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

The most effective way to generate new files and revenue is through cross-selling, and the most efficient way to sell more services to clients is to create client teams. BTI Consulting lists client teams as one of a law firm's "Power Marketing Practices." However client teams produces data, relationships, lawyer activities, revenue goals and management work that overwhelms the team leader.

Interaction, the company known for its client relationship management software, is riding to the rescue with its new Strategic Account Management (SAM) program. According to product manager Jason Maeder the SAM program:

• Connects to all the information from Interaction's CRM system.
• Collects all contact information, activities, tasks and goals into a set of charts.
• Creates a client team workplace, so that team members and log in and see announcements, opportunities, activities and appointments.

The team leader decides who's on the team, and a chart displays all the members, their titles and contact information. The leader can see the year-to-date revenue, set new revenue goals and relationship goals. Scored on a scale of -1 (no communication) to 5 (strong relationship), a relationship rating can be strengthen by visits, meetings and number of communications.

"A leader can check what individuals are doing without calling a meeting," Maeder said. Individual lawyers have their own home page including tasks, relationship goals and opportunities.

Accountability is the key element.  SAM sends out email notices and reminders to lawyers who have been inactive. "It's a method to grow client satisfaction and share of wallet, tying an action plan to it and laying out steps to achieve the goal."

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If your firm website is not on the first page of Google search results, it could simply be a lack of special HTML tags, inconsistent page content, broken links and lack of a Google site map, according to search engine expert Jeff Lantz.

"The web pages of most law firms fail to take advantage of any search engine optimization techniques, and, as a result, their web pages will not rank highly in the search engine results for the legal practice areas that the firm is promoting on these same pages. Additionally, search engines often fail to fully index law firm websites because of their design issues or architectural issues," Jeff says in an article on the LawMarketing Portal.

Here are the top 10 website SEO mistakes that law firms make:

1. No Search Engine Metatags, or Metatags of Very Low Value.
2. Inconsistent and Confusing Page Content.
3. Broken Links.
4. No Google Site Map.
5. Not Submitting Website to Google and Other Search Engines.
6. Spam Metatags.
7. Placing Too Much Page Content in Images.
8. Flash Generally.
9. Overemphasis on Keyword Metatags.
10. Not Understanding the Importance of Search Engine Optimization.

To read all the details, visit http://bit.ly/9znIHU

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Clients can now find locations, street maps and profiles of 250+ law and accounting firms in 105 countries using a new free business iPhone app called Advisors2Go.

"Unlike many other iPhone apps, the majority of Advisors2Go's functionality works without a web connection and it takes advantage of the iPhone's intuitive interface, built-in GPS and Google Maps, and integration with email, web, contacts and phone," said Giles Brake, Marketing & Business Development Manager, MSI Global Alliance. 

London-based MSI is one of the world’s largest associations of independent professional services firms. It was formed in 1990 as an alternative to the large professional firms, and in response to the growing need for cross-border co-operation between professional services firms.

“Nothing is more frustrating for a growing, entrepreneurial business than having to deal with one of the large law or accounting firms that may have international offices, but isn’t structured in a way that can deliver the expected levels of service or offer competitive rates, says MSI’s Chief Executive James Mendelssohn.

"Our lawyer and accountant members have the ability to view the profiles of all 250 member firms and around 800 partners, to quickly fire off an email, call the person directly, add the person's details to their address book, and share the contact with a friend, all from within the app. They can also zoom in to the street locations of all firms using the app's built-in Google maps," Brake said.

The app can be viewed and downloaded from iTunes: http://bit.ly/ajNaZh

“Advisors2Go allows us to engage lawyers and accountants deeper within our member firms, and will help us stimulate greater communications and referrals. We plan to offer Advisors2Go to users of BlackBerry and Android Smartphones, and will add new content and functionality to our app in the near future," Mendelssohn said.
 

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You can learn how to get new clients and generate new files in a new podcast "Social Media Strategies for Lawyers," a MyLegal.com interview with yours truly.  Visit http://bit.ly/aKdtBL and the Blog Talk Radio program will begin to play.

Lisa DiMonte of Washington, DC, the CEO of MyLegal.com, ran the interview.  Among the things you'll learn are:

1. The huge change from law firm marketing to business development.
2. Why an attorney's legal training makes them skeptical of social media.
3. The overload of choices in online networking and the solution to dealing with it.
4. There is business to be had on online social networking.
5. Tips and techniques you can use on LinkedIn today.
6. The best lawyer profile I've ever found -- it list clients, industry familiarize and case histories.
7. The power of recommendations on LinkedIn - focus on your business leadership, be a person to send referrals to, and identify the clients you want.
8. An undocumented "Easter Egg": how to send a message to all of your contacts at once.
9. How much time to devote to online social networking.
10. Mistakes to avoid in online social networking.
11. Three approaches to posting a good message that people will read.
12. Using LinkedIn to target potential clients and identify the people you should approach.

 It's all at http://bit.ly/aKdtBL. It's 30 minutes, so grab a cup of coffee, lean back and tune in.

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JD Supra is an online marketing site that lets lawyers upload articles, forms and court opinions for free and then distributes them over new media platforms like Google News, Twitter, RSS feeds, Facebook, syndication partnerships, and a JD Supra widget for maximum exposure.

Now LinkedIn, the online social network used by more than 70 million professionals, has added JD Supra's Legal Updates (http://bit.ly/c8JRjh) to its exclusive list of 16 Intelligent Applications (InApps), which also include Reading List by Amazon and Presentation by Google.

Powered by JD Supra content -- articles and analysis published by legal professionals around the world -- Legal Updates distributes a feed of expert commentary and guidance as well as legal news tailored to the professional interests of LinkedIn members. Currently, Legal Updates is the only application for distribution of professional legal content and information available on LinkedIn. It is free to LinkedIn members and available immediately. 

The Legal Updates app will be the subject of an online demonstration led by JD Supra founder Aviva Cuyler, on July 22, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT. Webinar registration: http://bit.ly/9NOeuL.

Cuyler and co-founder Adrian Lurssen will demonstrate the application's more powerful features, including customized legal feeds on LinkedIn and the ability for users to recommend JD Supra documents to their LinkedIn contacts as well as sync their JD Supra and LinkedIn profiles.

"Legal Updates is a perfect app for the LinkedIn community because to anyone who needs to be aware of legal developments," Cuyler said. "JD Supra content reaches LinkedIn members when they are focused on business and looking to make professional connections -- the best moment for lawyers to show off their expertise," said Lurssen.

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Not to call in-house lawyers and the people behind Inside Counsel a bunch of introverted party-poopers, but the magazine just published a paranoid report entitled, "Tweet This: How Social Media Could Land Companies in Hot Water," conducted by Recommind.

It recounts the fears of Craig Carpenter, who is billed as the Recommind "General Counsel," but who is titled the "Vice President of Marketing" on the company website. For people who have been living in a cave, the article makes findings like:

• Consumer usage of social networking grew 82 percent over one year.  Duh.
• "We can't escape social media completely."  Wowsers.
• A company can't ban Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, because people will go ahead and use them anyway. Yep -- most people have a smartphone that can access those sites without using company computers.

Fear is a great sales tool, and it may attract viewers to Carpenter's querulous recorded webinar. So here are the traps, snare, slings and arrows of online social networking, according to the report:

• Many people are using blogs and video sharing sites explicitly for business.
• Online networks broadcast to an unlimited number of viewers.
• People tend to proofread Tweets less than emails.
• People send Facebook or blog entries more casually than first-class mail.
• A message's context may be unclear.
• An opposing party could subpoena Facebook and discover what someone said.
• Case law is not fully developed, except for the Supreme Court ruling this year that employers can spy on what employees say on company computers.

He left out that the sky is falling.  He concludes that "we need to get at the behavior, not the method," with suffocating social media policies. He might as well have concluded, "my fellow dinosaurs, there is a comet coming."

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The LawMarketing Portal iPhone app has just gotten better. You can download it at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lawmarketing-portal/id375755906?mt=8.

The App first went online in June 2009 and brought readers a steady stream of articles about sales in the legal profession.  The new and improved app now includes technology and news article plus the ability to email, Tweet or save articles.  To see how it works, watch the video.

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Join me and the vivacious Viveka von Rosen on July 14 for our webinar presentation "Advanced LinkedIn for Lawyers: Powerful Applications and Features for Business Development."

Do you have a LinkedIn profile but it's not doing anything for you? Check it out. Want to find out how to actually get business from LinkedIn? Check it out. Do you think you know it all when it comes to Linked in but don't know what TOMA means, using LinkedIn in Outlook and putting LinkedIn on your smartphone? Check it out.

Viveka von Rosen is a Linkedin expert, social media consultant, adjunct instructor and a Twitter trainer.  She's also a social media coach and consultant, keynote speaker, and trainer. Viveka is one of the smartest and bubbliest people I've ever worked with. Find her at http://www.linkedin.com/in/linkedinexpert

Tune in to see:

• The best LinkedIn lawyer profile I have ever seen.
• How to target a company using LinkedIn for business development purposes.
• What you get with a paid premium account.

We are presenting this program for the Center for Competitive Management, http://c4cm.com, a training, research and conference company that provides business professionals with current regulatory trends, issues and news affecting their business. Check it out.

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Goulston & Storrs, a 185-lawyer firm headquartered in Boston, launched of its premiere iPhone App.  The G&S App offers a convenient way for clients to gather customized information on the most current business topics, directly from an iPhone.

Theresa Bomba, Associate Director of Marketing, remarked, “There are approximately 50 million iPhones currently in use, and with the new launch of the iPhone 4, analysts estimate there will be 100 million iPhone users by the end of 2011. This is an ideal opportunity for us to communicate on a platform which our clients are utilizing. The G&S App will provide meaningful, timely information in a format people prefer.” 

Having worked with the firm I can say that Goulston & Storrs is a very client-centered firm. They really ‘speak the language of the customer,’ communicating with clients via podcasts, client case studies, an online concierge, subscriptions to a wide variety of information – and now an iPhone App. It shows that the firm is not only tech-savvy, but also easy to talk to.

To download the free G&S App, go to the App Store on your iPhone, Keyword: Goulston.

Located in Boston, New York, Washington D.C. and Beijing, Goulston & Storrs is recognized for its quality work and unique service model across multiple service areas. 

The firm is famous for its clever award-winning marketing activities, including a Jeopardy game for in-house counsel, its “Gateway to China” campaign for mid-market firms seeking to do business in China, and its creation of a resource center on Legal OnRamp avout the attorney-client privilege.

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Professional social network LinkedIn now has 70 million members, according to the company’s home page. The company hit 60 million users in February, and has been growing fast, especially in international markets. LinkedIn’s network’s CEO, Jeff Weiner, stated in a blog post last fall that half of LinkedIn’s membership is international. The company is also listing one million company profiles, which are similar to a user profile.

Weiner told TechCrunch that the fastest growth LinkedIn is seeing is in international markets. LinkedIn is expanding rapidly in the Netherlands and India.

The network has also been adding features continuously over the past six months to broaden LinkedIn’s reach across the web, adding a deeper Twitter integration, opening up an API, providing a plugin with Microsoft Outlook and enhancing sharing options.

But while LinkedIn is looking to bring its platform to the greater web, there’s a tremendous amount of potential to use the data the network has on its side to add additional functionality to both users and companies. Weiner recently told Techcrunch that data is an important part of LinkedIn’s future as a network. It’s safe to say that we will be seeing a number of new initiatives coming from LinkedIn leveraging the wealth of professional content on the network.

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