Legal Marketing Blog

Getting the legal work completed. Getting those billable hours in. Important, of course. However, because you are busy is no excuse for not getting out there face-to-face with clients and referrals sources to ensure that work continues to flow into the law firm.

Not enough time is often cited as the reason lawyers don’t do more marketing and business development. But that may not be the whole story. There is a pretty good article that stresses the need for lawyers to have more face time to develop business on Dolan Media Company’s web site.

The article points out several reasons that may be at the root of the problem. Many lawyers are introverted, not comfortable networking and although very disciplined when it comes to a client’s matter, not so much when it comes to marketing in order to maintain their business.

Here’s eight keys to business development success gleaned from the article, and which I have also preached about many times:

1. Get out from behind your desk, and raise your profile by being more visible;
2. Cultivate desirable relationships;
3. Attend events where your clients and potential clients are likely to be;
4. Schedule lunch or breakfast dates;
5. Ask clients what keeps them up at night, then listen to them;
6. Visit your key clients (off the clock) to learn more about their business;
7. Ask for feedback, specifically ask what the firm could do better; and
8. Look for opportunities to write and speak to your intended audience.

Excuses won’t bring in more business.

The good news is that some firms are doing client feedback programs; the bad news is that they aren’t really getting the feedback they need. That is, the feedback questions are superficial, and don’t really offer the kinds of return that will actually benefit the firm in retaining the client over the long haul.

An article posted on the BrandThinking blog by Sue Allison contends that a firm’s feedback program may not actually “lead to satisfied clients.”

The Problem. Although 64% of the marketers in AmLaw 200 firms would like to conduct meaningful feedback programs in 2010, according to Allison “they’re having trouble selling the concept to attorneys and firm leaders who already believe they are doing client feedback.” (emphasis mine) But are they?

What a Feedback Program Is Not:

• Conducting just 12 client interviews (one per month) over a year;
• Fluid in terms of what questions are asked vs. structured questions to get at any in-depth problems with the relationship; and
• Thinking that by merely keeping in touch with a client, that will assure that the lawyer will “know if there were a problem.”

What is Needed:

• A “Continuous Client Value Program” that assures that “your clients feel your firm is really listening and acting to solidify the relationship,” and
• Conducted by an in-house staff person or lawyer not involved with a client’s matters, or an outside third party in order to increase the likelihood of getting candid feedback.

Law firm’s need to ensure that their client feedback program is one that really works, and not come across to clients as lame or insincere.

Cold calling as a marketing tool is not one of my favorite techniques. Not to be wishy-washy, let me put this way, I am dead set against it when it comes to personal services marketing, especially for lawyers. It also raises serious ethical issues with most bar associations that have the prohibition patterned after the ABA Model Rule 7.3 (Direct Contact With Prospective Clients). Direct mail is only slightly more effective in my mind, although it certainly has its proponents.

Then comes emails. As long time readers know, I hate emails because I get too many of them – unsolicitated ones and spam being the most egregious among them. But, I also love emails when then serve the purpose of quick, efficient and effective communications in getting things done. But, I discourage clients from using emails as a marketing tool, especially when directed toward people they do not know.

Then along comes Carolyn Elefant. The well-known (okay, actually a bona fide guru) author of MyShingle blog and Nolo’s Legal Marketing Blawg has a post on the latter site talking about “The Three Es of Cold E-mails” that is worth reading.  She is not totally against their use, if they aren’t “canned”, but customized and tie into a legitimate connection with the recipient.

Her 3 “E’s” include:

• Ethics. To avoid “running afoul” of the rules, she suggests limiting such emails to other lawyers and service providers;
• Effectiveness. Provide information about you, the reason for email, a connection to recipient, and your website/blog URL;
• Etiguette. Try to avoid the extra annoyance caused by typos, and the appearance that you “haven't taken twenty seconds to learn about the recipient.”

So, should cold e-mails be part of your business development arsenal? Carolyn apparently thinks they could have their place.

By this I don’t mean to put down technology and social media as ways to develop business, because we know they can and are effective at some level. But, it is still important to not forget those old fashion means of developing business that include face to face meetings, and my point of the day – handwritten “Thank You” notes.

Remember those times your mother drove you nuts with “have you thanked Aunt Betsy for that knitted sweater yet?” Maybe that is the cause for many people to have an aversion to thanking people for…..whatever. Or, they may thank them, but in the quickest and least painful manner possible. Unfortunately, they are passing up one of the most effective means of producing a real, favorable impact on their business.

I ran across an article on ProfitAdvisors.com on “How to Build Your Business with Thank You Notes” by accountant Michael Gray dated January 1999 (I luv that old stuff). His main points in my view:

“Customers want to feel important and appreciated. A key to build customer loyalty is to build a relationship with customers/clients/patients where they feel important and appreciated!

“In any business, but especially a business where there is contact with a customer and a representative of the company either in person or on the telephone, the best way I know to cement that relationship is through personal notes – thank you notes!”

He goes on to add that the envelope should be hand-addressed, and you should use a real postage stamp (vs. firm’s postage meter); and finally, if your handwriting is just horrible, at least sign the typed note in blue ink. All good points.

Gray learned all that at his mother’s knee, I’ll bet. So, pay attention to that maternal lesson when you thank clients for their business, or a referral source for sending same, or for the myriad of kindnesses extended by others.

Remember, do it the old fashion way, just like your mother taught you.

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to speak to a trial lawyers’ bar association. Not having a lot of experience on the plaintiffs’ side of marketing, I decided the best approach would be to get some insight into what the organization was hoping to learn about marketing. Accordingly, I asked my contact if I could speak to several of the groups' members to get a better idea of what their expectations were, and what specifically they would like me to address during my speech. I did and got some very good ideas prior to my appearance. Actually, that is a good approach to any workshop or seminar presentation.

John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing has a post he calls "A Workshop Secret Weapon" in which he points out the advantages of this strategy. They include:

• your presentation is more likely to be well received,
• you will gain "some great insight in what you need to present," and
• you will already have developed a connection with some of your audience, and can use part of the earlier conversations in your presentation.

So, prior to your next speaking engagement, take the opportunity to use this not so secret tactic to increase the impact of your presentation.

In good times and in bad, getting noticed is obviously a critical factor in developing business. But especially in these economic times, it is even more crucial to be doing the kinds of things that allows your firm to stand out from the crowd.

In a post entitled "Getting Noticed" my friend Thom Singer over at Some Assembly Required points out one simple way to do that. As he says "I mean so simple it is nutty." The key according to Thom is to "Help other people."

Whether it is clients, referral sources or prospects from whom you are trying to attract work, the best way is to give before you get. You do that by finding out what is important in the other person's life, and then try to help them reach their goals in any way you can. I agree that you can't help everyone; but, if you become known as a person who is a magnet for success of others, more people will want to get closer to you and help you in turn.

Thom reminds us of the famous Zig Ziglar quote: "you will get everything in life that you want if you just help enough other people get what they want."

So, do unto others to help yourself and your firm.

When I was in-house as the first marketing person in the mid-80’s, I had no staff to speak of – as in none, except for a great secretary I shared with a lawyer. You can imagine how much of her time I got. I quickly learned to utilize any staff person - librarian, copy room people, paralegals, etc. I could con…………err sweet talk into helping me on various projects.

The important lesson I learned is that the staff of law firms are bright and talented. And they can be extremely helpful, if they are given the respect they deserve. In this month’s issue of the ABA’s Law Practice Today there is an article about managing relationships with your staff by Sheila Blackford, who is the practice management advisor for the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund.

Her “staff relationship checklist” includes:

• Is your firm’s mission shared with and instilled in your staff?
• Does your staff look at their position as a job or a career?
• Do you support the staff’s professional growth?
• Is your staff’s security also built into your long-term plans?
• Do you know the staff’s strengths and weaknesses, and utilize them most effectively?

Respecting, committing to and building on staff relationships can turn an untapped resource into a real law firm asset. Those who look at working at the firm as a career vs. a job, can become roving marketing ambassadors for the firm.

A lot of mistakes made by lawyers when it comes to marketing and business development are pretty simple, and simple to overcome. They just must be recognized and dealt with. A reader sent along an email, which led me to an article by Kenneth Hardison of the Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing and Managing Association (PILMMA) that was short, to the point and worth sharing.

His 7 mistakes include:

1. Failure to differentiate (your ads from all the rest),
2. Failure to differentiate (your firm from others);
3. Lack of consistency (in the look, feel and message in your marketing materials);
4. No marketing plan (tied to specific, identified strategies and a budget);
5. Not tracking marketing results (i.e., determining where your clients are coming from and why, and doing more of that);
6. Procrastination (due to a fear of failure or whatever. I agree with Hardison’s suggestion that getting a partner, business colleague, or a coach will help overcome this); and
7. Lack of buy-in by everyone (lawyers and staff) to the marketing strategy.

These mistakes are pretty basic, but can be killers that can undermine any firm’s marketing and business development efforts.

According to a feature article in this month's InsideCounsel one consultant who helps clients structure alternative fee arrangements "estimates that only about 2% of total legal billings currently are being done on alternative basis - but he contends it’s an increasing trend." That certainly isn’t a surprise.

He goes on to say "I’d expect that almost 20% of all billings would be on alternative billing in eight to 10 years…" According to the article, 35% of respondents to Fulbright & Jaworski's Litigation Trends survey said that the down economy has pushed them "to increase their use of alternative fees.”

Based on that, I guess I'm just surprised to hear that it's going to take close to a decade for alternative fees to get up to 20% of billings. I'm just not sure I buy that. I believe that there will be quite a bit more than that by then.

InsideCounsel reports we'll hear from law firms in Part II of the article next month. If you don't want to wait that long, and want a more in-depth viewpoint from law firms, get a copy of my colleague Jim Hassett’s survey report of his interviews with more than 1/3 of the AmLaw 100 law firm leaders. It was released recently, and only costs $395 (no, I don’t get a penny of that). Find out more about it on Jim’s Legal Business Development blog .

So, if it does take awhile for alternative fees to hit main street, it still gives small and medium-sized firms plenty of time to make inroads into the world of larger companies by offering alternative fees now, especially in the current economy.

Niche practices can be marketed more effectively and cheaper than a general practice in my opinion. Law firms that promote their niche practices will easily standout from the crowd; and can charge more for the practice, if they do.

Two of my posts on niche marketing that come to mind from a few years back include "Narrow Your Niche for More Effective Marketing" and "Do You Have a Niche and What Are You Doing about It?" Take a look, because there is a hot new niche that just came on the market. And there ain’t going to be a recall any time soon.

Thanks to the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Citizens United v. FEC (No. 08-205), January 21, 2010. I’m sure many firms will be adding a niche practice representing plaintiffs or defending corporations/unions over their respective political contributions.Some shareholders and/or union members may be vehemently oppose to the particular political choices made by the corporation or union.  Could get to be messy out there, and those with a early lead in marketing such a niche might just win big.It could be a sub-niche to existing Shareholders’ Rights Practices, or stand-alones called something like “Shareholders’ Political Rights Practice” and “Union Workers’ Political Rights Practice.”

The point is that you should jump right in if you think there is anything to this, and you too believe in the value of niche practices. Get out there ahead of the competition, and don’t forget to grab that domain name for your area while you're at it.