Lawyers.com Editor in Chief : Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog : Law firm marketing, legal marketing, attorney marketing, business development, sales training, practice development, training, marketing consultant, legal consultant, individual lawyer coaching, business development, client team, practice development, business development, law firm coach

Check out my latest post on The Lawyerist blog:

There is a critical step in the marketing and business development process that I have seen many lawyers miss, time and time again. Lawyers have spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars pursuing potential clients, but they left money on the table because of this omission. It may seem obvious when you read it, but the missing step is following up.

We lawyers are actually not bad at marketing, raising their profiles and making potential clients aware of us. Where we fall down is taking the next step. It is unrealistic to expect a potential client to take the initiative and call us with a file. Rather, the onus is on us to follow up—after all, the lawyer is the one who wants the business and thus has the obligation to make the next contact.

Why Follow-Up Matters

The reason that follow-up is so important is because that is where all the revenue is. It is not found in the introductory event, pitch or handshake. The money will be in one of several follow-up steps in which a lawyer determines the legal needs of the other person and methodically builds a relationship. Bear in mind it takes 7 “touches” to establish a relationship. With online touches that number increases to 7-16 times.

Smart lawyers won’t undertake any marketing initiative without planning in advance how they will follow up.

To read the rest of the post please visit The Lawyerist at http://bit.ly/A1nIfk

It's always useful to know what your competitors are up to. Of course you shouldn't let a competitor's marketing activities govern which initiatives you pursue, and you certainly wouldn't do anything unethical.  But if you were Microsoft, you'd keep track of what Apple was doing.

To this end, I ran across a collection of practical tips about competitive intelligence from Carol Tice on the Entrepreneur web site. From a dozen tips, I included the best below. I especially like #4:

1. Read the local papers. Subscribe to the daily newspaper and business weekly in the cities where your primary competitors are based. You'll be surprised what competitors might say when they think they're just talking to a small, local audience.

2. Tap your vendors. Product suppliers and service providers talk regularly with all their clients. If you're on good terms with your vendors, chat them up and see what you can get them to spill about your competitors. Don't be pushy, though. Keep the conversation casual.

3. Go to trade shows. You can stand near competitors' booths at a busy time when it's easy to blend in with the crowd and eavesdrop on what they tell prospects. New initiatives often are announced at shows, and chatty salespeople may reveal details. If you think you'll be recognized, send an employee or friend to listen.

4. Google your competitor's website. You can reveal hidden pages by doing Google searches such as: "filetype: doc site: companyname" says August Jackson, a senior competitive intelligence analyst for Ernst & Young in McLean, VA. Change the file type to .pdf, .xls, or .ppt to turn up data or presentations. "It's surprising how many companies put this information up and think, ‘If I don't link to it, no one will find it,'" Jackson says. You also can view the site's source code to see the meta-tags or key words being used to optimize its position in searches.

5. Explore LinkedIn. On LinkedIn, you can sign up to follow a law firm and get notices when updates are posted on its LinkedIn page. You also can search a firm's name on LinkedIn to find former employees and new hires, Jackson says. People may identify and brag about their clients on their personal LinkedIn page updates. If you're worried the company might recognize and block you, ask a colleague to follow the page.

6. Troll Twitter and Facebook chatter. If members of your industry hang out on Facebook, monitor their conversations. Music-rights agent Jennifer Yeko, president of True Talent Management in Beverly Hills, Calif., says she gets the scoop on the clients her competitors sign and the royalty rates they offer from posts made by her Facebook friends.

Many events have a Twitter hashtag that people use to chat and post speakers' comments live. If a competitor is speaking, tune in. Jackson has had success asking follow-up questions by responding and using the same hashtag.

7. Find competitors' job ads. Job portal Indeed is a great place for sussing out postings because it aggregates listings from many online job boards. Watch the skills a company may be hiring for; they're a leading indicator for new initiatives, says Sean Campbell of Cascade Insights in Oregon City, Ore.

8. Check Slideshare. Law firms frequently use this popular portal to share slideshow presentations but forget to take them down. Presentations may contain financial data, forecasts and information about new projects.

Visit 12 Ways to (Legally) Spy on Your Competitors for all the tips.

Register for Thursday's webinar and  complete a business development plan like this one for 2012. It shows you how to increase your revenue by $100,000 in 12 months.

1. Don't Pitch People. No one likes to be sold to, so don't waste time telling people where you went to law school or about the breadth of your law firm. A business development conversation is an interview. The best way to engage potential clients is to ask questions.  Leave the brochures, bios and newsletters back at the office. Instead, be prepared with three or four good questions to ask about the potential client's business. You will distinguish yourself by the questions that you ask.
2. Make time. "I don't have time for marketing" is the most common cop-out we lawyers give for not developing new business. So is "I have real work to do." I don't believe these excuses because lawyers do have time. The trick is to weave business development into the activities you are already doing. If you plan to stop at Starbucks in the morning, call a referral source and offer to buy him a latte and meet you. Reserve one day a week to go out to lunch with an existing or potential client. You won't develop any new files eating lunch alone at your desk. And once a month, attend a trade association meeting -- not a bar associating meeting -- but a meeting of business people.
3. Get face time with clients.  The best way to strengthen relationships with clients and get referrals from them is to call on them.  Go to their premises and meet them in person. To alleviate any concern that a client might thing you have nothing better to do with your time, explain that it is your policy to visit all clients. Say that you need to see the factory or the offices to better understand their business needs and to better serve them.
4. Ask and you shall receive.  Don't hesitate to ask clients for referrals. There are two magic moments to ask for a referral: at the initial client interview and at the end of the matter. In the first interview, ask clients if they will mention your name to friends and colleagues if they are satisfied with your work. And in the post-victory glow after a matter concludes, remind the client to share your name along with the good news.
5. Be a joiner. My Dad taught me this. Join a civic group or trade association because it is a great way to generate new business. But don't go to the meeting just to warm a chair and listen to the speaker. Pick a meeting where you can make a difference and get involved by joining a committee, writing for the newsletter or offering to speak.  Attend every meeting and become a regular.  The new clients will start to flow.

Here's wishing you a prosperous 2012.  To learn more, I recommend you attend Create a Business Development Plan that Results in a Prosperous 2012, a live webinar presented by business development specialist David Ackert and me this Thursday, January 12, 2012: 10 am Pacific ♦ 11 am Mountain ♦ Noon Central ♦ 1 pm Eastern.

Business development specialist David Ackert and I will show you the Secret to Success in 2012: think and act like the rainmakers think and act. The key is to develop a personal marketing plan, which is simply a blueprint for you to get new business on a a systematic and disciplined basis. If you think like a rainmaker, take the same actions each day and build your skills over time – then you will produce the same results.

WEBINAR DATE: Wednesday, January 12, 2012
   ♦ 10 am Pacific ♦ 11 am Mountain ♦ Noon Central ♦ 1 pm Eastern
LOCATION: on the web, on your computer
WEBSITE: www.PBDI.org

In this Webinar, you'll begin to think and act like a Rainmaker. The key is to develop a personal marketing program, a blueprint for getting new business on a a systematic and disciplined basis. If you think like a rainmaker, take the same actions each day and build your skills over time – then you will start to produce the same results...

• Do you have a roadmap for the actions you need to take to grow your business significantly?
• Do you find ways to market yourself systematically to build up business?
• Do you waste time by pursuing marketing that doesn’t work, such as networking with total strangers?
• Do you know how to build and mobilize the assets you have...your clients, allies, and your professional network?

Attendees of this LIVE Web conference will learn what the rainmakers know about getting new business, and the make-or-break steps that the Best take, the steps that can also generate a record-breaking year for you in 2012.

Register Now for this key skill-building seminar, just in time for advancing your career right now in 2012. Any number can attend in one room. Just Click Here.

Who should attend:

• New partners or associates looking to advance a career
• Attorney aiming to become a top producer
• Aspiring entrepreneurs who need to build or re-vamp their practice
• Firm leaders, practice groups and office members whose success is dependent on the business development productivity results of their team

Attorneys must see themselves as entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter if you practice at a large firm – or if you operate on your own. You are responsible for building your own business.

The seminar gives you an abundance of proven, practical ideas and suggestions to build your personal road map and improve your marketing activities.

Topics Include:

• Focus on your ideal prospective clients
• Define your personal value proposition
• Market to your best existing clients
• Market yourself inside your own firm
• Co-market with high power professional allies
• Build your network with a purpose
• Ask for introductions
• Build your professional reputation

Learn what the Best do on a systematic basis to make the difference in their business building.

To register: Click Here to register online by credit card.

WEBINAR PRESENTED BY: The Ackert Advisory and Apollo Business Development 
SPEAKERS: David Ackert and guest speaker Larry Bodine, Esq. 
DATE: Next Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 10AM - 11AM Pacific
LOCATION: On the web, on your computer
MORE INFO: Laura Kresich, program director; (Tel) (312) 925-8955 or  Lkresich@lawmarketing.com
WEBSITE: http://bit.ly/rq3djR

In this brand-new Webinar, you will learn which steps are most effective for post-meeting follow-up with prospective clients and new referral sources. Business development specialist David Ackert and I will show you how to introduce a powerful follow-up system into your business development routine so that you can fully capitalize on new opportunities.

Click here to sign up for this event

Learn exactly which follow-up communications work best so you can expertly and comfortably turn your prospects, existing contacts, and new referral sources into productive assets for your practice.

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Click here to register. Save 10% if you register on or before Nov. 12: fee $270
Fee beginning Nov. 13: $300
You can pay online with a credit card. Display the program in a conference room and invite as many attendees as you wish.

Topics Include:

• Common Follow-Up Mistakes that Attorneys Make
• How to Create a Follow-Up System That Maintains the Momentum from Your Last Meeting 
• How to Use Social Media as a Follow-Up Tool
• How to Make Networking with Referral Sources More Productive
• When to Use Email and When to Avoid It At All Costs
• How to Add Value to New Relationships
• How to Propose Effective Next Steps

Who Should Attend:

• All Attorneys who want to improve their capacity to win new business 
• Associates looking to ensure their first meetings with prospects are successful
• Marketing Directors looking for ways to support their attorneys with sound, practical follow-up methods

You can gain the ability to convert a meeting into new business. Many attorneys make common, self-defeating mistakes in discussions with a prospective client or referral source:

1. They WAIT for the prospect to follow up with THEM.
2. They PUT OFF following-up because they don't want to be perceived as a PEST.
3. They send meaningless emails to "TOUCH BASE" with the prospect that are largely IGNORED.
4. They DON'T HAVE A FOLLOW-UP SYSTEM so opportunities pile up and collect dust like a stack of ignored BUSINESS CARDS.  
5. Their communications are NOT STRATEGIC.
6. When they do follow-up, they LOOK, ACT & SOUND needy.

This program will show you exactly how to avoid these common mistakes and give you a clear step-by-step follow-up system that you can use repeatedly to build on the meetings you have with prospective clients and referral sources so that your meetings are always a good use of time and a tangible step toward winning new business.

Learn how to expertly handle business development opportunities with prospects, contacts and new referral sources in our upcoming webinar, What Do I Say To A Prospective Client To Win Their Business? On November 18, 2011, veteran business development expert David Ackert and I will  describe:

• How to test to see if a prospective client needs an attorney.
• What you should say about your firm and its capabilities.
• How to transition from a social conversation to a business dialogue.
• How to avoid looking like a salesperson. 

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Click here to register. Save 20% if you register on or before Nov. 11: fee $240

Save 10% if you register on or before Nov. 15: fee $270

Fee beginning Nov. 16: $300

You can pay online with a credit card. Display the program in a conference room and invite as many attendees as you wish.

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Topics Include:

• Common business development mistakes that attorneys make
• What clients care about when meeting you
• How to ask the right questions and listen effectively
• How to excel in a networking situation
• Diagnosing a clients' need for service
• How to overcome client objections to engaging your services
• How to sell ideas for next steps
• How to use a proven, step-by-step business development process

Who Should Attend:

• All Attorneys who want to understand and apply the best professional practices of business/referral discussions for successful business development.
• Associates looking to develop the right skills for business development and to begin now to develop their networks.
• Marketing Directors looking for ways to support their attorneys with sound, practical methods.

Click here to signup for this event.

Marketers know it's a struggle to get lawyers to becoming active on social media, even though it's for their own good. Now comes the Shatterbox blog which suggests that law firms should tie pay raises for lawyers to their activity on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and blogs.

"Having tried a voluntary approach to participation in the firm’s marketing and business development activities, one of my clients recently instituted some mandatory measures. In addition to weekly one-hour professional development meetings, firm management requires associates to log at least 72 hours of business development activities per year, which is tracked through a billing code in its ProLaw system. Research and writing time for blogs and articles count, as do networking coffees and lunches. Results will be discussed in annual reviews and factor into merit increases and bonuses," writes marketing and communications consultant Jay Pinkert of Austin, TX.

Money Motivates

• Spiffs - Practically everyone who’s held a sales job is familiar with “spiffs” — spot awards for selling particular items. If you’re having trouble getting people to submit blog posts or newsletter articles, try periodically offering $5 Starbucks or iTunes gift cards for the next submission. You’ll be surprised at how motivating a free spiced pumpkin latte or smartphone game download can be.
• Pay per submission – I worked with one firm that gave away $50 spot bonuses for every accepted staff blog post submission. Even the partners were eligible, and the managing partner took pride in his second income. So for only $7,800 per year — 3 posts a week, 52 weeks a year — the firm had a strong pipeline and frequency of posts.
• Executive face time – Lunch with the managing partner is a pearl of great price. See how many JD Supra submissions you can generate by offering associates that incentive (and they’ll have something to talk about during the meal).
• Time off – Offering extra personal days as an incentive for extraordinary contributions to your content marketing could be the most motivating compensation of all.

You can follow Jay on Twitter using the handle @FollowtheLawyer.

I found an excellent article in the St. Louis Bar Journal by lawyer Michael Downey, an ethics lawyer and litigation partner at Armstrong Teasdale. He makes a point I've been stressing for a decade: happiness in law practice is found through business development. Here is an excerpt:

"As a litigation partner at a large firm and a law school professor who teaches law firm practice, let me share a secret I’ve found for law firm happiness. Happy lawyers normally have a portable book of good clients or client-referrers who continue to refer legal work.

For most lawyers in private practice, a portable book of good clients or referral sources is crucial to long-term happiness. Lawyers who can generate their own work will have the relationships that allow direct communication with the clients. This will allow the lawyer to learn not only what the client needs but why. It provides an opportunity for the attorney to understand the client as well as their business. These lawyer client relationships give meaning to the lawyer’s practice.

Further, lawyers often work long hours, particularly when the client comes to see the lawyer as an important ally and source of guidance. During those long hours, some good lawyer-client relationships grow into professional and personal friendships that can nourish the lawyer’s soul.

A portable book of good clients also gives lawyers control over their own workplace and career. Although law firms are often compared to pyramids, perhaps a better image would be a Viking longship. Lawyers who have business, and thus their own longships, can decide who crews the ship and where the ship will go. Lawyers without business are usually left to pull an oar on someone else’s ship.

Experience has convinced me that a lawyer with freedom to go – or not – is usually much happier than someone who lacks that freedom. Plus, law firms can more readily dispose of a mere oarsman, an action that the firm believes is necessitated by the economic slowdown and other factors, than for a firm to dispose of a lawyer who will take client work to the new firm.

Further, having a good book of portable business ensures that a lawyer can protect their turf if the lawyer feels he or she isbeing mistreated or slighted. If necessary, that book allows the lawyer to take their clients to more verdant pastures. Law firms are often difficult places to work. Having portable clients who will follow a lawyer helps ensure that a lawyer will be able to command respect. After all, if such respect is not forthcoming with reasonable effort, the lawyer can leave. The portable book of business ensures the lawyer will never be trapped."

My latest post on Lawyerist just went live:

When most lawyers think about selling legal services, an image comes to mind of a smarmy guy on a used-car lot selling a pink VW. The good news is that selling is not about pitching or convincing the other person to buy. It’s about asking questions.

In fact, your law firm marketing plan should include selling like a doctor who asks questions about “where it hurts” and listens attentively to the answer. Doctors are some of the best salespeople there are.

Nobody likes to be sold. Potential clients don’t want to hear about your credentials and they’re not interested in all your practice areas and the array of resources the firm has. They have no way to evaluate these things. But one to get your clients motivated is to talk about their favorite topic: themselves.

Accordingly, the best new-business call is an interview. Your marketing goal is to have the other person do 80% of the talking. If they are talking, you are selling.

For the rest of the story, visit Sell Legal Services by Asking Questions

Catherine Alman MacDonagh and Laura Colcord are bringing their innovativeLegal Lean Sigma White Belt Certification Course to Chicago on September 20, and there are six seats left.

Legal Lean Sigma® courses and programs have been delivered to professionals from more than 100 law firms, legal departments and organizations associated with the legal profession. If you want to get in on this legal marketing trend, call 857.272.5695 or register online at http://legalleansigma.com/.

Both Catherine and Laura work at the Legal Lean Sigma Black Belt level. I've known Catherine for years as the Co-Founder of the Legal Sales and Service Organization. This means their program will be excellent. It's being hoted by the Legal Marketing Association, 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago.

The white belt certification course introduces participants to the leading-edge area of process Improvement. The course will teach you to maximize efficiencies, reconnect legal costs to the value received, and develop strategies and tactics based on the client perspective.

Learn more at http://legalleansigma.com.