Legal Marketing Blog

It should be no secret that web site content continues to be king for purposes of search engines. Keywords, title tags, etc. are just additional jewels on the crown. So, keeping your web site fresh in terms of new content, fresh tags and keywords is important.

Further, according to SEO expert Tom O’Leary at The Attorney Marketing Blog in a post today, smaller firms have an advantage over BigLaw when it comes to search engines. It isn’t that they couldn’t overpower the smaller firms with their extra people power, it’s just that they don’t.

According to Tom, solo’s and small firms dominate search engine results in various markets and categories. He says it has something to do with BigLaw’s “complex, database-driven web sites,” which are not search engine friendly, managed by outside vendors without SEO experts, and burdened by fear of change due to their “huge investment” in their current site. And, too few large firms have blogs (although individual lawyers in some of these firms have very good ones), which search engines do like.

Tom’s advice to smaller firms: “keep adding content and posting to your blog.” This will give you a competitive advantage when it comes to Internet marketing. 

Unfortunately, too many lawyers don't enjoy either. What a shame!

I remember in David Maister's book True Professionalism where he recounts that 75% to 80% of lawyers he has surveyed merely tolerated or disliked the work they did in the past year or so. And 65% to 70% had similar reactions when asked about the client 's they had done the work for. Truly sad!

Again, I have to give credit to Larry Smith and Richard Levick of Levick Strategic Communications and their 365 Marketing Meditations: Daily Lessons for Marketing and Communications Professionals for the timing of this post. Their meditation for today states "don't work with people you don't like."

The solution: spend your marketing and business development efforts and resources seeking the legal work and clients you do enjoy. Don't waste your marketing time or dollars on the rest.

Entertaining clients and referral sources will not, by itself, result in new client work or a new matter. However, taking a client out to a ballgame or to the opera can enhance a relationship and help build a friendship. It can also help maintain long-term clients and referrals.

As I was searching for a blog idea, I ran across yesterday's "meditation" by Richard S. Levick and Larry Smith of Levick Strategic Communications from their little handbook entitled 365 Marketing Meditations: Daily Lessons For Marketing & Communications Professionals. It reads:

"Do not count on entertaining clients as a way to get their business. That is only a first step. Some executives go out of their way not to hire people who take them to ballgames."

I have no personal knowledge that executives would resent being entertained, but I can see that it is possible, without a pre-existing relationship of some sort, that such an invitation may be taken the wrong way. And I'm not sure that entertaining is necessarily the "first" step, when in fact it could be the 10th; but, the overall message is valid.

We need to keep in mind that we are in the relationship building business, and that entertaining is just one tool in developing business from clients and referral sources. But standing alone, it isn't enough.

Every lawyer should have a good referral system in place, since at least 71% of new work comes from referrals, as mentioned in an earlier post. As that post noted, “giving vs. getting” is a very important element of any system. And every lawyer should check to insure his/her outgoing referral – whether to another lawyer, accountant, banker, etc. – was satisfactory to those being referred.

Bob Weiss has an item in the current issue of ABA’s Law Practice Today that points out the importance of checking on referrals you make to assure that the person was well served. A bad referral is worse than no referral. Bob suggests:

“Calling the person you referred soon after making the referral. Make sure the call was taken, or that the email sent or voice mail left was responded to timely. Eventually, find out how well the matter was handled, if the results attained were satisfactory and if the fees charged were fair.”

Then, provide feedback to the professional involved. He also recommends, when making a referral, to provide “three names,” so the client can make up their own mind after talking with each. Of course, let each referral contact know that you gave their name to a client. 

My friend Stacy West Clark has 25 suggestions for adding value to your relationship with “current clients, referral sources and potential clients,” which are for the most part “free.” And I agree that by following her suggestions, “you will get business” as well.

Stacy’s article appeared in both The Legal Intelligencer and on Law.com’s Small Firm Business. Here are a few of her suggestions that I especially like, and have discussed at one time or another myself:

• Visit your clients off the clock;
• Ask for client feedback;
• Buy your clients products and services, where possible;
• Send them customers or clients;
• Support your client’s charity(ies) of choice;
• Offer free CLE programs for their legal department;
• Attend board meetings free;
• Nominate your client for an award;
• Give the client’s kids tickets to events, theme parks, and such;
• Entertain clients;
• Ask client to join a panel with you; and one of my favorites
• Befriend your clients. 

Whatever moves you, do something that will add value to your client relationships.

Some may think that I have schizophrenic tendencies for saying "Surprise Your Clients!" in one recent post and "Clients Abhor Surprises” in an earlier one. Well, let me make this perfectly clear. That doesn't prove a thing. Although it does, it doesn't. Oops.

In a recent article by Amy Miller in The AmLaw Daily a number of In-house counsel, who attended E. I. du Pont de Nemour's recent legal network meeting, made it clear that it is "okay to spoil the ending" and "to be boring." In other words, the message from “In-House Lawyers to Outside Counsel: No Surprises, Please.” 

They pointed out that predictability, "maybe even more than alternative-billing arrangements," is what they want. Additionally, they:

• Don't want their lawyers to be strangers,
• "Be budget friendly," and
• Look for early resolutions to their cases.

Nonetheless, I would venture to say that in-house counsel would not mind pleasant surprises, such as outside lawyers that beat their own deadlines, understood their business, seek feedback and let clients determine the value of a matter. Those are just some of the good surprises that were mentioned in my post "Surprise Your Clients!" In fact, if outside lawyers were to make those "surprises" routine, then they wouldn't really be surprises and my schizophrenia would disappear. That’s a good.

The important point is to avoid bad surprises and emphasize the good ones in your client relationships.

A client reminded me this past week, as we’re about to begin another coaching group, that I should emphasize to the lawyers that business development is not a single event but rather an ongoing process. As he put it, the lawyers need to realize that the coaching program is not about hitting home runs, but rather getting singles.

Sara Holtz over at Women Rainmakers bLAWg also reports on some good advice she received from a client along the same vein. She referred to it as “baby steps,” and relates how she started walking to relieve stress, then running and finally working herself up to a half-marathon not having that goal in mind when she started. Goals are a good thing, but a dose of realism when starting out is even better.

I agree with Holtz that “this business development stuff is like the running” or like playing baseball. Both analogies work when it comes to developing legal business. Lawyers should not expect that by starting to jog that they will make the Olympic team in the same year, or go from the minors to the major leagues and win MVP in the next All Star game.

The process of developing business takes a lot of work over time. And we both agree that you start "small with low hanging fruit" such as with existing clients, friends and referral sources. Expectations need to be realistic, and lawyers need to be in it for the long haul.

It’s nice when clients understand that.

Many years ago when I moved to Columbus, Ohio, I needed a brake job on my car. I went to the dealer, and also a small shop I heard about. The mechanic’s quote was actually higher than the dealer, but I decided to use him anyway since his reasoning was sound. However, when I went to pick up my car, the cost of the repairs was nearly 25% cheaper than he had quoted because the brake shoes were less than he thought.

Okay, I’m never going back to that guy, right? Huh! I probably sent him 15 customers in the next several years (he should have paid me a commission), and I never asked again for an estimate of repairs in advance.

What brought this story to mind is an article in Trey Ryder’s recent newsletter suggesting that if lawyers instilled similar loyalty in their clients, they “would not even think about hiring another lawyer.” His story is also about his car and the value his dealer added to their relationship. Trey’s ideas for lawyers involve adding value to the client’s experience by “how fast you respond to clients, how accessible you are, the services you offer, and your staffing and client resources.”

Getting back to my mechanic story, consider this idea. Knock 10% to 15% off an invoice and let the client know you did so because the matter took longer than you thought it would or should? The client’s trust in you – and loyalty – might just grow exponentially. Do you think? 

In several posts over the last couple of months (see Continue Reading below for four of them), I have mentioned that now is the perfect time for smaller firms to approach in-house counsel at larger corporations for business. Some of those reasons include:

• Rates are more reasonable;
• In-house lawyers are more cost conscious;
• More flexibility when it comes to alternative fees;
• Greater value from partners vs. inexperienced associates in larger firms;
• Fewer conflicts of interest problems; and
• Some BigLaw partners are moving to smaller firms.

Okay, you may say, so what are the do's and don'ts in pitching corporate counsel? Here are a few things to keep in mind in approaching potential clients, according to Frank M. D'Amore, the founder of Attorney Career Catalysts, in an article that appears on Law.com's Small Firm Business. You should:

1. Differentiate yourself in a “significant way."
2. Do not oversell your lawyers' capabilities (in-house counsel can tell a lot by what is said and not said in a lawyer's bio);
3. Do not oversell your firm's capabilities (In-house counsel are not fooled by inflated claims about particular expertise on a law firm's web site);
4. Do ask the prospect, what specifically they are looking for in order that your proposal will be specific (and avoid seeking work when it is beyond the scope of your firm's core capabilities. The reason is pretty simple really. When given another opportunity to pitch the company for work where your firm is strong, your prior honesty will greatly enhance your chances of winning that work); and
5. Finally, don't overpower the potential client by sending too many lawyers, or sending the wrong lawyers; e.g., a lawyer for diversity purposes when they will have no role to play in the matter or a senior corporate lawyer for the “grey hair” affect for a litigation matter.

D'Amore points out that in-house lawyers are pretty savvy and have been pitched by many law firms. So, be specific and truthful as to the true capabilities and value your firm brings to the table.

In my last post, I talked about some simple, smart ideas from Reid Trautz that were pretty easy to implement. One of them involved lawyers “experiencing” what clients experience upon entering the firm’s office.

Building on that idea, I came across an interview of Gerry Riskin of Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices by Arnie Herz of Legal Sanity. Although there are consultants out there who openly refer to themselves as experts or gurus (no names of course), Gerry is not one of them, because he doesn’t have to, and because he is too classy. But, he is one. And I’ve been a fan of his for years.

In his exchange with Arnie, Gerry relates a simple tale of how a powerful, successful person he met on an airplane told him in response to a question that his “biggest complaint about a law firm” was his “reception area experience.” He was pretty much ignored by everyone, including partners, who traversed the area as he sat there. It was as if he didn't exist. I can sorta empathize with that person, except for the billionaire part.

Gerry points out that obviously this is not intentional behavior, but rather "blind spots, based on familiarity." He then goes on to say that what is needed is a fresh set of eyes, and "the best source of fresh eyes is your clients." And the way to get them is to ask your clients what they like and don't like about their experience with your firm, and what should be done differently.

Good client experiences = successful business development.

Reid Trautz, one of the blogosphere’s pioneers at Reid My Blog, has a helpful piece in the current issue of the ABA’s GPSOLO Magazine where he shares a “few management ideas that, through a small investment of time, can have the biggest impact on clients, office productivity, firm profitability, and your quality of life.” Many of them would apply no matter what size your firm.

His main point is that with all the pressures on lawyers today – billing, business development, family demands/desires, managing your practice, and personal self-time – some simple management ideas could keep the best of us from burning out.

Specifically, Trautz provides his ideas in five areas: Client Service, Financial Management, Marketing, Technology, and Office Systems and Processes. Although one can argue (as I often have) that everything a lawyer or firm does is related to marketing in one way or another, I will confine this post to his suggestions in the areas of client service and marketing specifically.

Client Service

• Enter your office and open your eyes to what clients see and how they “experience” it, starting with the look and feel, to the likely personal interactions they’ll encounter; then, draw up a “list of improvements;” (better yet, ask them in person);
• Prepare a client satisfaction survey (or use one of those he suggests) and put it online (better yet, ask them in person); and
• Review and revise your engagement letter to meet ethical standards (he suggestions many do not), and eliminate legal jargon (basically make it a positive, friendly document); and

Marketing

• Require that everyone in your office understand their role in marketing, and to buy-in to contributing in some way (and the firm should provide the necessary training where needed);
• Keep the marketing plan simple and short, but with meaningful, measurable action items that will develop the clients you want, in the practice areas you enjoy. Further, aim to gain more of the same (start with your current financial records to see where the said desirable work is currently coming from);
• Turn a seminar speech into an article for publication, and then send it to clients and to those you met at the seminar (what Trautz calls “four-for-one” marketing); and
• Improve your web site with testimonials (where ethical rules permit), and add a video to your site.

Not all marketing and business development ideas need to be difficult or stressful. Sometimes simple is smarter.

Emotion has everything to do with everything we do in life. Yet apparently, the B2B marketplace according to a Gallup Poll doesn’t reflect the importance of an emotional connection when it comes to business-to-business dealings. I guess I’m surprised by that, and would think that such is not the case when it comes to the legal industry. Since we are in the personal services business and oftentimes legal issues can get very emotional, it is hard to imagine that emotion doesn’t play an important role in the B2B legal world.

I’m not sure why any business, whether B2B or B2C wouldn’t think that emotion is an important element in any relationship. Yet, according to that Gallup poll, reported by Ed O’Boyle in the Gallup Management Journal, 65% of B2B customers are either not emotionally engaged or actively disengaged, while only 45% are emotionally attached or fully engaged. If those numbers are even closely mirrored in the legal community, then there are a lot of business clients that could be persuaded to “engage” another law firm.

Thanks to Mike O’Horo at SalesResults for his discussion of this in his May 19 issue of Results Mail. It got me thinking about a 2005 post of mine where I talked about the "emotion factor" and how any client relationship should contain large doses of making the client feel good about what you and your firm did for them. You might find it worth another (or initial) read.

In this economy, a little love will go a long way in retaining key clients.

Not only is client feedback important, but in past posts I have sung the praises for in-house client feedback programs that demonstrate to clients the firm's management is sincere in determining whether the client is satisfied with the law firm's services.

An article in last month's Strategies, the journal of the Legal Marketing Association by Joyce Smiley wrote about providing real value to clients with satisfaction surveys. Her article covered two points that I agree with. First, the firm should conduct client feedback surveys, and secondly, that law firms need to develop a “complete program” after a few initial successes.

Smiley mentions three surveys, two by The American Lawyer. One late last year where only "2% of the responding firms made the effort in 2008 to meet with their top 20 billing clients. The other survey was of in-house counsel members of the networking site Legal OnRamp who "reported that their outside firms don't even bother with client satisfaction surveys." The third survey was of LMA’s members that showed that in 2008 client feedback was “respondents’ lowest (budget) priority.”

Okay, so the message is clear. Client satisfaction checking wasn’t a big deal in 2008. And based on this year’s marketing budgets, you can be certain that they ain’t lookin a whole lot better for 2009.

The bright side is that a few firms are taking a longer term view by actually establishing in-house feedback programs, as I reported in an Of Counsel article last October. One firm I mentioned, Duane Morris (who unfortunately let their “client interviewer” go with a round of staff layoffs just before the article went to press), was also highlighted by Smiley. It’s good to hear that DM’s program is still ongoing.

Whether the firm has an in-house program or uses outside consultants for their client satisfaction surveys, they need to be careful that the feedback programs are not perceived by clients as just another marketing fad. Smiley reports in her article on how one in-house counsel, who was asked to be part of a client panel at a law firm, felt that the discussion was really about marketing, rather than client satisfaction. Moreover, this in-house counsel stated “we’re going to do (performance reviews) internally,” since the law firms weren’t serious about doing them themselves.

• Lesson One: Conduct client satisfaction surveys (whether using an in-house program or an outside 3rd party) or you can be certain that the client will be riding that horse; and
• Lesson Two: Be sincere (make sure your efforts come across as truly seeking feedback and relationship building), and the marketing will take care of itself.

If there is one thing I have preached over the years is to NEVER surprise your clients. In conducting client interviews over the years, I have consistently heard from law firm clients that they HATE surprises. So, what’s up with the title to this post? Have I gone mad? I’ll leave that to others.

By way of explanation, I ran across an interview by Dan Schawbel at Personal Branding Blog with Andy Nulman, author of a book about profiting from the power of surprise when it comes to developing your brand. What I gather that Nulman is talking about is standing out from the crowd, being distinctive…yes even shocking to your target audience.

It got me thinking about what kinds of surprises by law firms would actually “shock”clients in a good way. What immediately came to mind includes:

• Not just meeting deadlines, producing your work product early;
• Returning calls promptly, like almost immediately;
• Discounting a bill without being asked;
• Raising billing rates only after discussing it with the client;
• Understanding – really understanding – their business;
• Letting clients determine the value of a project; and
• Seeking feedback, and then acting on what you hear.

Maybe surprises are not always a bad thing. And undoubtedly some firms actually get it and have surprised their clients in some of these ways.

So, yes, surprise your clients… but pleasantly in ways that matter.

A litigator with 57 years of experience was recently quoted in an article on Law.com’s Small Firm Business on the art of attracting clients.

One might think that someone who started practicing law in 1952 might be a bit long in the tooth when it comes to developing business in this day and age. The world is different today after all. Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t.

Frank Love, Jr., formerly with Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy (now part of Bryan Cave), gives some very sound advice that is just as valid today as it was in the “days of old.” Some of his sagacity: (with my usual comments in parenthesis)

• “When the economy is bad, litigation explodes. And when the economy is good, litigation goes down and corporate goes up;”
• What hasn’t changed in this world is “the need to attract clients;”
• And you “have to do something…,” Love says. “If people don’t know you, they’re not going to hire you, and if lawyers don’t know you (including in your own firm, I might add), they are not going to refer business to you;”
• Ask clients for work (I have clients you have told me they are afraid to ask). If you don’t, “they won’t think of it,” according to Love.
• “Happy clients are a good source of business” (so find out if they are, and correct what makes them unhappy); and
• Take clients “out now and then,” and don’t eat “lunch on your desk.”

And maybe his sagest advice of all involves the use of the telephone:

"One of the big problems I have with all this electronic communication. Instead of picking up the phone and talking to the client, you send e-mail. There are two things wrong with that. One, it creates a record of whatever you said that is difficult to get rid of. And two, it's not personal. You don't get a personal response. You get another e-mail in response. And oftentimes they're misconstrued."

Now there is some old fashion advice worth paying attention to. According to French author Andre Maurois (July 26, 1885 – October 9, 1967) “Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy person has no time to form.”

So, follow Love's and Maurois' sage advice. Get busy and crank up that marketing.

In yesterday’s online issue of AmericanLawyer.com, there was more talk about corporations, who have traditionally utilized BigLaw, switching to smaller law firms. Companies like Nouveau Elevator Industries, SAIC, Cisco Systems, HCA, and 3M Company are among those cited in the article “The Big Squeeze” (free registration required) as switching at least some of their business to smaller firms. Others are being told “how many associates can be on a case, how many depositions they can take, and to settle cases sooner,” according to the article.

Some of the firms adversely impacted apparently include Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker (750-plus lawyers), Cooley Godward Kronish (600-plus), Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson (675), Latham & Watkins (2300-plus) and Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett (860-plus).

Some of the firms gaining work include: Munger Tolles & Olson (192 lawyers), Morrison Cohen (95 lawyers), Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto (150 lawyers), O’Connor, O’Connor, Hintz & Deveney (18 lawyers), and Frenkel Lambert Weiss Weisman & Gordon (28 lawyers).

Nouveau in explaining their reasoning for parting ways with Wilson Elser said: : “If you can conserve capital in any way, you do,” says Timothy McEnaney, Nouveau’s general counsel. “And if the quality of service is as good or better – and in this case it’s better (ouch!) – then it’s foolish not to make the change.”

The opportune time is now to let BigCorp know that you have quality talent and are cheaper to boot. So, don’t wait until your BigLaw competitors become SmallLaw competitors (what with the shedding of associates, staff and slashing those first year salaries and all), you never know when those large firms might just be your size again.

In the meantime, crank up those business development efforts aimed at BigCorp.

Over the past several weeks, I have been emphasizing during my client coaching calls how easy it is to set up Google Alerts for their business development targets (i.e., clients, referral sources and prospects). Then when they pick up tidbits of information about these targets, they can use it as an opportunity to make contact (borrowing from the real estate industry, the most important factor in personal services marketing is: contact, contact, contact) to build on an existing or desired relationship. Or use the Alerts to learn more about your competitors.

It should take you about 10 seconds to set up an Alert. You enter the name (put multiple words in quotes “ABC Corporation” or “Jane Doe”), leave “comprehensive” as is, select how often, and insert your email address. That’s it. You’re done.

As for Google Profiles, I ran across a post by John Jantsch today pointing to the value of creating your own Google Profile. It seems that if someone were to do a Google search for you, by having your own profile, you would “own as much of the real estate that pops up under you(r) name on page one” of the search results.

That is a good reason to create your profile today. I’m in the process of doing just that myself. And don’t forget to set up your Alerts also.

Happy googling.

It has been a couple of years since I looked at 365 Marketing Meditations: Daily Lessons for Marketing & Communications Professionals. This handbook of snippets produced by Richard Levick and Larry Smith of Levick Strategic Communications, is a goldmine of useful, pithy sayings useful to the legal marketing community.

I picked it up today for an idea for a post (okay, okay, I’m having writer’s block). Today’s meditation is:

“Observe a small need and fill it. If a client complains mildly about how his phone wire is always getting tangled up, send him a phone line detangler! He’ll think of you every time he makes a call.”

Irrespective of the fact that the world is mostly wireless these days, and the fact that I don’t have a clue what a “detangler” is, the advice is still valuable. 

So, what does/do your top client(s) need? You don’t know? Hmmm.

Do your competitors’ know? Could they find out? Hmmm.

Visit and talk with (i.e., listen to) your clients. Today, April 23^rd is a great day to start.

We’ve talked about (here and here) several reasons why small and mid-sized regional law firms are picking up corporate work that has traditionally been done by larger law firms. The reasons include:

• Lower hourly rates,
• Alternative fees,
• Tighter in-house budgets,
• BigLaw partners departing for smaller firms to retain clients,
• Unsustainable associate salaries in large firms,

Now comes another reason I hadn’t thought about. According to a post by Rees Morrison, whose blog focuses on in-house legal departments, “it will cost less per hour for some companies to use outside lawyers than inside lawyers.” Again, more opportunities for smaller, more economical law firms to pick up work usually left to larger law firms.

The reasons, according to Morrison, include:

1. Legal departments are shedding junior lawyers, just like large law firms, in favor of senior, more expensive lawyers;
2. Switching to “smaller or less-expensive firms is gaining traction” as billing rates “are more modest”; and
3. Routine discounts, fixed fees and other “techniques further reduce the effective billing rates.”

So, Morrison’s point is that “inside lawyer costs will sometimes match or exceed rates of outside lawyers. Thus, more opportunities would seem obvious for such firms that let in-house counsel know about their capabilities and talent – oh yeah, and their more reasonable fees also. 

Go for it.

Back in February I wrote the post Your Personal Brand is Important For Your Success. In it, I said:

“Your personal brand impacts whether clients hire you or not. I believe that how you act in public, treat your staff, dress, contribute to the community, talk to strangers, act with your clients, etc. etc., is all part of selling yourself to clients, referral sources, and potential clients.”

But, is that enough from a business development perspective? Not if you are the owner of a business that you want to survive you. Your personal brand is very important, but so too is your business’ brand.

What got me thinking about both brands was a post by John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing, that puts the greater weight on the business brand vs. the personal brand. Of course, he is not talking about personal services, such as legal and accounting services. And he has a point about building a business brand when growing a consumer based business, particularly if it is a business the founders want to outlive them or if the owner wants to sell the business. Then, the personal brand is not as important.

However, in the case of legal services both the personal and business brand are very significant. Since most clients hire lawyers not law firms, the personal brand is incredibly important. But, so too is the firm’ s brand, especially if the firm plans to continue when the senior attorneys retire.

So, when it comes to developing legal business, don’t forget that both brands play an important role.

Last week a client asked me for ideas on how to begin his CLE presentation before a state bar group. We talked about humor as an ice breaker, if he was comfortable with that. After that call, I ran across a post by Tom Antion at Great Public Speaking blog about showing up early and listening to the other speakers who are presenting ahead of you. 

Antion was suggesting this tactic as a way to avoid embarrassment and being able to play off of other speakers at the conference. You don’t want to end up talking about a subject that has already been covered or at least touched upon, and you come across as being clueless as to what has already transpired at the event. That’s a bad.

And by referring to something that one or more speakers said before you shows that you’re connected to the conference, as well as to the other speakers. That’s a good.

By doing that, Antion gives us an example of how he was able to turn an earlier speaker’s comments into a humorous ice breaker for himself. Here’s what he wrote:

“Example: Superstar speaker Ted Nicholas said that advances in health care and longevity would soon allow people to live to be 120 years old. He said he was going to throw a $10,000.00 seminar on his 120th birthday. I came on and said that not only was I going to throw a $10,000.00 seminar on my 120th birthday, but that I was going to give the audience members a big discount if they gave me a deposit today. -- Everyone cracked up.”

According to general counsel Paul Newton of Bupa, the large U.K. based international health insurance company with 8 million customers in 190 countries, “some of these savings have got to find their way into clients’ pockets, not just partners’ pockets.” His comments appeared in an article on the U.K.’s legalweek.com entitled “Time To Focus On Clients’ Health.”

As he put it, he and others are obviously aware of the “cost cutting at law firms of late – and, unsurprisingly, in-house lawyers are asking where the savings will go.” Clearly, he won’t be happy if some of these savings are not shared with his company.

I don’t mean to be cynical, but I expect many large law firms are primarily cutting associates and staff to ensure that the partners make more money.  If in-house lawyers in the U.K. are looking to share in such cost savings, are their U.S. counterparts far behind. Newton informs us that he was able to reduce the rates of one of his regional law firms by 50%. “It is amazing what you can achieve when you start introducing a bit of competition,” he is quoted as saying.

I’m not proposing that BigLaw clients here at home hold their breath until they get their share of these savings, quite the contrary. This presents another solid reason why they should consider utilizing the legal services of small to mid-sized firms instead.

Just one more business development opportunity that presents itself to smaller, more cost efficient law firms.

Law departments in large corporations and some law firms are definitely re-evaluating their relationships, according to an article in the March issue of Inside Counsel magazine. The article <"Feeling the Pinch: How the economic crisis could change your law firm relationships” sets forth succinctly the realities of today’s world.

Even though in-house lawyers in large corporations generally come from large outside law firms, and thus are comfortable with (1) the relationship with BigLaw, and (2) the hourly billing structure. Yet, the downturn in the economy is forcing “change in [this] dysfunctional, even codependent relationship.”

The change won’t come easily, but change will happen because it is being forced upon in-house lawyers via their budgets, and some outside law firms have removed their heads from the sand; albeit too few. Therein, lie the opportunities for smaller firms.

Said opportunities exist because:

• Too few firms are re-evaluating their client relationships. Although a few (approximately 60 out of 500 or so) law firms that service Fortune 1000 companies have improved “relationships with their clients as a result of the downturn,” not enough are doing so;

• Mid-sized firms are well positioned to provide greater value. First, these smaller firms charge for an experienced partner what some large firms charge for a junior associates. Secondly, partners in large firms are departing because they realize they might lose clients due to their firm’s high costs, whereas they can “service the same clients at a more reasonable rate” at a smaller firm;

• Alternative fees are coming into vogue. Although some large firms are finally looking more seriously at such billing alternatives as fixed fees, too many are still reluctant to use them. Why? Because they are “notoriously bad” at managing themselves effectively, which is critical when not charging by the hour;

• High associates salaries are unsustainable. Except in the very top firms, “$160,000 or even $200,000” for new associates is unaffordable for the majority of law firms. Yet, many law firms continue to pay (if they are hiring at all) these high salaries. That is just not sustainable. Maybe that explains why thousands of associates (and staff) have been put out into the cold; and

• Not enough benchmarking. The article reports that some firms are embracing metrics, but again, too few are benchmarking “net effective hourly rate” or “their client satisfaction performance.” These are some of the “proven indicators” looked at in other industries. Many large firms are reluctant to talk with their clients during these difficult times because of fear of what they may hear, smaller firms have the advantage of being naturally closer to their clients, and better able to talk with them about the real world.

So, again I’ll ask the same question I asked in my last post: What are you waiting for? Crank up the marketing. Opportunities should be abundant.

It was reported in Law.com’s In-House Counsel back in 2007 that small firms were using flat fees to gain an edge in taking corporate clients from larger firms.

That is still the case. As reported in a post on the Desert Law Blog citing the now famous New York Times article quoting Evan Chesler of Cravath, Swaine & Moore denouncing the billable hour, small firms are still ahead of large firms in going to flat fees. In fact, the post points out how difficult it will be for large firms to make the shift to alternative fees in spite of Chesler’s comments.

Now there seems to a new twist. In light of the economic realities of 2009, smaller firms are not only taking clients from larger firms, but their taking BigLaw’s lawyers too. A recent article by Lynne Marek in The National Law Journal that appears on Law.com’s Small Firm Business entitled “Big-Firm Partners Go Small to Keep and Attract Frugal Clients” points out that over the past four months partners from “DLA Piper, K&L Gates, Katten Muchin Rosenman and Jenner & Block” have made the move to smaller firms. It is not clear whether this movement is due primarily to the frugality of clients, or that the lawyers themselves want to offer clients lower fees and fewer conflicts of interest.  Does it really matter which?

So, my real question to small and medium-sized firms is very simple: what are you waiting for? Crank up that marketing. Let Corporate America know of the talent you already have to handle their matters at lower, alternative fees.

Your web site, as with all your marketing materials should be consistent and reflect your brand, which hopefully echoes the value you bring to clients who hire the firm. Too few firms do a good job at that. Now, don’t get mad at me. Although I agree with the statement, it really comes from someone who knows and has received dozens of awards for web sites his company has designed over the years.

In an article on branding that appears in the current ABA Journal online, Burkey Belser of Greenfield/Belser Ltd. relates what is wrong with most web sites he has seen. He then shares the three attributes that are present on Baker Hostetler’s site, and should be reflected on any “effective site.” 

They are:

“1) Have a purpose. What do you want the reader to do?
“2) Create a dialogue with the reader.
“3) Position yourself as important, confident and a leader.”

Burkey points out that Baker’s site isn’t perfect, but it is “an exemplar of effective brand­ing.”   What does your web site say about your brand?

A client of mine during one of our weekly coaching sessions last week told me that she was not comfortable asking clients for work. At first, I was taken aback, since I’m thinking that it isn’t as tough as asking a prospect for work. I mean for goodness sake, it is a client that already knows and uses you. Then, I realized she was really saying that she was afraid of rejection or possibly just shy. We talked through the problem, and she became more comfortable with an approach (one idea: ask the client how they would ask their customer/client for work).

Interestingly, an article on this very topic by Allan Colman in Small Firm Business came into my inbox yesterday morning. He raises some good points in his article “Why Do Attorneys Have Trouble Asking Clients for Work?” Although he may be a touch harsh in attributing arrogance in some as the reason for not asking for work, he may be right. In any event, he cites three reasons lawyers don’t ask clients for work.  They are:

• Don’t know how;
• Think it is “beneath them to ask” (or their credentials should speak for themselves); and
• Afraid of rejection.

His suggestions to overcome the above are (in order):

1. Demystify the process, and educate the lawyers that it is an educational, relationship building process that requires time; however, not with interminable lunches/dinners without advances toward a close;
2. Qualifications alone, such as where the lawyer went to school, how long s/he has been practicing, etc., are not enough – although I would take issue with Colman that “past successes” don’t matter. (Clearly they‘re an indication of how successful the lawyer might be with a similar matter.)  Further, there does seem to be solid evidence that less qualified lawyers have landed business because they did ask, and marketed themselves more effectively; and
3. Treat rejection as a new beginning, not the end. It could lead to another opportunity with the same client by continuing to grow the relationship.

It is important to ask for work. Although we were taught in law school that failure isn’t an option, when it comes to marketing, failure is going to happen and that is okay. So, don’t be timid, ask for goodness sake.

Certainly you know of someone who is looking for a job during these tough economic times, whether in our legal community or not. It appears that social media sites may be able to help

I’m learning more each day about the benefits of social media, and don’t pretend to have a full grasp of all its implications. It certainly has tremendous potential from a networking angle, although as I mentioned in my last post I still believe face-to-face networking is more effective.

But, clearly, it has the advantage of reaching a larger audience faster. Thus, thanks to my friend Ford Harding for steering me to Charles Brown at web marketing coach and his post on “7 Great Social Media Resources For Job Seekers.”

Here are some of the resources he talks about:

• A Social Media Strategy For Job Seekers - Part One by Charles Brown.
  
• How I Got My Job Through Twitter by Ann Handley.
  
• "Unemployed (or Preparing to Be)? These Sites Could Be Your Best Friends" by Bill Hurlbut.
• "7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media," by Dan Schawbel.
  
• "Basic Facebook Strategy | 5 simple steps."
  
• "Twitter - The Second Most Important Social Network"
• Twitter Tips

If you are looking for a job or know someone who is, Brown’s post and the resources listed above are a must read.

According to a guest post on Duct Tape Marketing by Susan Wilson Solovic, CEO and co-founder of SBTV.com (as in Small Business TV), she prefers to network “the old fashion way.” Her post probes the issue whether anyone really knows what networking means anymore.

Before I turn off my LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter friends, let me quickly say that of course social media is, and will be even more so in the future, a great networking source. And Susan is an active participant on those networks as well.

Her point is that “[r]eal networking is about real people and real relationships. So she says, "let’s get back to the basics and best practices of networking.”  Here are her “three rules for effective networking – the old fashioned way”:

1. Be Committed. Don’t be looking for Instant gratification. It isn’t in the cards. Rather building a “solid foundation of relationships” is what it will take over time. Spend time listening, asking probing questions and finding things you have in common. Susan suggests an opening question like “Tell me about yourself;”
2. Develop a Relationship. Tons of business cards (or “follows” online) isn’t the answer. After an event, she suggests sending an email (ugh, handwritten note is much better) with a copy of an article or link to information about a topic you talked about.  Then, of course, more follow up after more follow up should continue; and
3. Give, give, give. Think of ways to help someone before asking for referrals or otherwise seeking something from them. By being willing to help the other person first, you will become known as the go-to person, and your network will become very strong in the process. So, ask the question “How can I help you?,” Susan suggests.

Okay, okay. I can hear a thousand of you lawyers out there (Susan is a lawyer, BTW) saying “wait a minute, you can do those things via social media too.” True, but can you do them as well? Or is social media the best way to network? IMHO, whenever or wherever possible, the best networking is still face-to-face interaction. It is not as easy for some for sure. But having a million online acquaintances, by itself, is not the answer.

So, don’t hide in front of your computer monitor. Get out there and network in person…after tweeting your heart away, of course.

Focusing on prospects in a down economy – or any economy for that matter – is far down my list of suggested marketing priorities. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d rank it a 15. Business development activities should be focused on existing clients and referral sources 99.9% of the time in my opinion. There are a few exceptions, but not many.

An aside: I had a partner one time, when I was in-house, who told me – no ordered me – to focus on bringing in new clients, and “stop wasting our time on existing clients we already have.” Putting a high priority on retaining existing clients, and trying to get more work or referrals from said clients was not on his radar screen. He was a bit long in the tooth, so his radar was WWII vintage, and we can pardon him for his lack of marketing sophistication.

Today, there is no such excuse. This past Wednesday, I had the privilege of listening to a free webinar hosted by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing blog fame. His panelists consisted of three highly respected experts in the field of referral marketing – Ivan Misner, Bill Cates and Bob Burg. I thought I pretty much understood the value of referrals. Now, the word “clueless” comes to mind. To say the least, I learned a few things (and I expect I can learn a whole lot more) listening to these guys.

Here are a few of their pointers:

• Key elements for a referral foundation: Visibility, Credibility, Profitability (includes reciprocal referrals);
• Being referable – i.e., potential referrers know you (and what you really do), like you and trust you;
• Common mistakes – not prepared, no system, no script, not collaborative and don’t ask for referrals;
• Focus on giving vs. getting – add value by sending referrals first;
• Develop trust – it is “the ultimate root and source of referrals;”
• Over 71% of new business comes from referrals;
• Women give two to three times more referrals than men;
• Sources of referrals: clients, personal networks and strategic partners; and
• “Referrals are King” in current economic climate – “More important than ever.”

That’s just part of what was covered in the webinar. You may want to buy one or all of their books to learn more. I intend to.

Thanks, John.

Doing a good job for your clients, keeping them informed, not overlawyering or overbilling, treating them with respect, and visiting your clients off the clock are just a few of the ways you can bring value to your client relationships.

Jim Durham, formerly CMO at Ropes & Gray in Boston, spoke to the Delaware Valley Law Firm Marketing Group recently and equated the phrase “Listen to Your Clients, Stupid” with the KISS truism.

Not only is listening to clients simple, it is vital IMHO.

Jim’s speech, as recounted by Julie Meyer on Law.com’s Small Firm Business, addressed successful marketing principles AKA listening to clients by providing value and seeking feedback.

Some of Jim’s suggestions included:

• Asking clients for input to your business plans,
• Communicating effectively,
• Seeking and responding to client feedback,
• Listening to clients (at least 50% of the time, I might add),
• Showing clients you care, and
• Offering alternative fee options.

Retaining clients basically boils down to whether they value your services, and that may equate to whether they had a good experience in dealing with your firm.

Jim also highlighted two signs where clients may not have had a good value experience:

1. When a firm is asked to respond to a client’s RFP, and
2. A client mentions the name of an attorney with another firm in response to the “Who is the best lawyer” you have ever worked with?

So again, how would your clients value your services?

We should all be well way beyond any objections, offense, or ego over whether lawyers are salespeople or not. As I have said before each of us has been a salesperson since birth – when we all started with our pitch to get our mother's attention. And, of course, we were still in training through our teenage years when we almost put our parents over the edge with the wrong pitches.

Chuck Newton at Rides The Third Wave talks about both -- the fact that lawyers sell all the time (to judges, juries, partners, clients, and through ads, brochures, emails, etc.); and often times make the wrong pitch as well.

He is referring to lawyers selling their practice or process, when they should be selling the result. I don't mean the "result" in terms of guaranteeing the outcome in violation of the ethics code. Rather, Chuck is referring to selling the benefits of your service.

Examples:

• Not selling bankruptcy, but financial freedom
• Not a divorce, but peace in life or personal freedom
• Not litigation, but to write a wrong or defend a false claim

I enjoyed his non-legal examples as well, which makes his post worth the read.

Since all lawyers are selling in some form or another, it is best to focus your selling on the goal or benefit that clients are looking for; rather than the process or procedures learned in law school.

There has been an interesting discussion over on the Law Marketing Listserv (subscription required) on the pros and cons of associate origination. The conversation has been very interesting. While there is an increase in associate marketing training and interest in some firms, others (especially MegaFirms) still don’t want their associates unchained from the almighty billable clock.

Such firms are not worried about the gap in the associates’ education, because they don’t ever expect them to bring in clients. Rather, after they have milked them for all the income they can produce, and burned them out (or tossed them out), they’ll just hire more newbies to replace them. It all came back to me this week after reading Grisham’s new book The Associate.  But I digress.

The main reason associates need to learn how to market (or really sell) themselves, is so they will survive the long term. No lawyer can afford to ignore the realities of the Business of Law 101. On a more personal level, associates can’t afford to retain the outmoded thinking that the work will always be there. Heck, I know some partners who, until recently, still thought that.

The reality is that lawyers, who rely on others in their firm to feed them work, will find that at some point in their career they will become too expensive for those other lawyers to do that. As their billable hour rate rises (along with their compensation), eventually they will become too expensive. Then, those internal referrals will go to younger and less expensive associates.

I am not saying that associates need to be concerned about this gap in their education on day one at the firm, since their first goal is to learn to become good, real world lawyers; but, within a year or so, they need to become aware of the need to develop business in the long term to help sustain the law firm and their practice.

Short of that, they better be buying a lot of lottery tickets.

Although I have preached about the need to increase not decrease marketing budgets on this blog over the past month or more, let’s be realistic – I say to myself – not every firm will follow that advice. Some have or will cut budgets no matter what. So, what’s a poor rainmaker suppose to do.

Try to do more with your shrinking budget dollars Michael Fleischner at The Marketing Blog tells us.

How, you may ask? A few things Fleischer suggests include:

• Leverage your client contacts by asking about their other needs, and “pain points”(especially in the current economy);
• Ask for referrals (it is amazing how few lawyers do this), and ask how you might help them with referrals;
• Communicate often and oftener (work at getting more face time or “touch points” with clients and referral sources), and
• Try “new marketing methods or ideas” (this one I might take issue with, and suggest that it’s better to stick with those business development things that have worked in the past IMHO, especially since money is tight).

These actions don’t have to cost a lot of money, and can be accomplished even if your marketing budget is limited.

This is a similar theme to my post last week about not abandoning your niche in a down economy. It is related in the sense that by turning down work that you do not want, don’t usually handled, and is outside your niche is the right move – at any time – but especially now.

Fellow blogger Bruce Allen over at Marketing Catalyst in a post a couple of days ago makes the point that your marketing can be more profitable in the long run by turning down work that is:

• Less profitable and desirable
• Distracts you from spending time with your best clients
• Causes you to procrastinate and not put forth your best effort
• Resulting in creating your own “negative referral network”

He sums it up best:

“Even when we feel the desire to panic our best action is to focus even harder on what we do best and turn down anything and everything outside that envelope. That is where profit lives and our success is ensured.”

Makes pretty good sense to me.

Every lawyer is different from every other lawyer, just as every case is different in some way. Too many clients or potential clients don’t know that. In fact, many think lawyers are pretty much all alike.

Thus, it is very important that when it comes to marketing that you set yourself apart from the crowd. To do this, you need to identify those characteristics, talents, processes, experiences, etc. that are uniquely you, and make sure that you let your existing clients, referral sources, and prospects know what those are, and why they are important.

Thanks to my friend Trey Ryder for his article in his recent newsletter that suggests several ideas that a lawyer can consider to identify their individual traits in three primary areas, to wit:

• Qualifications
• Experience and successes
• How they provide legal services

Take a look at Trey's "only" statements (i.e., I am the only lawyer/law firm that....etc.) and see if they help you uncover your distinctiveness, and then make sure your marketing efforts – i.e., written materials, elevator speech, biography, business development pitch, etc., reflect that uniqueness.

It is very tempting to take whatever legal business comes over the transom in a down economy. Heck, if the firm’s normal business is slow, some lawyers might be tempted to take whatever work comes along. Wrong!

It is the worst time to start diluting your brand. Better to crank up the marketing to get more visibility in the industry or practice area you are known for. Otherwise, it will take longer and cost more to restore your niche when things start turning around.

Sara Holtz agrees in her post “Don’t be tempted to abandon your niche” on her Women Rainmakers bLAWg. According to Sara, if you broaden your marketing efforts because times are tough, it will hurt you in several ways:

• Diffuses your message
• Spreads your resources thinner, and
• Just creates more competition in the broader marketplace.

It is smarter to stick with your niche strategy, rather than diluting it just because the economy is down.

If you believe, as I do, that business development (aka selling) is everything you do as a lawyer, then a recent article by Shai Littlejohn that appeared in The National Law Journal and on Small Firm Business about the importance of your personal brand may be of interest.

Your personal brand impacts whether clients hire you or not. I believe that how you act in public, treat your staff, dress, contribute to the community, talk to strangers, act with your clients, etc. etc., is all part of selling yourself to clients, referral sources, and potential clients. Littlejohn’s points are interesting and support that belief.  They include:

• Your personal brand is how others perceive you, including “work history, reputation, involvement, initiative and personal values”;
• Whether people think you are “competent, committed, available and willing to offer counseling, sometimes for free”; and
• Decision-makers are looking for strong personal brands that include “responsiveness, accuracy, discretion, political savvy, family and participation in lofty priorities beyond day-to-day work.”

Some pretty important personal branding elements right there, I’d say.

Law firm clients often complain that their lawyers do not understand their business. It frustrates them to have to educate their outside lawyers about the issues they deal with, and which their attorneys need to understand, to represent them properly.

And that is only part of the relationship a law firm should seek with their clients. At a client meeting last week, I emphasized to a group of lawyers the importance of making friends with their clients. My point was that if the lawyer and client have a true friendship, there is no reason to worry about another law firm taking the client away.

In addition to knowing a client’s business, lawyers can build on a friendship by helping their clients prosper in their business. Ed Roach over at Small Business Branding discusses a number of ways to do that in his article “Feel the Love”, or what I might suggest shows that you’re a real friend by:

• Talking them up to others, when the opportunity presents itself,
• Referring potential customers to them and let them know about it,
• “Be(ing) honest” and admit when you make a mistake (helps avoid malpractice suits),
• Buying their products, if at all possible,
• Supporting their favorite charities, and interests,
• Treating everyone in their organization with respect,
• Increasing your face time with the client (see my No. 1 Marketing Tip), and
• Of course, delivering your best effort every time.

I met with the managing partner of an 80-lawyer firm on Monday, and was somewhat surprised to hear that the firm has not laid off anyone, not lawyers, not staff. Later the same day, I met with the executive director of a 110-lawyer firm who told me the same thing. What was even more amazing, the latter firm is actually in a hiring mode for lawyers, not because they have too much work for their current staffing level, but because they realize they can pick up some really good talent right now from those BIgLaw firms that are busily shedding terrific talent. With the firm’s reputation for security (they have never laid off lawyers in their nearly hundred year history), they figure they won’t lose this talent when things turn around. Furthermore, the firm is looking to add to their marketing staff also.

Yet, both firms realize their clients are hurting in this current economy, and although these firms are not cutting people, both are cutting the clients some slack in terms of their invoices, mostly by setting up payment schedules that the clients can live with.

That appears to be the consensus of a number of smaller firms (which by definition have more flexibility than large firms) mentioned in an article in the The Connecticut Law Tribune and in Small Firm Business about the need for flexibility and patience in collecting fees these days. 

Obviously, law firms need to be very attentive to collections, especially if they are to avoid having to lay off lawyers and staff. BUT, being flexible and working with clients when it comes to collections in a down economy is very smart marketing, because it will increase the chances for more solid long term relationships.

Now is not the time to panic. Panic can take several forms in today’s economic climate; most notably in the firing of lawyers and staff, hounding clients for payment (not smart marketing for the long term), and cutting costs excessively. That is part of the message garnered by LawPRO magazine from a panel of knowledgeable folks and reported in an article entitled “Surviving the slide: what firms should (and shouldn’t) do to ride out the economic storm.”

The panel, consisting of Ed Flitton, Karen McKay, Gerry Riskin, and Merrilyn Tarlton, provided insight on such topics as: Leadership; Human capital; Employee relations, engagement & morale; Client relationships; Marketing; Finances; Firm compensation; Operations: costs, expenses, budget; and Technology. All of the topics are obviously important and the panelists’ comments on each are worthy of a read.

For my purposes, a few of their comments specifically on marketing and client relationships warrant a mention here. Among other things it is very important to get close to your existing clients. It is vital that you know what they are going through, and determine if you can be more efficient and economical in serving them.

One interesting idea put forth by Tarlton involves putting associates in client offices for training (getting to know the client’s business better) and relationship building purposes. Also, developing creative fee structures, and conducting joint recession planning sessions with clients are additional ways to help each other get through the tough times.

Riskin advises firms to

“…do more marketing, but you (should) focus more on existing clients. Firms generally are reluctant to talk to clients in bad times… Get over that and call… It's a time to get close to these people.”

One way to do that according to McKay is to

“[c]hange your focus to one-on-one. Pick up the phone and call your clients, go and visit them on your way into the office … but make sure they know that the visit is off the timesheet."

Again, there is a lot of good advice that the panel shares with law firms on how to survive the current downturn, and every firm will pick up valuable nuggets by reading this article.

P.S. Thanks to Mark Beese over on Leadership for Lawyers blog for the heads up on this panel and other resources contained in his post “Advice on Weathering the Storm.”

After reading for months about tons of layoffs of both lawyers and staff by BigLaw firms, one may think that the legal business is in trouble in this down economy. Not so fast. An article to the contrary by Thomas Adcock appears in the recent issue of Law.com’s Small Firm Business.

Adcock points to a number of small law firms that are doing just fine, thank you very much. The reasons are varied and include:

• Lower fee structures
• More litigation, generally
• White-collar defense
• Business restructuring, as well as mergers and acquisitions
• Professional liability
• Insurance coverage issues

Moreover, there were a couple of things mentioned in the article that particularly ran true for me (and are applicable to any size firm). The first was a comment by David E. Danovitch of 21-lawyer Gersten Savage that clients will “stick with you through thick and thin so long as they’re happy with your work.” The other was something consultant Ari Kaplan mentioned about “becoming business partners…rather than just problem solvers” for your clients.

So, both of these latter points relate to solid client relationships, which is the key to client retention even in tough economic times; and small and medium-sized firms have a real advantage IMHO.

Evan Chesler, presiding partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore shocked a lot of people within the legal community with his recent opinion piece on Forbes.com advocating the death of the billable hour.

Basically, he states that the billable hour “makes no sense.” Making more money by dragging out a matter (or in his analogy, making more money by getting “bogged down a land war in Asia”) is “frankly nuts.” Pretty strong words from a firm that doesn’t really have to worry about clients questioning their bills, I wouldn’t expect.

Even though tons of folks (too many people to mention here) in blogosphere, including yours truly, have long advocated doing away with the billable hour, Chesler’s comments, one could argue, clearly takes the debate to a higher level. Not many would expect such a position from a BigLaw firm of Cravath’s stature. Now maybe the concept of alternative fees, although not new, will take on a bit more momentum.

Although there have been many different suggestions for alternative fee arrangements (see Continue Reading below for a few of my posts on the topic), I found a couple of ideas from a named partner in a 10-lawyer Philadelphia area firm worth considering.  Gary Lentz of Bochetto & Lentz wrote an article published in The Legal Intelligencer and on Small Firm Business suggesting a couple of approaches that could attract new clients and enhance fee opportunities  in this down economy.

The following two variations on the same theme are worth consideration by firms of all sizes:

• Multi-phased Fee Agreements
  • Phase I - an initial flat fee to evaluate the case, develop strategy, negotiate and “prompt resolution” (with a potential for a bonus) and drafting complaint, if necessary;
  • Phase II – a mix hourly, fixed fee and/or contingency, if necessary to file and pursue the matter in court.
• Blended Contingency Fee Agreements - an initial flat fee to cover the evaluation of the case and drafting the complaint, followed with a contingency fee based on outcome of the matter.

Take a look. They may just work for your firm, particularly with clients who are encountering their own uncertainties in the current economy.

Meeting client expectations has been a recurring theme of mine, and one I have discussed a number of times in the past. (See Continue Reading below for links to several of them.) But, those posts dealt mostly with meeting client “service” expectations. What about the “outcome” or “results” side of a client engagement.

Chuck Newton’s Rides The Third Wave blog has a post about the dangers relating to client expectations that fall into that category.

Happy clients are the ones whose expectations have been met, and more work or referrals from that client group are a direct result of said happy clients. It makes tremendous sense to make sure you have done a great job of communicating with your clients as to what they can expect not only in how their matter and engagement will be handled, but how realistic their expectations are as to the outcome as well.

It isn’t easy to talk about potential negatives when attempting to sell your services to a potential client. But, the more straight forward a lawyer is in explaining what the client should expect, in both how their matter will be handled and the potential options as to outcome, the better the long term reputation of that lawyer will be.

So, make sure that you ask and understand the expectations of your clients in both areas. That is smart marketing.

If you really want to make a difference so that clients remember you and send you referrals, then a story Trey Ryder tells about a doctor may help. As the story goes, Trey was talking with a small business owner who told him that 15 years earlier his wife’s doctor called on a Saturday to check on how she was doing.

There are two impressive aspects to the story. One, that a doctor called on a Saturday to check on how a patient was doing after surgery; and second that the patient’s husband was still telling the story 15 years later.

Now that’s some awesome word-of-mouth marketing. Funny thing is that same thing happened to me. I still talk about the call I got a few years back from my doctor at 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday. He was calling because he had just gotten back from vacation, and wanted me to know right away that my blood tests came out fine. (Of course, I didn’t mention to him that my blood pressure nearly went through the roof by the very fact that he called on Saturday evening – but why ruin a good story.) I’m not sure how many patients I have sent him since, but heaven knows I have sure recommended him enough times.

So, why not do the same. Pick up the phone and call your client after a matter is completed and ask how they are doing, how you did, and is there anything else you could assist them with. In fact, why not call a client when it’s least expected and bring them up to date on a current matter?

As Trey concludes:

“… when YOU pick up the phone, and YOU take time from your schedule to call your client, that's significant! That's what your client remembers. And that's another reason your client will return in the future -- and send referrals.”

Do you want more traffic coming to your website? Who doesn’t?

Tom O’Leary, a true SEO guru, has a post on leveraging the combined Justia and Cornell University directory listings over on The Attorney Marketing Blog.  He informs us on how you can get the search engines to pay more attention to your web site and/or blog (Tom has done some SEO work on my blog, and I have been very, very pleased).

The directory listings are free and Tom lays out step-by-step instructions on just how to take advantage of them for your law firm or practice. The process he lays out, particularly for smaller population centers vs. mega-cities, can result in multiple search results on the first page of Google.

First, go to Justia.com (under “Lawyers” at the top, enter your last name – especially if you go by “T. Edward Smith” as you may be in the directory as Thomas Edward Smith).

Then, click on “View Profile”, then “Claim and Update your profile” and “Claim by Phone.” What happens next is cool. Your listed telephone number is called immediately to verify that it's you trying to access the profile (so make sure the phone number is correct – if not, “Claim by fax”).

Finally, as Tom mentions, take advantage of the opportunity to enter as much information as possible. The more data you include, the better the search engines will like you. He reports that one firm ended up with 6 of the 10 results on the first page of Google after doing the above.

This is GREAT stuff, Tom. Thanks.

An article that appears in Small Firm Business reports that 55-lawyer Birmingham firm of Lightfoot, Franklin & White received the highest marks in client satisfaction according to a recent Altman Weil survey. Yet, the article “Firm Avoids Marketing, Gets High Client Satisfaction Marks” indicates that the firm is NOT doing marketing (or business development, if you will). Rather, according to the article:

“It's pretty simple, says managing partner Adam Peck. The firm sells itself primarily by not trying so hard to sell itself. Instead of beating the bushes looking for new clients, attorneys focus on their existing clients and rely primarily on referrals for new business."

E-X-C-U-U-U-U-U-S-S-S-S-E     M-E!!!!!!! Not selling themselves? That is exactly what they are doing. They are just doing it the right way:

• Focusing on satisfied clients to bring in more business, and
• Not doing some of the wasteful and questionable things too many law firms do in the name of marketing.

And, doing it well, if one is to believe the survey results. The author apparently only meant that the firm doesn’t have “a full-service marketing and business development department.” The title notwithstanding, it is clear that the firm is in a full-fledged business development mode – however subtle they think they are being.

The important thing to remember is that the most effective way to develop clients is to ensure that the clients you already have are very happy with your firm. As with the Lightfoot firm, you should have engrained within your firm the “idea that client satisfaction is a top priority.”

What you call it is immaterial, the important thing is that “A Rose is a Rose…” and it will result in more business for your firm, especially in these times.

In a post last month, I mentioned one Texas law firm that actually admitted it was increasing its budget for marketing, rather than decreasing it. Definitely not the trend, I can tell ya. But smart.

Now we hear about a number of firms in the Philadelphia area that will be refocusing, and possibly redirecting their business development efforts, but will not likely be cutting their marketing budgets either, according to an article that appears online in the New York Lawyer (free subscription required).

The comments of Stephen Madva, chairman of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, particularly got my attention, and not just because my wife worked at the firm a few years back. What he had to say was that his firm is “absolutely not” going to cut back on marketing, and actually plans to increase it, according to the article.

He said “This is not the time, in my mind, to cut back on marketing…we have to stay top-of-mind with our clients and be out in the community and represent markets as much as possible.” He concluded, “This is not the time to hunker down, it’s time to get our visibility out there.”

Double “amen” to that!

Reid Trautz is a pioneer and one of the most respected among legal bloggers.  Although I am officially taking this week off, Reid's post of yesterday is too serious to wait, and I commend it to your reading at the earliest opportunity.

Happy New Year to all!
 

Since it may have implications on the ethics rules relating to marketing in many other states, and having covered Opinion 39 of the NJ Committee on Attorney Advertising here in several posts, I'm happy to report that the New Jersey Supreme Court struck down the ban on attorneys advertising their selection and listing in “Super Lawyers” or “Best Lawyers in America” last Thursday.

Basically, the Court vacated and remanded the matter for reconsideration (more about that in a minute) finding that such advertising was not “inherently” misleading, and “an absolute prohibition is not permitted.” Supporting the Special Master’s finding that lawyer advertising is protected commercial speech, the Court endorsed the idea that a “requirement of a disclaimer or explanation” of the ad is preferable to an outright ban.

So, the matter goes back for some more work, and here comes the fun part. The Court referred the matter to (1) the Advisory Committee on Attorney Advertising, (2) the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, and (3) the Professional Responsibility Rules Committee “for their concurrent consideration of a redrafted Rule…”; and they may seek “such other sources and information the Committees, acting jointly, may deem necessary and proper.”

WOW! That’s going to be a lot of fun, don’t you think? I see one terrific camel in the making myself. As the maxim goes, “A camel is a horse designed by committee.” Can you just imagine what three committees are likely to come up with. I can’t wait.

In the meantime sanity has returned to New Jersey, albeit if only temporarily, on this issue.

Happy Holidays everyone!! Back in January.

The American Bar Association recently asked lawyers to predict the future. Over 14,300 lawyers responded, and yesterday the ABA issued an early summary of the survey results to those who had participated. Some results:

• 19% of lawyers expect to lose their jobs,
• 78% anticipate that "everyone" will be affected in some way by the recession,
• 59% agreed that the profession will be "rocky for awhile," and
• The majority held that the legal business won't improve until 2010.

Based on these early results, it seems clear that it's time to crank up your marketing going forward. The reasons are pretty straightforward:

1. Take a look at my January 2005 post "Rainmakers Don’t Get Fired!," and
2. “Plan to Crank up Marketing Budget in 2009. Huh?,” because many firms are likely to be cutting their budgets next year, and that means it is a great time to get out ahead of the competition.

So, now is the time to increase, not decrease the firm's business development efforts.

Yep! While a number of large law firms are cutting lawyers and staff, it is no secret that budgets, including marketing budgets, are being trimmed for the coming year. Unfortunately that is shortsighted. In fact, it may reduce the amount of new business harvested in the coming year.

If business development is good for law firms in good times, spending dollars on marketing in a down economy makes even better sense. Why? Because while others are cutting back, there will be less marketing “noise” out in the marketplace and more chances to be noticed.

In an article in Law.com’s Small Firm Business that discusses the impact of the economy on marketing budgets, I was impressed with what the managing partner of a 108-lawyer Houston-based firm said:

“We’re expanding our marketing,” says Wayne A. Risoli (of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, et al.). “We believe this is an appropriate time to let all Fortune 500 companies know that our rates are so good that we can handle your work for a very good value.”

So, it's time to crank it up.  You need to let prospects know, as well as remind clients and referral sources, about your firm’s “good value.”

That is not to say that it isn’t important to scrutinize what your marketing dollars are being spent on.  A firm should focus on those business development activities that are likely to produce the best and quickest return on investment.

Nonetheless, it will be a hard sell at some firms. But, those firms that resist cutting back – in fact, increase their marketing budgets in those areas that will maximize ROI – will most likely reap a more bountiful harvest in 2009. 

For those last minute shoppers (like yours truly), I appreciate suggestions from any quarter on solving my gift-giving problems.

I found the list compiled by Patrick Johansen over on the LawMarketing Portal to be helpful. It consists of a wide array of suggestions from a number of folks in the legal business, so it is definitely worth a look for ideas that might strike your fancy.

You might also take a look at my gift suggestions from prior year posts linked below, which after reviewing are still relevant this year.  Some duplication does occur, but what the heck, if you were to sending me a gift I'd spend the time to remove the dups just for you.

Holiday Gift Ideas – 2007

Holiday Gift Ideas (from 2006)

Great Holiday Gifts! (2005) (a number of gifts ideas have been added by this vendor since then)

Happy shopping!!
 

It’s not too late for holiday cards, but if you do send ‘em this year (and I think you should) remember to do it with feeling. That is, Sign The Damn Holiday Card, and include a brief, personal, handwritten note. Oh yeah, hand address the envelope also.

I know I just lost a bunch of folks on that last one. But, think about it at least. What better way to show that you will go the extra mile, that you really care about your clients and those referral sources. I don’t buy the argument that it’s a waste of time to hand address the envelope because secretaries only throw them away. Not when the envelope is hand written in my experience.

Throughout the year, lawyers try to come up with ways to get closer to their clients, “bullet proofing” (Edge International) them as it were, and turning them into “raving fans” (Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles). So, why not utilize one simple technique that so demonstratively shows that you took extra time during a hectic time of year (with holiday and year-end pressures) because you really do care about them.

In planning for the New Year, especially since it is fast approaching, apply vision toward the kind of work and clients you really want to represent; rather than following the traditional approach of taking whatever comes in the door.

That’s the advice shared by Daniel Scocco over on DailyBlogTips in his article “Have a Vision Instead of Acting Opportunistically.” Not only does that apply to the types of clients one should seek, but the legal marketing strategies that a firm applies toward gaining those clients. As Daniel tells us, don’t “jump from project to project” – nor should you jump from marketing idea or fad of the month to the next as you try to develop business.

And this “vision” doesn’t require deep intellectual thought or lengthy strategic analysis, in my opinion. Nor is it difficult to determine. How you say? Simply take a hard look at your current client base and related revenues to ascertain what your “good foundation” is, and build your vision upon it. That analysis will tell you where your strengths lie, and in most cases the direction your vision should lead your firm’s business development efforts.

If you like most of your current clients and the type of legal work you do, then your vision should be pretty simple. Get more of the same. If not, then you need to concentrate on what part of your existing clients and work you do like, and to apply your vision more narrowly to focus on getting more of them and weaning the firm off the rest.

A number of companies (such as Burger King and AT&T) are scrutinizing the billable hour due the pressure to reduce legal costs, especially  in light of the down economy. Accordingly, they are looking at alternative billing methods they, including fee caps, blended rates, discounts, fixed fees, monthly retainers, success fees, and contingency fees.

This is discussed in an article entitled "Billing Gets Creative in Souring Economy" that appeared in The National Law Journal and on law.com.

Further, the article reports:

“In recent years, groups such as the American Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, various corporate executives and even U.S. Supreme Court justices have called for the demise of the billable hour, saying it breeds inefficiency and is driving up legal costs.”

I can’t personally say I know all that to be true, but I do believe the billable hour is doomed as the favored method of billing, as I have addressed in a number of earlier posts (click Continue Reading below, if you are interested in reading five of them), because it is like cost-plus government work (the more time you put in, the more you make), and billing by the hour has very little to do with the value clients’ receive for the legal services provided.

But unbelievably too many large firms still resist alternatives to the billable hour, which is why the door is wide open for smaller, more flexible law firms (a number of which are mentioned in the article) to barge into the gap.

So, if your firm is willing to share more of the risk through alternative pricing schemes that reward efficiency and success, you have a real opportunity to take work away from larger law firms in the current economy. 

Thanks to John Moore at Brand Autopsy for the alert to Neal Stewart’s YouCan’tBuyThat.com blog, and especially his post “Recession Marketing Strategies.” Both John and I particularly liked Neal’s strategy when it comes to existing customers (read clients):

"Find ways to engage in conversation with your heavy users and fanatical consumers. More than ever, your brand’s stalkers (again, read clients who could make referrals) are going to help you spread the word."

Neal’s other strategies which I also liked include:

• Invest in good people, as they’ll figure out to get the job done even in the bad times,
• “All hands on deck,” meaning that everyone in the organization should have a “sales mentality,” and
• Remain consistent, since you don’t want others (clients, referral sources, vendors, or anyone for that matter) to get a whiff of panic emanating from the firm.

But, the key to remember is focusing on existing clients. John’s conclusion really says it all: “As we marketers know, it is far less expensive to market to current customers than it is to acquire new customers ... especially during this dismal economy.”
 

The ABA Journal is surveying lawyers about the job market and the current state of the economy. Since I’ve had several posts on this blog about the down economy and its relationship to marketing, I’m thinking my readers might want to see how they compare to other lawyers out there in the legal marketplace.

Although the ABA Survey does not deal with marketing issues per se, it may give you and your firm some intelligence that may bear on your marketing efforts. Obviously, the more lawyers that respond to the survey, the better the results. The Journal will post the results on their web site the last week in December, I am told; and I'll report them here as well.

It only takes a couple of minutes, literally. I did a test run. So, give it shot here.
 

Although we lawyers were taught in law school that we could do brain surgery – if only the light was right, please don’t utilize a surgical knife when scrutinizing your coming year’s marketing budget.

As many investment advisors (oh yeah, we were taught we could do that too in our sleep) are telling their clients, now is a time to buy not sell. Well, for firms that want to take advantage of their competition, now is the time to avoid major surgery or selling short when it comes to the marketing budget.

Unfortunately, too many firms look at marketing as an expense, rather than as an investment in the firm’s future. Having said that, the budgeting process, if not well underway in your firm, undoubtedly will begin as year-end approaches. Michelle Golden has a few posts dealing with marketing budgets that are worth looking at:

• What’s In A Plan? Marketing Plan & Budget Development
• Plan Your Marketing Budget
• Marketing Spending on the Rise in Small Firms

The important point is to not amputate marketing from your firm’s budget at a time when your competitors are; rather, invest in your firm’s future now and let them try to catch up later.
 

In commenting on my last post about involving staff in marketing, Dan Hull over on What About Clients? blog goes one step further. He reminds us that all employees and shareholders must take both marketing and client service seriously. Actually, they are inseparable. Both are critical to a firm’s long term health.

He again emphasized how every person in his a law firm must realize that clients are the main event, which is Rule 3 of his famous 12 Rules of Client Service. The rules are contained in his firm’s Practice Guide, which is now required reading for everyone at the firm.
 

Here again are Dan’s twelve rules:

1. Represent only clients you like.
2. The client is the main event.
3. Make sure everyone in your firm knows the client is the main event.
4. Deliver legal work that changes the way clients think about lawyers.
5. Over-communicate: bombard, copy and confirm.
6. When you work, you are marketing.
7. Know the client.
8. Think like the client--help control costs.
9. Be there for clients--24/7.
10. Be accurate, thorough and timely--but not perfect.
11. Treat each co-worker like he or she is your best client.
12. Have fun.

Marketing and client service are not just for the lawyers. They are for everyone. As Dan puts it at his firm “buy into it or leave.”
 

As I mentioned in my last post about making the non-marketing staff a part of the firm’s business development efforts, Stacy West Clark’s article on that point gives some suggestions on how to accomplish that with at least two groups of staffers.

But first, the lawyer’s role. Educate those who work for you as to:

• How you want clients treated and informed (getting to know them, phone procedures, what to say when you are unavailable, and reaching out to key clients),
• Tracking Google alerts for info about specific clients,
• Remembering important client facts and dates (wedding date, birthdays, etc.),
• Scheduling marketing activities,
• Keeping mailing lists up to date, and
• Encouraging questions about cases, referrals sources and the like.

Legal assistant’s role:
Carrying out all of the above per your lawyers’ instructions. Additionally, be proactive in asking your lawyers about marketing goals, important cases; and staying abreast of the firm’s web site, your attorneys’ bios, and important information about existing clients and referral sources, and most importantly, developing (professional) friendships with clients.

Receptionist's role:
I facetiously said in one of my earlier posts, and have suggested in my speeches for years, that tellers should be the highest paid people in banks, since they have the most direct contact with the money people (customers). Likewise, a law firm receptionist should be the highest paid staff person, because he/she has the most contact with clients (by phone) and with visitors of all kinds. As such, the receptionist can have a profound influence on how the firm is perceived. Put another way, a receptionist person can have an extremely positive or negative impact on the firm’s brand. I can (and do) tell horror stories in this area.

Just some of the important attributes of a good receptionist include:

• Professional attire and grooming,
• Enthusiastic and warm in answering the phone and greeting visitors,
• Remembering and addressing clients by name, and
• Caring about the firm’s clients and showing it.

All staff members can play an important role in a firm’s business development efforts. Just think of the many ways they come in contact with clients and the world outside the firm. Each is an opportunity to advance the firm’s brand or to damage it.

For some of my other posts on staff involvement in marketing.... 

It continues to amaze me how few law firms engage their non-marketing staff in the firm’s business development efforts. The funny part is that these staff members are involved in marketing your firm in one way or another, if they deal with clients, potential clients or the public at-large. These contacts, whether intended or not, can end up being for the good or bad of the law firm.

So, why not train and focus these staff encounters for the best possible results? It’s not that difficult.

My friend Stacy West Clark has a terrific article on empowering your staff to help increase client business  in The Legal Intelligencer and on Law.com’s Small Firm Business online. In fact, there is so much good stuff there that, for the sake of brevity, I’m going to cover the article in two posts.

Today, I’ll cover her initial advice, and next time how the lawyers, their assistants and even the receptionist can contribute to the firm’s marketing.

Her opening paragraph is one of the more succinct recipes for great client relationship building I have heard:

“The components of great service include understanding the client’s business, being incredibly responsive, communicative and accessible and looking for opportunities to make the client’s life and business world better.”

Stacy then points out that the lawyers do not have to do this alone. The team includes your “secretary, messenger, file clerk, receptionist, human resources manager, office manager, librarian,” et al.

And she states:

“The sooner you empower your staff to deliver outstanding client service, the sooner your revenues will grow. Staff who are involved in and educated about the marketing effort have higher morale and lower turnover and treat clients better.”

Amen!

Next time: Stacy’s ideas for starters on how to get staff members involved.
 

As odd as it may seem, the chase and the capture of a new client ends marketing for some professionals. They get so caught up with gaining a new client that they forget that marketing does not end with obtaining a new matter, it is only the beginning.

Since marketing is everything you do as a lawyer, how you handle the relationship after you land the new matter will really determine your long term success. Client relationships are what marketing and business development it is all about. Focusing on building those relationships is extremely important. And that should happen from Day One.

Michael Fleischner on The Marketing Blog has three suggestions on how to do that in his article “Focus on Renewals After the Sale.” Although his suggestions are not directed toward lawyers, they are just as applicable to our industry. They include:

• Frequent communications (whether that involves newsletters, law alerts, an article of interest, or any form of communication that assures constant contact);
• Client feedback in the form of surveys (preferably in-person, but at least by telephone); and
• “Share best practices” (let clients know what experiences have worked for other clients in similar circumstances or industries, and do so in whatever way works best for them).

So, keep in mind that business development activities do not end when you get a new client. They need to continue for the life of the engagement …and beyond.
 

Recently, I did a post on how important it is to stay close to your clients in these troubling economic times. Well, it seems that the idea is supported by Hildebrandt’s “Special Client Advisory: Fall 2008.”  

The special advisory suggests nine steps for firms to consider in weathering the storm; and includes such things as concentrating on collections early vs. end of year, work on next year’s credit line now, scrutinize vendor support expenses (even consider hiring an outside vendor contract negotiator like my client, Mattern & Associates), review under-performers and excess capacity, and consider shedding undesirable practice areas, while reassuring key partners and associates who may be anxious.

The one step mentioned that is closest to my heart has to do with marketing and client relations. The advisory states:

“… stay in close touch with your clients, especially those key clients that are important to the firm’s future.  Now is not the time to save money by cutting back on productive marketing expenses.  Your clients are experiencing the same anxieties and uncertainties as the firm itself, and ramping up communication to them will stand the firm in good stead when economic conditions improve.  Lawyers have time on their hands, so put it to good use with increased focus on client development, client teams, and appropriate business development training.”

As I mentioned in that earlier post, in times like these stay close to your family, and closer to your clients.  But, don’t just take my word for it.

While some may be in denial, Warren Buffett writes in an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times (free registration required) that the “financial world is a mess”… but that he is now “buying American stocks.” He’s talking about his personal account (not his Bershire Hathaway holdings) which traditionally has been entirely in U.S. Government bonds.

His reason for buying stocks now is based on a "simple rule":

“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”

That got me thinking. The same underlying principle could be applied to legal marketing; to wit:

When other law firms are cutting marketing budgets and staff because of economic fears, become greedy about making a meaningful impact in your marketplace by increasing your marketing and business development eforts. 

The time to make a difference is when others are folding their tents.

And Wayne’s advice from the same article: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

Where does your firm want its marketing to be?

By providing additional services to clients at no charge is, of course, an excellent business development strategy. One example of such services might include inviting your clients to your internal CLE seminars. This isn’t a new idea, and some firms have been doing this for years.

Ken Adams, a contract writing consultant, has a post on his AdamsDrafting blog about using CLE as client development tool, and how one firm, Dorsey & Whitney, has been in utilizing this technique with, what appears to be, great success.

When law firms add value to their services (and - as in this case – free), clients are more likely to be grateful and remain loyal, which in turn enhances client relationships. And that is what marketing and business development is all about.

It is important, particularly in the current, dismal economic climate to communicate well, especially with clients. Our message needs to be clearly, concisely and competently conveyed (how about that alliteration, huh? - yeah, you’re probably right).

Well, Garrett Saunders over at the New Marketing Rules blog apparently knows the devil. Because he informs us that he has “developed the following sins” that he relates in his article “5 Deadly Sins of Marketing Communication.” – whether they are used in promotional communications or marketing communications in the broader sense.

The sins include:

1. Failure to come to a point of what you really stand for,
2. Using passive vs. active communication,
3. Employing a vocabulary that confuses your audience (boy, can we lawyers do a number with legalese),
4. Difficult verb tenses vs. present tense, and
5. Lecturing instead of telling a story that is interesting.

So, “originality and surprise creates stopping power” according Saunders, but it’s important not to commit marketing communication sins by projecting messages that are complicated, confusing, convoluted, complex … (I know there I go again), but you get my drift.

 Some law firms will feel the pinch more than others during the current downturn. But all firms will feel it one way or another. Whether it is less work, losing clients because of mergers/acquisitions, or because of difficulty in collecting fees from financially stressed clients. When it comes to making payroll or paying your lawyers, what do you think clients will do?

Thus, it is very important for firms to do everything they can to minimize the impact of what certainly will not be a smooth road for the foreseeable future and beyond. One way is to work very hard at “bullet proofing” (as Gerry Riskin advises) your existing clients (or in Gerry’s words “crown jewels”) as much as you can. 

And as Thom Singer at Some Assembly Required accurately tells us in an article that applies to any company that it is the “relationships with those (with) whom you do business that…(leads) to beating the competitor in good times and in bad times." Those relationships are even more important in a down economy, because business is just that - “down”- and competition definitely gets more intense when times are tough.

So, how are your client relationships these days? Does everyone in the firm realize the importance of their interaction with clients, referral sources and prospects? From the receptionist to the firm couriers, to the associates and partners, everyone has a role in developing and enhancing client relationships – and avoiding damaging those relationships.

Two ways to improve client relationships are: by visiting your key clients, and seeking client feedback. Both will help reduce the adverse impacts of a recession on your firm.

Smaller law firms are usually in a better position to make a marketing decision than larger firms. It’s a numbers game. Often in BigLaw too many people are involved, which not only means the process takes longer, but a decision can become so diluted as to lessen the effectiveness of any business development program.

On this, Trey Ryder and I agree. His current newsletter has a short article encouraging firms to“Choose One Quarterback To Call Your Marketing Plays.” The analogy fits.

“Marketing is like football. The quarterback makes a decision, sees how far the team advances, makes another decision, then reviews the team's progress. Decisions can be made quickly because they are made by only one person. Can you imagine how long it would take if the entire football team offered input and then everyone had to agree before they could make the next play?”

He has an interesting formula that makes the case against more than one person calling the plays, from both a delay perspective and how watered down the decision will become. Take a look, it's interesting.

Also, he tells a great story about David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy and Mather ad agency. The ad man entered a room of 12 executives and was told by the company’s chairman that he had 15 minutes to make his pitch; at which point a bell would ring and “he was to stop.” Ogilvy first asked how many of the people present would be making the marketing decision, and was told all 12 of them. With that he advised the chairman “Please, sir, ring the bell” and left.

Trey concludes:

“If you aren't happy with your marketing quarterback, choose someone else. But don't fall into the trap of allowing more than one person to call the plays.”

I get heartburn just thinking about the stories I could tell on this subject.

A panel of general counsel at the September meeting of Legal Marketing Association’s Metro Philadelphia Chapter told the audience that they REALLY crave better communications and efficiency from outside counsel.

As reported on Law.com’s Small Firm Business by reporter Zack Needles, the GCs:

Don’t Like:

• “centralized attorney structure” (where client must go through a senior lawyer not working on the matter, rather than just dealing directly with lawyers who are);
• Relationship partner being too involved (thus, creating less efficiency in handling their matter);
• Glossy advertisements, “trumpeting “firm accomplishments, which have “little bearing on (the) opinion of a firm”;
• Formal RFPs (although apparently one or more have used them), and especially where firm sends big guns (who won’t be working on matter) to the presentation; and
• The firm adding new attorneys to a matter, and finding out about it on the bill.

Do Like:

• High-level partners staffing a matter properly, but being available to answer “a particular question”;
• “(W)illingness and ability to build trusting relationships”;
• Web sites with greater emphasis on qualifications and accomplishments of individual lawyers, rather than the law firm;
• E-mail alerts (vs. chatty newsletters) with “substantive law updates” relevant to their company (“No. 1 marketing tool” according to one GC);
• Keeping GC informed of what’s going on by providing regular status updates; and
• “Detailed progress updates” on bills (vs. just work effort).

It is no surprise that in-house counsel what better communications and efficiencies from their outside counsel; and it behooves law firms to do a better job of both, particularly in a down economy.

Oops. That note to a referral source might be a bit tardy, but a late “Thank You” is better than no thank you according to Thom Singer on Some Assembly Required, and I agree completely.

Further, I’m a big fan of handwritten notes, since they are used so infrequently these days. Especially with email and cell phones, it’s much easier and quicker to thank someone by such means, if one takes the time to show appreciation at all. But, that is why the handwritten communication means so much more.

But when is it too late to thank someone for a kindness, a referral, a meeting, a lunch or a whatever? NEVER. That’s Thom’s and my message. Of course one should express their gratitude as soon as possible, but heck we’re only human and we forget things. Just ask my wife.

So, if you are woefully late, just own up to your tardiness, apologize profusely, and thank the person for what they did for you. As Thom says:

"Your best way to get future favors is to say "thank you".  Even late, a Thank You Note is amazingly powerful."

And more so if it is handwritten.

I’ve been doing client interviews since 1990, and I know they do two things well. One, they can save clients before they leave the law firm for another (I really have a dynamite story on that point, but it will take too long to relate it here, so call me if you want to hear it). Second, it leads to new work (first, because they didn’t leave you for that other firm; and because clients have problems sitting on their desk or nearby that they’ve been procrastinating on just like everyone else).

Bruce Allen’s recent article over on Marketing Catalyst hits the nail right on the head as to why client feedback works:

"Do not ever forget -- in any relationship, professional or personal, the best thing you can accomplish as often as possible is to remind someone that they matter."

Clients want to know that they matter. Furthermore, I have found they want to be asked what their opinions are on the legal services provided, and the relationship in general.

In my experience, the reason most often cited for not conducting client satisfaction surveys is that partners will argue that if the client has a problem, they would let the lawyer know about it. As Bruce states, that is just plain "silly." I might go a step further and say hogwash. Rather, since most humans tend to avoid conflict whenever possible, they'll just take their work to another law firm.

Bruce goes on to cite a blog post that my friend and colleague Jim Hassett did a couple of years ago over at Legal Business Development. I would concur that it is a good place to start, if a firm is interested in "getting (its) act together” about seeking client feedback.

To borrow from the quote by J. Wallace Day about keeping friends close and enemies closer, I might suggest that in a down economy, one should keep their family close and their clients closer. 

My colleague Jim Hassett over at Legal Business Development blog talks about some scary stuff that is occurring to law firms in the current economic climate . He recounts layoffs of lawyers and staff in NLJ 250 law firms, the large and well-known firms that have closed in recent years, how it is harder to become an equity partner, and so on.

Not all firms are hurting, and with the state of the financial world, there will be plenty of litigation for sure. But, there will be plenty of pain to go around as well, and the legal industry will not be spared.

His point: stay close to your clients and colleagues, and one way to do that is to “set up a free meeting with a top client or referral source.” I would include all key clients in a “client visitation” program, since it is the single most effective business development tool, as I have mentioned before. And, I would do so whether your firm is experiencing pain in the current economic downturn or not.

The e-mail question is:

"To what extent can you substitute emails for telephone calls and face-to-face meetings when maintaining and developing relationships with clients and other key market contacts?”

My answer: You can’t. Period.

W-E-L-L, maybe that is a bit strong.

It is no secret that I hate e-mail. It doesn’t mean that I don’t use it like everyone else every day. But, I still hate it, because it has become an annoying and too frequent intrusion into my personal and business life. Moreover, too much of it is spam (yes, I have anti-spam software), unsolicited e-newsletters, or jokes and political commentary – even from people I know – that is unwelcome. Enough already!

I do see the effectiveness of welcomed e-mails in handling a client’s matter (assuming, of course, that it is a client's approved means of communication) and otherwise conducting operational business functions. It undoubtedly can be efficient and effective when used properly and when it isn't intrusive.

However, when it is used as a tool in business development and relationship building, it is the least  effective in my opinion, particularly in the case of law firms.  We are in the personal services business, and there is nothing more impersonal and overused than email. Partially because it so easy to shoot off an e-mail, without much thought, some may think that any contact is better than nothing. I would respectfully disagree.

The best and most successful marketing is face-to-face. Yes, it is more expensive and time consuming, but clearly more effective. Telephone calls would come next out of the three in terms of effectiveness, and e-mail is dead last.   If the other two are used often, then an occasional meaningful use of email may be okay, if a relationship has already been well established. But clearly it is the absolute last and least meaningful choice for business development, IMHO. 

Unfortunately, what costs more and takes longer is often the more effective when it comes to marketing activities, but that is just the way it is. What is easy and cheap generally produces the least successful outcome.

So, the ultimate question is: How effective do you want your marketing efforts to be?

Check out the other viewpoints at:

·         Brian Carroll, specialist and noted author of generating leads for the complex sale;

·         Mark Buckshon, prodigious blogger and specialist on marketing and selling design and construction services; and

·         Ford Harding, student of selling professional services.

Have you noticed how some people during a pitch or while listening to a speech will be checking their iPhone (or whatever), instead of giving their undivided attention to the one talking? I’ll bet you’ve never done that, right? Careful, your nose is growing.

When I was in-house, I attended management meetings where partners did that to each other. However, the problem may not be rudeness, but rather boredom. And, if speakers or presenters are offended, it is possible they are not looking at the source of the problem. Themselves.

When making a presentation, one has an obligation to make it short, sweet and to the point. S/he should detail what they will cover and it better be interesting. Otherwise, the listeners will tune out and wish they were somewhere else.

When it comes to speeches, Joey Asher has an article that was published in the Fulton County Daily Report and on Law.com’s Small Firm Business that makes a similar point. He reminds us that audiences vote with their attention – and this was true long before the age of Blackberrys. 

So, what’s a speaker to do? Asher’s suggestions apply to both situations:

• Give those attending a strong “reason to pay attention” (i.e., what the benefit to them will be);
• Provide those attending a “clear road map” of what the topic or agenda will cover;
• Make the presentation interactive by engaging those attending (a pop quiz might help); and
• Show passion, or at least excitement, about your subject.

If you follow those simple rules, the chances are you’ll see business development efforts bear riper fruit, and a whole lot less inattention. People will listen, and possibly even put their Blackberry on silent mode.

Watch for the synchroblog next Monday, where four bloggers will answer the same question on the same day on their respective blog. And the question is:

"To what extent can you substitute emails for telephone calls and face-to-face meetings when maintaining and developing relationships with clients and other key market contacts?”

On September 22, four bloggers will post their answers simultaneously. They include:

1. Brian Carroll, specialist and noted author of generating leads for the complex sale;
2. Mark Buckshon, prodigious blogger and specialist on marketing and selling design and construction services;
3. Ford Harding, student of selling professional services; and
4. Yours Truly.

So, tune in on the 22^nd, it should be interesting to read the different perspectives.

My friend Dan Hull of What About Clients? blog and Hull McGuire PC law firm, has an extremely provocative post about the message he believes should be conveyed to associates in his firm and others. 

Here’s the message: 

We want you to provide such fabulous service to our clients, that they will think the world of you; and yes, if you were ever leave this firm, the client might go with you. If you are not prepared to provide that level of client service, we don't want you.

WHOA now. You’re kidding me, right Dan? Fact is I know you’re not, and I totally agree with you. Maybe we both should just agree to enter the same sanitarium where we could console each other as to how sane we really are. Certainly, no one else is likely to think so.

Too many firms don’t even want to train their associates in marketing and business development, because it takes them away from billable hours and let’s face it, client relationship building takes time and training; but also, some likely fear that the associates will get too close to the client and steal the client if they ever left the firm. 

So, instead of training and insisting that all their lawyers provide the absolute highest quality client service (not just work product) to clients that would actually benefit the firm and the lawyers in the long run, these firms just claim to be all about client service.

Also, think of the positive message it will send to clients and the associates. In other words, the firm is so into client service, which in turn will only make the firm more successful and profitable, we are willing to risk losing some clients in the process.  With such an approach the firm will be so wildly success that associates (and partners for that matter) wouldn't consider leaving the firm. Crazy thought, huh? 

I expect the majority of law firms would not be willing to follow Dan’s “outrageous” plan. Do ya think!! Too bad. But, if your firm is serious about client service and really means it, then you might want to consider Dan’s message to your associates.

Following up on my post of last week "Too Busy for Marketing? Or Just Unfocused?,”  I ran across a post by John Jantsch over on Duct Tape Marketing where he uses the “P” word. He apparently encounters small business owners (like some lawyers I meet), who say that they're too busy to market, and he takes issue with that. So do I.

As he says, "marketing is and must become a habitual activity in your business.” He goes on to say that "the only way to find time for marketing is to plan for it," and one way to do that is to "create a marketing theme for every month of the year, " and then carry it out on a daily or weekly basis. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I'm a big fan of John's, but in this case I’m not sure I agree with a theme-of-the-month approach. It reminds me too much of the chasing-the-latest-fad that law firms have done over the past couple of decades.

Rather, I would suggest that firms develop a plan that involves multiple activities that will all contribute to reaching the business development goals that firm hopes to achieve. That doesn’t mean that a lawyer can’t focus on a particular activity for a given month (like making a speech in September, writing an article in October, and visiting the client’s place of business in November, etc.) – and maybe that is what John means.

In any case, the important thing is to plan and undertake business development activities on a consistent basis, even in the throes of meeting deadlines for client work. Lawyers must make time for marketing. Failure to do so is preposterous – or do I really mean disastrous?

Watch for the upcoming synchroblog. A WHAT you might ask? It’s where four bloggers will answer the same question on the same day on their respective blog.  And the question is:

"To what extent can you substitute emails for telephone calls and face-to-face meetings when maintaining and developing relationships with clients and other key market contacts?”

On September 22, four bloggers will post their answers simultaneously. They include:

1. Brian Carroll, specialist and noted author of generating leads for the complex sale;
2. Mark Buckshon, prodigious blogger and specialist on marketing and selling design and construction services;
3. Ford Harding, student of selling professional services; and
4. Yours Truly.

So, tune in on the 22^nd, it should be interesting to read the different perspectives.

Often one hears from lawyers “I’m just to busy to be marketing.” Maybe they are just focusing on the wrong stuff?  Reasons might include they're too busy with:

• Administrative tasks best left to others, or
• Working on files they wish they didn’t have, or
• Representing clients they don’t like working for.

Marketing is not only healthy for one’s law practice (as in keeping the family fed), but can also lead to doing the kind of work one enjoys doing for clients the lawyer enjoys working for. Granted it takes focus, planning and perseverance to ensure that business development efforts get the results that will bring enjoyment to one’s legal practice.  

My friend Trey Ryder has a great article in his current newsletter (sign up for free) that endorses the points raised above.  He states:

“When I ask busy lawyers what they're busy doing, they often grumble about handling cases they don't want, dealing with the hassles of running an office, and so on."

Trey goes on to tell the story about a client, who almost hired him a couple of years earlier. When he asked why he was hiring him now, the lawyer said that he never got a marketing program going and "is no further ahead than he was then."

I have the same questions that Trey asked in his article:

"Are you bringing in the cases you want?

"Are you spending time in ways you find enjoyable?

"Are you investing your time in the most profitable ways?

"Are you delegating or referring out cases you don't want?"

Most lawyers have the best intentions when it comes to undertaking a marketing and business development program. But many lawyers are too busy doing things that keep them from undertaking those activities that will produce desirable results.

So, don't let two years pass before you realize that although you're busy, you may be too "busy" on the wrong stuff.

The two best sources of new business for lawyers are current clients and referral sources (also referred to as word-of-mouth). Having just finished an action plan last week for a relatively new, young lawyer who does not have his own client base, it became pretty obvious that the place for him to start in building a client base is with referrals.

That is why I found the post “It's Never Too Early to Pursue Referrals” by Miriam Lawrence on Automatic Referrals very timely. She shares three thoughts that “new advisors” (in our case, lawyers) should keep in mind to build a base of clients. She draws from points raised by her Automatic Referrals’ colleague Bob David:

1. Research supports the idea that “the most important factor in a new client choosing to do business” with you is not experience but “chemistry”;
2. Although you may not have a “track record” you do, as does everyone, have a story worth telling, and
3. Concentrate on your strengths – whether that be a particular niche, or ability to listen well (a skill many of us lawyers could use a lot more of), or whatever.

The important thing is that you have “strengths and knowledge to offer clients and their associates right now.”

So, a lack of a client base is no reason for anguish, just start developing business with a focus on referral sources – whether from existing contacts or new ones you develop through networking activities.

There has been an interesting discussion going on over on both the LMA (Legal Marketing Association)’s listserv and The LawMarketing Listserv (membership required for both) the past few days about what a small law firm should do when BigLaw moves into their marketplace.

My take: First of all sit down, relax and have a good laugh. Because, unless the mega firm is moving into town for reasons relating to an existing client or a local merger, they really aren't a threat in my opinion. I say that because:

• They're too expensive for most of your clients,
• They are an unknown quantity, unless they merge with a local firm (and that will only make your old/now larger competitor more expensive),
• Smart businesses will know that unless they are a large corporation themselves, they will just become a smaller fish in a bigger pond,
• Most of your clients don't know anything about the firm nor would have any reason to go to a larger firm, and
• Most importantly, BigLaw does not or is unlikely to have a relationship with your clients, and you do.

Secondly, over the years I've seen law firms move into different cities where my law firm was located, and where the new firm had no prior presence.  I've seen these firms struggle and I've seen some leave town after a few years. Moreover, I've been in a couple of large firms, where many of the lawyers were not particularly good marketers (not for lack of effort on the part of the marketing department, I might point out), but because they had no interest in marketing or were convinced that the work would always be there.

Finally, there really isn't anything to worry about, as long as you have excellent relationships with your important clients.

You do have terrific relationships with your clients don't you?  If not, stop laughing, because you may indeed have a problem.

But there is a solution.

Identify those clients that you would not like to lose. Let's call them your key clients. Immediately plan to visit these clients (off the clock), and seek feedback on how your firm is doing, and what you could do to be a better legal services provider. It’s pretty late to be doing this, but not too late.

So, I don't see a serious threat just because a large firm moves into your marketplace. Although they may be a gorilla, that doesn't mean they will be successful in luring your clients away. The only danger in my view is where your law firm has given your clients reasons to look to the new law firm for services. And that means you have failed in the client relationship department.

There is no wrong time to seek client feedback about your firm’s performance. Not only should law firms ask how they are doing on current matters, but how they have done in the past, and how they can provide better service in the future. Although nobody likes to get bad news, it is better to learn if a client has an issue or problem prior to their walking away and never using the firm again.

Ed Poll in a recent post on his LawBiz Blog recommends that a law firm send a short survey with the first bill to a client rather than at the end of the matter. He has a point. I would agree that if a matter was handled poorly, requesting feedback after the damage is done and matter concluded, may be too late.

So, I would say that asking for feedback during matter is a good idea. But it is also a good idea at the end of the matter as well. The damage, if there is any at all, may not be serious enough that the client won’t use the firm again. Further, it would show the firm's interest in how it did, and increase its credibility with the client for the next matter it might send to the law firm.

Moreover, in a recent roundtable discussion Ed tells us that the attending firms "concluded that it is very beneficial for the managing partner to periodically visit the top 10 clients of the firm."I agree. However, I would suggest that it is not enough. I would go further and interview all important clients. Further, I would suggest that it be done by someone other than the managing partner, who by definition has way too much on his or her plate.

In furtherance of that point, I would suggest setting up of an ongoing in-house client interview program, specifically for feedback. A few firms have started hiring full time in-house staff for that purpose, as I have mentioned. In this way, the program becomes institutionalized, and is not looked upon by clients as merely another law firm project.The important thing in all of this is that a law firm should be doing all it can to determine client satisfaction with its services, and how they can do things better in the future.

As Ed points out: "bottom line, we don't exist in a vacuum. We must understand and know the needs and wants of our clients... And what better way to find (out) than to ask, directly." He summed up his post by saying "this concept caused the managing partners (at the Roundtable) to vow to make changes in their firms."

For the sake of their firms. I hope that is true. Law firms should seek client feedback at all times.

As I was working today to finalize an action plan for a client, I realized how important networking was going to be for this young lawyer who is interested in building an immigration practice. 

Networking is not every lawyer's favorite thing, in fact, many attorneys are just not comfortable with it. Some because they don't think they're good at it, and others are not sure how best to do it. That's why I found Thom Singer's post of a couple of days ago on Some Assembly Required, which he calls "Yes, You CAN Network", right on target. First, Thom points out that "the best way to start is to want to see others succeed." I would agree that  if you help others develop their business, they will then want to help you succeed as well.

Then Thom gives three good suggestions:

• Start networking by asking a lot of questions about what others want to accomplish,
• Next, connect the dots by introducing people who might mutually benefit from a relationship, and
• When meeting new people, don't try to sell your services (rather listen at least 50% of the time while asking probing questions to uncover their interests and goals).

Thom sums it up very well when he says:

"Anyone can network, when they realized that networking involves more giving than getting. The good news, the getting does come for those who give. Patience is the key."

Good advice.

Most everyone who has heard about the Internet, or has a child capable of educating them, has heard about social networks like MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, etc. etc. etc. The “etc’s” are part of my point. There are new ones springing up almost every day. There is some question as to which one or two will be the ones most helpful to the legal profession for business development purposes. Time will only tell (now there’s a cliché my mother loved).

I haven’t been sold on the legal marketing ROI relative to these sites generally, nor have I heard that they currently produce serious amounts of work for law firms. Yet, I’m definitely coming around to the point of view that they will become one more important tool in the marketing toolbox. Not sold completely, but moving in that direction. 

One reason is that my blogmaster (Kevin O’Keefe and his gang at LexBlog) conducted a webinar for their clients recently, primarily focused on LinkedIn (but I understand a follow up broadcast will address others in more detail). It was enlightening for me to say the least, and so I’m working on beefing up my LinkedIn biography. I don’t know if it will be the leader for the profession, but it seems more lawyers are joining it than other networks these days, according to Kevin.

Also, John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing concurs in the importance of social networks in reporting on a survey by Universal McCann that shows the popularity of social networks, RSS feeds and blogs. It does seem clear that a web site is no longer enough of an Internet presence. As John puts it “And that means if you’re not participating in social media, you’re not really online.”

It does appear that social networking is not just a craze, and will likely become an important tool in developing business for lawyers. Have you signed up yet?

Although I believe that law firms will gain more work from clients because they seek feedback on how they are doing, that cannot be the reason for undertaking such a program. The honest reason for seeking client feedback must be based on caring for the client and the relationship. All else will take care of itself.

Bruce Allen over at Marketing Catalyst has a post that spells out “The Wrong Reason for Client Satisfaction Programs.”  He advises firms to avoid conducting such programs simply to:

• Avoid losing a client,
• Keep up with competitors who are doing them,
• Stand out from competitors who aren’t,
• Keep clients from talking with competitors,
• Save money, since cheaper than trying to land new clients,
• Make firm look good, and
• Have firm help show the client that the lawyer cares.

In other words, client feedback programs need to be genuine and not solely based on self-interest. I know law firms and consultants who genuinely care about their clients, to the point of losing business. It may be rare but as Bruce tells us it should be ingrained into the fiber of a law firm. As he puts it:

“Sincere care for people (your clients) cannot be taught in schools or seminars. It's learned by example and mentoring. You have to teach it, evangelize it, tolerate nothing less -- the reward is the stuff of remarkable careers.”

Every firm should consider seeking feedback as a vital part of the client relationship. But, it should be done for the right reasons.

A recent survey spells out how innovation not only helps keeps certain law firms top-of-mind, but also more profitable.  My friend Stacey West Clark has another great article (her standard fair) that appears on Law.com’s Small Firm Business about BTI's Survey of National Market Awareness 2008.

Her article actually covers a speech by Marcie Shunk, a principal of BTI Consulting Group, who shared some of her insights about the aforementioned, said survey (sorry, the adjectives were just a flashback to my practicing days) before the Delaware Valley Law Firm Marketing Group.

The survey was based on 1,700 in-house counsel interviews (41% from Fortune 100 companies, and 17% from Global 500), and according to Stacey’s article:

“…one thing became statistically clear: If you have top of mind awareness with your clients and potential clients, you will beat out your competition and your revenues will be higher.”

The two things the survey showed about the most successful firms, according to Shunk:

1. Innovation is a “driving theme,” and includes:

• Leading research and white papers,
• Client service standards and strategies,
• Aggressive alternative billing arrangements,
• Client-driven technology, and
• Firm market growth strategies; and

2. Increasing brand awareness (focusing on the things that involve having a direct experience with the firm/lawyer):

• Service that really differentiates firm,
• Sales pitches that set firm apart (and demonstrate capabilities vs. claims),
• Highly professional behavior even with opponents, and
• Exceptional business development activities (seminars, networking, trade association involvement).

Not a lot of new ideas here. But if you are innovative, you can do them in ways that will differentiate your firm, which will result in top-of-mind awareness and more business.

Here’s a link to a free download of the survey’s Executive Summary.

Building on an earlier post of mine about avoiding paying lip service to client service.  Dan Hull over on What About Clients? blog has a very interesting post he calls “All Hat, No Cattle.”

I am a fan of Dan’s blog, and as the name implies he is BIG on client service. He states that “superior work alone won’t keep a good client…coming back.” And client service (CS) has to be engrained into the firm’s culture, so that everyone buys “into CS like a cult, like a religion, like an angry sermon that took them out of their pews at the Church of the Final Thunder.” I like that.

Dan, a practicing attorney and not a consultant, tells us that too many firms think they are providing good service, but he has two problems with that view:

• Law firms are in a self-deception mode, and
• More seriously, firms are deceiving clients by way of their web site or during the sales pitch.

Such “deception” won’t last. Firms that say they are providing quality client service but don’t are not going to fool the client for very long. Particularly as more and more firms start getting religion when it comes to true client service. 

And what's that exactly, you may ask?  Well, enter the term "client service" into Search box on this page and you can read dozens of my posts on the subject.

There probably isn’t any lawyer (who has heard about the Internet) who doesn’t know the importance of search engine rankings. Over last couple of years I’ve become a big believer in the importance of search engine placements, since this blog during that period has been ranked second on Google and Yahoo for legal marketing. So, there isn’t any question that optimizing your site for the maximum impact on search engines is an important business development strategy.

A couple of months ago, I mentioned the free tune-up offered by Tom O’Leary at The Attorney ATM to the winner of his SEO contest open to solos and small firms. The winner was solo Mike Kondoudis, a patent attorney in Washington, DC. As you can imagine, Mike probably has few competitors in that particular market with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office being located there and all.  

O’Leary takes us through his process of tuning-up Mike’s site in a series of posts on his blog The Attorney Marketing Blog. They start with Mike’s reading and putting into play (before he won the contest) some of Tom’s advice contained in his free downloadable e-Book  entitled “How To Dominate Google, Yahoo and MSN.” O’Leary tells us about that in his post “From Obscurity to 1^st Page on Google in 5 Business Days.”

AND this is before O’Leary started working on tuning up Mike’s site. He then tells us about more results with Mike’s site after he works on it in his posts “How Google, Yahoo and MSN Treat a Solo’s Website” (and includes actual search results) and “Google and Yahoo Reward Persistent Effort.”

I’ve read a lot of things about SEO consultants on various listservs, some good and some bad. I’m really impressed with what Tom has done and shared with us about SEO on his blog. In fact, I intend to ask him to see what he can do to move my blog up a notch.

Whether you are sending an email message from your Blackberry or desktop, don’t be too clever when it comes to business development communications with clients, referral sources or prospects. Leave such for your closest friends and family.

Why? Because it isn’t cute any more (I know, I know – old foggy-speak). And it could send a couple of undesirable messages: 

• you are in a hurry, lazy, too busy, etc. to type a clear message, or
• recipient isn’t important enough for the real thing.

With some people that’s okay, but in most biz – oops, business communications, in my humble opinion (or IMHO), I don’t think it is a good idea.

Well, Frank Reed  over at Marketing Pilgrim agrees with that (and he’s a lot younger than me). In a post yesterday he calls “R U 2 Casual w Your Biz Talk?” he refers to a Wall Street Journal post entitled “Thx for the IView! I Wud ♥ to Work 4 U!! ;)” about job seekers who used this new form of “shorthand” to their detriment. Both posts are definitely worth a read.

I don’t know about you, but after looking over the title of this post and the two others, I’m feeling slightly nauseated. How about you?  If not, let me quote from Frank’s post: “R U nuts?”

An article (available to Association of Corporate Counsel members) by Susan Jacobsen that appears in the April 2008 issue of ACC’s “Hands On” addresses some “Lessons for Law Firms” as a result of a GC panel discussion at the 15^th Annual Marketing Partner Forum this past January.

Fred Krebs, the president of ACC, was moderator of the panel and cited results from the 2007 ACC/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey, specifically

“…noting that half of the survey respondents terminated relationship with some of their outside counsel during the prior year, citing failure to perform according to client expectations, high costs, and poor work product or results.”

Krebs then asked the three panelists (GCs from General Electric Company, Royal Bank of Canada, and Hasbro, Inc.) to address a number of topics relating to outside law firms, including communications, cross-selling (two examples cited turned out to be disasters), conflicts, marketing activities, knowing the client’s business, satisfaction interviews, use of websites, views of $180,000 starting salaries, and loaning associates to clients.

The lessons learned (or should be) that particularly stood out for me relating to marketing and business development include:

• Constantly communicate with your clients (about their matters, problems, etc.),
• Learn all about their business (“More than anything,…the firms that stand out are the ones that know our business,” according to one GC),
• Seek client interviews to obtain feedback (all three GCs were in favor of doing this), and
• Higher associate salaries are not favored (“…the rise in associate salaries in the larger firms provided a good opportunity for smaller, regional firms to be positioned for the business”, according to Jacobsen).

Main Lesson: Don’t be one of the law firms that clients show the door. 

For Survey’s table of contents and benchmarks...

Can’t imagine anyone arguing with the statement that lawyers are happiest when they are doing the work they enjoy for clients they like. Although I have covered this topic more than a half-dozen times, it is worth mentioning again. Especially when you run across a succinct article that emphasizes the point so well.

Chuck Newton’s Ride The Third Wave blog has such an article about chasing cases and clients you don’t want. His point is that when you are working on cases you dislike, you’re missing opportunities to develop the business you do. Your attention is diverted, and you won’t do as well taking those “skanky cases” (I was sure he made the word "skanky" up, but lo and behold, one definition of it is “arousing aversion” which pretty much sums it up). He concludes:

“It is really a self-fulfilling prophesy.  You chase the other cases and clients because you are worried about not succeeding with the cases and clients you want, and as a result you do not succeed because you have diverted your attention and divided your efforts.

….

“So, stay focused. Niche it.”

Thanks, Chuck.

Too many of us, myself included sometimes, approach networking with first trepidation and then with resignation. Unfortunately, with that approach the results are usually less than satisfactory. One should not just attend a networking function and hope for the best. As in hoping that clients will gravitate to your presence, and you will leave the room with them hanging off your back just like those rainmakers you hear about.

Not a good game plan.

Ford Harding has a couple of posts on networking that got my attention and I thought I would share them with you. His ideas do require some planning, rather than just showing up. In any event here are two ideas I like. Both require a little “stalking” sort of:

1. If you haven’t been able to identify in advance those individuals you want to seek out, at least have general idea of the type of persons who will be attending and whom you would like to meet. Ford’s idea of walking around the table to get the seat you want by introducing yourself to everyone before you sit down. This allows you to get a look at nametags and identify a likely target you can then sit next to, and
2. Ask one of the organizers it a particular person you would like to meet is there, and find them before entering the dining area. Then position yourself (or “stalk” the person) so you are able to walk to the same table and grab the seat next to them.

Stalking in this fashion isn’t even a crime, and can turn networking events into a more meaningful and successful business development outing.

Ran across an interesting article by Glenn Ebersole that appears on EzineArticles.com that talks about the need for a strategic action plan during a recession.

Strategic planning is always a good idea, but sometimes we consultants can overcomplicate a process when a common sense approach is all we’re talking about. Although I may not precisely agree with all his points, Ebersole recommends 10 action items that are worth considering:

1. Never stop developing business (agreed that the pipeline for new business must be constantly fed);
2. Reconnect with past clients (good idea to touch base with any clients who have used your firm in the past);
3. Deliver superior service to clients (I totally agree with his advice to “WOW” your clients)
4. Make a list of 100 existing and prospective clients to aggressively market (no reason to list that many, but it’s a good idea to come up with a dozen or two upon whom to focus your business development efforts);
5. Implement a “Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan” (not sure what he means by this, but probably has something to do with his advertising and public relations services. Since these items take a lot longer to come to fruition in our business, I put these lower on my list);
6. Undertake a strategy of frequent contact with clients and prospects (also referral sources, in order to stay “top of mind” for potential new business);
7. Cross-sell clients (often not successful in our business, unless done in the context of client- or industry-based teams);
8. “NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK!” (I guess he feels strongly about this. I would agree that kicking one’s networking activities into a higher gear is a good idea);
9. Prepare a “yearlong marketing activity plan” (well, at least put a written plan in place for the next three to six months. It should get you started in the right direction); and
10. Evaluate constantly your business development strategies and actions (however, make sure to give them an opportunity to work and bear fruit before jumping to the next fad-of-the-month).

As I pointed out in a recent post on the down economy, and as Ebersole says, much of the business development activities suggested for economic downturns make just as much sense for “normal” times too. The important thing is to “Just Do It.”

Whether you are trying to build a relationship after landing a new client, or to enhance existing client relationships, there are effective things a lawyer can do to accomplish both.

A Q&A article by Frank D’Amore that appeared in The Legal Intelligencer a couple of days ago, and on Law.com’s Small Firm Business, provides some good advice on the topic. D’Amore suggests five things that you can do to build client relationships:

1. Get to know the client’s business and industry (the failure to do so is one of the biggest complaints that clients express about their outside counsel. One way to overcome that is to offer to spend time off the clock at the client’s place of business in a learning mode);
2. Constantly communicate (ask clients about their preferred method and frequency of contact with outside counsel);
3. Focus on making the client look good (recognize your contact’s personal, internal needs, and help them gain credit from your efforts);
4. Maintain contact during “lulls in the client relationship” (even if not currently working on a particular client’s matter, keep in touch – by sending articles, newspaper clippings, e-mails, and telephone calls – and through client visits and entertainment); and
5. Suggest networking opportunities and potential introductions to benefit your clients.

If you think of ways to add value to your client relationships, rather than just how to get more work from clients, you will find that it will provide long-term benefits to your business as well.

According to an article by Jamie Heller on the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, law firms are not going to have a good year. In fact, according to a Wachovia Wealth Management group that services law firms, firms are looking at a downturn of 5% - 6%. And that “is going to be a good year,” or as one of the group’s members put it, “flat’s the new up.”

The evidence, especially in firms over 300 attorneys, shows that firms are tapping credit lines significantly, cutting non-producers (“dead wood walking the halls”), and more closely scrutinizing claims of laterals, according to the article.

But, as rainmakers know, they have nothing to worry about, as I pointed out in a post 3 ½ years ago, “Rainmakers Don’t Get Fired.” Things have not changed. Billable hours are not the test here.

Effective business developer = rainmaker = job security.

Why?

Because clients, especially in-house counsel, continue to be concerned about the costs of outside legal services. As a result, both surveys tell us that corporate counsel are going to bring more legal work in-house and fire outside law firms:

• InsideCounsel’s 19^th Annual Survey of General Counsel (July 2008) reports that 61.2% anticipate bringing more work in-house, and 41.5% (up 8.5% from last year) have or plan to fire outside law firms in 2008.
• Altman Weil’s 2008 Chief Legal Officer Survey reports that 49% plan to hire additional in-house lawyers this year (up 9% over last year); and 48% of CLOs “are considering firing at least one” outside law firm this year (up from 32% last year).

Accordingly, it behooves (gosh can’t remember last time I used that word) firms to stay very close to clients, so they are not one of the firms impacted by such moves.

Maybe that is why more firms are hiring or have dedicated in-house persons focusing on seeking client feedback.  Best to know if there are issues that need to be addressed before your firm is one of those shown the door.

Okay, only if you are going on vacation today. The point is that if you plan to take a vacation this summer, truly take a v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n. It will allow you to come back – not only to your law practice, but your business development activities as well – with a fresh look and attitude.

We all need time off. Heck I’m thinking of taking the next six months off myself. I WISH!

At any rate, Bruce Allen at Marketing Catalyst has a post about taking time off, either by playing “hookie” for a day or two, or going on a summer vacation. He says to “[L]eave behind all of your electronic connections and just go enjoy.” Fat chance I’m sure, but think about it at least.

Most importantly RELAX and enjoy some time off with your family and friends.  Also, have a great 4th of July holiday!

======================

P.S. About a year ago I had a post on “What To Do On Your Summer ‘Vacation.’”  Well, the title is misleading.  I don’t suggest you follow the recommendations in that post while you are actually on vacation.  Rather, do some before and some after.

Anyone who has been developing business for awhile pretty much knows that certain things are not true, and can adversely impact their marketing efforts. But it doesn’t hurt to occasionally be reminded what some of them are.

Trey Ryder does just that in his current newsletter in an article he calls “11 Deadly Assumptions That Kill Your Marketing Program.” In summary his assumption no-no’s include:

1. Clients and prospects know what services I provide;
2. Referral sources will send me all the clients I need;
3. When clients or potential clients have a question, they’ll call;
4. My marketing materials don’t need my photo;
5. Interacting often with prospects is a waste of time;
6. Prospects will remember what I tell them, so I shouldn’t repeat myself;
7. Business clients and prospects understand legal jargon;
8. Certain marketing methods don’t work like they use to;
9. The more complicated my message, the more clients will feel they need my services;
10. Graphics in ads are less important than the message; and
11. People understand that I’m busy when I don’t return phone calls promptly.

Most lawyers know that such statements are false on their face. Ya think! Then, how come some lawyers act as if some of the assumptions are true?

The point is that the article got me thinking about how the principle works just as well for lawyers. Simply put, what works best for lawyers in a down economy, works just as well in good times – albeit less urgently.

Effective marketing and business developments works any time. That brings me back to my top 10 best marketing tips, which are:

No. 10 – Be Active In Organizations

No. 9 – Networking With Super-Connectors

No. 8 – Take A Reporter To Lunch

No. 7 – Write Articles of Interest

No. 6 – Talk It Up With More Speeches

No. 5 – Communicate Often

No. 4 – Offer To Make Proposal

No. 3 – Seek Client Feedback Often

No. 2 – Entertain Your Client

No. 1 – Visit Your Clients

Whether or not the current down economy is adversely impacting your law practice, these tips will help you develop more business.

After getting more work or referrals from clients, the next best source of new business is from referrals from other sources. Many of the same types of business development activities you undertake for clients are effective for referral sources as well. They include: visiting their offices, seeking feedback, sending them clients, sending information of interest and newsletters, etc. etc. However, will clients and other contacts actually refer work?

Seth Godin in “How to get referrals,” says that much has been written about how referrals “are the very best way to grow your business,” yet often they simply don’t happen. Why?

Three reasons in Seth’s view:

1. Not important to the referrer,
2. Referrer has a lot to lose (mostly credibility) by referring a friend, and
3. Recommending isn’t easy (as in bringing up the subject, I think he means).

So, what’s a lawyer to do?  Well actually, Seth isn’t referring (oops, sorry about that) to lawyers in the following five suggestions, but I thought I would:

• Make it easy for someone to bring up what you do (that is, let your contacts know something unique about your practice, your practice niche),
• Give clients something of real value to offer their friends (as in a dynamite, outstanding client service experience),
• Paying a person to refer rarely works (and could get a lawyer disbarred, but returning the favor would work);
• Low-risk referrals are easier than high-risk ones (so ask for referrals in a way that reduces the risk to the referrer); and
• “Be worthy” and known as such in marketplace (if you are not known by the referral source as offering value in eyes of the community, then it is much tougher to make the referral).

 Hope there is some food for thought for you and your firm there.

I have often preached at seminars and law firm retreats, that the key to successful legal marketing is to go out and befriend people. My formula goes something like this:

Make contacts, contacts, contacts

(to borrow a concept from my realtor friends),

+

Communicate constantly

+

Build upon relationships

+

Turn into friendships

=

Long Term Client Relationships

Of course, planning and focus are an important part of whom one should be making contact with in the first place.  And, assuming that a law firm knows the kind of ideal clients it wants, then time is not wasted on building the wrong or less desirable relationships.

An article by Lee Ann Bellon that appeared in the Fulton County Daily Report and on Law.com’s Small Firm Business emphasizes the friendship point.  She reports that a partner, in the 86-lawyer litigation firm of Carlock, Copeland, Semler & Stair in Atlanta, says that more than 75% of his clients are also his friends.  And she tells how he does it, and suggests five steps that firms can utilize to build friendships.

No rocket science here; but, reminders on some of the ways to go about befriending contacts who could become long term clients.

It certainly is no secret that a lot of general counsel are not exactly thrilled with their outside law firms these days. What with record profits by BigLaw (and one firm bragging about it), the cost of first year associates salaries and rising billing rates, the evidence is clear. But rising legal costs is only part of the story.

John Remsen’s latest Marketing Tip gives eight reminders of what is important to general counsel, and not all relate to the cost of legal services:

1. They hire lawyers, not firms (so why are firms spending so much on institutional marketing when face-to-face lawyer interaction - business development - will get better results);
2. Be available when I need you (be responsive and reachable – returning calls or emails the next day is no longer acceptable);
3. Keep your promises (deliver your services on deadline – actually, it is better marketing to beat your deadline, as in “under promise, and over deliver”);
4. Get to know me and my business (it is the best way to become a trusted advisor to your most important clients which in turn results in long term relationships);
5. Avoid surprises – always (not just when it involves bad news or invoices, but anything that the client is likely to be unhappy about);
6. Ensure that general counsel look good (their egos – and position within the company - are important, and relate directly to future business);
7. Don’t overlawyer (the money does matter, so don’t spend $100,000 on a $25,000 matter – assome firms have incredibly done); and
8. Be nice – to everyone (each person on the client’s team is important, so be nice to all staff people, as well as the lawyers).

It makes a lot of business development sense to listen to what general counsel have to say. The economic viability of your firm may depend on it.

Before I give a speech, I get nervous. I’ve learned over the years that that is a good thing. If I’m not nervous, it’s because I am overconfident, and then I usually bomb. So, I don’t dread being nervous, but I like to get over it pretty quickly after beginning my talk.

Therefore, I like to start with some humor. It helps relax me…when it gets the intended reaction from the audience, that is. Humor is a great thing, but it can be dangerous, if it comes across as inappropriate, demeaning, politically incorrect, etc., or just not funny.

Tom Antion, the Great Public Speaking guru, has a couple of recent posts dealing with both tips on opening comments, and speaker humor.

His suggestions on beginning your talk include:

• “Make points that folks agree on first. Never create controversy early, unless you are doing it for dramatic effect.
• “Never tell a long involved story unless it is HIGHLY TESTED. If it bombs, you will have a tough fight to win back the audience.
• “Never tell any story or joke that has a remote chance of offending someone. After you warm up the audience, you may be bolder.
• “Somewhere in your opening you must tell the audience why you are there. They need some selfish reason to listen to you.
• “Using humor in your opening tells the audience that yours is going to be a fun presentation. It tells them that they might actually enjoy it. Don't disappoint them by telling an opening joke and boring them the rest of the time.”

His humor post has more than a dozen funny lines from famous people. Take a look. You may find one that safely fits into the topic of your speech.

Most of all, when giving a speech, have fun.  Your audience will enjoy the experience more, and so will you.

A few years ago, I met a lawyer who sat on the grievance committee (Committee on Professional Standards, Appellate Divsion, New York State Supreme Court). She informed me that 80% of the grievances filed against lawyers in the state were due to inattention to a client’s matter and for failure to communicate, generally. It seems that I read a similar number in an ABA article somewhere. Moreover, she said that some of the grievances result in malpractice claims, when no actual malpractice took place.

In my speeches, I often point out that a failure to communicate often (as in constantly, frequently, persistently, regularly, all the time…… okay, okay, I agree, enough already) is not only foolish from a professional standpoint (as in discipline by the bar, keeping professional insurance premiums reasonable, and so forth), BUT it is just dumb marketing.  One could even say it is marketing malpractice.

So, why don’t lawyers communicate more often with clients? Their busy, don’t have the answer from the other side, from the court, or haven’t had a chance to work on that memo, or whatever. It matters not what the excuse may be, the fact is that the lawyer should communicate such information to the client nonetheless. The more communication that occurs, even if it is not always what the client wants to hear, the better the client will feel. Knowledge truly is power, and clients do not like being kept in the dark.

At least one solution might be to provide clients with a regular status report. Ed Poll offers to share a status report form he came across that might do the trick. E-mail him at edpoll@lawbiz.com for a copy. As Ed says, unhappy clients often don’t complain, they just don’t use the lawyer again.

What are your means of keeping clients informed?

Unfortunately, too many law firms do not provide quality client service. At least not the kind of service that clients want, if we can believe the results of surveys by the BTI Consulting Group and InsideCounsel magazine. I trust that many firms truly believe they are providing good client service. Regrettably, the surveys do not support that view.

An article “The Phenome of Client Service” by David Freeman on Law.com’s Small Firm Business should serve as a wakeup call for many law firms if they are serious about client service. David’s article is definitely worth a read.

First, David points out that the surveys tell us:

• In 2006, clients only gave 21% of their firms an A grade on performance, while 52% of law firms gave themselves an A (there was an even worse disparity in 2007, with 19% of clients and 62% of firms rendering an A) [InsideCounsel];
• Approximately 47% of corporate counsel “ousted their primary law firms in the prior 18 months;” and in 2006, 75%  of in-house counsel respondents were looking at “exceptional client focus” while only 12.5% were “swayed by legal skills” [BTI Consulting]; and
• In 2008 “The Survey of Client Service Performance for Law Firms: The BTI Client Service A-Team” reports that only 34.6% of clients “recommended their primary law firm.” [BTI Consulting].

So, client service is the name of the game. Or it should be.  And I agree with David that the way to excel at it is to: know your client’s business, be highly responsive, proactive, add value, and manage the relationship. In conclusion, he sums it up this way: “It should be the goal of every firm to move from the platitudes of lip service to the realities of extraordinary service.”

If you would like to take a quick look at his six steps for a more “robust approach” to client service …

I talk too much. I know a lot of people who talk more than they listen. That’s a bad.

The adage comes to mind that the “person who talks the most is the one who thinks the meeting was the most successful.” Can’t remember where I got that one, but believe it based on personal experience. So, if a lawyer wants a client or prospect to think a meeting was a success (and end up hiring them), doesn’t it make sense for the lawyer to listen more than 50% of the time. 

David Reich over on my 2 cents blog has a post on “Listening – The key component of Conversation.” He states:

“Listening is perhaps the most important part of conversation.  If you're not listening, then it's a one-way communication.  That's not good in everyday life, and it's certainly not good in marketing.”

….

“…The beauty of listening is that those who are listened to start to feel accepted, start taking their words more seriously and start discovering their true selves.”

More importantly,

“Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends…”

Clients hire lawyers they like and trust. All the more likely if you’re friends.

Be honest. Do you have a written marketing plan? Well, join the other 95% of lawyers who don’t – at least that is the percentage of business people that don’t have one according to Drew McLellan over at Small Business Branding. And I agree. Further, I concur with Drew that a “To Do List” doesn’t count.

His excellent post “What is your lack of planning costing you?” is short and sweet. First, he cites a number of anonymous sayings we can all agree with, which is why his point about the costs of failing to plan is right on target. Specifically:

• “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
• “Measure twice, cut once.”
• “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
• “It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”

What I liked most was his five reasons why a lack of planning is so costly:

1. Spend more money
2. Reach fewer of the right people
3. Be swayed by persuasive sales people rather than staying the course
4. Be less efficient
5. Grow your business more slowly, if at all

Finally, I couldn’t resist adding a couple of my favorite adages (authors unknown) when it comes to planning:

• “When all’s said and done, a lot more is said than done.”
• “Planning without action is futile, action without planning is fatal.”

If your web site is not attracting much traffic, it probably does. Tom O’Leary of The Attorneys ATM, who recently completed a site for a very happy client of mine (who picked up a significant matter one month after his new site went online), is offering a FREE “tune-up” to the winner of an SEO contest open to solos and small firms.

Some lucky winner is going get his or her web site “tuned-up” so it can do what it is supposed to do – attract new clients. Tom says he will work with the winner to optimize the site for the search phrases applicable to their practice, and in short order have the site sit on the first page of Google, Yahoo and MSN – all for free.

So, if your current web site's visibility is less than it should be, and you want it to help grow your practice, register here for the SEO contest.  He will be posting the results of the contest and follow-up on the winner's progress. 

Even if you don't win, Tom has a gift for you.  All those who enter will receive a free copy of his new eBook, “How to Dominate Google, Yahoo and MSN.” It’s a 77-page, step-by-step guide to top search engine rankings for:

• Those attorneys on a shoe-string budget that need a strong web site to attract new clients;
• Attorneys with a successful practice that simply enjoy working on their own site and want to make it a more effective marketing tool; and
• Successful attorneys who would like an inside peek at what is needed in order to have a successful web site - and use that knowledge when hiring a search engine optimization firm.

So, if your site appears somewhat inert and could use a tune-up, give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing…………..etc.

Following my post I heard from Ford Harding who sent me a copy of his book Rainmaking: Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field, 2^nd Edition. The book includes a chapter “When You Lose a Sale,” which includes the following suggestions in seeking feedback:

• Encourage stark honesty, like a Dutch uncle;
• Try to set a separate meeting or at least phone call for the debriefing (not as part of the bad news call);
• Make sure you don’t come across as threatening or angry;
• Compile your questions in advance;
• Three general questions you should definitely ask:
  • “Why did you select the other firm?
  • “What did they do especially well during the sales process?
  • “Where could we have been better?”;
• Don’t be disagreeable or argue with anything you hear;
• Keep notes on what is said;
• Debrief as many people as is reasonably appropriate; and
• Send a personal (handwritten) thank you note.

Following this advice will more than likely improve your chances of winning the next time.

Now, stop yawning! This is not as boring a topic as you might think.

Thom Singer makes a great case for using this tool that some people think is mundane and “oh, so 60’s”. To those I say with all due respect – horsefeathers!! Nametags are very important in any networking situation. 

Heck, I was with a medium-sized law firm  recently that used permanent nametags (even for spouses/significant others) at their own retreat with only one or two outsiders.

As Thom points out there are important reasons for using them:

• Every event is a networking event,
• Everyone does not know everyone,
• Lack of “coolness” is irrelevant,
• They facilitate conversations,

And possibly most importantly,

• they help avoid embarrassing situations.

So, don’t let others talk you out of using nametags. They are an important tool.  

And if you are dying to read more about nametags, check out ole crazy (as in successful and probably rolling in it) “Hello, My Name is Scott” Ginsberg. I think he probably wears his nametag to bed, but I could be wrong about that.

Although not everyone accepts that the “R” word is actually occurring (of course “they” have six or seven figure incomes with little chance of encountering a foreclosure on their McMansion, nor being troubled by such mundane tasks as putting petroleum into their limousines – but I digress), but for those firms who do feel a bit of a pinch in the old institutional wallet these days, it may just be time to crank up the business development efforts a little.

An article by Les Altenberg of A.L.T. Legal Professionals Marketing Group on the subject, that appears in this week’s Law.com, talks about adjusting the four “P’s” (Product, Place, Promotion, Price) of marketing as one way to develop business in these troubled times. Specifically:

Product – Consider providing a mix of services most in need in such times, such as bankruptcy, loan restructuring, renegotiation of contracts, acquisitions of distressed businesses and, of course, litigation;

Place – whether services are delivered in the law office, clients office, over the telephone or Internet, the important part is to stay close to existing clients (and that in my mind includes visiting key clients in their workplace);

Promotion – a firm should focus its business development dollars on promoting the mix of services needed now, especially those things most likely to raise the firm’s profile relating to those services – speaking, writing, seeking feedback, entertaining and client visits (basically drawing from my Top Ten Marketing Tips list); and

Price – here, as a medium-sized or small firm, I would emphasize your normally lower rates compared to BigLaw, and offer alternative fee arrangements (such as fixed fees). As Les warns, be careful about reducing your fees in these times, as it will be extremely difficult to raise them when things turn around.

Whether you agree or not that the economy is in an actual recession, revisiting your marketing four P's is worth doing.

Bruce Allen has an intriguing post at Marketing Catalyst about restaurants in troubled times, and how one chef comes to the rescue.  We both believe there are valuable lessons in his story for law firms. Although Bruce brings up the tale in the context of a down economy, I believe the lesson is just as applicable whatever the state of the marketplace.

He mentions how Scottish Chef Gordon Ramsey on his TV show Kitchen Nightmares works at turning around failing restaurants. Bruce surmises that the establishments are failing because of “two key issues”:

• There are too many items on the menu, and
• The restaurant is not known as “the best place to go for ____.”

Now think law firm. Think brand.

No law firm is totally a one-stop shop. In fact, in most firms it is best to not even try. Due to the complexities associated with most legal areas today, a law firm – especially a medium to small firm – is better off limiting itself to niche practices. Not only will lawyers become more proficient in these areas of the law, but it’s easier and more efficient to focus the firm’s business development efforts on fewer practice areas.

Accordingly, law firms should consider reducing the size of their menu. It’s a good thing to be known for one or two niche areas, but, better to be recognized as “the best place to go for __________.”

My friend Dan Hull tells us a story on his What About Clients? blog about his childhood friend, who may be just a bit weird – with a sense of humor. His friend claims to have uncovered advice from some lawyer’s writings dated in 1836. I don’t know his friend, but like Dan, I expect he is full of manure as to his "discovery".

The “sage” advice includes:

1. “Be risk-averse at all times. Clients have come to expect this from their lawyers. It's tradition. Honor it.
2. "Tell the client only what it can't do. Business clients are run by business people who take risks. They need to be managed, guided, stopped. Don't encourage them.
3. “Whatever you do, don't take a stand, and don't make a recommendation. (You don't want to be wrong, do you?)
4. “Treat the client as a potential adversary at all times. Keep a distance.
5. “Cover yourself. Write a lot to the client. Craft lots of confirming letters which use clauses like "it is our understanding", "our analysis is limited to..." and "we do not express an opinion as to whether..."
6. “Churn up extra fees with extra letters and memoranda and tasks. Milk the engagement. (If you are going to be a weenie anyway, you might as well be a sneaky weenie.)
7. “As out-house counsel, you are American royalty. Never forget that.”

On the other hand, you may prefer to follow “The Ten Commandments of Good Client Relationships” developed by the Queensland Law Society of Australia instead: 

1. “Clients are the most important people in our practice — in person, by mail or by phone.
2. “Clients are not dependent on us. We are dependent on them.
3. “Clients are not an interruption of our work. They are the purpose of it.
4. “Clients do us a favor when they call. We are not doing them a favor by serving them.
5. “Clients are a part of our business. Do not treat them as outsiders.
6. “Clients are not “statistics.” They are flesh-and-blood human beings with feelings and emotions like our own.
7. “Clients are not people to argue with or match wits. Nobody ever won an argument with a client.
8. “Clients are people who bring us their wants. It is our job to meet those wants.
9. “Clients are the lifeblood of this practice.
10. “Clients are deserving of the most courteous and attentive treatment we can give them.”

Thanks to Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog for bringing the commandments to my attention some time back.

Last week I had the privilege of presenting at a North Carolina 80-lawyer firm retreat. Normally, when I am hired by a firm to aid in the marketing effort, my challenge is to convince the firm of what they need to do to be successful at legal marketing and business development. That was not what happened in this case.

 I feel a little guilty charging the firm of Ward and Smith, P.A. for my services. The firm is so incredibly with it, that I’m still not sure why they felt they needed me in the first place. Let me explain.

The firm over the last couple of years had already undertaken SWOT analysis, followed by planning and implementation of their strategies (without the benefit of an outside consultant). Additionally, they have focused heavily on clients and relationship building in general. Finally, they have created a family atmosphere (reinforced by spouses and significant others who attended the retreat).

Not only does the firm hold a retreat each year at a resort with the better half attending, but spouses and others are invited to all substantive sessions, if they wish to attend. Other family functions are held during the year. Good internal marketing!

What struck me the most about what the firm is already doing includes:

Planning:

• All lawyers meet quarterly to thrash out and build on efforts initiated at the annual retreats;
• The firm has practice groups responsible for administrative, CLE, practice development purposes, and interdisciplinary client or industry teams for marketing and client development purposes; and
• Client teams meet monthly and report in writing on business development progress.

Client Relationships:

• A full-time, dedicated marketing partner who visits with clients seeking feedback and business development opportunities;
• Teams visit with clients off the clock; and
• Invite clients to “lunch and learn” or after hours cookouts, either at a firm location or at a clients' (even towing their own BBQ equipment along), and responding to questions from clients free of charge.

Considering how much I hear (and write) about what clients want from their outside lawyers (and aren’t getting), I know of only a few that begin to match what Ward and Smith is doing. I haven’t had a chance to meet any of their clients, but I’ll bet you $10 to a donut that they have a ton of satisfied clients who believe that their law firm really “gets it.”

Naturally, one might think every lawyer is responsible, or maybe the managing partner if it has to be brought down to a single individual. My initial reaction was the former, but after reading the article “The Power of One” by Marcie Borgal in The Complete Lawyer, I’ve come up with a different take on the issue. Marcie is a senior strategic analyst with The BTI Consulting Group in Wellesley, MA.

Her article starts with:

“A research study recently conducted (by BTI) … revealed a startling fact. Having a single individual accountable for firm-wide client service boosts per attorney profits by up to 41.2%”

I must admit I was startled by that myself. Marcie refers to these individuals as “client service executives.” Their job responsibilities include:

• “providing client-focused tools and programs,
• generating strategies to improve client service performance,
• delineating gaps between performance and client expectations, and
• regularly tracking and monitoring client satisfaction.”

Additionally, these individuals may conduct “annual interviews with key clients” to ascertain client service issues, as well as “clients’ goals and needs.”

Law firms “typically draw client service executives from the ranks of their most well-respected attorneys,” according to Marcie.  In most cases, I presume in most firms that person is likely to be the managing partner.   But, that may not always be the case.

For instance, Philadelphia’s Ballard Spahr has hired a full time in-house “Client Interviewer” and Seattle’s Stanislaw Ashbaugh has a Chief Results Officer on staff (with a prominent link from the firm’s home page).

It looks like some law firms are really taking client service issues – and, more importantly client satisfaction – seriously. As Marcie says, “[C]lients translate these approaches as an expression of interest and investment in them, their priorities and their concerns.” I think it is just smart legal marketing!

It certainly doesn’t hurt if, in addition to “happy-camper clients,” the firm’s profits increase by more than 40% in the bargain.

Thanks to Arnie Herz for the tip that led me to Marcie’s article.

Mid-sized and small law firms that specialize in “banking and finance litigation” have significant opportunities to pick up work that would normally go to large law firms. The reason is that BigLaw may be conflicted out of these cases according to an article in the New York Lawyer pointing out that “BigLaw Conflicts Give Smaller Firms Big Role in Market Crisis.” (free subscription required). The article also appears in Law.com's Small Firm Business.

A few of those smaller firms and who they represent include:

• Kobre & Kim (19 lawyers) – representing Deutsche Bank A.G., Fluxo-Cane Overseas Ltd (Brazilian cane exporter), Telinor Telefonia (Mexican telecom utility);
• Rich & Intelisano (4-lawyer plaintiffs’ firm) – claims related to Bear Stearns, and claims against Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley being arbitrated before FIRA; and
• Girard Gibbs (15 lawyers) - representing some German and French banks.

If your firm does some of this work, you might want to crank up your legal marketing efforts in that direction.

Too few business owners religiously track their financial numbers as a means of monitoring the health of their businesses, according to a post by Drew McLellan on the Small Business Branding blog. Although Drew brings this up in the context of management issues, the importance for marketing should not be overlooked.

And, so it should be for law firms. For instance, a client admitted recently that he doesn’t look enough at his firm’s numbers as a tool of marketing. He’s not alone. The fact is that a law firm’s financials provide a wealth of information that can save time in focusing a firm’s business development efforts.

By delving into the firm’s financials, a firm can uncover the strength of its practices. Further, by discovering which clients are the most profitable, and the industries they represent, the firm provides grist for its marketing focus. It just makes sense for a law firm to concentrate its primary lawyer marketing efforts on those type of clients and practices where the firm is already strong.  The numbers will tell you where your strengths are.

You can learn a lot either way. Thanks to Barbara Walters Price at Marketing U, I remembered a very important lesson I learned about business development competitions. Whether you win or lose, it is wise to conduct a post mortem to determine why. Barbara’s post led me to a post by Ford Harding on preparing for a sales presentation.  Stay with me now. 

Ford’s point was that it is “insane” to spend a lot of time working on a “leave-behind” rather than focusing on who will say what at the presentation itself.  He considers the leave-behind a waste of time. I would agree, but how he arrived at that conclusion leads me to my point.

He conducted a series of post mortems (learning that potential clients didn’t even remember what was left behind). It reminded me of how important follow up after a competition really is. Not only when you lose, but when you win as well. The latter because you may get a false idea of why you were successful. (I remember a time I found out that the competitor had done a better proposal, but sent the wrong person to the oral presentation. So, we won, but not because of our proposal. Learned a valuable lesson on that one.)   

Of course, the main reason for a post mortem is to learn what the competition did right and what your firm could do better in the future, no matter the outcome.

At the Legal Marketing Association annual meeting last month in LA, the chairperson and the general counsel of the Association of Corporate Counsel, along with two other members on their panel, let law firm marketers know how they felt about the increasing rates and associated legal costs of outside counsel.

According to a post by Mark Beese on his Leadership for Lawyers blog entitled “We’re Not Going to Take It,” the ACC reps laid out the realities in-house counsel are facing, specifically:

• Pressure to contain and predict legal costs,
• Frustration with double-digit rate increases,
• Off-the-scale associate salaries (and corresponding hourly rates); and
• Perceived unwillingness by law firms:
  • to discuss alternative fee arrangements, and
  • create lower cost methods for commodity work.

So, what's my point? Talk to the in-house counsel you know about your fee structures, and willingness to discuss alternatives to the traditional hourly rate. There’s a lot of work out there for medium-sized and smaller law firms because of their lower fee structure and flexibility. 

If large firms aren’t yet fearful as to how serious corporate counsel are about finding solutions to these pressure points, they will be soon enough. And just think how you can help them along by picking up more of their corporate work in the meantime.

Since I started interviewing law firm clients in 1990 (even used a film crew to capture five of them on a VHS tape – I’ll bet you remember what those are), I have never waivered from the belief that it is one of the most important things a firm can do to retain clients. And developing and enhancing client relationships is what marketing is all about. It is one of the reasons I put client feedback as No. 3 on my Top Ten Marketing Tips list.

Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia has made a major commitment to institutionalize its client feedback process. As reported on several blogs (Mark Beese on his Leadership by Lawyers, Larry Bodine’s Law Marketing Blog and Peter Darling's Business Development) over the past week, Ballard has hired a full time “client interviewer.” It is reported that the person has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist, so she should be conducting some serious interviews. I agree with Peter that it is a brilliant move.

Your firm may not be in a position to justify the cost of a full time in-house client interviewer (Ballard has 500 lawyers after all), but there is absolutely no reason why your managing partner, or an experienced outside third party, shouldn’t be doing client interviews for your firm. The purpose is to determine how the firm is doing in the relationship, inviting honest feedback on any problems, and to learn what the firm could do better.

It is better to find out if there are problems, that can be corrected, before your key clients decide to try another law firm for their next matter. There is no time to waste.

Writing and speaking as business development techniques have long been two of my favorites. They are No. 7 and No. 6 on my list of Top 10 Marketing Tips. The obvious purpose is to establish the lawyer’s position as an authority on a subject and encourage clients to retain her or him as a result.

My friend Trey Ryder has an article “How To Build Your Image As An Authority” in his recent newsletter; and writing and speaking play an important role in building that authority image:

• Write articles for publication,
• Appear as a guest on a radio talk show,
• Offer opinions and advice on the TV news,
• Present seminars to other lawyers,
• Present seminars for your prospects,
• Write and publish a newsletter,
• Write a book, and
• Host a web site (or blog).

Trey also offers five additional suggestions dealing with the trappings of authority for consideration from titles, and office status to the car you drive. Take a look.

Darren Rowse has a great article over at ProBlogger where he raises the question “Should I Change My Website Into a Blog?” He mentions six reasons to do so, while including five reasons you may not want to. Darren’s reasons include:

Reasons to do a blog:

1. “Blogs give Individuals, Companies and Brands ‘Voice’;
2. “Blogs are Conversational;
3. “Blogs build Trust;
4. “Blogs build Profile;
5. “Blogs are Immediate (meaning that you don’t have wait for your writings to be published); and
6. “Blogs are a doorway to Search Engines and Social Media.”

Reasons not to:

1. “Blogs Take Time to Mature (so don’t expect a quick return);
2. “Blogs Take Daily Work (not if you don’t post daily, two or three times a week can work);
3. “Blogs Take More than Writing (it can also involve monitoring comments, having a good design, marketing your site, etc.);
4. “Bloggers Can be Anti-Trust/Profile Building (meaning that depending on what you write and your tone, you could actually impact your reputation adversely); and
5. “Blogs Rely Upon YOU as a Conversation Starter.”

For higher visibility for your law practice, blogging may just be the answer. But if you aren’t going to make the commitment to sustain it, then maybe not. 

So, the question is: Do you want to increase your visibility, dialogue, and credibility with your intended audience? Blogging is one vehicle to consider as part of your business development mix, IMHO.

Check out Darren’s article for more, such as whether to turn your web site into a blog or start a new site, as well as some recommended reading.  You may also want to look over the 38 comments he got in response to his post to see what others think about the idea.

Okay, every lawyer knows that, right? It’s so basic, so common sense, so elemental, so essential, so basic (alright, I’ll stop with the synonyms). Why then are clients unsatisfied even when the result is good? Because some lawyers don’t:

• Understand clients’ businesses and/or personal situation,
• Return phone calls or emails promptly,
• Keep client informed so as to avoid surprises,
• Meet deadlines
• Treat client with respect,
• Meet client expectations as to how matter will be handled,
• Respect clients’ time by keeping them waiting without explanation,
• Keep clients informed as to the process or status of their matter, and
• Keep a handle on costs and fees.

The point is obvious. There is a lot more to client satisfaction that just getting a favorable result. And remember that satisfied clients are the best source of new business – in terms of follow on work and word-of-mouth referrals. Pretty basic isn’t it.

On Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog there’s an ancient post (well, actually January 31) that I ran across, that refers to his presentation at the ABA TECHSHOW last year.  I meant to post about it earlier as I’m a big fan of Jim’s, so better late than never. He talked about client development in terms of satisfied clients. He boils it down to meeting client expectations, and his article has both good advice and refers to additional resources, such as:

• Careful screening of clients (with danger signals);
• Communicating with clients in the 21^st Century;
• Taming the Beast: Managing Client Expectations in a 24/7 World; and
• “Dealing with the Difficult Client” by Carole Curtis over at PracticePro (which by the way has a bunch of articles on various topics of interest to law firms.

A lot of good stuff thanks to Jim.

Lawyers are happier when they are doing the work they like for the clients they like working for. As my long time readers know, I have sung and preached that mantra many times (here, here, here, here, here, and here). Furthermore, your law firm marketing will be more efficient and cost effective, if you focus your business development efforts on narrow market niche(s) that set you apart from the competition.

But, if you are having trouble identifying the “ideal” clients for your law firm, think about this for a minute. Try using the reverse approach. By that I mean determine your ideal clients by deciding the clients you DON’T want. Some may say that is a negative approach, but what the heck if it works for you.

I can thank my friend (actually I’ve never met him, only spoke with him once or twice, but I really like his stuff, so maybe he’ll be my friend) John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing for the idea on this approach.  He explains in his post “Who don’t you want as a customer?”:

“ It’s just human nature I guess, but we seem to have a much better grasp of what we don’t want in our life than what we do. So by first categorizing things like the types of customers that you can’t serve well, the kinds of people you don’t work well with, or the size of projects that don’t fit you may be on your way to better understanding your ideal customer.”

And…

“Now, while you are at this exercise you may discover that you are currently working some of these customers you now admit you don’t want. Do what you can to move them to someone who can serve them better and begin the process of narrowing your focus only to your ideal customer profile.”

Thanks, John.

The result: cutting where cutting shouldn’t occur. In my more than two decades of experience in this business, when the belt tightens one of the first areas to feel it is the marketing budget. That’s a BAD. My point is that now is the wrong time to be cutting back. Rather, now is the time to increase marketing and business development efforts.

Bruce Marcus of The Marcus Perspective agrees. He addresses the competitive advantages that a firm could have during a recession (yeah, sorry but that’s what we are in IMHO), if a firm first recognizes that marketing is integral to the practice of law. As Bruce puts it in his article “6 Steps For Being A Tougher Competitor In A Weak Economy” that appears on RainToday.com “now is not the time to save money – it’s the time to spend money wisely.”

His six steps to being a tougher competitor in a weak economy are:

1. Service the right market – you can’t be “all things to all clients,” so narrow your marketing focus to the firm’s more profitable emerging (not declining) markets;
2. Target your business development efforts – rather than aiming at a broad marketplace. I’d personally recommend focusing on existing clients over prospects, but if you do target prospects at least pick individual targets;
3. Look at your infrastructure – in order to become more productive. Your assessment should include management processes, technology, and skill sets, as well as the most effective (on an individual basis) business development techniques;
4. Modernize your firm – by sharpening your skills, particularly as it relates to: assessing your market, planning, communicating internally (and with clients), and selling (oops, I mean developing business);
5. Don’t market on the cheap – Bruce is right in saying that “do-it-yourself-marketing is expensive.” You can do it effectively if your lawyers have the skill sets, but “it is still not a game for amateurs.” Invest in help where you need it; and
6. Don’t wait – do it now. Learning to compete may be your firm’s best protection, especially in today’s market and economy.

I particularly like Bruce’s concluding paragraph:

“It’s true that when times are tough, it's easier to cut costs – including marketing costs – and to hunker down until it's over. But that's like drilling a hole in the bottom of a flooded boat to let the water out. For a professional firm in an economic crisis, there's no place to hide, so learn to fight back."

Law firms have asked me whether they should undertake an advertising or public relations campaign. My response can be both or neither. The reason is that until a firm has done the basics involving strategic marketing planning, either or both could be a total waste of money.

If a firm doesn’t know where it wants to end up, who its target audience should be, and what clients it really wants to serve, then any advertising or public relation campaign is premature.

Furthermore, firms need to understand the significant differences between advertising and PR. Paramjit Mahli, who may have a slight bias (as do I), addresses the distinction between the two on her Profiting With Public Relations blog, and is worth taking a look at.

As to which is better, my bias comes down on the side of PR; but advertising can also be useful, especially in raising a law firm’s profile with intended audiences. However, the latter does not make my Top 10 Marketing Tips for developing business. As I see it the three main differences include:

Whether one or the other, or both, is right for your law firm will depend, in my judgment, on where your firm is in terms of its marketing and business development program.

Okay, that’s another of my infamous generalizations. But stick with me a second. I really do believe that everything a lawyer does – at least as s/he interacts with another human being – is marketing.

I was reminded of this basic, fundamental principle when it comes to developing business in any personal services arena when I came across my friend Dan Hull’s post “When you work, you are marketing” over at What About Clients? blog wherein he refers to Rule 6 (his favorite) of his 12 Rules of marketing. It is definitely worth a read.

And here is an earlier post of mine on the same topic:

“Everything You Do as a Lawyer is Marketing”

Take a look.

Well, “secrets” may be a bit strong, since what makes small to medium size law firms successful isn’t exactly rocket science. Prosperous smaller firms have very successful lawyers who never practiced in BigLaw, as well as those who did, but left because they no longer cared for the environment or life style in larger firms.

So, what are the “secrets” that make smaller firms thrive?

There are many reasons, of course, but one article on the benefits of small firm practices by Zack Needles with The Legal Intelligencer that appears on this month’s Law.com’s Small Firm Business gives us clues as to what five Pennsylvania firms attribute their success to:

• Niche practice within boutique firm;
• Attracting talent with strong capabilities, and focusing on “exceptional service and competitive rates;”
• Focusing on maintaining a high profile as “best marketing technique;” and
• Developing “personal marketing plans” with individual lawyer budgets and accountability.

Seems fairly straight forward, and worth taking a look at.

Often I seek out ideas from the non-legal world that I think will be applicable to lawyers and law firms.  One of those sources that I have used before is Michael McLaughlin over at Guerrilla Consulting. Although his audience is primarily made up of consultants, his advice is regularly useful in our world.

In a recent article he offers up “What Clients Want: 4 Keys To Every Working Relationship” which was published on RainToday.com. His advice includes:

1. Determine Client’s Expectations – Find out what the client wants to accomplish (e.g., scorched earth vs. quickest resolution of issue), and make that your goal as well. As McLaughlin points out, a “client’s primary expectation is that you finish the work on time, on budget, and with a minimal disruption” and without last minute surprises;
2. “Cool It” With Your Expertise – Interesting concept. As a rule – let’s face it – we lawyers have a tendency to tout our expertise, and suggest that we have the solution in hand (no guarantee, of course). “Clients value consultants (read lawyers) whose minds are freed, not hamstrung, by their deep expertise,” according to Michael. What has worked in the past in similar situations may not be the right solution in the client's current situation.
3. Be Prepared to Back Off – Clients value lawyers who act as an “objective early warning system.” What the client may want you to do for them may not be what is best for the client. Further, the client’s team may not be ready for the solution, transaction, fight, etc. Granted, it is difficult to give up a bird in the hand by telling the client they should hold off, but in the long run clients will value “honest, objective opinions on the probability of success…” It’ll pay off in the long run.
4. Plan Your Exit Strategy – By that he means, deal with the client’s issue and “exit stage left.” Don’t try to stretch out the engagement or keep your involvement beyond the immediate issue (that doesn't mean you don't try to develop more business from that client after you've completed the current engagement). I remember when I interviewed the clients of a lawyer-client of mine, a couple of them were critical that the lawyer was always selling more of his services before he even resolved the matter he was working on. McLaughlin sums it up well: “Clients appreciate that your primary interest is in reaching their objectives, not building your business.”

Interesting stuff.

I’m not referring to keeping up with the Jones’ or with large firms for that matter. What I am referring to is whether your firm is keeping up with the needs of your marketplace in terms of marketing and business development. Times change and competition is increasing. Both should be taken into consideration when calculating what your budget should be for generating new business.

Thanks to Mark Beese for his recent post on his Leadership for Lawyers blog, that brought to my attention The BTI Consulting Group’s annual benchmark survey on marketing and business development strategies. The significance of Mark’s post, and obviously the survey, is the information relative to the “dramatic boosts” in AmLaw’s “Second Hundred” law firms’ budgets. They are “catching up” (percentage wise) with what the First Hundred are spending. Hmm, competition does have a price.

Important aspects of budgeting that the survey uncovered include:

• 52.5% of marketing budgets was spent on salaries and business development (sales, face-to-face meetings, personal encounters, whatever you want to call it);
• 30% of that goes to client relationship development (which I presume includes client feedback programs, increasing and improving client communications, etc.);
• Budgets are consuming 2.1% to 2.6% of gross revenues; and
• Mid-sized firms’ budgets are on the rise.

Moreover, the question is not only whether your firm is spending enough dollars on marketing and business development to keep up, but whether it is spending it on the right things?

As a follow up to my last post “PowerPoint: The Good, The Bad and The Awful,” I wanted to report on feedback from Peter Darling. It’s obvious he knows a lot more about these presentations since he teaches workshops on the subject. Thus, I wanted to share his post “How to Create a Powerpoint Presentation That Absolutely Kicks Ass,” and specifically his 7 principles that will ensure that you do so:

1. The listeners will remember no more than six things, so think “very carefully about what those six things are going to be;”
2. Your time is limited before your audience “mentally check(s) out.” According to Peter, you have “twenty minutes of free attention,” and you ‘d better capture them or you'll lose them for good;
3. Interact with your audience by getting them involved;
4. Remember Murphy’s Law, especially when it comes to PowerPoint presentations. Make sure you know how to get in touch with the IT guy, who can bail you out when something goes wrong, because it will at some point. (Also, get there at least an hour early to check out the audio/visual equipment, room setup, etc.);
5. Overcome stage fright by realizing that you know a lot more than your audience, or why else would they be there;
6. Make sure your listeners know how your talk will fit together. Peter’s reminds us of the adage I heard many years ago when it comes to public speaking: “tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you’ve told them;” and
7. What you have to say is why the audience is there, not to view your slides. They are merely “an accent, a decoration.” So, put the focus on your talk, not the PowerPoint slides.

Excellent food for thought in making your next presentation as memorable as a kick in the….

Last fall I made a presentation on lawyer marketing at a plaintiff’s bar association conference. I worked very hard at minimizing the number of PowerPoint slides I used and the number of words on each slide, because I really do believe that less is more. I shouldn’t have bothered, since my audience was obviously use to slides ad nauseam which contained WHOLE sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. Hopefully, my presentation offered some relief at least.

Being a big fan of Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, it was good to see his post “Power Point Tips and Resources.”

I particularly liked the link to the YouTube video by comedian Don McMillan on “Life After Death by PowerPoint” which brought back memories of last fall, and really lightened up my day. It runs just under four minutes, and definitely worth viewing. It’s a hoot – and educational at the same time.

Jim’s post contains links to some of the gurus when it comes to PowerPoint presentations. Check them out the next time you are putting a presentation together.

• Dave Swanner’s free CD ROM of 100 PowerPoint Presentations for Plaintiff Attorneys;
• Meryl’s Notes Blog's “70+ PowerPoint and Presentation Resources and Great Examples;”
• Garr Reynold’s Presentation Zen blog and specifically this post; and
• Cliff Atkinson’s books Beyond Bullet Points books and Beyond Bullets blog (which is transitioning to a subscription based blog at BBP Online).

I’ll be checking out these tools for my next presentation. Thanks Jim, as always.

I hate to exercise. I don’t care what anybody says. Maybe hate is a little strong, but I sure as heck don’t enjoy it. It ain’t fun.  It’s work. “They” do refer to it as “working out” after all, now don’t they.  If it was suppose to be enjoyable they would call it “playing out,” don’t you think? I rest my case.

But, I know I gotta do it for my health and general well being, so I do.

When it comes to business development the analogy fits. You gotta do it, whether you like it or not. I got on this track due to my friend John Remsen’s marketing tip of the month entitled “You Just Gotta Go” and his use of the exercise regimen analogy as to how lawyers need to approach their marketing efforts. I hate it when he is right (when it comes to the exercise thing), and totally agree that lawyers need to look at developing business in the same way.

I also agree with his six habits that will definitely help you in that regard:

1. Show How Much You Care – showing clients that you care about their goals and objectives, and their success is best done by showering them with attention; e.g., client site visits, lunch/breakfast meeting, sending information of interest, phone calls to catch up (off the clock of course), etc.
2. Always Return Your Phone Calls the Same Day – I’d go further and say within 4 hours, preferably within two (if you can’t physically pull that off, have someone on your staff return the call to explain that you are tied up, and when you will return the call).
3. Meet Your Deadlines – this falls into the “don’t over promise and under deliver” category. Much better to set a deadline and actually beat it by a day or two (It not only shows you’re efficient and good for your word, but you send the message that the client’s matter was a top priority for you).
4. Send Hand-Written Notes – I hate e-mail. There I’ve said it. Necessary and often efficient, yes. But, there is just too much of it, and I think people feel a sense of euphoria when they just delete the darn things. Think of how good you feel upon receiving a handwritten note from someone. I agree with John that it is “much more memorable and effective.” Spend time looking for opportunities to send a handwritten note.
5. Go to Breakfast or Lunch Once a Week – I don’t advocate that you Never Eat Alone. I agree with John that you should plan to have breakfast/lunch/dinner with a client, referral source, prospect or media person at least once a week. Start with those that, as he says, are on your “A” list. Not just once but 3 or 4 times per year – certainly with your top clients.
6. Get Active in One Key Organization – maybe two. John’s point is valid and why I suggest to clients that they join one or two organizations only and be very active in each, so they can give proper attention to the business development potential of each. Showing up at the monthly luncheon doesn’t get it. Volunteer or head up a committee. It’s all about visibility and credibility.

You gotta do it. So, which one are you going to work on first?

Thanks to a reader, I was alerted to an article entitled “Taming the Billable Beast” by David Gialanella in the February issue of the ABA Journal.  The article discusses how three firms are doing just that. How? you many ask:

1. Harrison & Ford out of Atlanta has eliminated the billable hour requirements for first year associates, AND doesn’t charge clients for their time on a matter. (If you want to read more about this, take a look at my post entitled “Is the Billable Hour Now Dead?” of last August);
2. Shepherd Law Group in Boston has done away with the billable hour completely “in favor of flat fees and fixed prices;” and
3. Strasburger & Price in Dallas has reduced the billable hour requirement for first-years by 320 hours, and increased hours for on the job training.  

It’s reported, and I would wholeheartedly believe, that clients and first-years love it, and it certainly should help with the perennial associate retention problem.

One troubling point mentioned in the article relating to the Shepherd firm. And that is the statement involving CEO Jay Shepherd that “he denies secretly keeping track of hours spent on each case.” If the firm doesn’t do so, IMHO, it is being foolhardy based on the following simple reasoning:

• You can’t make a profit on fixed fees unless you know what your costs are;
• You can’t know what your costs are unless you know how much time (and other dollars) are consumed by the matter; and
• There is no way to know how much time is being spent on matters if you don’t keep track of hours!

Duh! 

So, either they are guessing which means they don’t have a clue what their profit margin is either, or the firm has some other means of determining costs that I am unaware of.

In any event, I commend the firms for addressing the billable hour problem. I have long advocated dropping the billable hour (that doesn’t mean you don’t track working hours internally) for fixed fees as a legal marketing strategy. Moreover, it seems that reducing the billable requirements for new associates has benefits as well – in terms of training, associate and client retention, and business development. That’s a win-win-win all firms should consider.

Both maxims were included in the article “Kindness helps Win Legal Business” by Joey Asher that appeared in the Fulton County Daily Record, and also on Law.com’s Small Firm Business.

Asher relates several stories about how being nice lead to more business; and, how Cravath Swaine & Moore increased associate retention as a result of partners saying “thank you” to associates, which he attributes to a story in the The Wall Street Journal.

I agree with him that “[N]iceness really can be a business strategy.” Asher also tells us about the inspirational anecdotes he read in “The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World With Kindness” by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, who run an advertising agency that attributes its success to being nice. One story involves how being kind led to the birth of the ice cream cone.

The article made me smile, which also happens to be one of the best ways of getting everyone you come in contact with to be nice. And that my law firm friends can lead to happy employees (from the receptionist to the copy room staff, not to mention associates), who will then treat clients with kindness, which leads to more business. Hmm, interesting concept.

Is niceness part of your firm's business development strategy?

So too, my friend Trey Ryder admits in an article in his recent newsletter entitled "Your Marketing Efforts Sink, Swim Or Soar Depending On How Well You Satisfy The Big 'C'" (by that he means “convenience”). He advises his readers that prospective clients are not unlike the rest of us in seeking the easy way. Therefore, lawyers should be smart by making it convenient for both clients and prospects to reach them when they have a need to do so.

He discusses what he calls 12 “smart ways” on how you can do just that. He suggests that you make sure:

1. prospects find it easy to learn about you (informative website or blog, and packet about firm you can send by email).
2. prospects find it easy to reach you (invite inquiries by a toll free number or by email that you that you respond to promptly).
3. clients find it easy to reach you (give clients your pager, cell phone and home numbers, where appropriate).
4. prospects find it easy to get to your office (give excellent directions, and even a map on your web site, and by email).
5. prospects find it easy to meet with you (offer night or weekend hours, visit their office or home if it's hard to get to your office and park, and have directions on your web site).
6. prospects find it easy to hire you (don’t require an office visit; fax or email the engagement letter, and can prospects hire you without a retainer? (hmmmm, not sure I’d offer that if I had a criminal defense practice)).
7. prospects find it easy to pay you (offer credit card payments, or payment plans, and send bills with a self-addressed stamped envelope).
8. prospects and clients find it easy to provide you with the information you need (send forms that are easy to fill out and fax/email back, offer prepaid self-addressed envelopes, and self-addressed UPS/FedEx labels).
9. prospects and clients find it easy to remember appointments and other important dates (do you remind them of scheduled appointments by letter, phone or email – heck doctors and dentists do so routinely).
10. clients know when to call you to update documents (again, remind them).
11. clients find it easy to refer their friends and colleagues (give clients copies of your brochure, offer free educational seminars, or offer free consultations).
12. clients find it easy to remember you (give out calendars, pens/pencils, refrigerator magnets, etc.; send newsletters, and other relevant information; and host client events).

Some of these ideas may not apply to your particular practice, but I’m sure there is a kernel or two in the above that should prove helpful.

Click here to download a copy of Trey’s article.

Carolyn Elefant, long time solo and blogging pioneer of MyShingle.com fame, has a book out entitled “Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be.” Your library shouldn’t be without this tool.

Not only does she address the issue of deciding whether to go solo, but helps plan the “great escape.” Then, she writes about practice issues, such as dealing with clients, billing, generating cash flow, and the like.

Of course, near and dear to my heart, she has 48 pages devoted to practical, down-to-earth legal marketing ideas. Carolyn includes:

• An overview of lawyer marketing,
• Traditional marketing ideas (e.g., yellow pages, Martindale-Hubbell, elevator speech, sponsorships, trade groups, public relations, referrals, networking, speaking and writing, and putting on seminars),
  
• Internet marketing (and even references this blog, thank you very much), and
• “High-Impact” marketing, where she covers prospecting, organized networking, niche marketing, and “nontraditional consultations” (or what I would call providing quality service).

This is a must buy in my view. In fact, it would be valuable resource for individual lawyers in any size firm.

If you want a quick look at the table of contents…

Will small to mid-sized firms follow this trend? Not easily or any time soon, I’m sure.  But, when they do, I hope and PRAY they will hire a firm leader who has marketing and business development experience as one of his/her key assets. More on that in a moment.

An article entitled “Smaller Firms Should Seek Outside Help for Leadership Roles” by Wendy Tice-Wallner appeared on Law.com’s Small Firm Business. It made a case for hiring an outsider to run small firms as well. Although I’m not sure I followed her logic completely, the gist of her argument is that lawyers, as a general rule, are not trained in, and are usually poor at, leadership skills. Moreover, their personality traits are antithetical to those needed for the “reins of leadership;” that is, “’aggressive,’ ‘competitive,’ ‘domineering,’ ‘uncompromising,’ ‘risk-averse,’ and ‘individualistic’” vs. “collaborative, inclusive, intuitive and strategic.”

Further, why would you take an extremely successful lawyer at being a lawyer, and put him/her in charge of running the firm? Or worse, one without a book of business, just because he hasn’t got enough to do? It isn’t that either can’t turn into the best managing partner the world has ever seen, but one of Wendy’s points is that there is a tremendous learning curve that isn’t necessary. Rather, if you hire a “virtual managing partner” with law firm management experience from outside the firm, whether or not a lawyer, the firm will more likely find the skills needed to successfully lead the firm. And it’s cheaper.

Back to the point about marketing and developing business. As one of the more astute lawyers I have worked with put it many years ago to a group of new associates, “marketing is everything you do as a lawyer.” So, if your firm ever considers hiring a business savvy person from outside to run your law firm, make sure that their management/leadership skills contain a heavy dose of marketing experience.

Miriam Lawrence at Automatic Referrals has a recent post where she advises financial professionals on how to get referrals in what she calls an “ugly market.” As I read her post, I realized that it was good advice for lawyers as well – at any time.

Her suggestions:

• Proactively getting in front of your clients by emailing and calling them, sending letters, and “talking to them in as many ways as possible.” (I would add visiting them in their workspace, sending news articles, press clippings, etc.);
• Putting “client calls into your daily action plan”;
• Taking your “show on the road” (seeing visiting clients above); and
• Building other “measurable referral targets into your business plan,” and always being on the alert for clues to referral opportunities you run across.

All good advice. I would add another aspect relating to client referrals. Part of any business development effort needs to include keeping basic client relations enhancers at the forefront of your attorney-client relationships. That is,

• Returning phone calls promptly (if not sooner),
• Meeting deadlines,
• Avoiding any surprises,
• Meeting (or exceeding) client expectations, and
• et cetera. 

In other words, doing everything within your power to give clients a reason to give you more work and refer others to you and your law firm.

Robert’s “7 Costly Marketing Mistakes Every Service Business Must Avoid” include:

1. An inappropriate message - concentrating on what your firm does, rather than how a client will benefit from your firm’s services;
2. “Spray and Pray” marketing – failure to focus or require ROI from marketing efforts, and just hoping that they will produce satisfactory results;
3. Not emphasizing “Value” that your firm offers – get to know your clients business and what is important to them;
4. Selling vs. Educating – as we all know, no one likes to be sold, but rather they want to sell themselves. Thus, your time is better spent on educating clients and potential clients on issues, problems, solutions, et cetera that will lead them to hire you;
5. Not testing your marketing efforts to see what is working and what isn’t;
6. Lack of follow up (or, what I like to call not “enhancing the relationship”) – which can be accomplished by picking up the phone, visiting the client, developing a personal relationship, or sending information of any kind to stay in touch (newsletters, articles, press clippings, etc. etc.); and
7. Targeting the wrong or too broad an audience – firms should focus on those markets they most would like to represent, are best known within, and likely to already have a brand.

Not rocket science here, but certainly worth being reminded about.

• Why coaching works
• How it overcomes lawyers' reluctance to develop business
• How to select a coach
• What coaching process entails
• Why client visits and feedback programs work, and can lead to immediate business
• How selling really works

4.      “When should a law firm hire a dedicated marketing person?”

The day they open their law office. And the size of the firm doesn’t matter. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a full time, in-house person in every case. It could be an outsourced position or consultant. The important thing is that the firm be serious about getting professional marketing help.

As to when a law firm should hire an in-house staff person should be based on the firm’s needs and economics. Historically, there was a time when it seemed to be based on the size of the firm, and firms with less than 100 lawyers rarely had an in-house person. Now, there are firms with fewer than 30 lawyers that have a dedicated marketing person on staff. That decision should be based on when a staff position or positions make more economic sense than using outside help.

5.      “What are some of the latest (viable) trends you’re seeing in legal marketing?”

I’ve never been one to believe in the “marketing idea of the week/month/year” mentality. And “trends” often are just that, the latest fad. Having said that, I see blogging as a viable trend in obtaining legal work.  In essence, though, it is just a new vehicle for some of the more traditional means of developing business; that is, writing articles, making speeches, etc., all of which are ways of demonstrating one’s expertise and establishing credibility so clients will hire you.

3.      “Is there a rule of thumb about how much money a law firm should spend on marketing?”

No. I am not a believer in putting a dollar amount on how much a law firm should spend on marketing, merely because some firms throw out numbers like 1%, or 4% of gross revenues. It’s meaningless standing alone.

I would rather see firms approach budgeting on a zero-based system. That is, first determined what it is the firm wants to accomplish. Here’s where that planning stuff comes in again. Budgeting should only be done after the firm determines what they want to do, but how they’re going to do it. Only then should they put together a budget for their marketing and business development efforts.

There are certain basic necessities that a firm needs to spend dollars on, such as a website, promotional materials, and the like. But again, even that should be based on what it is they’re trying to accomplish in terms of goals and objectives for the law firm’s practice or practices.

1.       “What concrete suggestions do you have for law firms concerning their marketing?”

• Plan (set goals and measurable objectives for firm/practice, identify targets, and specify action items to reach those targets);
• Budget;
• Implement the plan, by:

• Visiting key clients (firms will find that it is the most effectively concrete thing they can do to obtain more work),
• Getting to know the client’s business,
• Writing (articles, book, blog, column) and speaking to target audiences,
• Making friends in the media,
• Getting involved in organizations relating to target audiences, and network,
• Seeking feedback on the firm,
• Treating the client like a human being and partner,
• Don’t surprise the client – about anything,
• Returning clients calls ASAP, if not sooner,
• Developing a personal relationship (not just a business one) with clients – or finding clients that the firm wants to develop personal relationships with,
• Entertaining clients and referral sources,
• Referring potential customers/clients to others,
• Offering advice at no charge, and
• Suggesting fixed fees, whenever possible.

2.      “What are some of the common mistakes to avoid in legal marketing?”

• Failure to plan,
• Failure to implement plan, and
• Failure to get a professional to help the firm do both (since lawyers are not trained in the areas of marketing and business development – certainly not in law school).

First you make a plan. Simple, not complicated. Something you can implement over the next few months. Like what, you may ask?

Well, since the best source of new business is from clients and referral sources, start there. Ask them. That means, plan to visit with your clients (off the clock) and those who have referred work, and talk with them about what problems they (or someone they know) are facing. 

Then, you implement. That is, you call clients and referral sources and request such a meeting to discuss their business or to learn more about their industry, etc. Oh yeah, and listen intently, while asking probing questions.  Very often, this leads to immediate work.

A coach can help you do both. For ideas on that aspect, check out:

• Personal Coaching Isn’t Just for Rookies
• Do You Have a Coach?
• Why You Should Hire a Coach

But, no more procrastinating! It’s time to get off your duff.

They are:

• Do it – it doesn’t matter, in his mind, whether it is a speech, article, starting a blog, etc.; the important thing is to “start creating it” and down the road, you’ll be happy you’ve “done it;”
• Do it now – the sooner you do, the longer your efforts will bear fruit;
• Do it alone – (I might take issue with Mark here. What he is saying is that you shouldn’t wait for others to come to help you, even within your firm. He is right, of course; but you don’t have to do it alone, you could get a coach to help); and
• Give it time – marketing, in fact, does take time, so don’t kid yourself or let yourself be discouraged. But, if you don’t do it now, you won’t give your practice a chance to grow to its full potential.

In summary, Mark suggests:

“…The only way to succeed is to try.

“And the time to try is now.

“Do it. Now. Alone. And give it time.”

I think I may just take his advice myself.

The topics submitted by each include:

• Give so you can receive (Sally Schmidt)
• Visit Clients (yours truly)
• Fix up your web site (Deborah McMurray)
• Don’t waste marketing dollars (Andy Havens)
• Focus on your own market (Susan Saltonstall Duncan)
• Spend 200 hours on marketing (Larry Bodine)
• Have a plan (John Remsen)
• Happy Birthday, client (Elizabeth Lampert)
• Meet face to face (Sylvia Coulter)
• Keep what works secret (Micah Buchdahl)

Some good advice there. Well, except for one maybe. To read what each of the above had to say, download the article here.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays. I’m planning to spend more time with my family over the holidays, and won't be back until January 2, 2008, so HAPPY NEW YEAR  as well.

And talking about networking, I thought I would call your attention to a post I did in December 2005 entitled “Ignore Your Friends At the ‘Business’ Holiday Party.”  The premise of that post was that you can get together with your friends anytime, so use business-related holiday parties as productive networking and business development opportunities that you can cultivate further in 2008. If interested in reading more of my thoughts on that subject, give that post a look.

Again, Happy Holiday(ing) Everyone!

“Sign The Damn Holiday Card!

“There was an interesting discussion yesterday on the The Law Marketing Listserv (free trial membership available) that was unanimous regarding the need to sign holiday cards and not just send out cards with the firm’s name on it. The fact that the subject even needs to be raised says volumes about how far some firms have yet to go to “get it” as to what lawyer marketing is all about.  It's personal and requires personal contact and actions……….

“Following my doctor’s advice I’m going to take a break now to let my blood pressure come down.……………….

“Okay, I am back.

“To put it simply, holiday cards to some lawyers are no more than a nuisance, an obligation, another form of advertising, or an annoyance during this busy time of year. When I was in-house, I actually had lawyers order cards and NEVER send them out – year after year. So, why did I continue to order cards for these people? Job security.

“Of course, I know lawyers who truly get into the spirit of the seasons, and mean it when they send a card extending best wishes for the holidays. How can I tell? Because they will include a note and personally SIGN the card. Even if a person’s intention in sending cards is out of obligation, and purely for marketing purposes, at least do it right. Personally sign the card. Better still, include a brief note.

“Otherwise, the message(s) you are sending to the recipient may include one or more of the following:

• I’m too busy
• You aren’t important enough for me to personalize this card
• Our relationship isn’t that important either
• My secretary merely sent a card to everyone in my rolodex
• The firm ordered the cards, and I’m not sure who sent them out

“It would be better to not send a card at all. Best to stay under the radar in my humble opinion, rather than have a client or referral source, say “Wow, didn’t he/she put a lot of effort into sending this card.” Gosh, maybe those lawyers who never sent the cards out realized that after all.

“Don’t let your or your firm’s holiday card endeavor become a negative marketing effort. Remember, legal marketing is about getting personal.  So, if you are planning to send holiday cards, please just sign the darn card.”

Happy Holidays!!

So, I was interested to see that my friend Trey Ryder, in his latest newsletter, has an article “Positive Ways To Collect Money And Maintain Relationships.” (which I’ve excerpted with permission and you can download here) It’s a seven step process, that is best introduced at the beginning of a client relationship, and not necessarily during December Madness.

The steps:

1. Provide each new client with a schedule of fees and collection practices,
2. Offer a reduction if paid within specified timeframe,
3. Send a copy of invoice with your reminder note acknowledging that client may have not received original or it somehow was lost,
4. Make sure subsequent reminders are over the lawyer’s signature, and not a billing clerk,
5. Send reminders frequently (there is no rule that they can’t go out but every 30 days),
6. Invite clients to pay by credit card (a lot of firms offer that option now), and
7. Ask clients to call to arrange a payment schedule (it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, as client may be having cash flow problems).

Obviously, collections are important to the business side of any law firm. However, how you go about getting paid can have a significant impact on your lawyers' marketing efforts at maintaining long term relationships. Biglaw could learn a few lessons about avoiding the year end frenzy by adopting some of these steps.

Of course, there are firms that still do not prepare a formal marketing budget at all, so anything I say here would be a waste of time for those firms. Unfortunately, for some firms, budgeting is still done on the “Gee, can I take my client to lunch today on the firm?” basis. Planning ahead, ain’t part of the program.

For the others, (those not opposed to budgeting, but possibly have been procrastinating) there is some guidance from Michelle Golden of Golden Practices that may prove helpful in deciding as the new year approaches as to “What’s in a (your) Plan?”

I not only like her simple spreadsheet, I particularly like her focus and the priority order in which she lists her budget categories (with my usual editorial comments):

• Existing Clients – (clearly, this is the most critical area in which to budget dollars. As Michelle points out, this is the most important area to focus, but “usually, little is allocated in this area”);
• Influential People/Referral Sources - (likewise, very important, since the vast majority of new work comes from clients and referrals);
• New Business - (more long-term, so put less business development money in this category);
• Marketing Infrastructure -  (the “bottomless pit” indeed, and should only be financed to the extent it supports the categories above); and
• Research & Development - (in the sense that a firm needs to constantly assess its position in the market and that of its competitors – to be honest, I don’t see this as a high priority for many firms, so don’t get hung up here).

Take a look and see if there isn’t some helpful stuff for your budgeting process.

Thanks to Dan Hull for the lead to Michelle's post.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Am I in the right practice area for me?
• Am I in a “hot” or “cold” area of the law?
• What should I do to ensure I am right on both fronts – at least with my legal marketing focus for 2008?

Here’s something that may help you. My friend Bob Denney of Robert Denney Associates has issued his 19^th Annual Report on “What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Legal Profession”  this month. It makes sense to take a look and do some serious reflection on your practice, as well as where you want to take it.

Items from various categories that popped out from Bob’s report:

Hot Practices:

• Intellectual Property – USPTO has adopted new rules (enough said on that point, as in new regs, new work for lawyers)
• Immigration – firms separating it from Labor & Employment
• Corporate Investigations – “fastest growing area of White Collar Crime”
• Animal Law – cruelty to animals is a crime in 43 states

Getting Hot:

• Foreclosures
• Bankruptcy
• Insurance coverage – “due to global warming”

Cold Practices:

• Medical Malpractice
• Workers’ Compensation

Marketing and Business Development:

• Marketing budgets - increasing as a “percentage of firm revenues at both large and mid-size firms.” Running as high as 10% in UK; reiterating that large accounting firms in both countries “have been spending that much for years”
• Marketing department staffs – “increasing in size along with the budgets”

Other Trends & Issues:

• Rate Increases – “Major corporations are getting increasingly fed up with firms’ rate increases… This, along with poor service, is why many are replacing nearly two-thirds of their primary law firms” (not sure about the 2/3 figure, but I do know that The BTI Consulting Group survey of last spring, which I reported on here, reported that 54% of large corporations had shed a primary firm within the previous 18 months.)
• Mid-size firms – “Well-managed mid-size firms – and even some small ones ‘ are not only surviving, but are thriving by attracting clients faced with the high rates – and often poor services – of the large firms”
• Calls for killing the billable hour – (oh hum, how long have we been talking about this? Enter “billable hour” or “alternative fees” into the Search box to the right for more of my posts on the subject.)

There’s a lot of marketing and business development morsels in this report for individual lawyers in any size firm. Take a look at Bob’s four-page report; it should have some food for thought applicable to your firm, making it worth the read.

The Kit consists of:

• “The LegalBizDev Desk Reference™ - a 192-page guide to best practices, organized alphabetically to help lawyers find exactly the information they need, just when they need it. Whether you need to create an elevator speech, improve networking, qualify a prospect, plan a meeting, increase client satisfaction, or begin another business development task, this book provides checklists, samples, reports, and quick references to help each lawyer quickly identify the tactics that best fit their practice and their personality.
• “Legal Business Development: Basic Principles and Best Practices - a modular course that can be taken in short segments, on three audio CDs that can be played on a computer, CD player, or iPod. For a demo, go to the following web page.
• “Legal Business Development: A Step by Step Guide - a book that is already being used at large firms from Boston to Dubai to help lawyers decide how much time to devote to business development, to identify the most productive activities that can be accomplished within that time, and to assure follow-up.
• "A Quick Start card to help lawyers begin maximizing the benefits, as soon as they open the box."

And the best part of the deal is that it comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason you return the Kit prior to March 1, 2008, you will get a full refund. Cost $995.

For more details on the Success Kit take a look at Jim’s post yesterday on his Legal Business Development blog.

What a GREAT holiday gift to yourself, or to your firm’s lawyers.

Last year I condensed those suggestions, and you can read my “Holiday Gift Ideas” post of last December for ideas for your gift giving. I won’t repeat many of the good suggestions that are contained in last year’s post; but a list of new and/or interesting ones and variations on those suggestions follows:

• Make a charitable donation to a client’s favorite charity; or donate a specific item, e.g., a goat ($75) to a poor family in Haiti or Malawi through World Vision; or a bedkit ($30 Canadian - a bedkit consists of a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net (if applicable), clothes outfit, towel and school supplies) through Sleeping Children Around the World; 
• Purchase a client’s product(s) to give to other clients (and let each know that);
• “Gift-of-the-Month” basket (fruit, nuts, wine, etc.) – a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year;
• Adopt a barrel of wine  ($695) – provides 8 cases of wine over 4 years – then you (or a client) get to keep the barrel with your name on it (you can even visit your barrel in the meantime - now there’s a “top” vacation idea for ya, if there ever was one) at Woodbury Vineyards in Western New York (you’ll have to call 716-679-9463 to order a brochure)
• Free consultation with a non-competing lawyer (who will offer a free consultation with you to his/her clients), or other professionals;
• Gift certificate for a hybrid golf club made to the client’s specs;
• Don’t require a December fee payment (hmmmmm…ouch) until the following month;
• Give a top client a copy of Harv Eker’s book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” AND his 3-day weekend seminar ($1275);
  
• Soap and spa products from a non-profit, The Enterprising Kitchen, which provides jobs and support services for women; and
• Finally, a couple of humorous gift sites specifically for lawyers - LawTunes and The Billable Hour.

Remember to look at last year’s post for other ideas.

Happy Shopping!

Not sure that by just sending a holiday card and a gift (to your top clients) will guarantee that you won’t lose a client in 2008, since there needs to be a whole lot more involved with your client relationships. But, remembering clients on special occasions can’t hurt; and, in fact, can help cement and even enhance an existing relationship. And don’t forget your referral sources.

Bob’s suggestions are quite simple:

• First, create a list of your top clients, top potential clients and key referral sources,
• Then, send each a holiday card:

• Sign the card – and not an “auto-pen” version either, (see my post of last December entitled “Sign the Damn Holiday Card!”) 
• Include a note relevant to the relationship – as least say something like “Jane – Hope you have a great holiday season – Joe”

As to gifts, it depends on your budget, of course, but you should certainly remember your top sources of your livelihood (clients and referral sources) in some manner. 

You don’t have to be told that this all takes time. It could take a day, or even more to extend the  appropriate holiday greetings for your various contacts. So what? As Bob mentions in his post, the Journal of Consumer Research concludes that what you do must “reflect the recipient’s perceived value of (the) relationship.”

Accordingly, if you value the relationships that produce your revenues, you shouldn’t give it a second thought as to whether you will make your remembrance of the holidays both personal and meaningful, as opposed to just going through the motions.

In an article “Down With Associate Pay! Seriously…” (free registration) published in yesterday’s New York Lawyer, that apparently also appeared in Corporate Counsel, Sager appeals to other general counsels to take action against the “appalling increase in starting salaries for first-year associates at big-city firms." He suggests:

• Restrict the use of associates
• Require minimum associate experience
• Use temporary legal staff
• Use more paralegals
• Use alternative fee arrangements (AFAs)

It is disappointing that he doesn’t include small or mid-sized firms as part of the solution, but heck send him a meaningful letter detailing what your firm can do to help DuPont at lower rates. Don’t send a brochure. Do an unsolicited proposal that shows you’ve done your homework, to wit: that demonstrates that you know your stuff about DuPont’s issues (e.g., research cases filed against the company)  and your approach to help solve them. Heck you may even get yourself added to their “preferred provider list.” 

If it doesn’t work with DuPont, try other Fortune 1000 companies that you know could use your niche experience. I expect there is a lot of other large corporations out there that are just as upset over the associate salary increases and bonuses issues.  IMHO BigLaw will continue to ignore in-house counsel when it comes to associate pay.

Again, the situation presents business development opportunities for small to mid-size law firms. What have you got to lose?

Why, you say? 

We know that corporate America is sensitive to legal costs, and general counsels are increasingly coming under pressure to lower their legal bills. First, we have salaries for some first years raised to $160,000. Then, we hear about the billable hour rate for some lawyers topping $1,000 per hour. Now, we have several firms that have announced (not one but two) bonuses for associates as the year comes to a close. Apparently, they are making just scads of money. Ya think?

Recently, Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced “two bonuses totaling $45,000 for first years, and going up to $110,000 for senior associates,” (emphasis mine) according to a New York Lawyer article. (free registration required). This was after Clifford Chance announced a “one-time bonus (we’ll see about that) of $10,000 to $50,000 and a year-end bonus of $30,000 to $65,000,” according to the same article. Others following suit include Shearman & Sterling, Fried Frank, Cleary Gottlieb, and Simpson Thacher. That certainly isn’t the end of it, as others are sure to jump on board.

That is precisely why this latest example of BigLaw excess won’t sit well with many general counsel. And, it certainly won’t help the latter’s position with his/her CEO and their board. Further, we know that 38% of in-house counsel think law firms make too much money, and some 58%  are “outraged” over the latest increase in first year salaries, according to a Altman Weil survey. It’s as if law firms at this level are oblivious to what their clients think, and are more concerned about a competitor outdoing them when it comes to paying associates.

Therein lays the opening for smaller firms that get their marketing and business development act together. It is an absolute certainty, if we believe what in-house counsels are telling us, that opportunities abound for smart, qualified, and less expensive law firms to pick up more of large corporations’ work.

Since referrals (also called word-of-mouth marketing) are so valuable, you don’t want to sit around just waiting and hoping that referrals will occur. Rather, have a system in place that will increase the chances that they will actually happen.

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing fame has a 7 step process for the “ultimate referral marketing system” in his recent newsletter. Not all the steps fit exactly for lawyers, but there’s enough that does apply and is worth sharing:

Step 1: Develop a list of likely referral sources from people you know;

Step 2: Identify your best referral types (actually I’d do this first);

Step 3: Develop a value-added message (or elevator pitch) for referral sources;

Step 4: Design an education system for letting sources know what makes a good referral, what the advantages are for them in helping a client or friend, and how you will help those referred;

Step 5: Offer something in return (here’s where it gets a bit iffy for lawyers ethically – better to simply start referring potential clients/customers to them first and letting them know about it);

Step 6: Create a process for turning referrals into clients, if they don’t become one immediately; and

Step 7: Have a follow up strategy, both for those referrals not yet clients, and for referral sources to thank them (and send a gift), as well as keeping them informed and motivated.

Don’t sit back and wait for referrals, be proactive to develop business sooner rather than later.

Christina Laun has a post yesterday on Bootstrapper blog that advises on what to look for and how to fire bad clients. Although her article is not written for lawyers specifically, her points are still applicable in the legal world. So, if you have clients that make you unhappy, consider showing them the door. Here are the characteristics to look for:

• The Complainer (doesn’t matter if you produce quality work cheaper and quicker than anticipated, they won’t be happy);
• The Something for Nothing (will expand on the representation and still expect you to come in on the original estimate);
• The Time Waster (doesn’t value your time, but doesn’t want to pay for it);
• The Aggressor (those with a short fuse, and can be abusive in the relationship, which can make it more difficult to get rid of them);
• The Know-it-All (questions your every move, and acts like they know as much as you when it comes to your area of practice)
• The Boundary Crosser (takes advantage of special access, and intrudes on your personal time when there is no urgent reason to do so).

So, how do you shed your practice of these fine folks. Laun suggests the following steps:

• Do it in writing (of course);
• Make sure you get paid first (not sure this is worth it in all cases);
• Fulfill any contractual obligations (or reach a mutual understanding as to terminating your engagement early);
• Do it in as friendly, non hostile manner as possible (again, of course);
• Recommend someone else (at least a couple of others) to replace you; and
• If all else fails, raise your rates significantly (that should do it).

Ilise relates a story that came straight home to roost. It’s about Jack, a person who doesn’t like to eat alone, so often he will sit at the bar in a restaurant in the hopes of having someone to talk with. Only Jack admits that if he doesn’t start talking right away, “that tiny window of opportunity” is lost. Whether it’s a shyness thing, awkwardness sets in; and he finds it difficult to start a conversation after time passes. Boy, can I relate to that. I’m no shrinking violet, I’ll let you know, but darned if that hasn’t happened to me.

Ilase suggests a couple of ideas on getting started:

• “Simply say, ‘How are you today?’
• “Comment on something you see. If they're reading, ask about the reading material. If they're eating, ask about the food.
• “Offer to share something you have, whether it's food (I always carry good dark chocolate just for this purpose) or a newspaper. “

And to keep in mind that:

1. “The content of your opening line is irrelevant. It simply serves the purpose of saying "I am available to talk if you are." A simple acknowledgment and "Hello" can do the trick. It's like sticking a wedge in the door so it won't close.
2. “The other person may be self-conscious too. So be sensitive to their openness and proceed accordingly. He or she may appreciate your effort or may not be in the mood to talk. If the response you get is a perfunctory one, don't push. But you should absolutely not take it as a personal rejection. It has nothing to do with you.”

So, whether you are in a bar, on a plane, or in any networking situation, jump right in and test the waters. If the person isn’t the chatty type, you’ll know that soon enough, but at least you won’t blame yourself for a missed opportunity to network with a potential client or referral source.

Thanks to Kevin O’Keefe at Real Lawyers Have Blogs for his post of last Thursday about The Lawyers Guide to Marketing on the Internet, Third Edition by Greg Siskind, Deborah McMurray and Rick Klau. The guide does more than justice to the topic. It should be considered the bible on the subject. I too know the authors, and totally endorse Kevin’s comments as to each.

The ABA describes the book this way:

“From blogging and podcasting to e-mail blasts and search engine optimization, you'll discover everything you need to know -- in layperson's terms -- to make an immediate impact to your firm's bottom line. You'll discover how to keep top of mind within your target audience by using your site the best way possible. You'll learn:

• How to increase your firm's visibility through the latest technology, including Web Logs, podcasts, Web seminars and virtual meetings
• How to develop effective promotional, informational and interactive content
• The importance of an attractive, well-branded site and "Web site irritations" to avoid
• Tips and tricks of doing e-mail marketing the right way
• Why you need a blog
• Definition of technical terms for quick reference

“But it's not all technical "bells and whistles." Written together by a trio that includes a lawyer, a marketing consultant, and a technologist, this comprehensive resource gives a balanced approach that covers everything a lawyer needs to know about marketing online today in simple, easy-to-understand language. From learning how to choose a Web consultant to advertising to measuring results, The Lawyer's Guide to Marketing on the Internet touches on all that matters most.

“Topics include:

• Developing an Internet marketing plan that supports business development
• Budget-friendly ways to market your firm online
• How your site's image communicates with prospects, clients, colleagues, the media and opposing counsel
• Advertising and search engine optimization
• Measuring results
• Marketing tips to help younger firms grow
• The ethics of client development through technology”

The book is a must buy for those serious about developing business utilizing the Internet, and is available here for a cost of $84.95 (there is a $10 discount for Law Practice Management Section members).

In an earlier post “Dressing Professionally is Smart Marketing,” I reported on John Remsen's July readers’ survey of 233 law firm professionals regarding lawyers casual attire at work these days.

John’s second article in his two-part series on dress codes reports on the responses of managing partners and firm leaders. The reaction of these lawyers (based on 164 survey participants) was:

• 54% “oppose more casual dress codes for lawyers,” and
• 70% “believe that casual dress has a negative influence on clients’ perceptions of the quality and value of a lawyer’s legal expertise.”

The latter may be a stretch as it relates to the majority of clients' reaction, but I totally agree with the overall premise. Casual dress for lawyers is generally a BAD idea. There are firms and managing partners that favor the casual approach. Read their comments in John’s article.

It is clear that good people can disagree on this topic. However, I come down on the side of more formality when it comes to professionals.  Certainly, if a client specifically requests less formality, then that’s it. But, when it comes to developing business, I concur with several of the comments made:

• “… clients are looking for someone who looks like a professional.”
• “… the impression you make with your co-workers, the lunch crowd and the people you see on your way to and from work every day is important, too.”
• “the real test is what do those attorneys who are most successful and admired wear?”

Call me old fashion, but I’ve never heard a law firm client complain about their lawyers looking “too nice.” It’s all about image and trust. Dressing for work like you do for the weekend doesn’t help either, IMHO.

Start with identifying a niche industry you would like to get more work from. Then, think about other non-competing businesses that serve that industry. Finally, recruit one person from each of those other providers to join your group, and meet regularly to network. For example, say you are interested in developing more commercial real estate business. Members of your group might include a banker, CPA, insurance agent, real estate agent, developer, contractor, etc. Don’t have too large a group, and only one person from each segment of the industry. Now, you have your personal business development group.

Nancy Martinez, a marketer with Selbert Perkins Design, had a very informative article on personal networks on RainToday.com last week.

She suggests an initial meeting that will lay out what is expected of each member in terms of their contribution to monthly meetings; and the priorities for the group in terms of “business leads, marketing advice, industry information, informative articles, and even, personal lessons learned.” I agree with Nancy, that there is strength in numbers, and each member may already have great contacts that may benefit other members.

Take a look at her article. It's definitely worth a read.

There is nothing new about lawyers representing small businesses on a retainer basis. It is a good deal for business owners and for lawyers. Businesses get a certain amount of their lawyer’s time involving specified services, and the attorney receives a steady income that s/he can count on.

The problem comes in convincing clients that it is a favorable deal for them, and worth their doing. That “is the challenge” according to solo David Feldman in Connecticut, who has 10 retainer clients that pay him $1500 per month for legal advice. What caught my eye is how he markets his practice. First, he calls it “preventive law;” and then sells it by focusing his pitch on telling horror stories about business that could have prevented costly legal troubles, if only they had run their business decisions by a lawyer in advance. And as part of the deal, he gives his retainer clients a 25% discount on his hourly rate, should litigation raise its ugly head.

Read more about Feldman’s preventive law practice and how he helps small businesses which appears in today's Small Firm Business.

Better that clients run their business looking forward, rather than look back at what they could have prevented had they sought legal help up front. Your challenge is to convince them of that.

But networking is not just about socializing with people you don’t know. In fact, networking can be enjoyable if one looks at it in a different light. Paramjit Mahli of Sun Communications Group referred me to her article on networking misconceptions, which appeared in the New Jersey Law Journal this month. Here is part of her take on what networking isn’t:

• Transactional (rather it is relational, as in relationship building),
• Hit-and-miss (not if it is strategically focused), and
• Short term in developing (it takes time and effort).

So, you may ask, accepting the above, where is this “different” way of looking at networking I mentioned?

• Review your “rolodex” for names of people you haven’t contacted in awhile,
• Take them to lunch and ask what you can do for them,
• Listen more than 50% of the time,and pick up on names of people they could introduce you to,
• Join their organizations and become active (especially if its members are desirable sources of new business),
• Attend events and conferences with them.

You may find that networking is better than a trip to the dentist after all.

John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing helped me out with a recent post in which he says that he sometimes refreshes his creative soul with a walk in the park. Other people come up with some brilliant ideas in the shower. What works for you may be entirely different.

Here is a suggestion to get your business development efforts back on track. Put some marketing terms, such as “networking,” “client relations,” “listening,” “client service,” or “public speaking,” etc., etc.  into the Search box on this blog. Read a few of the resulting posts, and then take a “walk in the park,” or whatever. This just may get you unstuck, and motivated with a fresh approach and commitment to your legal marketing efforts.

It’s baffling actually. I remember hearing many years ago about a firm in New York that had received 10 referrals from (obviously) a fan, and the firm admitted that it had NEVER EVEN thanked the person.

Why? Well, probably the lawyer is so happy to get the new work, the he or she jumps right into serving that new client. That’s a good thing. However, if they forget to thank the source of the new business, that’s a bad thing. 

As my friend Thom Singer at Some Assembly Required tells us in a post he calls “Express Your Appreciation” many lawyers “[w]hile they had great intentions to say ‘thank you’ to the person who made the referral, once some time passes the immediacy to properly express gratitude begins to dwindle.”

Please, don’t let time get away from you when you get a referral. Send a handwritten note the VERY same day. Might just lead to more referrals. The alternative doesn't bode well for the future of your practice.

The previous three posts addressed: 

• The Law of Perception
• The Law of Leadership
• The Law of the Category

Today we conclude with the Law of the Mind. Basically, it doesn’t matter if you are the leader or first in a category, if you are not first in the mind of your prospects it doesn’t matter if you were “first in the marketplace.”

The first mainframe computer to hit the market was UNIVAC built by Remington Rand. However, the perception is that IBM was the leader in that category. Also, Trey points out that three other actors played Perry Mason before Raymond Burr, but, I believe, it is recognized that Burr owns the category. 

I alluded to this point in my last post. That is, you can’t just be first in your niche area, you have to actively market that fact so you will be recognized as the leader in the mind of potential clients.
You may or may not be the “best” lawyer in your field, but you sure can be the most successful, if you actively apply the four laws of successful lawyer marketing.

Thanks again to Trey Ryder for sharing these four laws based on Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Strout.

The Law of Category is pretty simple, and is related to the Law of Leadership. Today's question is: who was the third person to fly the Atlantic solo? Amelia Earhart. You may not remember she was third, but you remember her name. So, how come you remember her, but not the second person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean? Because she was the first in her category – that is, the first woman to do so.

Other examples include Charles Schwab, the first to open a discount brokerage; and Trey’s estate planning lawyer who didn’t target wealthy clients, but the first to target average consumers in the Phoenix market who could also benefit from living trusts.

As Trey states: “If you can’t be first in your existing category, create a new category in which you can be first.” Don’t wait or you may end up being second like Bert Hinkler.

Also remember. You can’t just be first, you have to actively market your category so your potential clients recognize your name and that you were first.

Today we discuss the Law of Leadership. It’s simple premise: “It is better to be first than it is to be better.”

Charles Lindbergh is a perfect example. Do you remember who was the second pilot to fly the Atlantic solo? Well, it was Bert Hinkler. Who, you ask? Exactly, me too; and that is the point. Turns out according to Trey, Hinkler “flew faster and used less fuel than Lindberg. Plus, he was a better pilot.”  None of that mattered, did it?

Here is a simple exercise: who is first (substitute “leader”) in rental cars, computers and soft drinks? Of course – Hertz, IBM (although some may argue Dell), and Coca-Cola.

Trey gives a couple of examples of leading companies who were first (and are still in first place)  vs. second for a couple of products currently:

He also tells us about a lawyer in Phoenix who was first in that market to promote “living trusts to middle-income consumers,” and how it paid off for him. For details click on Continue Reading below.

So, what can you offer that will make you the leader, and put you out there first ahead of the pack?

Thanks to my friend Trey Ryder, who shares with us in his latest newsletter his views on four marketing laws based on Al Ries and Jack Trout’s Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind. I, in turn, will briefly recap the four laws over the next week.

The first is the Law of Perception. As Trey tells us, those lawyers who think (and act) on the assumption that they beat out the competition in the business development game based on the quality of their services, are making “a costly mistake.” Rather, “[M]arketing is not a battle of services, it is a battle of perceptions.” And that concept, we are reminded, is called “positioning.”

So, the next questions are: “How did this perception evolve?” and “What can you do about it?”

The answer to the latter question also answers the former. By creating visibility and credibility through the implementation of business development strategies, such as: 

• Making speeches
• Writing articles
• Creating publicity about you and your practice
• Giving interviews and press releases to the media
• Being active in organizations in your marketplace (business/civic/cultural)
• Networking

…and doing as many of the above as you can as often as you can. You cannot be perceived as the “best” if you aren’t visible and active.

Next: The Law of Leadership

Your firm’s budget should be based on what it is trying to accomplish in terms of its marketing goals. If you don’t plan before you decide to throw dollars at business development, you are wasting your money. As Michelle Golden at Michelle Golden at Golden Practices reminds us “Marketing budgets should be based on marketing plans.” In my view, planning is critically important for any firm before deciding how much money is available for marketing.

And I propose that the plan be focused mainly on existing clients and proven referral sources.

What do you and your law firm do when it comes to your marketing budget?

During the holiday season, you may find yourself more often among friends and family, and not give much thought to networking opportunities that involve strangers. Nevertheless, whether during the holidays or afterwards, tips on how to overcome any shyness might prove helpful.

Allison Shields at Legal Ease Blog has some excellent suggestions on overcoming shyness  in a networking environment that I want to share:

• Arrive early – (there will be fewer strangers. The situation will be less intimidating, and it'll be easier to strike up a conversation with other “earlybirds"),
• Seek out the host/person in charge – (so you can introduce yourself, explain that you are a first-timer, and ask she/he to introduce you to others),
• Bring a friend along – (that way you can introduce each other to others. But be very careful, as Allison warns us, not to spend all your time talking with your friend, or you will defeat the purpose for attending the event),
• Look for other shy people – (they’re easy to spot. They look like you feel, and are usually standing alone. Besides it’s easier than breaking into a group already engrossed in a conversation), and
• Head for the bar/food table – (my favorite. It provides opportunity to talk one-on-one with the person in front or behind you in either line)

Allison also has ten tips on holiday networking generally that are well worth a read. Thanks to Michelle Golden at Golden Practices for steering me to Allison’s posts, and to Guy Kawaski’s “The Art of Schmoozing.”  

Good stuff all around.

Note: This is an encore post on networking first published on December 11, 2006. Since I will be on a working vacation over the next week with limited access to the Internet, I will be doing encores of previous posts on networking. For those who missed them the first time around, I hope you find them helpful.

Bruce is right of course.  But….wait a minute.  Networking for these “other” reasons also can lead to new business.

So, is networking important beyond the need to market your legal practice?  Yes of course…..but then again, even that can be good lawyer marketing.  I am not saying that you have to marry your law practice with your personal life all the time.  But some of the best legal marketers I know are those that enjoy both practicing law and a personal life.  Yet, maybe they seem to be natural rainmakers, because so many of those personal interests lead to clients and referral sources for their legal business after all.

Maybe it’s just a “double passion” thing.  And maybe that is just smart legal marketing also.

Maybe I’ll just mosey over to the gym and network away some unneeded…..whatever.

Note: This is an encore post on networking first published on May 5, 2006. Since I will be on a working vacation over the next week with limited access to the Internet, I will be doing encores of previous posts on networking. For those who missed them the first time around, I hope you find them helpful.

• It’s a Two-way Street (the more you give the more you’ll get in return. If you take the focus off yourself, and try to be helpful in understanding and addressing the other person’s wants and needs, a trust and friendship will develop; and that will result in your gain in the long run),
• Broaden Your Horizons (work at getting out of your comfort zone, and look for other people and organizations to diversify your networking reach. Obviously, they should have some relational connection – such as a trade group – to the types of clients and referral sources that can ultimately benefit your law firm)
• It Takes Time (like the farming analogy, relationships take time to develop and require the proper care and feeding in order to gain a bountiful harvest).

We all know that networking, and the resulting referrals, play a very important role in legal marketing. Occasionally, it’s a good idea to remind ourselves on the basic principles associated with this tool.

Note: This is an encore post on networking first published on August 23, 2006. Since I will be on a working vacation over the next week with limited access to the Internet, I will be doing encores of previous posts on networking. For those who missed them the first time around, I hope you find them helpful.

To help you overcome your reluctance, take a few moments to read the article on quick and low cost marketing strategies by consultant Terrie Wheeler of MarketYourLawPractice.com in this month’s Law Practice Today. She offers a number of suggestions that you can accomplish in a short period of time, and if you do something each day, your efforts will start paying dividends. Some of Terrie’s suggestions include:

1.  Keeping and Enhancing Client Relationships

• Call clients or referral sources to touch base
• Seek feedback after a matter is concluded
• Schedule a meeting to catch up
• Introduce client to potential customers

2.  Developing New Clients and Business

• Determine what your best clients have in common
• Focus on attracting more of the same
• Compile list of top referral sources and invite them to lunch
• Identify trade groups your clients belong to (and join)
• Assess what has been successful in obtaining clients in the past

3.  Increase Your Visibility

• Consider serving on a community board
  
• Write an article relating to your expertise and get it published
• Look into increasing your profile in the community
• Identify target audiences and offer to give a presentation

4.  Improve Your Communications

• Send information (articles, press items, etc.) of interest to clients and contacts
• Update your bio and circulate it
• Notify clients of changes in law that will impact them
• Update your web site

Most of these action items are not difficult or time consuming.  Hopefully, they will encourage the procrastinators out there to get started on some simple business development activities. 

Accordingly, since lawyers are in the consulting business (see an earlier post), the article on RainToday.com by Ruth Winett of Winett Associates which advised consultants on ten important things to know in starting a professional services business applies equally to law firms:

1. Learn the business side of law – ask other lawyers, and read the myriad of books and articles available on the subject;
2. Develop a business/personal development plan, and implement it;
3. Focus on a niche, as you can’t be a generalist in today’s complex legal world;
4. Build your brand – what sets you apart from everyone else. Believe it and convey it in all your messages;
5. Create your message, and utilize as many tools as possible to communicate it and be visible;
6. Develop and implement a marketing plan that involves working with your contacts and referral sources;
7. Join professional/trade associations that your ideal clients are involved in;
8. Invest in technology;
9. Develop a strong support team and a coach (whether internally or externally); and
10. Make sure your economic goals are realistic and attainable.

Whether you are a solo or an owner (or hope to be) in a larger firm, these tips can help you focus on the business aspects of professional services.

• Too much information at one time;
• Too much information inundating people’s lives, period;
• Too much email to read; and
• Too much work to do, leaving too little time to read.

Marketing Solution: Turn your newsletter into a blog.

Advantages:

• Shorter;
• Takes up less reader time;
• More focused on single subject (reader can quickly determine if interested);
• Can be done more frequently (and should); …

And according to Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog (who created and hosts this blog), it allows:

• Cost savings  - because of time saved, and reduced production expense;
• Less content  - makes it easier for lawyers to create;
• Content distributed sooner vs. monthly or quarterly;
• Saves marketing staff time – lawyers can post directly to the blog;
• Broader audience – since search engines will find content that can be read around the world;
• Content distributed by RSS and email (readers can choose which);
• Readers can obtain RSS distribution on subjects they want using keywords and key phrases via Google Blog Search and Technorati;
• Potential media exposure – since reporters use key words to track blog topics as mentioned above; and
• Blog’s content is fully searchable – beats trying to locate an older article somewhere on your credenza.

If you or your firm uses newsletters as a business development tool, you might find that a blog is more powerful, cheaper, quicker and more efficient than a newsletter.  Read more in Kevin's post on "Converting a newsletter into a blog"

How does your firm look? John Remsen in this monthly e-newsletter has an article entitled “Enough is Enough: Lawyers Should Look Like Lawers!” I couldn’t agree with John more.

First, he tells us about his reader survey. Of the 233 respondents, only 23% reported always wearing a suit; and 71% stated that the trend over the past five years has been toward more casual dress. It is true that image matters. How you dress REALLY does matter – among colleagues, clients, referral sources AND prospective clients. I agree with John that the “vast majority of clients want lawyers who look like lawyers – crisp, polished, authoritative and professional.”

Second, he has comments from several professional marketers which are interesting and quite telling; and offers 10 practical tips for lawyers and other professionals that are definitely worth reading. Finally, John refers to 3 books he recommends in addition to John Molloy’s Dress for Success series, including one specifically for women.

Even if the world around you has become more casual in its appearance, you will definitely appear more professional if you dress professionally. And that’s good for developing business.

So, what are these bad habits? And my take on how they can relate to business development:

• Failing to show up (for networking events or for working out at the gym);
• Procrastinating half the day away (rather than picking up the phone and calling a referral source for a lunch date);
• Spending your time on unimportant things (need to work on marketing management skills);
• Thinking too much (“Paralysis by analysis” when trying to determine what are the best business development tools)
• Maintaining a negative attitude or side to things (destroys any motivation to undertake business development);
• Keeping your mind closed to new ideas (won’t find personal or professional growth that way, nor new clients or matters); and
• Taking in too much information (failure to be selective can cause overload and hinder clear thinking when it comes to marketing activity).

These ineffective behaviors can affect us in all aspects of our lives. But our livelihood depends on our efforts to overcome them as it relates to our professional business development.

Thanks to Bruce Allen at the Marketing Catalyst for the reference to Henrik’s post.

Learning that the practice of law is not just about statutes and case law, and the other technical aspects of the legal system, is usually relegated to self-education and the toils of time. Particularly in the case of new associates, they are expected to become proficient in the practice of law, with little regard for either the business side of law or their personal career aspirations.

Thanks to Rachelle Canter of RJC Associates for some excellent insights on the latter. Although her article “First Steps” (free registration required) that appeared in The National Law Journal and on New York Lawyer is focused on new lawyers, I know many who have been practicing law for a number of years that could benefit from her pointers. She advises associates (and I would include junior partners, since there is no such thing as “tenure” any longer) to:

• Be responsible for building your own career (don’t depend on a mentor, supervisor, or anyone else);
• Identify what career satisfaction means to you (decide what you most enjoy doing, and work towards that);
• Develop a career plan (it doesn’t have to be more than a simple statement of what you want to do, and where you want to go with your career);
• Build your own brand (what you want others to think, when they think of you – e.g., hard worker, always meets deadlines, volunteers to help out, etc. etc.);
• Keep track of your accomplishments (start a “career journal” from day one, and maintain it weekly or monthly by writing down the good things you have done);
• Build tons of relationships (“with partners, associates, staff, mentors (remember it's a two-way street), recruiters,” and maintain them, including with classmates);
• Communicate professionally (includes seeking clarification from a supervisor and asking how and how often he/she wants you to communicate, remembering also that your communications should be succinct); and
• Schedule a few minutes weekly to focus on your goals and brand.

I know I haven’t done justice to Rachelle’s article, so I strongly encourage those interested in bringing a focus to their career, whether you are a new associate or not, to read the whole article.

This is the position of Mike Dillon, the blogging general counsel of Sun Microsystems, Inc., over at The Legal Thing where he tells us “Context is Everything.”  Basically, he reinforces the idea that if the risks are great enough, clients will pay that and more.

When many general counsel are upset (actually, 58% are “outraged” according to a recent Altman Weil survey) over the recent increase to $160,000 in first years' salaries at some firms, it is no surprise to many that billable rates will have to increase. In fact, Simpson Thatcher, the first firm to raise first year salaries to that level, is the first to go to a grand per hour, according to the New York Lawyer (free registration required).  Not all rates will be raised to $1,000 per hour, of course, for all partners even at Simpson. Moreover, as Mike puts it: “The reality is that most companies will rarely, if ever, require these types of legal services.”

But, be assured that rates will go up in many more large firms. And therein lies the opportunity for smaller firms that don’t have the overhead that requires those kinds of fees. As mentioned before, lawyers in smaller firms with the appropriate expertise can compete with their counterparts in larger firms.

Further, with business development avenues now more readily available to smaller firms, thanks to the Internet, the chances of their talents being discovered by larger companies and competing with Biglaw becomes a whole lot easier.

Well, welcome to the new age (or acceptance of an ignored reality). Clients are not offended by lawyers asking for work. For one thing, it portrays humility (Oops, I may be getting into dangerous territory here). Clients really do like to know that their lawyer is a little hungry (not starving mind you). (Okay, now I’m in deep trouble). 

There is still a mystique about lawyers, and some clients REALLY are reluctant to ask their lawyer to handle a matter. Why?:

• Lawyers tell the world how busy they are (a client doesn't want to add to the lawyer’s “burden”),
• Some are aloof and unapproachable (what may actually be shyness may come across as arrogance), and
• Other clients may be intimidated by their lawyer.

So, if you are a lawyer not afraid to ask for work, there are ways you can approach the subject with clients or prospects, such as:

• Can I send you an outline of how I might be able to help you on that problem you just mentioned, or
• I’m sure your current law firm is very good; but sometimes they will have a conflict on a matter, and our firm would be happy to assist you if that occurs, or
• You know, I’d be happy to send you my approach to how I/we would handle that matter for you, or
• If you don't hire me I will have to break a few knuckles (okay, maybe that one's not a good idea).

The point is that there ways that lawyers can ask for work in a professional manner that doesn't involve groveling. It is part of the closing process that comes with business development.

Thanks to my friend Stacy Clark I have learned about Lexology which is another site where lawyers can submit articles that are available to everyone, and, again, where a lawyer can demonstrate her/his expertise in specific areas of the law. 

Anyone can sign up to receive a daily email from Lexology covering any (or all) of the 37 areas of law selected in the U.S., UK, EU and Canada. One can also search by keywords to narrow the focus. Tons of law firms have contributed already, and many of those contributing to Legal OnRamp are also participating on Lexology.

Since Legal OnRamp won’t be officially launched until later this year, I can’t say for sure, but it looks like that site may have more value than one with only articles. We’ll have to wait and see.

Both present business development opportunities for lawyers.

Of course, I believe the more narrow the focus of whatever is submitted, the more likely it will come up in an issue-specific search. General articles won’t cut it in my estimation, and are unlikely to be read, except by someone seeking more general information in a legal area. General counsel on the other hand, will more likely be quite specific about what advice/information they are seeking from such sources.

I don’t know if the Philadelphia-based firm  is responding in any way to the decision to eliminate the billable hour requirement for first years by Ford & Harrison. But, I know that Fox Rothschild is sending some powerful legal marketing messages within the industry. Messages include:

• We’re not going to increase the cost to clients to train our rookies (think client retention),
• Tells rookies that their life balance is important, and if we increase your salary, you’re going to have to work a whole HECK of a lot harder (associate recruiting for not being a sweat shop),
• To GCs:  we know that 58% of you are outraged (see Altman Weil survey) over the recent increase to $160,000 for starting salaries for some of those rookies (client retention and business development opportunities), and
• Tells senior associates that their salaries may improve (associate retention).

Some powerful messages there, I’d say.

I was reminded of this physical reality when I saw the article by Anne Parys’ article “Turning a Battleship: Embracing Marketing at Your Firm” in this month’s Law Practice Today. As she points out, if marketing isn’t already a part of your firm’s culture, it may take “considerable effort and time” to make it so. But, making it so is a must. The alternative isn’t viable.

Anne’s straight forward advice includes:

• Understanding that a cultural change will take time (and include other issues than just marketing),
• Don’t try to change all at once (break it up into smaller steps),
• Start with those already (or almost) on board,
• Recognizing that there will be missteps, and
• Don’t give up the ship (remember that it will take time).

It reminds me of the tale about a captain of a large aircraft carrier who spotted a light at sea on a steady bearing and decreasing range (for you landlubbers, that’s collision city). Since his ship was the guerrilla, he advised the other party that he had best change course. After several such warnings, the captain advised again that he was an aircraft carrier on a steady course and unless the other changed course, he/she would suffer the consequences. Whereupon the other advised that he was the keeper of a lighthouse, “so captain, it’s your call.”

Don’t let your law firm find itself on the rocks. 

For the one or two still with me, it really is just a variation on a blog, where lawyers freely demonstrate their expertise on various subjects within their area of expertise. Legal OnRamp is another way to impress corporate counsel on your capabilities for when they need to hire a lawyer/law firm for that issue. It won’t be formally announced until later this year, but firms can start contributing now.

I may not have looked hard at this idea, if it weren’t for the article “New Routes Into The Corporate Door” by Terry Carter in this month’s ABA Journal online; and the person, Cisco Systems general counsel Mark Chandler, who came up with Legal OnRamp. No lightweight there. Also, I was impressed with the law firms, such as Baker & McKenzie, DLA Piper, Eversheds (U.K), Linklaters (U.K), Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff, to name a few which have already signed up. You can see who else is on board here.

So, what can you as an individual lawyer or law firm do? First, read the ABA article, and another in InsideCounsel to learn more about the program. If interested, think about your niche areas that could be part of this program. Then go to the Legal On Ramp site and see how you can join their team, and use this tool in your business development efforts.

You could get ahead of the curve on this one.

If I didn't believe in blogs, I wouldn't give this concept the greatest of chances.  But I do, and I do.

That’s the advice from Michelle Golden at Golden Practices in the form of one of her “5-Minute Marketing” tips. What I particularly liked was her suggestion that you take the time to write your number on your card before handing it to the person. I like the idea of writing it right on the front of your card, rather than the back, but either will do. But, take your time and this “extra” effort on your part will make the person feel special indeed.

Michelle also shares some Asian customs when it comes to handling business cards that you may find helpful, if you have dealings with folks from that part of the world. Take a look.