Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog : Law firm marketing, legal editor, legal marketing, attorney marketing, business development, marketing consultant, legal consultant, business development

Based on the calls I get from law firm marketing professionals, the ability to train lawyers in business development is a important skill. The partners are demanding it. With this in mind I'm sharing my own plans for attending the greatest educational conference coming soon - LMA 2011 in Orlando.

Disclaimer: your interests may not match mine, and I mean no disrespect to any presenter whose topic doesn't focus on sales.  That said, here's a sales trainer's view of the LMA conference:

Friday April 1: Download conference materials.

Monday, April 4:

• Land at 3:50 PM.
• Head to the Welcome Reception at 5:30 PM
• Look for longtime friends at Mark Beese's Tweetup at 6:45 in the Crew's Compass Lounge at the the conference hotel.I must remember to bring my light saber and communicator pin.
• Later, get some sleep and adjust to the 3-hour time zone change.

Tuesday, April 5:

•  Catch the general sessions at 8:30 AM.
• 10:30 AM networking and refreshment break.  Get to the EM Online Media booth on the exhibit floor. I use their excellent email system and refer law firms to their web, blog and SE0 services.
• 11 AM: Effectively Leveraging Social Media as Business Development and Marketing Tool, moderated by Joshua Fruchter, Esq.
• 12:30 PM lunch. Your Honor Award recipients will be recognized.
• 1:30 PM: Dessert in the exhibit hall and display of Your Honor Award winners.
• 2:15 PM: Creating Successful Pitching Strategies to Improve Win Rates and Demonstrate your Value to the Firm.
• 3:30: Back to the exhibit floor for the networking and refreshment break.
• 4:15: The Path to World Class -- Exploring the Attributes that Distinguish Top-tier Legal Marketing and Business Development Teams.
• 6:30 PM: Partay! Networking reception at Shipwreck Beach.
• Out till who knows when.

Wednesday, April 6

• 9 AM: Plenary session
• 10:45 AM: the managing partner panel - Elevating the Marketing and Business Development Function: Law Firm Leadership Panel.
• Noon: lunch.
• 1:45 PM: Establishing Professional Development Programs for Your Attorneys.
• 3 PM: Networking for prizes in the exhibit hall. The prizes include a $200 AMEX Gift Card, a Wii Game System, a Flip Camera Phone, an Amazon Kindle and a $200 Best Buy Gift card
• 3:45 PM. Awwww, do we have to go home?