Law Firm Marketing Consultant : 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

Learn how two associates — both recognized as top business development performers — have succeeded in business development and how to make these proven methods work for you this year. Rainmaking associates Peter J. Bilfield and Wilton MacDonald II are featured speakers in this seminar. Don't miss this LIVE presentation this Thursday June 24 with your host, Michael G. Cummings.

Join our two guests at this inspiring and powerful seminar:

• Peter J. Bilfield, currently partner at Shipman and Goodwin. Last year, Peter won the award for associate rainmaker of the year by seizing a niche opportunity, integrating marketing in all he did and advancing the entire firm in the marketplace. Now he's a partner with a top firm in the Northeast. See how business development prowess led to this career advancement.
  
   
• Wilton G. McDonald II, Associate, Head of Investment Funds, Higgs Johnson Truman Bodden & Co. Over the last few years, his enterprising growth of his practice included his establishing a solid plan of action, building a team, extending far-flung relationships and crafting a solid reputation, with the result that he tripled billings for the practice.

In this session, we will profile these two Associate Rainmakers, and hear their stories directly from them. We will also review the lessons to be learned from their achievements, and specify how you and your fellow Associates can achieve similar successes in 2009:

• How are some top-performing associates contributing to the marketing success of their firm?
• How are these associates taking the initiative to land new clients, sell additional work and build their personal reputation?
• How do they find the time to do marketing and garner the firm support they need to make their marketing programs work?
• What specific marketing programs are working for these associates and how can you emulate them at your firm?
• How have these associates learned the ways to market and sell in the early stages of their legal career?

They are joined by marketing expert Michael G. Cummings of Apollo Business Development who has helped associates at dozens of firms start their business building the right way and bring in millions in revenue.

For just $300, you and your firm can learn what associates are doing and how you can bring in business and build a long-lasting legal career.  For more details or to Register NOW, go to www.sagelawmarketing.com/webseminar47#register. Or click here: 

Gather with others in your office...any number can attend in the room where you connect to the site and the call — at the same low price. One connection per registration.

Who should attend:

• Junior and Senior Associates who want to see what they can do to start bringing in business and ensure a productive career
• Young partners eager to advance their business building skills
• Marketing personnel who want methods to support their associate marketing
• Firm leaders seeking to maintain and grow the firm by building a solid base of entrepreneurial young lawyers

Gain the insights and practical lessons that others have mastered.

Take the next step forward to becoming a rainmaker with...with this Best Practices Seminar for Associates. For details, or to register, go to www.sagelawmarketing.com/webseminar47#register.

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 The new June 2009 issue Originate! is now online. Here is the table of contents for this month's issue. Earlier articles are still available for viewing in the 'Archives' section and are searchable using the Search the articles just click any title or log in at www.pbdi.org/originate.

All previous articles ox in the upper right of the home page; plus, all 116 articles published in our first year are now indexed and viewable in one place; just click here to access them or see the Resources section of the newsletter. 

2009 Rainmaker of the Year Awards: It's time to nominate top originators for the 2009 Awards to be announced in our September issue. The Entry Form is now available and open to all law firms. See the September 2008 issue for last year's winners.

CONTENTS:

Lead Article: Business Development Advice from the Chair of the ABA Commission on Women This is the third part of a three part interview with Roberta D. Liebenberg, the Chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. Here she addresses specific issues and opportunities for women lawyers, including the advantages and disadvantages they bring to the practice of law…and what to do about those.   We've Only Just Begun: Business Development AFTER You’ve Acquired a Client Seventh Stage of the 12 Step Pipeline: In this stage of managing your sales pipeline, your work to get the new client doesn’t stop. Now you want to keep that client and build up the matters you do for them. It’s more than a matter of economics, but good service. Andy Havens explains how it can work for you as well as the client and ways to make it happen.   The Art of Closing: Six Rules of the Game - Pt 1 of 2 Ask for the business. Get closure.  Deal with obstacles. In a selling situation, there’s a lot to think about. But maybe you’re thinking too much, and not building up your instincts. Here two attorneys Kevin Chern, Esq. and Damon Cheronis, Esq. explain six powerful business development rules about making the sale, and how you can tone your reflexes. Part 1 of 2.   Best Practice Tips   Systematic Success: How to Conduct a Winning Sales Call Suppose that you were representing a client with a potential million dollar judgment. Would you just show up in court and wing it? Unfortunately, laments Michael Cummings, that’s what so many attorneys do when a big new piece of business is on the line. Here he presents a systematic quality control process for preparing and conducting your next sales call.   Case in Point: What To Do When Your Own Partners Won’t Refer You Current research shows that major companies are firing 20% of the core law firms they are using, and that failure to cross-sell could put your firm in the loss column. Larry Bodine, Esq. advocates an analytic approach to get things and explains how to overcome a common obstacle in doing so. Nothing Grows In Ice Business development turns out to be rocket science after all, observes Thom Singer. Creativity wins the day in personal marketing, not just in science, engineering and art. If you want to be more than just “average” in your practice, you need to un-freeze your brain and ignite possibilities. Here are some ways to light your fire. What If?: Making Change Work For You Change is frequently looked upon as disruptive or unwelcome, but it’s the key element lawyers often don’t embrace when they need to. Darryl Cross proposes some slight shifts you can make, some unthreatening “What Ifs” that can make a big difference for you and your clients. Getting the Most Out of Your Subscription: All previous issues are archived so they can still be read online.  And be sure you take advantage of all the ongoing business development resources you've gained through your subscription:   Free web seminar:  In the right hand column of any issue you can stay apprised of upcoming web seminars.  If you still qualify for a free web seminar, to sign up you must contact Laura Kresich about a week in advance of the seminar so she can register you and get you the sign-on information. You'll find Laura's contact information at the bottom of each page (lkresich@prodigy.net). You and any number of people in your office can attend at the location where you connect to the seminar. You can register for other web seminars at the regular price on www.pbdi.org. Resources:  Articles, downloads, audiocasts - these will change throughout the year so keep an eye out for new resources you can use. Spread the Word Please: If you know someone who can benefit from ORIGINATE!, we invite you to share any of our articles with that person (which is easy to do by copying and pasting the article into an email). We only ask that you include the brief promo we've added at the end of each article. Or just steer them to our site where they can see for themselves what we offer. Enjoy and Let Us Know Enjoy the current issue, and please let us know what you think about it, how valuable you are finding the articles, or any suggestions or criticisms you wish to offer. We want to hear from you! Barry Schneider Editor in Chief ORIGINATE! Email: bschneider@sageprofessional.com

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When Peter Bilfield won the Originate! newsletter Rainmaker of the Year Award in 2008, he was an associate at a large New York Law firm.  Since then he parlayed his practical selling skills to become a partner at Shipman & Goodwin in their Stamford, CT, office last April.

He used his top rainmaking skill of focusing on getting work within his own network of friends, family, clients and prospects, and capitalizing on them by listening to what they have to say so that he can expand the relationship.

Bilfield was one of four rainmakers who spoke at a panel discussion at the annual Legal Sales and Services (LSSO) Raindance Conference in Chicago. The three day conference focused on law firm sales, marketing tips from general counsel, advice from managing partners, and sales process improvement.

The panel was moderated by Gabe Miller, General Counsel for the Law Offices of Jim Sokolove, and it also included rainmakers:

• H. Patrick Callahan, Partner at Baker & Daniels in Indianapolis
• Lorelei Graham, Partner at Miller Thomson, Ontario, Canada.
• Wilton McDonald II, head of investment funds at Higgs Johnson Truman Bodden & Co in Grand Cayman.

To read the rest of the story, visit the LawMarketing Portal at www.lawmarketing.com 

Originate! Newsletter & Legal Sales and Services Organization
Present the 2009 Rainmaker of the Year Awards

Click Here for an Entry Form.
Entries now being accepted. Deadline is Wednesday, July 15th. No fee required.

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As you might be aware, the Total Practice Management Association is hosting its inaugural Get a Life.™ Conference (follow #GAL09 on Twitter) Wednesday and Thursday of this week (May 27-28^th) in Chicago. True to its mission of educating legal professionals with practical, “how to” marketing, operations and practice management advice, the conference will be streamed live and free of charge during the two day event. Simply visit www.TotalPMA.org (and click on Watch the LIVE Conference Web Cast banner) beginning Wednesday, May 27^th at 8:30am CST to listen in live on any of the 19 sessions focused on helping attendees get more out of their law practice and life.

I'll be speaking today at 4:30 PM. The agenda highlights sessions from speakers such as practice development consultant Gerry Riskin; legal blogging expert Kevin O’Keefe; author of Law Business Revolution blog Alexis Martin Neely; and Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley on the following topics:

·         Bulletproofing® Your Clients and Your Joy of Life (keynote)

·         Effective Blogging and Social Media

·         Building Your Personal & Client Business Development Plans

·         Billing 101: Fees, Finance & the Bottom Line

·         Insights on Outsourcing

·         Recruiting and Selecting Talented people

·         Create Your Own Strategic Plan

Get A Life Conference Agenda

Get A Life Speaker List

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From the Wall Street Journal:

"In the last few months, law firms have become increasingly aware that training lawyers in marketing and business development is a key way to drive business. According to a February survey of 120 marketing directors at large law firms -- conducted by legal market researcher, BTI Consulting Group -- business development is one of the few marketing areas where law firm executives are most willing to increase spending. Nearly 70% said they planned to provide more marketing coaching to lawyers.

"Marketing coaching fills in where law school falls short on training. Firms are enlisting coaches who work one-on-one with their lawyers on how to keep up with existing clients and court new ones. While it's certainly not a new concept to the legal world, this kind of strategic networking becomes critical as business wanes. "As business falls off everywhere, all of us need to have an eye on where the next thing is coming from," says Edward Winslow, partner at Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, an 85-lawyer firm based in Greensboro, N.C.

"Larry Bodine, an Illinois-based law firm business-development consultant, has been working nights and weekends to accommodate his new influx of clients, which has tripled from 20 to 60 lawyers since January. "Business development is not something taught in law school," he says. "Basically you spend three years reading appellate court opinions and you don't learn anything about building a clientele," he says.

"While many firms are looking outside to hire coaches, others are ramping up internal efforts. At Boston-based Nixon Peabody, where the marketing budget is down 20% this year, chief marketing officer Mark Greene says there has been a distinct shift in how resources are allocated, with more emphasis on coaching individual lawyers. "A year ago the department was more focused on marketing in the traditional sense of brand creation," says Mr. Greene. "We have shifted resources toward one-on-one relationship building."

For more about business development training, visit www.ApolloBusinessDevelopment.com

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Remember that a man’s name is,
to him, the sweetest and most
important sound in any language.
—Dale Carnegie

For many of us, remembering names is difficult, but make no mistake: It is extremely important in building relationships. People like to hear their own names. It has been said that the sweetest sound in the world is hearing one’s own name.

We must place great importance on learning names. When you remember a person’s name, you make that person feel important, and you begin to establish a personal rapport. According to Patrick D. Kelly, a partner with Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in Charleston, WV, one of his friends claims he cannot remem­ber names, yet he can memorize the batting statistics of dozens of Major League baseball players. The fact is he can remember names. He simply doesn’t place any importance on doing so.

You need to make a conscious decision to remember names and place a high priority on it. If you apply yourself and use a few helpful tools, you can do it.

The author of the new book Rainmaking 101, Kelly offers a dozen mnemonic tips to recall these key words to establishing rapport on the LawMarketing Portal at www.lawmarketing.com.

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There's been a lot of talk lately about surviving this recession, and much of the advice is focused on marketing and selling to get new clients. While continuing to bring in new business is necessary for a service firm's survival, so is keeping your current clients loyal to your firm.

What does it take to build the type of relationships with your clients that keep them loyal and coming back to your firm year after year? To find out, RainToday asked me and 8 other experts in client loyalty this question:

If you could only give one piece of advice regarding how to develop client loyalty: what would that be?

They then gathered our responses in this complimentary, 38-page special report, The One Piece of Advice You Need to Earn Your Clients’ Loyalty.

You can download this report by visiting: http://www.raintoday.com/pages/5072_client_loyalty_special_report.cfm

The advice and authors include:

1.    Keeping Your Clients Loyal - Nine Questions You Need Answered
Mike Schultz, Publisher of RainToday and Author of Professional Services Marketing

2.    Achieving the Highest Level of Loyalty
Andrew Sobel, Author of All for One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships

3.    How to Be Invaluable
Jill Konrath, Author of Selling to Big Companies

4.    Your Highest Priority: Building Client Loyalty by Delivering Superior Service
Michael W. McLaughlin, Principal of MindShare Consulting and Author of Winning the Professional Services Sale

5.    Client Loyalty: How to Keep Happy Clients Who are Delighted to Pay Their Bills
Larry Bodine, Esq., Founder of Apollo Business Development

6.    Taming the Search-and-Switch Client: 3 Keys to Keeping Your Client Loyal
Jill Griffin, Author of Taming the Search-and-Switch Customer: Earning Customer Loyalty in a Compulsion-to-Compare World

7.    Your Clients Need Cultivation - Now, More Than Ever!
Ardath Albee, CEO and B2B Strategist of Marketing Interactions, Inc.

8.    How to Retain Clients: Teach Them How to Be Loyal
Sharon Drew Morgen, Author of Selling with Integrity

9.    Client Loyalty as a By-Product of Firm Leadership
Patrick J. Lamb and Nicole N. Auerbach, Two of the Founding Members of Valorem Law Group, LLC.

Earn your clients' loyalty with the expert insights and advice in this special report!

Download here: http://www.raintoday.com/pages/5072_client_loyalty_special_report.cfm

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Please join me for this 90-minute webinar and live presentation sponsored by the State Bar of Arizona on May 6 in Phoenix and online too.  Visit WEBCAST- Surviving the Recession for all the details. Any lawyer in any state can attend. The course has been approved for 1.5 total CLE Units, all of which may be applied toward  Ethics.

I gave the program last year and here's what attendees had to say:

• "The program is one of the most interesting that I have viewed online. Thank you." (Phoenix, AZ)
• "This is absolutely amazingly well done. Critical thinking, clear language, practical: an excellent resource." (Scottsdale, AZ)
• "This guy''s terrific. Can I buy a video?" (Scottsdale, AZ)
• "Very interesting and I believe it will be helpful to my business." (Mesa, AZ)
• "Excellent presentation! I like the fact that it was available online, especially since I needed 3 more credits by today!" (Scottsdale, AZ)

"Partners, law firm owners, solo and small firm practitioners who wish to avoid being victims of the worst economic downturn in our lifetimes should attend this special seminar. Hear from a 16-year veteran business developer on how to increase your clientele and revenue," the bar brochure states.

Program highlights: http://tinyurl.com/d5kdn9

• The four hot practice areas for general practitioners.
• How to keep the good clients you have.
• In-person marketing and business development techniques to find new clients.
• Marketing with technology tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Webinars and blogs.
• Writing your Personal Business Development Plan.

How can you go wrong with a $69 registration fee?  If you want to get more cleints and generate more revenue, I hope to see you there.

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Don't miss legal sales and business development experts Michael Cummings and me when we reveal the how-to secrets in this webinar today:

DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2009; 1PM - 2:15 PM Eastern
LOCATION: on the web, on your computer
MORE INFO: Michael Cummings; Tel: (630) 572-4798 or mcummings@sageprofessional.com  
TO REGISTER: www.sagelawmarketing.com/webseminar45 

Topics Include:

• Common business development mistakes that attorneys make
• What clients care about when meeting you
• Why selfish self promotion doesn't work
• How to ask the right questions and listen effectively
• How to excel in a networking situation
• Diagnosing a clients' need for service
• How to sell ideas for next steps
• Using a proven, step-by-step business development process

You'll find that business development is simply a skill that you can learn. Done properly, you just leverage your existing professional skills and apply them to business development. You don't have to change your personality or style and suddenly transform yourself into a glib, glad-handing extrovert.  

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How to ask for the business is the most common business development problem lawyers have.

Yet, rainmakers have learned how to engage a prospective client in a structured dialogue, listen for a problem point of business “pain” and ask the client how they might help solve this problem. After years of doing this, rainmakers seem to convert business effortlessly.

On the other hand, many attorneys don’t know how to handle business development opportunities or selling situations. Too often, they end up over-promoting themselves and their firm. Or they feel uncomfortable or pushy when trying to attract the interest of a client, prospect or referral source. Before now, nobody has ever taught them how to perform in a business development or selling situation.

You’ll find that business development is simply a skill that you can learn. You don’t have to change your personality or style and suddenly transform yourself into a glib, glad-handing extrovert.

Join two of the top business development trainers and coaches in the profession, Michael Cummings of SAGE PDI, Inc. and myself, as we present this Web seminar, “What Do I Say To A Prospective Client To Win Their Business?” on Thursday, April 23.

Click here -- or http://tinyurl.com/cpcuhl -- to register for this LIVE program on April 23. Registration fee is $300 per connection. Any number can attend in the room where you connect to the site and the call - at the same low price.

• Common Business Development Mistakes That Attorneys Make
• What Clients Care About When Meeting You
• Why Selfish Self Promotion Doesn’t Work
• How to Ask The Right Questions and Listen Effectively
• How to Excel in a Networking Situation
• Diagnosing a Clients' Need For Service
• How to Sell Ideas For Next Steps
• Using a Proven, Step-by-Step Business Development Process

For details or to register, Click Here.

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