Continuing our series on making sure you know your client,
5. What have you done recently to build the relationship?
6. Have you asked ahead of time who else will be attending the meeting?
7. Do you offer periodic review meetings re:
*. Budgets?
* Billing?
* Engagement process?
* Reporting format and frequency?
.
According to a recent survey by WIPL Network and Global Legal Post, General Counsel are concentrating more on cutting costs, being business advisors and cybersecurity. As reported by Rich Steeves, the GC role is expanding. Are your firm’s client relationship partners making sure their services fit in with these relationship-building clues?
These next 3 tactics to generate leads from your speeches, workshops, etc. need to occur before the engagement.
7. “Merchandise” the presentation: i.e. post the speech to your website, send it as an eblast; include it on your social media pages; and get it to journalists who may be covering related topics.
8. Circulate an internal note urging others at your firm to attend the presentation. Marketing staffers should attend as well as that can only help them to promote and follow up on the event.
9. Your firm should arrange to contact all sign-ups with a reminder a week ahead of the event. Call your own contacts a week before.
We have more coming but please share your ideas as well.
Can You Get More Leads When Speaking? II.
Continuing our series on making your speeches generate more leads and opportunities:
4. Obtain the most up-to-date attendee list and assign any of your colleagues in attendance to meet “must-get-to-knows.”
5. Encourage others in your firm or company to send invites to their clients. The presentation may be valuable for those clients too, or they can pass the information on to others.
6. If this is a firm sponsored event, or you are the keynote speaker, send invitations on your own letterhead/email, even if one has been separately sent by your firm. Doing so can not only boost attendance, but acts as a reminder of your expertise on the presentation topic.
More on building business from speeches in the next several posts.
If you have been following PROLOG’S Top 10 Reasons to Hire Allan Colman, we are fast approaching #1.
4. Allan is always open to new ideas.
3. He is an active mentor for business incubators and accelerators.
2. Allan’s clients call him both “Mentor and Tormentor.”
And tune in next time for #1!
PROBLEM: We missed it! [ new filings, new legislation, etc.]
RESPONSE: Don’t dwell on any one matter or even on any whole genus of legal business. Look to the pipeline to deliver a stream of alternative possibilities, some of which may not yet be on your radar screen.
RESULT: you’ll need to start making decisions about which kind of business to go after, and which to let some other law firm go after. That’s a great problem to have..
“OPPORTUNITIES ARE LIKE BUSSES – YOU MISS ONE, ANOTHER WILL COME ALONG.” Sir Richard Branson
PROBLEM: “Our firm has no business development pipeline.”
RESPONSE: Don’t let this cause paralysis. Take a tough, hard look at where clients fell by the wayside, what results are speeches and articles bringing, and are your lawyers really cross marketing, and direct marketing?
RESULT: This type of crisis should spell OPPORTUNITY. Take your assessment and ensure that your attorneys and marketing professionals jump into the Business Development fray with a series of specific 3 month action plans.
GET FACE-TO-FACE!
PROBLEM: I just lost my largest client.
RESPONSE: Manage your speakers, greeters, authors, communicators, trainers, marketers, etc.
RESULT: Properly assigned with concretely defined roles, the firm’s staff will become a kind of conveyor belt, with all their designated tasks funneling toward the actual sales moment. The pipeline thereby remains engineered to support the one final moment – closing new business – that justifies its existence in the first place. BUILD THAT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE!
Yes, these best practices for new business really do work.
4. regularly review unsuccessful business development efforts in regularly scheduled “post mortem” meetings. At the same time examine and validate the steps that have led to successful new business acquisition.
5. Fortify the business development program with targeting and pursuit efforts by specific practice groups, niche groups, offices and individuals. Take one step at a time and concentrate on those attorney marketing individuals who really want to develop new business.
6. Assure that your talent/skills building sessions are practical and tactical. Theory rarely motivates your marketers.
More next time.
The Final 4 – What Those 34 Attorneys Really Said About Marketing
Just as the NCAA finals are tonight, and a winner will be declared, so too are we presenting the final 4 reasons attorneys have given us for not marketing. If you want the entire 34, go to www.closersgroup.com/blog.
31. There is no firm support or encouragement for me to write articles or give speeches. — So get off your seat and write and speak yourself. Publications and organizations are always looking for content. Just ask.
32. We don’t do well in competitive pitches. — Ever done post mortems? Ever practiced before pitching? Ever ask the prospect what you could have done better? Ever looked at your pitch from the client’s perspective?
33. I don’t have time to learn about my future client’s businesses, products, long range plans, etc. — Then don’t expect to keep that client.
34. Here’s my favorite reason for not marketing — “Help!” – At least this attorney was being honest and my job is to identify what can be done internally and how we can help as well.
If you have heard other comments on why they won’t or don’t market, please let me know. I’ll add them into our new workshop.
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