”
* What do clients really want?”

It is amazing how out of touch some attorneys are when attending a pitch, lunch or presentation session with potential clients. Some of the comments I’ve heard about meetings:

• “They spent most of the time talking to themselves, not to us.”
• “What a complete lack of respect, let alone interest – one was using a Blackberry, one answered 2 phone calls during our meeting, and one was a potted plant.”
• “There were 2 of us and 6 of them.”
• “I found that off-color joke offensive”
• “They agreed to take a table at our favorite charity but no one showed up.”

Got the message? DON’T DO THAT!

> Get help with improving relationships with clients

In this third chapter on law firm mergers and the importance of early involvement of marketing leadership, the next question is:
 
How do you show – not tell – the marketplace that your intellectual and professional platform is indeed broader and deeper? New sub-specializations can be defined and marketed. Articles on legal or client industry issues should be co-bylined by lawyers from both merging firms. Talk about mergers in general, using your own as one example. Even years later, partners from the two original firms can still share their experiences at conferences, meetings, etc. – and by so doing implicitly remind the market that their own experience is an example of how it is done right.