In “Joining the Social Media Conversation,” we talked about the importance of participation and the best practices for setting up your social media profiles. And in our most recent post, we looked at the opportunity to develop business with just 15 minutes a day spent on social media. Following these steps will certainly put you on the right path toward social media success. But the reality is that even when you participate on the right sites, stay focused, and recognize that building relationships online takes time, knowing what to say can be challenging.


So what should you say? How can you be sure that you’re saying the right things?


There’s no doubt that you know the value of having a strong message for marketing your law firm. And while your core message won’t change when you post to Facebook, Twitter, or other sites, the medium changes the dynamics. To use social media effectively you can’t just post your message: You also need to monitor and respond to the feedback you receive.


On one hand, feedback can be frustrating if those commenting disagree with your message (stay tuned for our upcoming post on adjusting your message without engaging in a fight). On the other, feedback of all kinds is a great research opportunity. The comments of your potential prospects – those users who engage with your message – allow you to identify what’s working and see where your message isn’t making a connection.


The oft-repeated phrase “God gave us two ears and only one mouth” even holds true when it comes to engaging with social media. While you should post often, you should commit to monitoring the space even more often.


If you’re committing just 15 minutes a day to social media, spend less than five minutes posting your message. Spend the remaining 10 looking for feedback, and focus on being an effective listener. Get to know your audience. Respond to questions. Respond to criticisms and redirect the conversation as possible – if you can turn a negative into a positive or showcase your ability to help, you’ll be building relationships and your best prospects will recognize your ability to help them and meet their needs.

As we mentioned in previous posts, social media sites offer attorneys another way to reach out to existing clients and getting themselves in front of prospective clients. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks offer a variety of opportunities to engage and connect with peers and potential clients, among other benefits.


It goes without saying however that with more opportunities comes more work. And for busy attorneys, concerns about how you’re going to fit social media activities into your already busy schedule – particularly when you have not started to see lead generation and business development results – are completely understandable. Thankfully, once you’ve set up your social media profiles, you can maintain and manage your social media presence by just taking a few moments each day. Here are some specific ideas that may help you make the most of the time you spend on social media activities:

• Concentrate on the sites where your prospective clients are: There’s no need for you to have an active presence on every social media site; only participate on the ones that make sense for your business and your goals. Focus your social media efforts on the sites that have the greatest potential to bring you the biggest return on your time investment.
• Set aside time every day to nurture your social media activities: Once your profiles are up and running, you should set aside a small block of time to check in, make and respond to comments, or share information. Try dedicating 15 minutes a day to your social media efforts. Even this short amount of time can have a big impact on your social networking success.
• Stay focused: Certainly, it’s tempting to follow your golf buddy’s link to a funny YouTube video while you’re checking out the latest Facebook updates. But remember your purpose: to network and use social media to help cultivate relationships and build business. Manage your time wisely by remaining focused on professional and networking-related tasks while spending time on social media sites, and make a note to yourself to check out that YouTube video this weekend from home.
• Take your time: Just like with any other business relationships, nurturing relationships via social media takes time—and you risk damaging the relationship if you try to push things too quickly. Remember that your goal in becoming involved in social media is to engage and build relationships with clients and prospective clients in a low-pressure environment. Keep sales pitches and other hard sales tactics to a minimum and let the relationships naturally develop.

Social media offers law firms a worthwhile opportunity to find and connect with colleagues, clients, and potential clients. Make the most of your social media activities by effectively managing your time, and you’ll see the payoff in terms of an increasing number of business contacts and relationships, and in the long-term, a likely impact on your firm’s bottom line.

At the close of our previous post, we commented on new responsibilities. What were we talking about?


In the old days, a law firm may publish a press release or an article about a particular legal issue, but other than a letter to the editor or Op-Ed piece, they were unlikely to get much feedback on their message. But today, with the two-way communication afforded by the Internet and social media, anyone and everyone can and does comment, from your fellow attorneys to the head of the local cause-based nonprofit, to the troll who is simply trying to pick a fight.


The way that you handle yourself and your persona online can have a direct impact on your credibility both in the world of social media, and increasingly, in the real world. Be mindful of your interactions, ensuring that you are following best practices guidelines, basing your messages and posts on solid research, including links that back up the points you are making, and handling both compliments and criticism with grace and aplomb. Take advantage of the nearly limitless audience that social media can afford you, but do so with the knowledge that you are no longer speaking to a quiet, captive audience—you’re taking part in a much larger and potentially louder conversation.


Stay tuned for additional posts on joining the social media conversation; our next post will be related to managing your time without neglecting to engage with your audience.

“Participation matters more than quality.” That’s what author and renowned Internet consultant Clay Shirky urges businesses to remember as they pursue social media activities. Shirky has a point—after all, getting social media efforts to a tipping point where conversations and discussions are naturally occurring is oftentimes the biggest challenge to social media success. But for attorneys who must also consider legal and ethical issues associated with social network participation, quality must still be top of mind.


The approach Shirky describes brings with it new opportunities–namely the opportunity to position yourself or your firm as thought leaders on specific issues, reaching out past your current clients and prospects to people and firms across the nation or the globe. But with these new opportunities come new responsibilities – and the ability to follow through without committing more time than you have to spend.


In the coming days and weeks, we’ll explore some of the changes and identify strategies for managing your time wisely while using social media to market your law firm.

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.

During the brainstorming session and discussion mentioned in the previous post, another topic that the in-house and outside counsel focused on was the way that lawyers present themselves and their proposals in legal sales meetings. This is the Red Zone of law business development – the time when lawyers are face to face with their prospects and everyone involved needs to be at the top of their game. If you’ve been fumbling when the pressure is on, you’ll be happy to know that there are things that you can do to step up your game.


In order to start connecting, you need to build a rapport with your prospects. There was strong agreement among the group that the following are all critical to making a connection:

• Showing preparation is an asset. Don’t be afraid to refer to or show your notes during the meeting—this is just a sign that you’ve done your homework.
• Use your pre-meeting research to demonstrate what you have learned about your prospects, their businesses, the challenges they are facing, and what they really need.
• Work with your client or prospect to create a clear, concise definition of the problem they are facing.
• Don’t focus on using big words to impress your clients. Big words do not an intellectual make.
• Be clear about your firm’s strengths and advantages when you are engaged in law firm selling. There’s no reason to make the differentiation from other firms personal; if your message is strong and you are confident that you’re the best one to do the work, there’s no need to mention your competitors by name.

Effective lawyer marketing is all about closing skills. Building a rapport with your clients or prospects during your pitches and presentations will help you choose the right tools and close more business.

What are your strategies for engaging with your prospects? How do you improve law selling?


Recently, I participated in a brainstorming session with a group of attorneys – some in-house counsel, some outside counsel. The focus of the session was on how to improve law selling. Even though the attorneys represented different areas, they all agreed on which legal marketing tactics were the most effective. As a business development consultant, I listened closely to their feedback – so much so that I have expanded our training programs to include their top tactics.


Here are five of the top tactics for engagement that the attorneys mentioned:
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1. Talk with, not at! Engaging with a prospect is about more than just giving your pitch – it takes hearing your prospect out and responding to his or her needs.
2. Test your approaches with colleagues before the actual meeting or call. Practicing your pitch can help to do away with nerves and your colleagues’ feedback may help you improve your presentation.
3. Make sure that there is one “takeaway” that is clearly communicated throughout the discussion.
4. Do not repeat. In-house counsel say if they don’t get something, move on. Don’t risk turning off your prospects or annoying them by belaboring a point.
5. Utilize “active listening.” Focus on what your prospect is saying rather than on what you plan to say next, nod or respond when it’s appropriate, and ask clarifying questions if you need to.

Engaging with your prospects enables you to show your investment in working with them and is as crucial as your message when it comes to generating new business. You can learn more about engaging with your prospects and increasing law sales with one of our seminars or workshops – and you can learn more about the tactics related to adding substance to your presentations in our next post.

In an effort to cut overhead costs, many firms have begun to look into relocating support services out from their core cities and into less expensive suburbs. Rather than outsourcing these tasks to overseas firms, “insourcing” as it’s come to be called allows the firm to reduce costs while maintaining control. Most firms that have implemented this strategy have relocated their human resources or IT departments, accounting and finance, and even document review.


As a business development consultant, I can see the merits of moving some departments off-site; however I wonder how many of them are overlooking potential business development opportunities when they do.


If you choose to insource some of your firm’s services, encourage those professionals who make the move to become involved in their new community. Just as firm lawyers should make an effort to develop new business through community outreach, so should other firm personnel. Whether by providing pro bono services or serving on business or non-profit boards, these insourced members of your firm’s team can create the opportunity to generate new business.


By creating potential client relationships and increasing law selling opportunities, your firm can increase the value of the insourcing move even more.

Following a recent engagement as a marketing keynote speaker for the Beverly Hills Bar Association, an attendee asked me a question about the importance of first impressions in making law sales. For anyone engaged in legal sales or who provides business development presentations, it’s hard to deny that the role of first impressions is the foundation for an excellent question.


One of the best answers can be based on Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink. The book’s subtitle – “The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” – is critical to understanding the value of first impressions as you prepare for first contacts with a new prospect.


Whether meeting someone at a conference during a coffee break, sending an email inquiry, responding to an RFP, or engaging with a prospect on any level, snap decisions are made within 2 seconds. That’s right: the first two seconds can be all it takes for a potential client to make a snap decision about a lawyer, a law firm, or a legal consulting proposal. If the impression is positive, the door will be open and there will be plenty of opportunity to expand on what you have to offer. Overcoming a neutral or negative response, however, requires a great deal of energy and a much stronger legal selling skill set.


From our side of the table, it can be difficult to determine what the “blink” factor is. Therefore, if you’re looking for business development training, be sure to focus on training that emphasizes presenting your understanding of a prospect’s business within the first moments of any discussion. Identifying from the start that you want to align interests with your prospect – focusing on asking questions about the prospect’s needs and responsibilities to stakeholders – enables you to highlight your (and your firm’s) ability and set the right tone for developing business.

Client retention relies on the relationships that you establish with your current and prospective clients. In our business development seminars, we emphasize the importance of selling based on the client or prospect’s needs rather than the size of your firm, the number of offices the firm has, or the awards that your firm has received.


Successful law sales require a balance between the firm’s responsibilities and in-house counsel’s responsibility to their clients – the business units. Just like your law firm, in-house counsel must provide:

1. High quality work,
2. Accurate risk assessment,
3. Responsiveness, and

Enhanced communications.

As you engage during an assignment, make sure that you continue the dialogue. Continually talk with your clients about their responsibilities to their clients or customers, and focus on what you can do to align your interests with theirs. Not only will this contribute to the success of your current efforts, but also it will provide a foundation for generating new business.