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Legal Marketing Blog

A blog dedicated to lawyer marketing in any size law firm

Marketing Ethics: The Rules Still Matter

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

Over on Attorney at Work there is an article entitled “Legal Marketing Ethics Pointers” that is a compilation of various posts by Will Hornsby, the ABA’s ethics guru (I understand the link is temporarily down, but you can read the individual posts below).   He basically points out that ethics rules might not be given the consideration they should in today’s Internet and social media marketplace.  He covers emails, domain names, slogans and more, including business cards, advertisements and other materials  like brochures, biographies and claims of expertise, accolades and specialization.

I commend his various posts to every law firm as a caution against certain practices that could get a firm responding to inquiries from their state bar.  Here’s a synopsis of just some of what Hornsby covers in his various posts:

  • Business cards.  Although one might think this area is pretty mundane, what with just a boring business tool.  However there dangers lurking there as some states treat them as a form of advertsing, especially if you put a slogan or a website address like “www.TheBestLawFirminTown.com” on it. Even Illinois requires a disclaimer even if you are a certified specialist in your field.  Hornsby includes other issues regarding how you use them, and staff cards;
  • Bio content. Special dangers are involved in the use of prior client successes, whether you use the client’s name or not; or whether the representation is public or not.  You should always get a client’s consent before using your representation in your marketing materials;
  • SuperDuper Law Directory. These directories whether truly “peer review” or not, can cause ethical problems for sure.  Some states rules are more restrictive than others (of course), so it is especially important to check yours out.  It includes how you can use the “honor” of being selected, and what you can say and how you can say it.  I love what Hornsby has to say about this “Strangly, yo may be listed in Super-Duper, but it doesn’t mean you can you are super-duper”; and
  • Specialization. Be careful here too, as in telling someone at a cocktail party that you “specialize in” could be a violation of the rules.  Obviously, if you are certified specialist in a practice area, that shouldn’t be a problem, but how you say it could be in some others.  I’ve always recommended that lawyers say they “focus in” or “concentrate in” a particular practice area, and apparently that isn’t a problem according to Hornsby.  But, remember check your state rules.

Some good advice from the true ethics guru.

Public Speaking: Tips on Doing Well

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

One of the key ingredients for a successful speaking engagement is to be nervous as hell before you start.  It does not mean you should be trembling in your shoes, but if you are not a little on edge, you will generally fall flat.  At least that’s what happens to me. If I am very comfortable before I begin to talk, I generally come off poorly due to my overconfidence.

This is what I preached to my son when he was getting ready for oral argument in his trial advocacy course in law school. He did very well (OF COURSE).  Now that he is a litigator, he reminds me of that advice a few years back, and tells me that it helps him today to deal with his nervousness prior to a trial or hearing. (Nice boy to say his father’s counsel actually helped.)

This all came to mind when I saw an article on Attorney at Work by attorney Ruth Carter this week.  She provided some good tips that bear on this nervousness factor. Her advice, which she says changed her speaking life, is to remember “everyone (in your audience) wants you to do well.” Also, your focus should be on doing a good job for the audience’s sake.  And the way to do that, in my mind, is to be as well prepared as possible, practice even if you’ve given the same speech before, and expect (even welcome) that edginess that will give you the best chance of being on your A game.

Carter says she tries to “focus on speaking slowly and keeping my message concise and entertaining so the audience will remember it.” She concludes that when she focuses on that the “audience gets what they need and everything else seems to fall into place.”

Sound advice!  I hope it helps you do well next time you give a speech.

Stop Wasting Time – Network Smartly

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

First, get over your fear of networking. How? Treat it as an opportunity to meet and get to know new friends. As I said in another post, don’t put pressure on yourself by thinking you have to come away with a new client every time. Just enjoy yourself!!

Okay, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be smart about it.

An article by my friend Roberta Montafia has a succinct article on Attorney at Work about planning your networking to make it as productive as possible – yeah, while you are trying to enjoy yourself. Her main points are:

  • Plan your targets. Think through who your ideal clients are and where they are likely to be; and then plan to attend those events, conferences, etc. so you can meet them and…remember… make friends;
  • Focus. On how to make the biggest impact within those organizations where your targets are. In other words, what is the best way – writing for publications, volunteering, seeking positions of leadership – to make a contribution;
  • Be engaged. Don’t just join, raise your profile by being recognized as a meaningful contributor to the goals of the organization in whatever way that will benefit it and your reputation; and
  • Be prepared. Know as much as you can about who will be there, your goals in attending, what the targets need to know about you, and make sure to follow up.

Networking is a necessity in the business world. But, you don’t have to waste your time or dumbly go about doing it.

Read What Your Clients Read

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

Pretty simple, huh. And if you don’t know ask them. Your clients’ reading habits will reveal what it is that other potential clients like them (whom presumably you would like to also represent) are reading. That is essentially the message of today’s meditation taken from 365 Marketing Meditations: Daily Lessons for Marketing & Communications Professionals by my friend Larry Smith and Richard Levick of Levick Strategic Communications, to wit:

What do your clients read? If you don’t know the answer, you cannot know what they need to hear from you. If you don’t know the answer, you cannot know how to reach them with that information.

As I said, one way to find out is to ask them. Then, seek out the editors of those publications and find out if they accept outside articles for publication. Don’t stop there. Read the publications for content and style, so that you can write on topics that their readers (i.e., your clients and potential clients) are interested in. Yeah, that’s pretty simple.

Good Etiquette = Good Manners = Good Marketing

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

There is a very interesting article on Inc. magazine online about business etiquette and five suggestions that matter. It starts out by talking about how some consider the mere discussion about etiquette as being stodgy or even old fashion. It is anything but.

Here are the 5 tips:

  1. Write Thank You notes. They are still effective and memorable, because too few people send them anymore. Recently one person I was coaching expressed hesitancy in sending handwritten Thank You notes. He just didn’t think that, with email, that it was necessary. Of course it isn’t “necessary” but I know how I feel when I receive one, and remember for a long time just because they are so rare;
  2. Know peoples’ names. Not just clients and referral sources. But everyone in your own organization – not just your bosses and peers, but the “little” people who make your law firm work. Everyone is integral in some way for making the organization run. If they feel important, they will be proud to speak favorably about the firm to everyone they encounter, and that’s good marketing too;
  3. Observe the "elevator rule." The suggestion is to not “rehash” the meeting you just left until to get to garage level, even if the elevator is empty of strangers. I can’t say that I clearly understand what the author meant here, except possibly to avoid trashing a meeting until you’ve reflected on it longer. I guess I’d understand the rule better if others (or even strangers) were in the elevator;
  4. Focus on the face, not the screen. I remember when Blackberry phones first came out. The few partners who had them were so proud to be able to get messages during department head meetings. Thoughts that popped into my mind at the time included: rude, inconsiderate, inattentive to the discussion, my emails are more important than those present or the conversation, among other things. It is no different today. Turn off the “smart” phone (yeah, don’t try to hide it out of view in your lap as you’re not fooling anyone) and look at the person speaking. Totally agree with this one; and
  5. Don’t judge others. This isn’t just a good etiquette rule, but one that can prevent your getting bit in the arse yourself. I like the old saying from the Bible, “don’t judge others, lest you be judged.” I’ve always admired the phase, but not always adhered to it myself, I must admit. In a more secular sense attributed to Cherokee lore “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.” Good advice.

And, pretty simple and straightforward. Stodgy isn’t the right word at all for basic etiquette, common sense is much more descriptive.

As the article points out etiquette is “not about rules or telling people what to do,” but rather, it’s about making people feel good. Now that’s common sense, and good, considerate behavior. And that my friends is good marketing. 

Don’t Waste Your Money On The Yellow Pages

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

There’s a great discussion over on LinkedIn’s Marketing the Law Firm group about the value of advertising in/on the Yellow Pages. I support most of the ideas or comments made there and suggest you take a look at the discussion.

I have never been big on advertising, period. It does not make my top 10 list of effective marketing or business development techniques. Some claim that the yellow pages still works (mostly those who are selling that expensive service I expect), and if it does for you, great.

I just don’t think ads, as a rule, are a very effective way to sell legal services, and less so in the yellow pages. Think about it, ads unlike public relations where you are quoted in the press, are self-serving statements (even if they do have pretty pictures) about what a great law firm you have and the fantastic service you provide to clients. Furthermore, yellow pages are damn expensive and you are just one of tons of lawyers listed in your market. Who really uses the yellow pages today anyway – especially the online version?

Just think about it, how do you look for products or services in 2012. Don’t you just type into Google or Yahoo search engines what you are looking for? Or maybe you go to the closet in your hallway and dig out last year’s phonebook? Right! Do you – or really think other people – go search for a yellow pages website, and then type in the product or service needed? NOT!

I’ve never done that! And truly can’t remember the last time I even opened the printed version to look up a telephone number. So my advice, save your money. Spend it the type of things that work in today’s world. The yellow pages are a waste IMHO.

 

How to Make Your Marketing Committee Effective

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

For those who know me, know that I am not a fan of law firm marketing committees. It may have something to do with my many years as an in-house marketing professional. I found that they only get in the way. Not only because some committee members get at cross purposes chasing their own agendas (whether they have a clue as to what marketing is all about or not – often the latter), and often think the committee’s budget is their own personal piggy bank. As you can tell, I have strong feelings about this topic, as pointed out in an earlier post entitled “Does Your Firm Have A Marketing Committee? Too Bad!” 

Okay, enough of that.

For those who do not agree with the above sentiment (or are stuck with such a committee), there is some hope. My friend Stacy West Clark (who I gather is not a big fan of marketing committees either) has an article that can help your condition in life, if you are an in-house marketer or otherwise have a committee to deal with.

She has some really good suggestions as to the composition of the committee, the importance of management’s full backing, the role of its members, and recommended meeting agenda items. Stacy’s tips that I particularly like include:

  • Managing partner should attend as many meetings as possible and participate;
  • Members should publicize the committee’s activities, suggestions and plans to their respective practice groups;
  • Ensure there are meeting agendas, to include:
    • reviewing the marketing tools available;
    • cross-selling opportunities;
    • new targets (clients, referral sources and prospects);
    • significant business development activities and results;
    • discussion about hot practice areas; and
    • reports about any and all marketing and business development successes.

If your firm does have a marketing committee, Stacy’s suggestions are excellent ones and worth your attention, if you want the committee to be effective. 

Consider an Internal Coaching Program to Get Marketing Results

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

At a presentation to lawyers and marketing people this week at the LMA Triad City Group, I was talking about best practices. I didn’t just suggest tips for those activities that work best IMHO, or planning action items around them, but pointing out that in my experience the biggest obstacle to lawyer business development is the implementation phase. So, I suggested that they engage a coach (or as some refer to the role as a nag).

A lawyer from the host firm approached me after my talk and mentioned that, as a member of the marketing committee, implementation was their firm’s biggest problem. So, I suggested he get a coach to help. And I told him that the coach doesn’t need to be an outside consultant.

The coach could be another lawyer within the firm. Ideally, someone who has been there and done that. Or the coach could be a colleague who wants to succeed as much as you do, and will agree to be your coach, and you theirs. In the case of solos, you could find another non-competing solo or a friend in a small firm to serve in that role.

The idea is to meet on a set day and time weekly, or at least bi-weekly to share ideas, and for each to report on actions completed since the last meeting. Personally, once a month is too infrequent and results in losing momentum.

On point is today’s meditation from 365 Marketing Mediations: Daily Lessons for Marketing & Communications Professionals by Larry Smith and Richard Levick which consists of just four words:

"Discussions are not actions."

Indeed. Discussions about developing business, and developing action plans are not the crucial actions that count. So, get a coaching program launched in your firm to ensure your business development plans are actually implemented.

Does Your Business Card Hurt You?

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

What does your business card say about you? That is the question posed by Ross Fishman on Ross’s Law Marketing Blog. You may not think that a small, simple thing like a business card is very important. In fact, you may not even give it a second thought. That is a big mistake.

Fishman says, and I agree, “first impressions matter…” He goes on: “Your logo and business card are the tangible, physical embodiment of your entire law practice.” That may be a bit strong, but it certainly makes a difference in what a prospective client will think upon looking at it.

Accordingly, it might be a good idea to read his “Nice to meet you. Here’s my [crappy, flimsy] card” post. It can’t hurt and may give you an idea or two that might just counter your (possibly defensive) thought that the his message is “bullsugar.”

Fishman’s suggests changing your card if it is:

  • Mediocre – as in run-of-the-mill stock and look that does not set you apart from what every lawyer has used since Cicero;
  • Cheap – “lawyers sell an expensive, high risk, intangible service,” so why come across as low-priced. You certainly don’t want to compete on price alone (if at all), so why send that message via your Kinko’s business card; and/or
  • Boring – as in BORING.

Fishman’s shows and discusses various samples of cards he picked up at a recent conference, and points out the advantages of using a logo, design, tone and stock that will set you apart.

The point is, most importantly, does your card hurt you to the point that recipients aren’t compelled to visit your website and learn more about you and your law firm? If not, bummer!

Legal Project Management is for Real!

By Tom Kane on Posted in Marketing Tips

Lawyers have always done project management. They haven’t called it that nor done it in a systematic way. But if you’ve ever managed a legal matter (project) you have done project management, more so if you managed a team, worked within a budget, and on deadline. But, as I mentioned, it’s was likely done in less than an ideal or efficient manner.

Legal project management is more important today and needs to be more organized to meet client demands, and to increase value by creating greater efficiency, especially when working on a fixed fee.

The ole curmudgeon, Otto Sorts, tells a story over on Attorney at Work about a client who, – early in Otto’s legal career when he was explaining the many vagaries of practicing law due to uncertainties caused by the judge, court calendars, opposing counsel, and so forth – simply stated: "Son, that’s just plain bullshit" and went on to say that "life itself is complex and uncertain, but we live it every day, anyway.” In other words, stop whining and proceeded to show him how to “manage the damn project.”

So, Otto shares with us six logical steps he learned for doing so: (Our terminology is somewhat different at LegalBizDev for legal project management and is in parentheses)

  1. Define the project by identifying what the problem is through to the end result. (that is, what is the scope of the project and the client’s goal for the successful result);
  2. Identify steps from beginning to end. (specify activities with subtasks down to the lowest level resulting in a deliverable (e.g., draft document, complaint, interrogatories etc.));
  3. Determine the interrelationship and dependency for all the tasks and their deadlines. (which tasks could be performed concurrently, and which are dependent on completion of earlier tasks and thus sequential);
  4. What is needed in terms of information and resources (involving the team early in planning process to determine what is needed and to get team buy-in, assigning tasks and scheduling them based on team members capabilities);
  5. Eyeball what effort, expertise, and likely schedule the project will take. (using past experiences and lessons learned on earlier matters, involve your team in planning the timeline necessary for the project); and
  6. Periodically review and update the schedule and tasks due to changes in the circumstances. (watch for changes in scope that may impact the timeline and budget adversely).

At LegalBizDev, we would add a few additional factors; to wit:

  • A greater emphasis on estimating a budget based on the likely costs for each task;
  • More thorough analysis of the potential risks that could impact the project, and how they will be dealt with;
  • Greater communication and consultation with the client at all stages of the project from beginning to end; and
  • When dealing with fixed fees, greater emphasis on quality control.

According to Otto "(E)verybody’s talking about project management for lawyers these days. And I think it’s about damn time!” Amen, Otto.

Legal project management really is for real.