“You prove your worth with your actions, not with your mouth.” – Jean Paul

With the economy throwing every company a curve ball, selling legal services is more difficult than ever. In order to close the deal, your law firm needs to show the prospect what you can offer and why it’s worth it for them to hire you.

In the last post, we discussed the importance of putting your best foot forward to make a great first impression. When you make your making a good impression, you’re also proving your worth. The following tactics will make sure your prospect knows that you’ll be a valuable asset:

Think business value: If the client’s project involves a practice area your law firm would like to gain more experience in, try persuading the client to give your firm a chance—and if they’re still on the fence, make it easier for them to consider your law firm by negotiating a lower introductory fee for a few months, allowing them time to gain confidence in your ability to handle the work.

This technique is also effective at improving client retention as it shows your eagerness to help the client with additional legal work, while proving that your firm is adept in a number of different practice areas.

Deliver value: When the meeting closes, you want your client to leave with a better understanding of their own situation. This means you’ll have to give a little free legal advice. Consider this free advice an investment in your future, as it will likely make the client more confident about hiring your law firm.

Certainly, the tactics described in the last several blog posts aren’t going to completely shake up your legal business development strategy, but the fact remains that they should be in every firm’s toolkit of legal sales closing skills. Make the most of being in the RED ZONE: be bold, think critically, put your best foot forward, and be worth it.

“When we put our best foot forward, the other one had better be good enough to stand on.” – Cullen Hightower

If you want to help your team to stand out in the RED ZONE, focus on the quality of your preparation and presentation to close the deal! Making a great first impression when meeting with the prospect will help start the relationship off on the right foot and will set it on a course for success.

In our last post, we discussed the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and taking measured risks. But while you’re taking those risks, don’t forget the tried and true tactics that help you put your best foot forward:

Start with opening arguments: When you make it to the RED ZONE, it’s important not to waste time on facts about your firm. Start with what your attorneys can do for the client, how your legal strategy will help them to be successful, and how it’s going to play out.

Understand needs: General counsel are often the toughest crowd to win over, so you need to understand their needs too. Find out what kind of pressure they’re facing, who is looking over their shoulders, what their competitors are doing. Developing a sense of understanding about the pressures and challenges facing general counsel will give you greater insight into the best way to approach them, ultimately fostering open communication and a better relationship between parties.

Using any or all of these tactics will provide the client with more reasons to hire you while showing your interest and commitment to their company. By combining educated risks with tried and true presentation and meeting tactics, you’ll be better able to diversify and perfect your legal sales techniques making your firm more attractive to prospects. In the next post, we’ll talk about how to show your prospect the value you’ll bring to their company.

As we’ve previously discussed, it’s extremely important to hone your speaking skills so that you can present an effective, convincing message when delivering presentations both within your law firm and at law industry conferences. And the same tactics and skills that make an attorney a great speaker can also be translated into powerful tools that can be used in client meetings. In his book Making Your Point, Senior VP of Levick Strategic Communications >David Barlett suggests improving your legal sales and marketing meetings with prospects by applying specific tactics used in speeches and presentations. By using these techniques, you can increase the impact of your meeting and close more sales.


Though the book is not specifically geared toward attorney sales, the advice within is highly relevant to successful law firm marketing. For example, Bartlett suggests that when preparing for a speech or presentation, you should do two things: ask yourself “What do they expect from me?” and subsequently prepare an outline or agenda. This two-step approach also makes sense when preparing for a face-to-face meeting with a prospect.


Asking, “What do they expect from me?” is a great first step as attorneys map out your plan for success. Answering this question will allow you to identify key issues that will need to be discussed in the meeting: the prospect’s pressures, company problems, current market value, and their business. Assessing their expectations will allow you and your law firm to build a more comprehensive plan of action and meet their needs.


With these needs and issues identified, preparing an agenda will help keep your meeting on track. At the beginning or before the meeting, share the agenda with the prospective client. Allowing them to add, edit, and prioritize the agenda will foster engagement and interest while improving the productivity of the meeting. As with any prospective client meeting, the goal is to get to the RED ZONE.

“Another word for creativity is courage.” – George Prince

Breaking through the mold of conformity is no easy task. For lawyers it proves more difficult because there is a fine line of professionalism that can be crossed over quickly. If done right, a non-conforming approach is rightly viewed as creative, making your firm stand out among the masses. But how do you strike the right creative chord? It isn’t necessary to revamp your entire client relations protocol; just shake up the system a bit to really stand out in the client’s decision making process. There are a number of ways to do this successfully, but using your creative juices can really work when it comes to a) client presentations and b) internal practices.

When it comes to presenting to the client, thinking above and beyond the box has the potential to be both enjoyable and lucrative. So how do you stand out? Perhaps you’ll find creative inspiration in these two examples:

• While doing their homework before a client meeting, one firm found out that casual dress was the norm at the client’s firm. The law firm ordered matching shirts with the client’s logo and wore them to the meeting—probably the first and only time the client has seen that! Even though they didn’t win that specific business, the law firm has been retained on a growing number of smaller engagements.
• In assembling a Request for Proposal (RFP) response for a manufacturer of sports equipment, one law firm’s team included photos of themselves riding a snowmobile made by the company. They’re waiting to hear back, but are certain that their creative approach made a positive impression.

Another way to step outside the box is to shake up your internal practices. Taking on a creative approach to marketing and business development can inspire team members and increase productivity and energy. Here are a few ways firms have been changing things up at work which were presented at last month’s ALM Marketing and Business Development Leadership Forum in New York.

• Changing from practice groups to industry teams can restructure the way a firm handles clients by breaking down internal barriers that traditionally have stopped cross-selling and creative flow. Many agreed that this change has increased the energy within their firm and increased closing of business deals.
• Many firms are starting to incorporate “self-service” marketing. This allows attorneys to prepare their own pitch books with stock materials and add their own edge to their work. Attorneys have free reign to be as creative as they want by choosing their own graphics, layouts and feel with approval from a senior partner or CMO.
• “In-sourcing” is another concept that has a similar feel to the “self-service” approach. A central marketing team is responsible only for producing the proposal, not editing it.

The idea is to not limit your firm to the same old practices that stifle creativity and ingenuity. Creativity takes many forms, so don’t restrict yourself and your firm to what you see here. Standing out in the clients’ minds will get you to the RED ZONE, and ultimately help close the deal.

Is there a creative tactic that has worked for your firm? Let us know by leaving a comment!

No two clients are the same. When getting to know your prospects – or looking for additional business from existing clients – it’s important to accept this reality. Tailoring questions and presentations to fit the client’s needs, personality, and industry will separate your firm from others. Before the meeting, do your research to ensure quality work and questions. This will ensure that you’re at your best in the Red Zone.


Here are a number of questions that you should consider asking at every meeting:

• Is there currently an in-house counsel? How will the work be handled between in-house and your firm?
• How is the client currently handling intellectual property protection and risk management?
• Is the client prepared for discovery?
• Does the client need outside assistance with litigation PR or crisis communications?
• What forms of communication does the client prefer? How often do they prefer communications?
• Who will be the day-to-day point of contact at the company?

Your interest in day-to-day operations will show your eagerness to jump right in and start working. But how do you tailor questions specific to the client? Refer back to your research. Edit and add questions as necessary. Corporate clients will have different needs than a small, private company. One that protects intellectual property will face different issues than one that deals with antitrust cases. Don’t treat them as one in the same!


The hard part comes next: listening. Both talking and listening lead to closing the deal in the Red Zone. Building and diversifying your firm’s closing skills will lead to more business and better client relationships.

Recently, the Closers Group conducted a survey of law firm attorneys and marketing professionals to explore their interactions with business development consultants–and not surprisingly, the survey results pointed to a lack of focus on “closing skills.” In response, we created our “Closing by the Numbers” seminar.


Within the legal profession – and elsewhere – the shrewdest firms and their advisors are focused on identifying and developing new business. Rather than focus on general “marketing” activities, they recognize the value of improving their skill sets and getting better at the art of closing.


As the profession consolidates, developing these skills and tactics becomes more crucial. If your firm is making an effort to get attorneys out to meet with prospects and clients in an effort to develop more business, make sure they have the closing skills they need.


Our “Closing by the Numbers” presentation doesn’t just talk about the philosophy of closing a sale. We recognize that all strategies demand tactics, and this presentation offers examples of closing skills best practices that lawyers can emulate in their own practices.


Some people spend their entire career trying to master the final, decisive steps that are involved in strong closing skills; why wait to tackle the challenge? To learn more about this presentation (CLE may be applied for) or to request more information, please visit our Seminars and Workshops page.

“Allan is a strategy master.”

–John Kidd, Partner (Ret.), Clifford Chance

At the Closers Group, when we talk about business development, we focus our efforts on helping clients see results rapidly – often within six months rather than a year or more. Our seminar, “Closing in on the Red Zone,” is designed to show lawyers and marketing professionals how to use business development tools and is tailored toward helping practice groups, industry teams, firm offices, and groups of lawyers.


During the presentation the Closers Group team works to help shift the firm’s business development focus. Rather than over-planning and over-researching, we focus on the benefits of tracking action, producing measurable results, and building the confidence of firm management.


How do we do it?


First we define the Red Zone and who or what is missing. Then we identify the 4 key steps in business development and discuss the how and why of building business partnerships. Next, we explore what it takes to motivate attorneys to sell (or to “Get ‘em out there” so to speak) and examine which types of business development action programs really work. Finally, we address the importance of getting into the Red Zone to pursue contacts, build relationships, and close new business.


This workshop typically lasts from 50 minutes to four hours, depending on the amount of time available and the number of participants. Additionally, the presentation is CLE credit qualified in many states.


Learn more about this and other Closers Group seminars and workshops or request more information from the Closers Group website.

“Allan and his colleagues will provide a dynamic regimen of specific action points that have direct and measurable bottom-line impact.”


–Joseph L. Beachboard, Shareholder for Client Services/Business Development, Ogletree Deakins

Here at the Closers Group, we often tell our clients, “Stop planning. Start closing.” The reason for this is simple: Marketing strategies are an essential step in creating awareness about your firm or your practice, but you must also take action, engage with your prospects, and close more business.


That doesn’t mean that there isn’t some planning that you need to do. One often overlooked area of new business development is taking the time to identify your prospects’ needs so that when you meet them one on one – when you’re in what we call the Red Zone – you’re ready.


Here are a few key questions to answer before going into the meeting:

• What internal pressures is your client or prospect facing?


• What services and activities does your prospect consider vital and essential?


• Are there other firms that your prospect uses for legal work and, if so, how does your firm compare?

When we work with our clients to help them prepare to close more legal sales, we take the time to explore and fully answer these and other questions. Having a list of prospects is great; validating each prospect’s potential and having a customized game plan for each meeting is even better.


If you have questions or want to solidify your game plan, don’t hesitate to contact us.

The primary concern expressed in our firm’s 2009 survey of Business Development Consultant Performance was the need for emphasis on closing. While many people assume that closing is what happens at the end of the sales process, the reality is that closing starts with the very first contact or meeting and then continues with every subsequent communication.


Understanding that closing is a process and not a milestone means that, in order to facilitate the process, you must always be working to set up the next contact and keep the relationship growing. There are a few important skills you’ll want to master along the closing path:

• Have multiple points of contact with in the client’s group: Don’t limit yourself to one way in; develop many relationships simultaneously.


• Get to know the client’s executives, not just counsel: Building upon the above, remember that the client’s C-suite can have a big impact on counsel choices.


• Be efficient, not greedy: Focus on providing value in every stage of the closing process rather than pushing too hard toward the sale.


• Be confident: Enter the closing process with a positive mindset that will shine through to your prospective client.


• Define client focus and what it means to be “client-centric”: Speak in benefits, not features, and anticipate and address client concerns with their best interests in mind.


• Keep clients informed: Effective communication is key to the closing process. Don’t leave clients guessing.


• Differentiate yourself and your firm from competitors by talking strategy, and successes: Take the opportunity to share how your firm has been able to achieve results and focus on the strategic steps you took to get there.

Don’t forget the importance of understanding the client’s decision-making process: knowing who else might be involved, what the decision-making timing is, and what additional information might be needed. Learning the answers to these questions is a good way to keep the dialogue open, build client relationships, and move your prospects closer to closing.

Looking for the peace of mind that comes from closing sales? Need to scratch the itch and start closing more business?


Closing starts the first time that you meet someone – whether that meeting happens at a conference, a cocktail party, or even lunch with a client. Business development training should provide key tactics for moving discussions closer to an engagement.


Business development tactics do not need to be complicated to be effective. The following tactics, for example, are easy to implement during scheduled meetings and are surprisingly effective:

• During every meeting with a prospect or client, touch on the client benefits that your firm offers.
• As the meeting wraps up, restate the challenges and opportunities as the client sees them.
• Close every call, meeting, or pitch with agreements on the next steps. This element of permission marketing confirms that there will be a next step.

These communications keys to success should be an integral part of law firm marketing. Legal sales leadership at every level of a firm should be instilling these tactics in firm lawyers with practice sessions, and everyone in the firm should have the opportunity to report back on what is and isn’t working to close more sales.