Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog

Madonn'! Lawyers could learn a marketing lesson or two from Tony Soprano, the organized crime leader who has entertained us for 10 years on the TV show, "The Sopranos."  Whether you're in waste management or law, you've got to be a good "earner" for your outfit.  This means bringing in new business and generating revenue reliably. If not, you'll wind up like the 45 partners at Mayer Brown who got terminated, buon' anima.

The law is a jealous goomah, but you must keep revenue going up.  If you stand still, you'll lose clients through attrition and the boss will cut your points (the mob and law firms use exactly the same term for a percentage of firm income) and you'll be mezza morta.

You must develop new business as a team, because nobody succeeds without a crew. You need a capo, soldiers and associates (again, an identical word in mob and law). Otherwise you'll get agita and go oobatz because you're not getting any action.

Remember to say "thank you" to your referral sources and allies.  Everybody likes a little gabagool, and it doesn't hurt to give them a taste to begin with.

A meal is an excellent place to conduct business.  Think of all the times Tony would mangia on manigot while discussing this thing of ours.  Take your own clients to lunch or dinner and show them some respect.  Don't be a jamook -- demonstrate that you are their consigliere. 

Don't be shy about keeping clients satisfied, show that you've got the stugots to do a client survey. Your competitors consider your clients as their target revenue sources, and will make them an offer they can't refuse.

Finally, remember that business development takes time.  Col tempo la foglia di gelso diventa seta.

This post is not meant to offend my Italian-American friends. I simply looked up the jargon used on the show at http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/mobspeak/.