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Re-Energize Your Firm's Business Development — III.

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Business Development, Managing Partners, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners.

Continuing this series on how we work with clients to identify hidden assets and underutilized skills to grow more business:

9. Analyze existing relationships with clients, past clients, professional associations, industry associations, etc. What is the cost/value/result calculation?

10. Build interactive training and professional development programs for staff, attorneys and professionals. Multiple national studies indicate this is a key ingredient in keeping your team and in attracting laterals.

11. View your revenue levels by assignment, practice area, market trends, etc. Again, what is the cost/value/result calculation?

In the next column, we’ll tie these and a few more internal analysis business growth components together. You will be producing a Strategic Business Development Action Plan.

Re-Energize Your Firm's Business Development — II.

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Business Development, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Marketing, Managing Partners, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners.

This is the second of several blogs, looking inside your firm to identify the hidden assets and underutilized skills to grow more business. Working with you we also view:

5. Social media, advertising, public relations combinations and where to maximize the impact;

6. Proposals (not rfp’s) and how they are prepared and presented to prospects and clients;

7. Following up, or conducting “post mortems” after each meeting, speech, published article, e-alerts, etc. Make sure they are working for you, growing your reputation and profile;

8. In relation to the above 3 elements of review, is your firm’s research capability, assistance and priorities being coordinated with the overall business development targets?

Remember, in working with us, we always start by looking inside. You should too. Next column will cover 4 more components to re-energizing your business development successes.

6 More Quick Hits for New Business Development

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners.

In a recent blog we discussed what we recommend for clients who want immediate targeting, managing, contacting, meeting, training and evaluation. Here are 6 more “quick hits”:

G. Establish time-lines with individualized sequences of approach, support needed, results and evaluation including meeting deadlines and providing firm management with Success Reports.

H. Pre-test strategy and upcoming actions.

I. Evaluate contact results and follow up on a regularly scheduled basis.

J. Train and support assigned marketing staff.

K. Begin new engagements.

L. VIP, track results, challenges, etc. to get ready for Phase II.

Maximize Your Marketing Budget – IV.

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Business Development, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners.

Go back and read the 3 previous blogs to catch up on the previous 8 steps to maximize your marketing budget. The final 4 follow:

9. Get even more from your dollar invested i.e. readership information from ad placements or conference participants.

10. Assure that every business development training session is practical, not academic, and includes advisory follow up.

11. Celebrate client acquisition, not just client wins.

12. Keep management actively informed and involved.

We work with you to CLOSE MORE BUSINESS.

Maximize Your Marketing Budget – II.

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners.

In our last column, we began reviewing 12 steps to help maximize your marketing budget. Here are the next 3:

3. Maximize the impact of proposals,pitches, prospect meetings, etc.
4. Conduct success/rejection analysis. Do you know why or why not a particular pitch was successful?
5. Lead “go/no-go” decision discussions before investing in an rfp response or initiating a new contact.

Undertaking regularly scheduled review of these efforts will help to refine what works, discard underperforming tactics, and win more business. See our “services” pages for details.

Maximize Your Marketing Budget

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Business Development, Law Firm Leadership, Managing Partners, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners.

Maximize your firm’s current marketing and business development budget by demonstrating to firm management the opportunities they have to grow. Lead the way to a sustainable management approach which places greater value on the role of marketing and business development. Provide the marketing partners, marketing committees, partners-in-charge and practice leaders with these important decision-making tools.

The first of 12 decision making tools are:

1. Design straight-forward business development pursuit schemes;
2. Establish and manage timelines for each step until final closing.

In the next several blogs, we will cover the other 10 decision making tools for growing new business.

Prospecting With Your Clients

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

If you have become your client’s trusted advisor and have established the good will that comes from successful business relationship, they will return the favor when you ask for referrals by introducing you to other clients. The good will and solid relationships that they have will work in your favor. It will provide you with the opportunity to make their clients your prospects.

Part II. – Prepare For Things That Go Bump in the Night

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

The tactics presented in OWN THE ZONE are all used one way or another in our business development training sessions and workshops. For example, our training emphasizes thinking long term. When it comes to approaching a new prospect or a long term client, we encourage our clients to:

* UNDERSTAND the prospects’ and clients’ needs and internal pressures;
* BECOME a trusted adviser, and
* PROTECT the prospects’ and clients’ interests.

Become a valued business partner and friend, offer rewarding solutions that are profitable for all involved. It’s how we work with our clients and how we encourage them to approach their prospects and clients in the same way.

Things That Go Bump In the Night – II.

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

Continuing with this series of “prepare, prepare, prepare,” from our book, OWN THE ZONE, our client training and advising focuses on thinking long term. When it comes to approaching a new prospect or long-term client for business development opportunities, we encourage you to:

UNDERSTAND the prospects’ and clients’ needs and internal pressures;

BECOME a trusted advisor, and

PROTECT the prospects’ and clients’ interests.

These are key elements of Jay Abraham’s “Strategy of preeminence.”

Prepare For Things That Go Bump In the Night

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

In chapter 9 of our book, OWN THE ZONE, we often refer to Jay Abraham. He has been called “America’s number one marketing wizard” enough times that it’s the tag line used on the “About” page on his website. He’s seen as a genius at getting down to basics and, having worked with him in the past, I check in on his work from time to time.

When we work with our clients, we follow Jay’s “Strategy of Preeminence.” As a marketing and business development consultant, we aim to become a valued friend, to offer results oriented solutions that are profitable for everyone involved and we encourage our clients to approach their prospects and clients in the same way.

In the next several columns, we will discuss how to prepare for things that become challenges and how to overcome them to become -“preeminent.”