In the most recent issue of Edge International Communiqué, I point out that most lawyers need only take one simple step to generate more business. That step is the one that takes them away from the opulant chairs behind their desks, and out the door of the office.
Here is the article:
Business Development and the Comfortable Chair
You've worked long and hard to earn your comfortable chair. It is probably so well made that you can sit in it for the entire day. Clients probably like it. Maybe your staff does too.
But that chair is your enemy when it comes to the bottom line. It conspires to enfold you, thereby insulating you from both current and prospective clients. It has you thinking and planning and doing existing client work way too much - and generating business way too little.
I work with many firm leaders who want their partners to produce more revenue. The practice group, industry group and client group leaders want exactly the same thing from their constituents. Those leaders ask me, "How can we motivate behaviors that result in more business generation? What do highly effective leaders do to foster great results?"
There are answers to these questions, just as there are ways to coach golfers to make them incrementally better on a continuous basis. But those answers are about fine-tuning; what we are talking about here is getting out of the chair and into the game. There is no way golfers can improve their swings if they are sitting down.
When we sit in our chairs too much we "lose," and when we get out of them (for an appropriate portion of our time), we "win." Why? Think about how the lawyers for whom you are responsible would answer some of these questions if they were being honest (I have added typical honest responses in parentheses):
How many hours did you spend drafting your business development plan? (So many that I'm embarrassed to tell you.)
How many hours did you spend contemplating your strategic plan, in particular, with a view to maintaining or enhancing the respect of your peers? (Ditto.)
How many prospective clients have you seen face-to-face outside the office in the last week? (None.)
How many existing clients have you visited at their places of business in the last month? (None.)
Do you have a list that you could show someone right now that contains the names of the most important contacts you have - people so important to you that you would not want to lose contact with them for more than just a few months? (No.) Supplementary question: How many of those people have you seen the last three months? (Unless I have an active file open, none.)
How many of your clients have you introduced to another lawyer in the firm in the last month? (None.)
How many of your partners have you visited to impart the nature of the favorite part of your practice - including your passion for that practice area, your sensitivity to anyone who might transfer work to you with the greatest emphasis on satisfying the referred client as well as the referring lawyer? (None.) (Note: I have written elsewhere about why lawyers are so reluctant to refer work, including the behaviors they have observed in the past that are likely to deter them from ever choosing to do so again.)
I am not suggesting that you ditch your chair in a fit of anxiety. In fact, enjoy its comfort when you ought to use it. But do get out of it from time to time. I make you a promise based on my experience: if you marginally increase the time you, and those you lead, spend out of your comfortable chairs -- devoting your attention to some of the activities implied by the questions above - the business you (and they) will generate will increase substantially. I know that this works.
The very best business generators in your firm will tell you that you will not realize the benefit of getting out of that chair immediately. There is clearly a lag effect. While some opportunities take a long time to bear fruit, and some never do, a significant proportion will - and the healthy proportion of those will happen within months, not years.
I recently had the honor of being asked to participate in a post at Attorney at Work. Along with several other experts, I was asked to provide guidance regarding a theoretical situation in which a lawyer suddenly finds him- or herself with no work at all.
I hope that such situations remain theoretical, but if that should happen to someone you know, or if the work agenda begins to look a bit threadbare, there are steps that can be taken.
My advice via Attorney at Work was this:
“Go visit some clients. Make a list of clients you have served and phone them to let them know you will be in their neighborhood (or city, yes, buy a plane ticket), and ask if you can stop by for coffee “to pay your respects on your dime.” Think about an article or preventative checklist you could leave behind that might be helpful to each client visited—customize and personalize … as if they were the only client in the world—like dating, remember? While there, ask questions about your client contacts personally (family, kids), their business and their industry. Your reason is simply to understand them better—and their needs—should they require your help in the future. Odds that you visit at least 10 clients and don’t get retained? Zero. Odds that you’ll get retained if you stay in your office and sulk? Also zero. You choose.”
160 year old McCarter & English, a firm of over 400 lawyers with offices in Boston, Hartford, Stamford, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia and Wilmington is rolling out Vizibility QR codes on attorney business cards and printed biographies (with embedded patented SearchMeTM buttons).
A Vizibility Law Firm can determine which Google results clients and prospective clients see first by using a one-click access to a verified Google search.
“Adding tools that provide quick access to the online content of our attorneys just makes economic sense,” said Alitia Faccone, Partner in the e-Discovery practice group at McCarter & English.
“We know from website analytics that our professionals are being researched online extensively and that legal decision makers are less likely to hire an attorney if their credentials cannot be verified online.”
I had the opportunity to discuss Vizibility with its Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Oxford graduate James Alexander. His experience is nothing less than extraordinary including serving as Director of Product Management at Adobe Systems for 7 years. In my opinion, James has given Vizibility a clear vision coupled with extremely powerful technology.
If you can spare one minute and 51 seconds, watch James' bio and then you may understand why your law firm should become a Vizibility law firm and why I am going to test Vizibility's technology myself.
Now, legal materials live on a fleet of iPads that Fennemore Craig pre-loads and loans to clients and adversaries. Communication with lawyers occurs instantly through built-in FaceTime or Skype apps.
My opinion: The worry over what kind of laptop to buy is fading because of the domination of the ubiquitous iPad. If you have not acquired iPads for every lawyer in your firm, at least provide them to a subgroup in exchange for some serious exploration as to how the iPad can assist in your substantive practices as well as your relationships with your clients. Every day that passes is increasing the relevance of the iPad to your competitive position.
If you want to compare Social Media perspectives with firms your size, this is a must have infographic - click on it to download (courtesy of Vizibility Inc.)
An article in this month's Corporate Counsel Magazine has the spotlight on Valorem and for good reason.
Author Susan Hansen says:
Valorem… now boasts a list of big, brand-name clients, including funeral industry giant Service Corporation International; national shoe retailer DSW Inc.; Veolia Water, a supplier of water and wastewater management services; and the online travel site kayak.com.
and later in the article reports::
…clients definitely like the fact that Valorem is more than willing to work out fee arrangements that are at least partially tied to the results they produce. Case in point: a major lease dispute that Valorem is currently handling for DSW that is headed for trial in Los Angeles this fall. As part of its agreement, the company has been holding back 20 percent of Valorem’s billings, with the final payout to be determined by how well the firm meets mutually defined success metrics in the case.
Punchline: in a world where firms and clients are talking a lot about alternate fees (AFA), Valorem and its clients are innovating with imaginative fee and billing solutions that truly are win/win, and I say BRAVO ! Managing Partners of all firms intent on surviving would do well to analyze and understand Valorem's approach.
For the full article, click on the image.
Disclosure: I have the honour of serving on Valorem's Advisory Board
The irony is too delicious to pass up. Mark Zuckerberg has invented one of the most powerful communication tools ever known to mankind. Facebook has literally started revolutions.
Why, then, would the most successful communications entrepreneur in history regress to a pre-internet form of communication? For the same reason Jack Welch did as president of General Electric.
Not only is a handwritten letter more powerful than e-mail, but it’s horsepower is increasing exponentially. Why? Because it is ever rarer.
If you want to increase your influence and the impact of your important communications, get some personal stationery suited for the purpose and use it.
You may not believe this, but in my experience with powerful members of the executive of many top law firms, personal notes they have received from their colleagues or clients are carefully saved for years along with other precious personal possessions.
September 24th, 2010
ADR Institute of Canada National Conference September 23-24, 2010
Plenary Session: Optimal Marketing for ADR professionals
Workshop: Effective Marketing for ADR professionals Calgary, Alberta
OCTOBER 2010
October 9th, 2010
Fordham Law School (for Prof Silvia Hodges)
Guest Lecture: Law firm management: Strategy New York, New York
October 14th, 2010
(with Nicole Auerbach a— Valorem Lw Firm))
Making Alternative Fees Work in Litigation: How to Approach and Craft AFAs
Virtual Program… webinar: Find out how to incorporate AFAs for your litigation matters, and how to avoid the many pitfalls that can arise along the way in this information-packed audio conference. During this 75-minute program, our expert faculty will present best practices for approaching, crafting and implementing these highly sought-after engagements. Information & Registration
October 22, 2010
ALPMA summit
Keynote address: Finding Success in a Global Paradox Sydney, Australia Information & Registration
NOVEMBER 2010
November 4th, 2010
Chief Legal Officer Forum, Public Sector Auckland, New Zealand
November 5th - 7th, 2010
Plenary Session: Future Firm Forum 2010
The Management Imperative Tongariro Lodge at the south end of Lake Taupo, on the North Island of New Zealand Information & Registration
November 11th - 14th, 2010
(with Edge partner, Juhi Garg
GROWTH STRATEGIES 2015
LAWASIA 2010 Conference
The session will describe how Asian law firms can prepare for a flourishing economy including strategies and processes required to fuel growth both organically and inorganically. New Delhi, India More Information
My Edge International partner, Jordan Furlong, has done a nice welcome piece on Pam Woldow already (at his Law 21 blog) but I thought I would echo that Edge International is so very proud and delighted to have her on board.
Also, thank you to friends who have joined us in congratulating Pam, like Valorem's awesome founder, Pat Lamb, who expressed delight in his In Search or Perfect Client Service blog post.
Those of you who know Edge International well can be assured that we are intent on growing in strength and capabilities.
Please make sure you follow Pam's new Blog, At The Intersection, for her continuing wisdom and counsel.
I met virtually with Recorded Future this morning for a close up briefing of how their Temporal Analytics Engine might be used by law firms. Firms who use this can better predict the needs of their own clients and prospective clients as well. There is so much more that this technology can do if used effectively, including monitoring the industries that a firm serves now and perhaps should serve in the future.
How often does a potentially powerful competitive weapon come along for the legal profession… and, more importantly, will law firms recognize it when they see it?
Recorded Future, the world's first Temporal Analytics Engine, is a new predictive analysis tool that allows you to visualize the future, past or present.
My Prediction: Very few law firms will do an exemplary job of exploring this technology. Those who do will likely meet considerable resistance internally from those who are slow to trust technology and especially revolutionary technology. I am completely OK with that.
What excites me: is that a few law firms that see the true potential of this technology and will use it in imaginative ways. At Edge International, our core business is helping clients who are committed to achieving competitive advantage. You can bet we will be exploring this with our clients, and maybe some prospective ones as well.
Punchline: CMS Cameron McKenna has 122 Equity Partners and employs over 1,000 fee earners in 10 offices. They are big enough and influential enough to be a tipping point in their own right. Those other law firms who ignore Alternative Fees and Value Pricing because "they just won't ever take hold" are in grave danger of playing catch up or even missing the boat altogether. You don't need your own pricing team today but what you do need is a team within the partnership to start exploring how your firm will enter this game and when (not if).
Thank you to Gavriel Hollander at The Lawyer for the original story
My Edge International colleague and good friend, Ed Wesemann, has some fun providing tongue-in-cheek advice for new law firm associates on how to develop business.
Enjoy, and better yet have your associates look at this.
Appreciation is not assumed — it has to be communicated… if you think your clients know you appreciate them, ask your self "how would they"… Make it explicit and you'll separate yourself from the masses !
We are very proud of our latest Edge International Review. For a complete downloadable version (or just the articles you want) click on the cover or go to EdgeInternationalReview.com
If you have any questions , comments or suggestions, please shoot me a note.
If your firm has offices in the Great Lakes Region (or is thinking of expanding into it) there is an unprecedented and unmatched comprehensive analysis available: “2010 Legal Market Analysis Great Lakes Region”
The report contains:
115 pages of detailed factual competitive intelligence
126 charts, graphs and illustrations
8 States and 10 Metropolitan Areas
Information on 215 law offices
Cities included:
Chicago
Milwaukee
Detroit
Indianapolis
Cincinnati
Minneapolis
Columbus
Buffalo
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
I think this is a fantastic deal. If your firm tried to pull this together on your own, you’d spent months and tens of thousands worth of time doing your due diligence which would include analyzing the firms, clients and economics of the region. I expected the price would be around $7,500 but it offered at $2,995
I was also impressed by the Guarantee of Satisfaction - if your firm is disappointed (you won't be) you can pull the trigger on the guarantee.
For many leaders, the most important and imponderable question relates to the timing of the recovery — one of the elements of this report is
“Prognosis for timing and extent of legal market economic recovery”
My enthusiasm for The “2010 Legal Market Analysis Great Lakes Region” is based on these simple premises:
The team that created it has many decades of law firm experience
The sources of data are impeccable
Ed Wesemann (architect of this publication) is a truly gifted analyst and law specialist
The downloadable prospectus including full Table of Contents will give you an idea as to how well organized this work is.
At the very least, this analysis is an important reality check. Many firms have skewed views of their own markets based on prejudices or outdated data that tends to stick in the minds of firm leaders.
Here is an excerpt from the free downloadable prospectus showing the nature of the contents of the report:
A detailed competitive analysis for each city providing:
Comparative reputation within the specific legal market
Detailed descriptions of competitive situations
2010 depth counts of lawyers in the local office and firm-wide
An accurate and up-to-date economic analysis of each metro area including:
Projections of the growth of key drivers that affect the legal market
Prognosis for timing and extent of legal market economic recovery
2010 Assessment of stability of leading industries and top employers
Assessment of demographic, businesses and market data for each state and metro area including:
Size of legal markets
Business friendliness, job growth, cost of doing business and other important indicators
Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) Analysis for large firm legal practice in each metro area
Note: I know the people behind this initiative very well but want to make it clear that I have absolutely no financial interest in their venture — I am posting this based on receiving a review copy. I believe this is an extraordinary offering and far more valuable than its price would reflect.
Nearly three decades ago, in the early days of Edge International, there was only one writer in the area of managing a professional firm that commanded our unqualified respect and attention. That was David Maister.
“Managing the Professional Services Firm” is the Bible, according to many leaders of some of the largest professional service firms in the world. “True Professionals” spoke to the firms for whom dignity and quality service were the engines of success. And he wrote so much more in collaborations and articles.
In Edge, we were lucky enough to find ourselves presenting at a few conferences in common with David, in various places around the world and one day ended up having a very private informal retreat. This led to the creation of PracticeCoach®, an extraordinarily comprehensive video-based resource to help law firm leaders around the world. It stars David. What a joy it was to create with him.
His philosophy was so in harmony with ours. For example, we loved his guarantee of satisfaction (and were proud that we offered one as well even before we knew he did).
There were some very cool things I learned from David:
David loves his wife, Kathy, with such passion and always treats her as his trusted advisor and coach. (She's the Guru's Guru.) With Kathy, David taught my wife, Bethany, and me how to travel for weeks internationally without checking luggage. “IMPOSSIBLE!” we said standing on the curb in front of their place one morning with four huge suitcases’s while David and Kathy had their little rollers behind them. “You just need to learn how to pack properly…” they replied, and during our next visit we got the tutorial. (Actually, David and Kathy, if you wrote a book based on that tutorial….) Bethany and I owe David and Kathy the moon for that advice.
David exemplifies passion. He loves his wife and his music collection which is of a magnitude that makes it the 8th wonder of the world…and he’ll sing till dawn. :-)
David has energized audience after audience…forcing thought about important issues and even more importantly, sometimes with the help of voting machines, making them actually decide on things.
I am not surprised by the awards and accolades* he has received… just delighted.
The good news is that this is not a eulogy (even if it sounds like one). David and Kathy’s infectious smiles will remain available to us for many many happy years to come.
If there is a sad note in this homage, it is that David's retirement represents a loss to my beloved legal profession and all the other professions he served so well. However, his books and programs live on. As I write this, I am helping a prominent South American firm to use the study in his book, “Practice What You Preach,” to help them analyze and choose the most fruitful areas of focus for their continued improvement.
Maybe David’s and Kathy's retirements will be like some famous souls who preceded them who were coaxed back into the game for an important gig or two.
By the way, Kathy retired from one of the most incredible video enhanced blogs in history: startcooking.com where you can still experience valuable lessons - check it out ! This is not an amateur undertaking - you will find broadcast-quality production values.
David and Kathy, Bethany and I treasure you and I know if we gathered those of like mind we’d need a mighty big arena.
(The video is 8 minutes - watch at least the first full minute then more if it grabs you)
Law firm leaders
You don't need to embrace social media or love technology or even be a gadget freak to have a peak at how we'll all read magazines and papers soon… I thought a second reason to show you this was to have you think about the publications your firm produces from articles to brochures.
I am not suggesting you blaze the trail but you had better have your design team monitor the progress of this technology and make it available to you as soon as it is affordable.
Gerry
PS I will be asking our own team to look hard at this for future versions or our Edge International Review which will be published soon.
This conceptual video is a corporate collaborative research project initiated by Bonnier R&D into the experience of reading magazines on handheld digital devices. It illustrates one possible vision for digital magazines in the near future, presented by our design partners at BERG.
PUNCHLINE: If Social Media matters, then it matters to law firms because everything that matters to society in general must matter to law firms sooner or later. Watch this and make your own decision.
Confidence in the economy among managing partners at large law firms nationwide hit new lows in the first quarter, according to the latest research from the Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group in New York City.
I recommend three priorities to Managing Partners:
Bulletproof existing clients (complacency is deadly in light of the predator-like behaviour you can expect from your competitors as their revenues diminish)
Concentrate Business Development training and strategic assistance on your best rainmakers (Train the rest later - for now, you need results)
Coach all partners on how to deal with fee resistance (Your partners will be divided and conquered unless you give them the tools and confidence to effectively deal with the inevitable fee resistance that accompanies a recession.)
PUNCHLINE: There is so much more to do, but I have seen these three initiatives making an immediate palpable difference. NOW is when you need these benefits most.
Here’s a quote from Bruce Marcus as he shines his light on learnings from the campaign of President Barak Obama:
There are many lessons to be drawn by professional services marketers from a successful election campaign – perhaps none more cogent than from the Obama campaign. And while there are differences between an election and a professional services marketing campaign, it is the parallels that inform both.
PUNCHLINE: Thank you Bruce Marcus for relating the successful campaign of the President Elect to attracting clients. It's a stimulating and catalytic read!
Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The week after Bernard Madoff was charged with running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, Proskauer Rose, a New York firm of 750 lawyers, offered a telephone briefing on the scandal for its wealthy clients. With only a day’s notice, 1,300 Madoff investors dialed in.
“This is a financial 9/11 for our clients,” said Proskauer litigation partner Gregg Mashberg, one of the lawyers on the call. “People are dying for information.”
You may not have anything on the scale of 911 that you can help your clients with but the principle remains valid:
Is what you have to say to clients relevant, timely and valuable?
If so, they will listen!
These extreme economic times are not the place for the long-term marketing-speak consulting-mumbo jumbo about branding and image.
Your clients (and prospective clients) need your help and they need it now. How can your firm help your clients with:
strategies to deal with slow paying customers (even potentially bankrupt ones)
employment strategies that allow for layoffs (if necessary) without retribution
renegotiating contracts of all kinds - including leases.
international assistance especially where foreign currency value fluctuation could hurt your client
PUNCHLINE: You don't need my list - you need to sit down with your practice group, industry group and/or client team and determine what your clients needs from you. By the way, don't hesitate to involve your key clients in this discussion - they will enthusiastically participate (remember to tell them the meter is off if you still bill by the hour).
The September 2007 McKinsey Quarterly has an interesting article called: The Evolving Role of the CMO by David Court who discusses four areas of change for the CMO:
Changing to reflect new consumer [client?] buying behavior
Shaping the Company's [Firm's?] public profile
Managing Complexity
Building new Marketing Capabilities
Before concluding, David discusses how the CEO [Managing partner?] can help. This advice touches three areas
Take time to understand what's really happening with customers [clients?]
Foster the right connection between the CMO's efforts and those other parts of the organization
Be a "thought partner" for the CMO as he or she transforms the marketing organization.
PUNCHLINE: I know The Evolving Role of the CMO was not written for law firm CMO’s but then again how much of real quality is. If you are a serious CMO in a serious law firm, get your librarian to acquire this for you and, if I am right, you will then want to ask your Managing Partner to read it (11 pages including graphics etc) and have a meeting with you to discuss the benefits the two of you can achieve from selectively implementing the David Court’s suggestions. I am well aware that many CMO's do not have the influence they deserve inside their law firms - this may be a helpful tool on the path to acquiring it.
NOTE: General access to McKinsey Quarterly is free but requires registration and log-in - for recommended article, premium (paid) subscription is required.
At Edge International we are often asked about how lawyers and their firms might be different from place to place around the world. One of my stock answers is that many people misinterpret the propensity of the Brits to avoid hyperbole to mean that they are not aggressive. There is a reason why they once ruled the world and their legal profession seems to be bent on repeating the feat.
According to a post today at LAWFUEL, "Lovells, the law firm, is to launch an alliance with nine Chinese counterparts, in the latest sign of the English legal profession’s aggressive efforts to export its services to big economies where foreign lawyers are restricted." (Note, not one or two or three, but NINE!
As well, "China is one of a number of leading emerging economies being lobbied by the British government and legal industry representatives to scrap restrictions on foreign lawyers."
PUNCHLINE: The Brits have never stopped thinking globally - many Americans have not started. (There are notable exceptions of course but if I were placing a bet on world domination, my gold coin goes on the British square.) Your thoughts?
Here are a few excerpts to whet your appetite for the story – the headings are mine:
The Problem:
Videoconferencing was supposed to put an end to corporate travel. But positioning people in front of a camera, fiddling endlessly with controls and then either giving up or proceeding to stare at a tiny picture of a blurry face often seems less satisfactory than the humble telephone.
The Solution:
Designers want people in telepresence meetings to appear life-sized, and the tables and rooms at the two ends to blend together seamlessly. (Rooms, furniture and even wallpaper are often identical, to aid the illusion.) People must also feel that they are making eye contact, which involves multiple cameras and enormous computing power. The delays in sight and sound must be negligible (ie, below 250 milliseconds, the threshold at which the human brain starts to notice), so that people can interrupt each other naturally. Sound must be perceived to come from the direction of the person speaking. And getting things started must be simple—ideally involving a single button or none at all.
Saving Money and Time (law firm example driven by client):
In addition to saving money, Cisco argues that telepresence saves time. The firm recently completed a takeover in eight days (as opposed to the usual weeks or months) by putting the lawyers in telepresence rooms instead of on aeroplanes.
More examples:
Lee Scott, the boss of Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is said to see great scope for improving his supply chain. DreamWorks, a Hollywood studio that helped HP develop its telepresence system, says the technology will help it make movies cheaper and faster, by allowing creative types to collaborate without travelling.
My Punchline:
Managing Partners – don’t think about this opportunity from the law firm’s perspective but rather your client’s. You may have some clients who will acquire this technology and will want you to participate – I welcome this as I believe that most law firm technology comes because the clients want us to have it (sometimes, “insist”). If top corporations in your markets populate your client list, perhaps you should become familiar enough with this technology to initiate the discussion with your major clients. After all, wouldn’t it be refreshing for your client to believe of you that your firm is progressive enough to be at the forefront?
Footnote (Greetings from Uruguay): Speaking of technology and the world becoming more virtual, I posted this blog entry from my hotel room in Montevideo, Uruguay following an assignment with an MDP (accounting and law) firm here. The Economist arrived promptly on my desk top this morning and I was able to effortlessly post this story. Perhaps before too long I will be able to conduct the kind of assignment I traveled here for by video conference. About The Economist: You can of course buy the hard copy or subscribe on line. This story is marked: Aug 23rd 2007 | SAN FRANCISCO? From The Economist print edition
If you want existing clients to like you as much as possible and even more so prospective clients then use proper names in conversation. Now there's PROOF if you need it.
Most probable reasons you may not be using proper names in conversations:
You are not completely certain you remember (or pronounce) the name right so why risk it
There is a group and you can’t remember all their names so feel you shouldn't use any
You are afraid of sounding patronizing
It’s a discipline you simply have not mastered.
PROOF: A new study by Dr. Amit Almor of the University of South Carolina used MRI brain scans to show the different responses when a subject hears a proper name or a pronoun referring to a previously named person.
“The brain lit up with activity when proper names were used, including areas that are not associated with language,” Almor said. “We saw considerable activity in areas of the parietal lobe that involve spatial processing that was absent when pronouns were used.”
touch parts of their clients brains that others ignore
are liked and remembered much much better than their competitors
How:
Write the names down (if a group – make a seating chart – at least first names)
If hard to pronounce, ask and practice (they will love you for it)
Practice using the names (starting right now)
PUNCHLINE: Perhaps in a perfect world you would simply be appreciated for the skilled genius you are. I don’t disagree. However, if competitive advantage is important to you in this imperfect world, put this post into action. (Thinking about it, alone, will yield nothing.)
WARNING: My post above may lack veracity according to Stephanie Allen West's post "Anatomy of a telephone game applied to a neuroscience study" in her "Brains on Purpose" blog - I respect her enough to reference her post here - Stephanie's admonition is deserving of consideration and reflection. Thank you, Stephanie.
I am asked frequently why some lawyers create such amazing rapport with their clients. Much of this stems from the art of the first impression . The first client interaction is more about not making a bad impression than it is making a good one.
Here are 7 first client interaction blunders that virtually guarantee you won’t develop healthy client rapport:
Talking only about yourself
Revealing too much
Not listening
Not looking your best
Trying to be cool or aloof
Not being yourself
Not listening to your gut
CONFESSION: I stole these! …from genius (he denies it) Brad Isaac who invented Achieve-IT software, known as the Breakthrough Goal Setting Method.
You will note that there were 10 in his post and seven in mine – as for the three I left out, I thought two were not relevant and thought better of including the third, they were:
Going someplace where you can’t talk
Bringing friends along
Having sex or being too sexual
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Why would unappealing behavior in social situations be any more appealing in professional situations.
By the way, Brad's blog has some very interesting posts - check it out!
Harsh? If killing the golden goose is stupid, then this is not harsh at all.
Find out why 58% of (surveyed) General Counsel expressed outrage. Find out why 84% of (surveyed) General Counsel wanted the law firms they use to contact them about associate salaries but none did.
Brilliant law firm leaders who can not empathize with the clients they serve (including General Counsel in their larger clients) are going to pay an enormous price.
If sustaining profitability is high on your agenda, read Patrick Lamb’s post called “Demand Destruction”in his famous In Search of Client Service" blog. (In a better world, there would have been no need for this post.)
Punchline: Within the next two years, many private practice law firms will be going through some rough times and many will blame the GC’s of their clients. There are two sides to this story. Some bold firms should gather the courage to communicate with their clients directly and with candor. The best texts on negotiating describe win/win scenarios where both sides benefit. There is a certain immaturity to the ostrich approach most law firms take to these issues – even major firms.
If the same phenomenon occurs in the legal profession, there would be a tremendous return on investment from enhancing client satisfaction.
The story is that a portfolio comprised of “companies at the top 20% of the the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)... greatly outperformed the stock market, generating a 40% return.
“From 1996-2003, the portfolio outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 93%, the S&P 500 by 201%, and NASDAQ by 335%.”
How would you like to out perform the average law firm by somewhere between 93% and 335%? More importantly, how much should you invest in order to reap a return of that nature?
Don’t bother disseminating this information to your people in order to encourage them to focus on enhancing client satisfaction. Their consequential improved knowledge on the subject will do little. It takes results (client satisfaction) to get results (improved profitability). SKILLS rather than knowledge with be essential to achieve the desired outcome.
PUNCHLINE: In my opinion, there is an overabundance of information in law firms and a dearth of client-relations training. If you are a Managing Partner, you may want to balance this disparity.
Note: I admit that this post is an act of unbridled extrapolation. I cannot prove that the empirical research referenced would apply to the legal profession per se but my view is that it probably would.
(Thank you to my son, Daniel, for bringing this to my attention. Daniel (Riskin) is a PhD and a renowned expert on bats - he discovered Vampire bats run - check out his site.)
How your people use their voice mail may seem at first both trivial and unimportant. BZZZZZZZZZZ WRONG!!!
The reason you open you wallet wide for a Ritz Carlton is because of the experience. Do you think it’s a coincidence that you are greeted by name at the front desk? (Did you see the secret service-type ear phone worn by the doorman who opened your car door and asked if you were checking-in and for your name? As you walked form your car, the front desk staff was given your name – they did not not need to recognize you from last time.)
Two highly respected bloggers, Tom Collins of morepartnerincome and Patrick Lamb of In Search of Perfect Client Service respectfully disagree in their respective posts: Voice Mail -- a Lawyer's Friend or Foe and Voicemail--Useful Tool Or Devil's Folly? Tom sets out some rules worth considering and Patrick builds on them adding his own perspective.
PUNCHLINE: Take five minutes, read the posts, and then do the unthinkable. Create your own protocol (that you think optimizes the client’s experience with your voice mail system) and then ask your partners, associates and staff to comply. Trivial and unimportant? Your competitors hope you think so.
Punchline: My experience working with law firm leaders is that many are quickly seduced by discussions about tactics. Perhaps they are more familiar with tactics than strategy or simply enjoy debating tactics. The great firms have the discipline to do the right things well (rather than efficiently doing the camel-actions conceived by consensus).
Another rudeness that Gerry's post makes me think of are abruptly ended phone calls. The failure to say "good-bye," or even "thanks," and simply ending a call by dropping the phone onto its base--often loudly--is more common with lawyers than accountants. And it happens a lot...usually by men.
When did people become too busy (or important?) to say "Good-bye," "Hello," or "Be Well"?
Many e-mail users don’t bother with a sign-off, and Letitia Baldridge, the manners expert, finds that annoying. “It’s so abrupt,” she said, “and it’s very unfriendly. We need grace in our lives, and I’m not talking about heavenly grace. I’m talking about human grace. We should try and be warm and friendly.”
I will add that many do not add a “sign on” like “I hope this finds you well” or “It was nice seeing you at the conference. You will recall that I promised to send you a…” or even, “I hope you are having a pleasant day in San Francisco”.
If you want a quick preliminary test of your email etiquette, go to www.netmanners.com and take the Netiquette Quiz.
PUNCHLINE: You work so hard to attract and satisfy clients – make sure your emails are not crafted in a manner that undermines your good efforts.
Seth Godin's blog post on Receptionists is 100% correct. When I was a managing partner, my firm required a receptionist for our largest office. I personally reviewed 215 applications myself and created my "A list", about 42 applicants, whom I invited for interviews late one afternoon. I asked 6 of my partners to help me and we interviewed 6 applicants each. Any WOW applicant was interviewed separately by at least two partners. Were we insane to take so much partner time on this? You decide.
PUNCHLINE: For many years thereafter, we had a legendary receptionist whom clients loved on the phone and in person. I personally received an average of two positive remarks about her every week. Many of my partners and associates reported similar experiences. She created the "positive experiences" that Seth blogged about.
I remember a call from New York one day and the lawyer started by saying: "before we get to the business at hand, I just have to tell you...". I did not have heart to tell him "yeah, I know, you are the 100th person this year to tell me".
By the way, I told that receptionist about every single positive comment I heard, personally or second hand (and no, that did not lead to extortion - she appreciated the recognition and the credible praise).
Cynics - who are tempted to guess that she was the winner of a beauty pageant – don't go there – she got the job as the best applicant and got her praise on merit - her performance was awesome.
So first let's define eggplants in terms of your law practice. According to marketing guru, Seth Godin, "Most people are afraid of eggplant. They won't buy it. They need to be sold it." In your law practice, eggplant may be preventative services that will keep board members of your corporate clients out of jail or in a private client practice it may be ensuring that a proper estate plan was in place before an unexpected death.
Many great lawyers I have practiced with or consulted to love to sing this old refrain: "if I had wanted to be a salesman, I would have been a salesman".
But just a cotton-pickin' minute: Don't we cherish the doctor who "sold" a loved one on the idea of quitting smoking or exercising to lower blood pressure?
I believe that clients love being sold what is genuinely beneficial to them, provided with integrity and offered for a fee that represents good value.
If you are a managing partner I hope that you will help your lawyers see that Seth's punchline applies to them:
Salespeople who sell properly sell stuff people wish they would have bought in the first place. It's a huge service... I'm pretty sure we need more good salespeople, not less.
Perhaps there are other lessons for lawyers at the farmer's market.
When you see a golf ball go in the hole in one shot, it's appropriate to tip your hat. Look at Michelle's 3 point punchline in her post: Lost Clients? "Reasons" are Symptoms, Not Cause. Do you agree?
Constance E. Bagley, Lawyer, Author, Harvard Professor
PUNCHLINE: Constance Bagley has not offered the services for which I suggest you may want to retain her but in a discussion with her I learned of her willingness to utilize her unique capabilities for the purposes I hypothesize about. I will be fascinated to see whether one or two action-oriented firms actually explore this idea with her. I will certainly be discussing this with my law firm clients.
Whether you are a Managing Partner, a Marketing Partner or a Marketing Professional working in a law firm, Constance (Connie) Bagley may hold a key to your developing business, both by satisfying existing clients and attracting new ones.
What if you invited Professor Bagley to address a meeting of your clients on the subject of "Harnessing the Power of the Law"? What if she could show your existing (and maybe prospective clients) the untapped value that lies in your services just awaiting harvesting by your clients? What if she could help your clients practice what she calls strategic compliance management so they can go beyond the legal requirements and convert constraints into innovation opportunities?
Why Connie Bagley? Her credentials, credibility and original work regarding the value of law to corporations can help your firm pursuade top clients of the valiue you can offer.
Professor Bagley graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1977, and was invited to join the Harvard Law Review. She received her A.B., with Distinction and Departmental Honors, in 1974 from Stanford University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa her junior year. She is a member of the State Bar of New York and the State Bar of California. She was a corporate securities partner at Bingham McCutchen and now teaches at the Harvard Business School. She has also taught at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where she received Honorable Mention for the Stanford Business School Distinguished Teaching Award. Her practice and academic research focus on helping lawyers and managers work together as partners to increase the value created by the firm while effectively managing risk.
At Harvard, she teaches the MBA elective Legal Aspects of Management, as well as being on the faculty for the Entrepreneur's Tool Kit Executive Program. Her first two books, Managers and the Legal Environment: Strategies for the 21st Century and The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law, are used at more than 100 business schools and law schools worldwide.
Her Curriculum Vitae is 21 pages long if you care to learn more about her credentials. Go to click here.
What's in it for your firm?
I have noticed while working with even large, sophisticated, blue chip law firms that individual lawyers find it challenging to quantify the value that their lawyering can bring to their clients (existing and prospective). I am suggesting that Professor Bagley has the credentials, credibility, knowledge and, by her own experience, the sensitivity to deliver that message in a way that will appeal to your most sophisticated clients.
Look at some of the editorial reviews of her recent book, Winning Legally: How Managers Can Use the Law to Create Value, Marshal Resources, and Manage Risk, which is directed to no less than aspiring CEO's:
"Winning Legally, with its clear exposition of real-world problems and solutions, is a thought-provoking resource that can only improve the performance of lawyers and laypeople alike. My best business advice to aspiring CEOs is simple: Read this book!" James W. Kinnear, former CEO and Chair of Texaco, Inc. "Professor Bagley has done a masterful job of showing how managers can work with attorneys as partners to create value and manage risk. Armed with the knowledge in this book, managers will not only be far more likely to keep their firms out of trouble, but will also have at their disposal a set of tools to manage the firm more effectively. This is an important read for managers and the lawyers who advise them."
Larry Sonsini, Chairman of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati "Bagley has successfully demonstrated the value of the managerial capability that she calls 'legal astuteness.' Instead of focusing only on how law constrains managers, Winning Legally's systems approach to business regulation and the practice of strategic compliance management provides managers with a far more complete and promising way of managing the legal dimensions of business."
William E. Fruhan, Jr., George E. Bates Professor, Harvard Business School "Common sense alone is not enough to provide the ethical and legal guidelines necessary to conduct a business. Winning Legally provides the framework for maximizing profits in a manner that assures the long-term viability and growth of the corporation."
Arthur Rock, Principal, Arthur Rock & Co. "This timely book is required reading for every business manager and general counsel. Professor Bagley has provided a practical guide to harnessing corporate legal resources with sound business judgment to maximize shareholder value."
David R. Andrews, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary of PepsiCo, Inc., retired, and director of Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. and Union Bank Corporation
Read this full Book Description by the publisher Harvard Business School Press for more of an insight on what Constance has offer:
The rash of corporate scandals in recent years underscores a fact too often ignored in the business world: flouting the law holds serious consequences. Indeed, all it takes is one rogue trader, one greedy executive, or one misinformed manager to place an entire organization at risk. But respected legal expert Constance E. Bagley argues that staying out of trouble is only part of the picture when it comes to legality in business. In Winning Legally, Bagley shows how managers can proactively harness the power of the law to maximize corporate value, marshal human and financial resources, and manage risk. Through scores of classic and contemporary examples across the business landscape, this no-nonsense guide completely reframes the relationship of law to business. Bagley explains how managers can use the law as a strategic tool to help select and work effectively with legal advisers, spot legal issues before they become problems, weigh the legal risks of specific opportunities, and more. Ultimately, the responsibility for making tough business decisions lies with managers-;not with lawyers. This timely book shows how managers can combine business audacity and vision with integrity and respect for the law to build truly great and enduring firms.
Tim Collins, founder of Juris, Inc gets an artisan in Seattle to make mirrors because at Juris, Inc there is one of every desk. Find out why (and decide if you need one) at the morepartnerincome post called: How People Respond to Attorneys and Vice Versa.
Here's a part of what New York and Toronto Law Firm "Torys" says about itself:
Torys LLP is an international business law firm with more than 330 New York and Toronto lawyers. Our strength lies in working with clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and major litigation matters. In addition, the firm's expertise in a wide range of other practice areas enables us to focus on the needs of our business clients. Our New York and Toronto lawyers work together to offer a unique wealth of talent, experience and seamless cross-border service to clients on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border and around the world.
Visit Torys' Video Center and have a look at the three 3+ minute video casts.
PUNCHLINE: The subject matter is pretty esoteric - one question is whether anyone (besides me) watches these presentations. Of even greater interest is the fact that they are doing videocasting at all. Personally I can't resist the observation that whether anybody is watching or not, they at least look pretty savvy to their existing and prospective clients. Maybe your firm should consider following suit - you will still be early in the game.
Our consulting firm, Edge International, has been engaged by a mid-sized law firm in Virginia that strongly believes in the stick to your knitting approach. They have asked us to assist them in identifying viable companies to which they can outsource their entire marketing support function.
My Edge International colleague, Ed Wesemann, has posted about this on his Creating Dominance Blog under the title Sticking to Their Knitting
A copy of the Request for Qualifications is available for down load at Ed's Blog and he has agreed to post about the kind of responses we receive.
PLEASE pass this forward to anyone you know who may be interested in this opportunity. Thank you in advance.
When you fire a client, you might want to be a little more diplomatic than the title of this post (or the posture of the fellow above) implies but, diplomatic or not, when it's the right thing to do, DO IT!
The primary purpose of marketing is to give you choices. Effective marketing allows you to improve your client mix and get rid of the ones who consume your life forces like voracious vampires you know the ones, they don't pay (or pay VERY slowly), they argue, they test your ethics and they demoralize you and your best staff and they don't wear watches, at least not when they call you at home at 11 o'clock at night.
Read Seth Godin's post "The Customer is Always Right" and simply substitute "client" for "customer" You owe it to yourself!
1) Listen 50% more
2) Ask twice as many questions
3) Hold eye contact 50% more
4) Make slight contact, or hold contact slightly longer
5) Show sincere sympathy or enthusiasm for something they say
6) Ask them if there is anything you could help out with
PUNCHLINE: This is a prime example where "knowing is not doing" - we can not get enough reminders on the subject of listening - THANK YOU, Arnie.
Often the computer encourages superficial attention to streams of data, but talking face-to-face demands focused emotional and intellectual involvement that is uniquely satisfying.
You are likely to be happier during this journey if you concentrate on building and maintaining strong relationships. And there's no way to do that except face to face.
A THOUGHT: As lawyers, we are the ultimate rational people ignoting feelings in favor of facts, for the most part, necessary to practice law. This can make us linear as we consider business development pracxtices and Stephanie reminds us that perhaps there are subtle consequences, in this case benefits, to having more face-to-face time with clients.
PLEA: Stephanie, when are you going to launch your blog - we need you out here in the blogosphere! If you know Stephanie personally, help me nag her - send her an email telling her that her friends and acquaintances are all anxiously awaiting her blog because she has so much to contribute.
There are many voices on the subject of the management of law firms but very few have Patrick Lamb's depth of experience and accomplishment. Patrick continues to practice in a complex and specialized area of the law attracting and maintaining clients at the high end of the curve. I think his own track record entitles him to greater credibility than those offered by pure theoreticians.
A lawyer or law firm gains from every face to face meeting with the client, and those meetings should be as frequent as possible. Most of those meetings should be directed to providing service or exploring needs that the client has. The client satisfaction meeting, however, is critical and must be treated as distinct, both in form and in substance. It is a chance for the spotlight to be shifted from the client to the firm, and for the client to provide insights that the firm should desperately want to hear about how it can render service in a way that makes the client happier, more satisfied and more committed to the firm. This keeps the client satisfaction meetings separate in the critical spot they deserve.
PUNCHLINE: Follow Patrick's sage advice - the most important part is getting out there and "doing it"!
Whether you are a Managing Partner, a Marketing Partner or a Marketing Professional working in a law firm, Constance Bagley may hold a key to your developing business, both by satisfying existing clients and attracting new ones.
What if you invited Professor Bagley to address a meeting of your clients on the subject of "Harnessing the Power of the Law". What if she could show your existing (and maybe prospective clients) the untapped value that lies in your services just awaiting harvesting by your clients.
Why Constance Bagley?
Professor Bagley graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1977, and was invited to join the Harvard Law Review. She received her A.B., with Distinction and Departmental Honors, in 1974 from Stanford University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa her junior year. She is a member of the State Bar of New York and the State Bar of California. She was a corporate securities partner at Bingham McCutchen and now teaches at the Harvard Business School. She has also taught at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where she received Honorable Mention for the Stanford Business School Distinguished Teaching Award. She still practices law focusing on legal aspects of entrepreneurship and cyberlaw, as well as corporate governance.
At Harvard, she teaches the MBA elective Legal Aspects of Management, as well as being on the faculty for the Entrepreneur's Tool Kit Executive Program.
Her Curriculum Vitae is 21 pages long if you care to learn more about her credentials.
What's in it for your firm?
I have noticed while working with even large, sophisticated, blue chip law firms that individual lawyers find it challenging to quantify the value that their lawyering can bring to their clients (existing and prospective). I am suggesting that Constance Bagley has the credentials, credibility, knowledge and ,by her own experience, the sensitivity to deliver that message in a way that will appeal to your most sophisticated clients.
Look at some of the editorial reviews of her recent book, Winning Legally: How Managers Can Use the Law to Create Value, Marshal Resources, and Manage Risk, which is directed to no less than aspiring CEO's:
"Winning Legally, with its clear exposition of real-world problems and solutions, is a thought-provoking resource that can only improve the performance of lawyers and laypeople alike. My best business advice to aspiring CEOs is simple: Read this book!"
James W. Kinnear, former CEO and Chair of Texaco, Inc. "Professor Bagley has done a masterful job of showing how managers can work with attorneys as partners to create value and manage risk. Armed with the knowledge in this book, managers will not only be far more likely to keep their firms out of trouble, but will also have at their disposal a set of tools to manage the firm more effectively. This is an important read for managers and the lawyers who advise them."
Larry Sonsini, Chairman of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati "Bagley has successfully demonstrated the value of the managerial capability that she calls 'legal astuteness.' Instead of focusing only on how law constrains managers, Winning Legally's systems approach to business regulation and the practice of strategic compliance management provides managers with a far more complete and promising way of managing the legal dimensions of business."
William E. Fruhan, Jr., George E. Bates Professor, Harvard Business School "Common sense alone is not enough to provide the ethical and legal guidelines necessary to conduct a business. Winning Legally provides the framework for maximizing profits in a manner that assures the long-term viability and growth of the corporation."
Arthur Rock, Principal, Arthur Rock & Co. "This timely book is required reading for every business manager and general counsel. Professor Bagley has provided a practical guide to harnessing corporate legal resources with sound business judgment to maximize shareholder value."
David R. Andrews, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary of PepsiCo, Inc., retired, and director of Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. and Union Bank Corporation
See the full Book Descripion for more of an insite on what Constance has offer:
The rash of corporate scandals in recent years underscores a fact too often ignored in the business world: flouting the law holds serious consequences. Indeed, all it takes is one rogue trader, one greedy executive, or one misinformed manager to place an entire organization at risk.But respected legal expert Constance E. Bagley argues that staying out of trouble is only part of the picture when it comes to legality in business. In Winning Legally, Bagley shows how managers can proactively harness the power of the law to maximize corporate value, marshal human and financial resources, and manage risk. Through scores of classic and contemporary examples across the business landscape, this no-nonsense guide completely reframes the relationship of law to business. Bagley explains how managers can use the law as a strategic tool to help select and work effectively with legal advisers, spot legal issues before they become problems, weigh the legal risks of specific opportunities, and more.Ultimately, the responsibility for making tough business decisions lies with managers-;not with lawyers. This timely book shows how managers can combine business audacity and vision with integrity and respect for the law to build truly great and enduring firms.
PUNCHLINE: Constance Bagley has not offered the services I suggest you may want to retain her for but in a discussion with her I learned of her willingness to utilize her unique capabilities for the purposes I hypothesize about. I will be fascinated to see whether one or two action-oriented firms actually explore this idea with her. I will certainly be discussing this with my law firm clients.
Thank you to Jim Hassett at his Law Firm Business Development Blog for continuing the conversation about Bullet Proofing Crown Jewel Clients with his new post regarding my thoughts on the comments of Steven Bell, Director of Sales at Womble Carlyle. See his post To Sell or Not to Sell in his Law Firm Development Blog today.
Jim's two part story on my recent presentation to the Marketing Partners Forum can be found in his recent posts:
Just 30.7% of clients recommend their primary law firm
Low satisfaction drives client spending to new law firms
BOSTON, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The BTI Consulting Group's fifth annual survey of corporate counsel reveals an unprecedented drop in client satisfaction with law firms. Just 30.7% of large and Fortune 1000 companies recommend their primary law firms. These deep dips in client satisfaction, reports BTI, promise to drive dollars into the hands a new set of law firms, unsettling the status quo.
"Large clients are making broad-sweeping changes in how they hire and work with their law firms," comments Michael B. Rynowecer, BTI's President, "These changes will translate into opportunity for a select group of well-positioned law firms."
BTI's study analyzes how law firms can position themselves to benefit from these critical changes in a brand new report, How Clients Hire, Fire and Spend: Landing the World's Best Clients. BTI found an astonishing 53.7% of clients ousted their primary law firms in the past 18 months. More than 50% of clients also reported they plan to try at least one new law firm for substantive matters in 2006.
BTI conducted more than 200 independent, individual interviews with corporate counsel at Fortune 1000 companies and large organizations each year for the past five years. Find information on BTI's How Clients Hire, Fire and Spend: Landing the World's Best Clients and other compelling research in the legal services industry on BTI's website at http://www.bticonsulting.com or contact BTI at (617) 439-0333. BTI is the leader in providing high-impact market and client research to law firms and General Counsel.
FASTFORWARD: Rynowecer's work has been extremely helpful to strategists within major firms. The trend he sites is alarming. I like his optimism that it means opportunities for many firms but it is a scathing condemnation of many established firms who are failing to Bullet Proof their Crown Jewel Clients. Could this in part be due to an ever increasing sophistication of demanding clients? Perhaps... but you know where the onus is. In my view, this should be a topic for discussion at your very next executive committee meeting followed by an action plan it is only the firms who actually do something who will benefit from this crisis of confidence.
Thank you to Tom Kane for publishing my five biggest legal marketing mistakes I listed for an article that appeared in Lawyers Weekly USA (subscription required) by Nora Tooher.
You can see the five mistakes identified by others (including Tom) cited in a series on Tom's Blog, The Legal Marketing Blog
Guy Kawasaki two days in a row? Not my fault - his. Guy was traveling on:
from
to
when he decided to create this email gem called The Effective Emailer. Guy recites a dozen sensible and perhaps essential rules of email etiquette.
I almost called this post: "Don't FUQ with me and I won't FUQ with you" but then I thought it may not be so obvious that this Kawasakism really means "Fabricate Unanswerable Questions". As for the title I chose, when you read #10 in his post you will learn how to avoid "a sure sign of bozosity"!
FASTFORWARD: Our Edge International project for a non-email protocol to dramatically reduce emaill within organizations continues. I think we're ahead of the curve (few people know they want this or care) which is exactly where we want to be. In the meantime, email behaviors neeed all the help they can get and I thing Guy Kawasaki's contribution is the best I've seen recently. Stay tuned.
Guy Kawasaki is quite extraordinary (click on his photo to see for yourself)... "evangelist, entrepreneur, investment banker, and venture capitalist" kind of sums it up but not quite.
In his post today, he discusses The Art of Schmoozing... his list is not only consistent with some of the best academic work I have seen on the subject but he describes his steps in such a compelling way, for example, his third step is:
Ask good questions, then shut up. The mark of a good conversationalist is not that you can talk a lot. The mark is that you can get others to talk a lot. Thus, good schmoozers are good listeners, not good talkers. Ask softball questions like, "What do you do?" "Where are you from?" "What brings you to this event?" Then listen. Ironically, you'll be remembered as an interesting person.
PUNCHLINE: Whether you are a Managing Partner or a CMO, share Guy Kawasaki's 9 step list with your law firm. You may have to translate it a bit (removing words that twist the stomach of most lawyers - like "tradeshows" - gosh, what would a lawyer do at a trade show, or MySpace - heaven forbid.) However the wisdom in this list is far too valuable to overlook.
Seth Godin provokes our thoughts with a very quick intellectual journey through service to expectations. In his post, What customer surveys measure, he teaches us not that serving and satisfying is impossible but that it is possible to do the former extremely well without doing the latter.
TRANSLATION FOR LAWYERS: Excellent legal work is not enough. Excellent work plus managing expectations plus exceeding those expectations is indeed enough. Is your firm doing enough? Are your individual lawyers and client teams doing enough?
The article features Iris Jones who breathed life into this concept at Akin Gump. Bruce speaks very highly of her and her achievements - click on photo for bio. Bruce does a nice job of describing the elements that had to be in place at Akin Gump to support their client team initiative.
Visit Bruce's newsletter regularly. Just click on The Marcus Letter logo below.
See Tom's post by this title these tips are so true (and I base that assertion on a lot of work with both GC's and those who pitch to them).
PUNCHLINE: Busy lawyers frequently look for the magic bullet - the tricks that the great rainmakers use. The simplicity of the list in Tom's post should not fool you. If you find yourself arguing with the list, you are suffering from what Zig Ziglar calls "hardening of the attitudes" a deadly disease for aspiring business developers.
There are few people who can pull off asking this question let alone answering it so effectively. David Maister's latest offering is titled: "Do You Really Want Relationships" available at his site.
In "Do You Really Want Relationships" Maister will help you explore how some firms build profitable long-term relationships.
Maister says: examples of dysfunctional "client as enemy" behaviors include:
Focus on rehearsing what you are going to say to the client in proposals and presentations rather than how you plan to get a true conversation going.
Avoiding conversations with clients because you want either to remain in control or avoid having to treat the client as a person.
Avoiding contact with clients unless there is something concrete to talk about.
Too obviously trying to sell more work to get what you want rather than serve the client.
Requiring that all agreements and decisions be documented and formally approved, rather than trusting each other's word.
FASTFORWARD:David Maister built his extraordinary career on the power of his thoughts which have been very useful catalysts for firm leaders around the globe for some years. Don't let the price of subscribing to his articles deter you - don't make the mistake of equating a free offering with a valueless offering (well, I suppose you can, but don't assume all your competitors will be as naive). Sign up for all his articles, today!.
Seth Godin has done it again but maybe the value of his post for law firms transcends his own intention.
First, read his post, then read my following comments.
PUNCHLINE: Of course I am not recommending that you give away free pickles but let's pause and reflect here. A $30 turkey sandwich is not the low end of the market apparently the pickles have been a draw. Perhaps even a prestigious law firm could think about appropriate added value (free) items for clients. Add your own ideas to this list:
a) free parking (yes, there are still law firms who don't offer this). In major cities, maybe a car (we'll pick you up and take you back);
b) password clearance to a web site with access to all documents and correspondence relating to their matter (secured so no changes can be made);
c) complimentary meals in our partners' cafeteria;
d) complimentary work station or office with high speed for guests while they wait especially if from out of town;
e) personalized stationery and a monogrammed bathrobe at their hotel;
f) the assistance of a concierge;
OK, you add the rest.
Note to cynics and skeptics: Remember how little face time we have with clients - how few "in-person visits. Do not assume these suggestions are expensive they may be the best marketing dollars you have ever spent. What if everybody starts doing this stuff? No worries, mate, so few will do it that you will have a competitive advantage for at least half a decade I promise.
I've had the opportunity to experience Patrick McEvoy's energy, enthusiasm and results-oriented drive. He 's been in the front lines as a Canadian Chartered Accountant and proven that his techniques work for him and others. If you want a no-nonsense practical approach including tips and "how to's", you may want to give one of his TeleSeminar's a try.
For more information about Patrick McEvoy and his TeleSeminar, click here.
I wonder if Neil Witmer, Ph.D. understands lawyers, law firms or the legal profession. His reported conclusions may be correct in the context of the industries he normally serves but are not consistent with my experience in the legal profession.
Dr. Witmer's views are reported by Larry Bodine from a recent breakfast meeting resulting in a post called Marketers: Forget the Grinders and Drones. By the way, I am not shooting the messenger I happen to admire and appreciate Larry Bodine for his own hands-on consulting work as well as his prolific contribution to law-related internet content including Lawmarketing ListServ, all of which are superb keep up the good work, Larry! No, here I take issue exclusively with Dr. Witmer because of the views attributed to him with which I disagree.
"According to Witmer, the grinders and drones lack the essential personality elements to develop new business. You cannot change their personalities, and they may be unable to change themselves."
"Drones"? The expression "Finders, Minders, and Grinders" is cliché and insensitive enough "drones" is an unfortunate term. According to my dictionary, unless Witmer uses "drones" to mean "a humming sound", "continuous note", "a musical instrument", or "a remote-controlled pilotless aircraft or missile", then he is stuck with: "a male bee in a colony of social bees, which does no work but can fertilize a queen". My Webster dictionary adds: "Figurative: a person who does no useful work and lives off others". (I suppose female lawyers can take heart that the term cannot apply to them small consolation.)
It is not personality that drives the client attraction process, but a combination of what the lawyer does and the skill to convey it skill that almost every lawyer has or is quite capable of acquiring. If you look closely at a law firm's top rainmakers, you will notice a wide diversity of personalities.
While there is a lot of team-oriented work in a law firm, in many cases the client is choosing the surgeon for the operation the more specialized the work, the less relevant the personality. If heaven forbid, a dear one needed brain surgery, the doctor's personality is probably the last factor for consideration. (I will yield that in an undifferentiated commodity market personality is far more important but most top firms keep that work to a minimum in favor of specialty work.)
Witmer goes on:
"So if a professional lacks drive and confidence, forget them. Leave them in the library or their offices, where they belong. No amount of coaching, training or individual business planning will ever work for them. They will always be people waiting for an assignment from someone else who can generate new business."
In a good law firm, if a lawyer "lacks drive and confidence", you don't forget them you encourage them and if that doesn't work, you fire them.
Good news: encouraging works most of the time many of those who look like naturals today were actually encouraged at some stage. Confidence sometimes must be acquired that happens by being supported not forgotten.
There is no discrete sales force in a law firm every lawyer (especially every partner) must interact effectively with prospective and existing clients. I'll give you that some do it better than others but in most good firms, almost every lawyer can raise his or her game appreciably with effective training and coaching. So I strongly disagree with Dr. Witner's recommendation that we simply forget about these people.
If you look at Dr. Witmer's bio, perhaps he can be forgiven for not knowing the legal profession there is no evidence he has any relevant experience. His own web site categorizes the people he serves as: CEO's, HR Executives, Equity Firms and Boards and Sales Executives. On his site he has testimonials from 15 clients among those categories none of whom are law firms. (In case you were curious, none of the bios of members of Witmer's firm evidences any legal education or experience.)
One of the reasons I feel so strongly about this is that over the past 25 years, Edge has worked with almost 400 law firms worldwide up to and including the world's largest. I can report that the recognized rainmakers do not have a monopoly on Witmer's "five elements : Drive Persuasion Confidence Organization Relationship Skills " Most lawyers in good law firms must possess these elements to make it through law school, get hired by a good firm, and then serve demanding, intelligent and sophisticated clients. The head of the Hong Kong office of a major firm reported to me personally that his training with us many years ago contributed greatly to his transformation and success as both a rainmaker and a leader. These comments are common.
Why do we give litigators advocacy training why does Tiger Woods have a coach?
Many top-notch litigators have all five of Witmer's elements but are not rainmakers in the traditional sense because that is not their focus. They may slay fire-breathing dragons in court all day in situations that would send mere mortals into the embryonic position but are not comfortable with small talk around the shrimp dish at the bank reception. However, these litigators can be trained to excel in their client relations, to their advantage and to the firms'.
There are two Punchlines here:
1) Almost all lawyers (OK there may be a few extreme exceptions) can be trained to dramatically improve their client-relations skills from "Meeting Prospective Clients, Managing Client Expectations to Dealing with Complaints and Getting more Referrals (and much more). I have the anecdotal evidence of many pleasantly surprised law firm Managing Partners to prove this. If not attract new clients, they can get more work from existing clients, cross sell to other areas of the firm and much more.
2) In law, the most important business development comes from ever-enhancing the satisfaction levels of existing clients especially the crown-jewel clients. The very lawyers whom Witmer tells us to forget about may be the glue that holds the most important existing clients to the firm. These so-called non-rainmakers often grow the work of existing clients which is a huge contribution that in many firms goes under-appreciated because it is simply not as sexy as attracting a new client. In many cases the bulk of a firm's income will be found in the long-term growing book of business from the firm's top clients
Conclusion: I am concernmed that Managing Partners may interpret Dr. Witmer's message in such a way that they will neglect many of the lawyers in their firms who need help to enhance the skills that are key to the long-term success of the firm. If you have people in your firm that you are tempted to forget, help them. If you won't, can't or it doesn't work, do a mutual favor release them from your custody.
If you share the love/hate relationship that my Edge International colleagues and I have toward PowerPoint, you will appreciate the post of marketing genius Seth Godin on the subject.
He alludes to a comparison between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and how they use PowerPoint. (For the record, Steve does not use PowerPoint at all but rather Keynote, available only on Apples. However, the points on the differing use of this medium remain perfectly valid.)
Check it out: Worth 1,000 bullet points
PUNCHLINE: You will have occasion to use PowerPoint or Keynote in your business development efforts, especially in live responses to RFP's. If you want to win, simplicity is the key and it has no better teacher than Steve Jobs.
(Voice of Rod Serling) Let me take you to a world where everything is different from what you now know a world where your imagination is liberated as in childhood, except now with your acquired maturity and knowledge you ride your ideas at the speed of light to the delight of your firm and your clients alike welcome to Larry Bodine's portal and perhaps the most imaginative story, that's true, that I have every read.
What magic does this woman weave? Read for yourself, and if you are dissapointed, please tell me why
(make a sandwich refresh your beverage)
and now, a mysterious man, dressed in black, hands you an envelope
I know that ideas from outside the legal profession are suspect and for good reason you have been disappointed so many times before by concepts that simply don't apply so why waste your time.
John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing
What if this is true (and, by the way, it is):
"If you expect your clients to be thrilled with your services - they will"
"If you flat out expect your clients to refer business your way - they will "
" Have you ever found yourself so excited about a service that people [retained] you because they almost had to?"
PUNCH LINE: Many professionals do not believe in the value of their services nor do they get sufficiently enthused by them. That's just plain wrong. The reason is that professionals have trouble seeing and quantifying the value. Quantum Mechanics Physics will not let you down.
Humour me read (and re-read) this Duct Tape Marketing post called "The Power of Positive Expectancy" by John Jantsch. Suspend the cynicism and reflect.
Adam Lewis, a Director and the Managing Partner of the Australian and New Zealand practices of McKinsey & Company, was one of my co-presenters at the World Masters of Law Firm Management last week, in Sydney.
Adam told us a number of fascinating things about McKinsey, one of the premium consultancies in the world. Among them were two gems:
1) McKinsey & Company has no internal marketing department. (Why not? Because the consultants themselves market the firm.)
2) 2/4/8. Every Director in the firm is required to be working on "2" assignments, be in the process of proposing for "4" more, and in communication with "8" more prospective clients.
Management within McKinsey follows up to ensure that "2/4/8" is a reality.
Some superb marketing professionals in some extraordinary law and accounting firms confided in me that if their fairy godmother granted one wish it would be that their "professionals" would interact with clients beyond just doing the work.
It sounds like McKinsey's "2/4/8" means that the fairy godmother has already visited McKinsey & Company.
The techniques managers use to get through a tough agenda in a business context are completely useless in a deposition. To survive the deposition, managers are trained to avoid the tactics they would have used in a business situation. Those who lead law firms are often experiencing more of a deposition environment than a business environment. Perhaps this is why some lawyers want their firms to be more "corporate".
This insight arises from the analysis of Wall Street Journal writer, George Anders, in his July 26 article called Depositions Require A Skill Set Leaders Don't Use on the Job (subscription required) in the July 26 WSJ (page A17 if you haven't thrown out your hard copy yet). Anders nicely illuminates the contrast between the very different business and deposition contexts.
FASTFORWARD: Those who live in law firms know what I mean when I say that the law firm environment resembles a deposition more than it does a corporation. A partnership meeting can be as grueling as a deposition. Support professionals (like marketing directors) often feel devoured by the environment. I believe that the lawyers training, especially litigators, fosters the propensity to lawyer their way through meetings making the leader's job next to impossible.
Lawyers must be highly critical and analytical when creating or improving documents or winding their way through the strategy of litigation. These are essential behaviors for lawyering but lousy for managing or being managed. Therefore, unless attorneys become aware of their propensities, they will bring this mode of behavior into all they do, including how they react to management, whether firm-wide or at the practice-group, industry-group or client-team level. Support professionals like Chief Marketing Officers walk away from encounters bewildered and frustrated by these strange (to them) lawyering behaviors that people outside the profession rarely exhibit (especially in corporate settings).
PUNCHLINE: Leadership requires "followership" which means that the more an internal meeting resembles a deposition ("examination for discovery" in many jurisdictions) the less productive the business meeting will be.
GOODNEWS: I have found that lawyers who are briefed about these anti-business behavioral propensities can easily transcend them. Once they are aware of them, groups self-police those who mistake the management meeting for a deposition; the noticeable increase in progress achieved is the immediate and reinforcing reward.
Bravo to Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice and Molden Holley Fergusson Thompson & Heard for their ingenious alliance to create and market diversity.
Molden Holley is a small and new African-American firm comprised of partners who came from major firms. In what appears to be a brilliant win-win alliance, this new firm will continue to be independent but will bolt on all of the resources of AmLaw powerhouse Womble Carlyle when and as required; meanwhile, Womble Carlyle gets to demonstrate to clients like Wal-Mart and Sara Lee that it is listening to their General Counsel who have been requiring all of their legal providers to make rapid diversity progress.
PUNCHLINE: While other firms may not yet have diversity on their radar screens and while those who do are likely progressing slowly and in a linear fashion, these two firms are hitting warp speed.
The most fascinating part of this story is yet to unfold. It's the marketing initiative (contained in this quote from the complete story in Small Firm Business referenced below):
"Regina S. Molden, the managing partner for Molden Holley, said members of the two firms will meet monthly to develop a marketing strategy targeted towards existing and potential Womble Carlyle clients seeking more diversity."
WOW! Imagine the potential here. This is not smoke and mirrors but rather a very real capacity to provide diversity to clients IF those diversity-demanding clients are prepared to accept that the alliance is genuine and truly fulfills the spirit of their diversity requirements.
Whichever firm initiated the idea, it is an illustration of strategic genius especially if it works. If it does, it will be a pattern worth emulating.
Richard Susskind is not short on credentials. Richard has a first class honours degree in law from the University of Glasgow and a doctorate in law and computers from Balliol College, Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the British Computer Society, and was awarded an OBE in the Millennium New Year's Honours List for services to IT in the Law and to the Administration of Justice.
that automates the process of drafting employment documents. The web-based system is designed for human resource professionals in large organisations
There is a link in the article that allows you to see a demo - incredible (see for yourself).
PUNCHLINE: For those who still think it's cool not to understand technology or tease that "that's something my kids do" maybe it's time to remove the cranium from the sand and stand erect as we move further into this new century. There will be two classes of firms soon which one do you think will be thriving over the next ten years?
In a recent Edge International Survey on Strategic Planning, we learned the following:
10% of firms have a strategy to remain flexible and opportunistic ("OK!")
13% of firms are in the process of preparing a strategic plan ("We believe you!")
15% of firms have a strategic plan but have not committed it to writing ("Oh my!")
60% of firms have a formal, written strategic plan ("Congrats if all your people know what it says")
2% Other responses
If you ask most lawyers where their next matter will come from, they will say something like "it depends ". If asked: "depends on what?" the response is typically "depends on who calls or writes or faxes or emails next". Great plan. You just sit there like a grain of sand on the beach and your next work opportunity depends on the the nature of the next wave that rolls in.
Planning is about making choices about what you prefer to do. You earn the right to do those things by providing more valuable legal work that the right prospective clients can appreciate.
PunchLine: If you don't have a written plan, you don't have a plan. If you don't have a plan, then you are a ship without a course and guess what happens to ships without a destination.
Is Diversity on your management agenda? Has it ever been?
This is a serious wake up call to every single member of your law firm's management team.
Diversity is not some do-good-philanthropic-topic for a tea party of the rich and bored. Diversity is serious business: serious to business; serious for business not to mention that it is the right thing to do.
The General Counsel referenced in the article are in the following companies:
Wal-Mart
Visa International
Del Monte
Pitney Bowes
Cox Communications
The article goes on to say:
So far, close to 100 general counsel have signed on, including those from some of the nation's biggest companies.
If you think you can get by this issue with tokenism, you need to understand what is being demanded of you. For example, the article includes these quotes:
The nation's biggest retailer wants to see diversity at the top.
The goal is to "increase the number of women and minorities directly responsible for [our] relationship at our law firms."
"We are terminating a firm right now strictly because of their inability to grasp our diversity expectations,"
In her Separate but Equal article in Marketing the Law Firm, a Law Jounal Newsletters publication, Elizabeth Anne 'Betiayn' Tursi offers this advice:
The idea that law firm leaders need not be at the helm of these initiatives can only mean that it will be doomed to fail. The chair or managing partner of a firm must be a proponent of the causes and must be involved in every aspect of promoting the initiatives. In the case of creating this particular blueprint, management serves as the "project leader" or lead architect. Leadership can set the tone for the institution of these initiatives and is in the enviable position of selecting others in the firm who can also promote and develop the actual initiatives. And yes, there should be a chair for each initiative diversity, pro bono, recruiting and marketing who meet once a month, with the directors of these initiatives to ensure that they are working together to develop the blueprint, and also to make certain that these individuals are in a positions that enable them to have a voice in implementing the programs to achieve the intended result.
Notes:
1) The title of this blog is based upon this quote from the Law.com article:
It is no longer enough, the general counsel at the symposium said, to raise the numbers of women and minority lawyers in a firm's lower ranks if its upper echelons remain an exclusive club for white men.
2) Photo Caption (Thank you Purdue)
A Purdue sociology professor explores racial and ethnic relations in his book "Diversity and Unity." Martin Patchen says inequalities among ethnic groups often lead to prejudice, segregation and discrimination. (Purdue News Service photo illustration by Vince Walter)
Color photo, electronic transmission, and Web and ftp download available. Photo ID: Patchen.diversity Download Photo Here
Metaphors and analogies help us understand and apply principles. In his post, "Market as Hospitals Do", Larry Bodine demonstrates the art.
Punchline: Transcending our context ignites our imagination - use this phenomenon with your colleagues and watch them find the magic that tries so hard to hide inside them.
A lot of law firm marketing is absolute science fiction. Some people in the marketing profession are suggesting that they can help lawyers catch the big fish. These people are selling diet pills to the gullible.
The biggest fish every caught was snagged today in the Mekong River in northern Thailand. If you read the Reuters account, you will see no reference to a marketing professional.
Marketing is about the following:
1) Having an offering that is actually valuable to the prospective client
2) Being able to genuinely differentiate yourself from your competition (that means knowing thyself and thy competition)
3) Communicating appropriately with the prospective client which involves an unimaginable amount of listening
Can we help people market effectively yes, by being effective catalysts to help them choose a sensible strategy and helping them acquire the skills necessary to execute it.
Marketing, however, like fishing, is a routine a methodology a way of life that is repeatable and repeated. The reason is that probability theory is a big part of marketing yes, a numbers game. Over time, out of X tries, you will succeed Y times. If X/Y is 1/3 or better, you are on fire.
So those who promise you the big fish are deceiving you. Because like the biggest catfish ever caught, the catchers were fishermen who do this habitually and repeatedly. Anyone who tells you they can train you to go out one time and catch the big fish is indeed offering you a worm and I would recommend against taking the bait.
(For the true marketing professionals out there, I realize I am focussed here on a tiny fragment of the overall marketing process indeed "sales" permit me the lattitude to make the point for those for whom marketing is not a primary are of study).
Can you imagine having a good client trolling for a great lateral hire for your law firm and making it happen? Heenan Blaikie, is one of Canada's premier law firms (heck, they attracted former Prime Minister Jean Cretien and years ago, the even more famous former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau).
Correct us if we're wrong, but aren't lawyers supposed to be giving clients advice rather than the other way around?
Former Ogilvy Renault partner Catherine Wade was grateful to have the tables turned recently when she got a bit of career counselling from the folk at long-time client VenGrowth Capital Partners. Their proposal: Consider jumping to Heenan Blaikie.
The Vancouver-based corporate finance practitioner made the leap to Heenans after VenGrowth suggested certain synergies might be achieved.
Punchline: Perhaps law firms should contemplate using their premiere clients as a vehicle to helping them attract the best lateral hires. A well-placed question might yield amazing results.
The top 20 national corporate law firms for 2005, according to the
directors surveyed by Corporate Board Member (with their 2004 ranking in
parentheses), are:
1. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, New York (1)
2. Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, New York (3)
3. Cravath Swaine & Moore, New York (2)
4. Sullivan & Cromwell, New York (4)
5. Jones Day, Cleveland (7)
6. Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York (5)
7. Baker & McKenzie, Chicago (6)
8. Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago (11)
9. Latham & Watkins, Los Angeles (10)
10. Shearman & Sterling, New York (13)
11. Weil Gotshal & Manges, New York (9)
12. Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles (8)
13. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto (18)
14. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Dallas (16)
15. Fulbright & Jaworski, Houston (12)
16. O'Melveny & Myers, Los Angeles (15)
17. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, New York (-)
18. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, Washington D.C. (-)
LexBlog founder Kevin O'Keefe is a lawyer who mastered the practice of law, successfully created an internet start up, and now somehow sees through the haze to what's "next". He focuses - much to the benefit of people like me - on helping his clients navigate the maze of tomorrow's most effective communication tools.
LexBlog's secret weapon is awesomely talented and knowledgable Client Services Director, Heather Arthur. She is responsible for making LexBlog's bloggers technically proficient in a real hurry. I am grateful to both Kevin and Heather for launching me safely into the blogosphere.
Oh, my journey is not complete... I have much more to learn - from LexBlog and from you, the reader. Feedback is gratefully appreciated..
boost... the response rate to direct-mail campaigns from 0.9% to 5.4%
If you think it's all "gut feel", read this Forbes bit called Reengineer That Ad Food for thought: In the legal profession, we don't like risk and we don't like failure. The irony is that until we are prepared to "do it wrong" and learn from it, we'll never achieve extraordinary results. Marketing is about testing, testing and testing some more until we find something that works - then with a hindsight assessment, we're geniuses. Managing Partners must allow their CMO's more experimentation in order to win big.
Blogs are a great big zero and you shouldn't waste your time. After all, only a few people on the fringe even look at them. Yes, Senior Partners, Managing Partners, Executive Directors, Department Heads, Practice Group Heads, CMO's, CIO's, "C whatever O's", insert your faces deep into the sand, "ostrich-style", for blogs are a passing fancy, a fad that will pass into oblivion - so don't waste an ounce of the firm's precious resources on them...
Or, maybe not - have a glance at one of the foremost law related bloggers, Robert J. Ambrogi, and maybe just look at some numbers... today's post on the subject starts with the word "Survey".
Andy Havens in his Legal Marketing Blog explains this quite well. Do yourself a favor - have a look!
Teasers:
Now... if you're a family law practice, you want a brand that says, "We're careful, we're delicate, we're sensitive to the emotional nature of these matters and we want to help you get through them with as little pain as possible,"
"When do you contact clients about bills being past due?" He said he thought it didn't matter. Of course it matters... If you're aggressive, you don't sit on bills.
Why do I love Disney? It's clean. Cleaner'n heck. That's part of its charm.
According to a story today in the Orlando Sentinel, the Florida State Bar nearly ruined the recipe for this ad by Orlando Law Firm Shuffield Lowman. The story reports that the Bar rejected the ad:
on the grounds that the phrase "Expect more from your law firm" created "unjustified expectations about results the attorney can achieve" and "compares the services of one attorney to another without factually substantiating the comparison.
GOOD GRIEF! Thankfully the Bar reversed itself on appeal.
unveiled the ad to the law firm's entire staff in a ceremony that included a spoon and pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream for each person.
Food for thought: The head of a major bank confided in me that the ads they run on TV are as much to indoctrinate their own staff into the idea of serving customers as to attract business. I believe that a firm that publicly commits to serving its clients better and repeatedly communicates that message internally to its own staff will raise its own standards of service considerably and thus create competitive advantage. Launching the ad internally with some ice cream is the connection to the minds of the people at Shuffield Lowman, I see way too many neat ads for law firms that no-one in the firm knows anything about - so tell me, if they don't know, how are they suppose to live the promises made.
Bravo to Shuffield Lowman for having the imagination and courage to show the world their ice cream and the common sense to taste it themselves. I am a believer that your clients may indeed "Expect more from your law firm."
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Business Development and the Comfortable Chair.jpeg)
SEPTEMBER 2010
Be judged more favourably… your hot coffee makes you seem warmer and also enhances the way you perceive your prospective client.
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The September 2007 McKinsey Quarterly has an interesting article called: The Evolving Role of the CMO by David Court who discusses four areas of change for the CMO:.jpg)
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CONFESSION: I stole these! …from genius (he denies it) Brad Isaac who invented 
How your people use their voice mail may seem at first both trivial and unimportant. BZZZZZZZZZZ WRONG!!!.gif)
Here’s a quote from an article called 
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So, how many stars does your firm have?
Seth Godin's blog post on 
