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Reveal Your Firm’s Under Performing Marketing Assets — Catapult Your Revenues Without Losing a Dime!

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Business Strategy, Managing Partners, Strategic Planning, Uncategorized.

Under performing marketing assets, when identified, are a real drag on your firm’s revenues.  Out of the 25 questions we use to build a successful business plan for clients, what would your responses be to these 7?

  1. Are you making decisions on under performing activities and investments?
  2. Do you complete success/rejection analyses of pitches and proposals?
  3. How are you maximizing the impact of these pitches and proposals?
  4. What success are you having expanding the number of colleagues actively selling and cross marketing?
  5. Can you use single marketing tools to leverage wider exposure and response generation?
  6. Is there a format for building a long-term pipeline of leads and opportunities?
  7. Who is measuring and reporting results  and who pays attention to them?

And what do we mean by saying our advice can advance the discussion of under performing marketing assets without losing a dime?  Simple-  experience shows that by a significant increase in your new revenues, the only cost is our professional fee.  And that is typically returned 4 to 5 times within 6 months.

To schedule a free 30 minute consultation go to 

 

Has Your Marketing Approach Been Rejected and Client Retention Faltering ?

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Client Retention, Strategic Planning.

Has your marketing approach been rejected and client retention faltering??  In fact, a frequent comment we hear from in-house counsel is that lawyers “just show up and offer legal advice.  They don’t listen.”  In fact, in our 2014 survey of counsel in the U.S. and Canada, “they don’t listen to us” is one of the 2 top reasons for terminating a long term relationship.

The art of listening should permeate sales training (yes “sales” training), be part of every marketing plan and be a strategy to use during every concerted business development opportunity. Listening and responding to a client’s or prospect’s needs are imperative if you want to win or keep a client.  An early IBM sales rule was to get your client talking at least 60% of the time.

“Do you know their pain?” should be the first question you ask before preparing for a meeting.  Then walk them through the problem, offer examples of how you solved similar issues, and make your answers[your values] their needs.

Why Isn’t Your UPS Bringing In New Business?

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Conversion Rate Optimization, Law Firm Marketing, Strategic Planning.

Why isn’t your UPS, Unique Positioning Statement, bringing in new business? Perhaps your team does not understand that a Unique Positioning Statement is much like an elevator message. What would you say in 20 seconds that succinctly capture the essence, strengths and uniqueness of your firm?

Here are some examples of what I mean:

“Look Ma, no cavities!” Crest Toothpaste

“When you care to send the very best.” Hallmark.

Putting it simply, a UPS is a written statement that explains why you get new clients, why your current clients stay with you and why your clients keep on coming back for more and refer new business to you.

If you would like a complimentary copy of our Unique Positioning Statement Questionnaire, “Contact Us.”

How Much Revenue Is Your Firm Losing?

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Law Firm Leadership, Managing Partners, Strategic Planning.

How much revenue is your firm losing without an exit strategy for Senior Partners? Advance planning of exit strategies is critical to long term sustainable revenue. Failure to deal with this is a common million dollar blind spot for the typical law firm.

Success requires law firm executive committees taking a proactive role by understanding the “lifetime value” of a client from the present into the future.

* Evaluate the “identity capital” of senior attorneys.
* Build a client service team long before retirement.
* Develop a CLIENT RETENTION PLAN to advise, coach and direct individual exit strategies.

Don’t Let Business Slip Through Your Fingers

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Content Marketing, Law Firm Marketing, Strategic Planning.

You can avoid letting new business slip through your fingers by using our powerful, highly interactive workshops and strategic business road-mapping. As a business development consultant and advisor, these work.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS AND COACHING
Your competitors are asking for the business. Are you?
• Are you bringing in new business from clients and prospects?
• Are you selling, but not seeing the results?
• Where are your opportunities? How do you expand them?
• Do you know how to communicate effectively with your prospects?
During these powerful, highly interactive workshops, you are focused on building lasting relationships, asking for business and customizing your action plan

STRATEGIC BUSINESS ROAD MAPPING
Within 30 days, our RAPID ASSESSMENT will identify what’s missing from your business development program and identify for you:
• Missed opportunities
• Underperforming investments
• Prospect segmentation and targeting
• Issues with internal collaboration and cross marketing
• Underutilized assets
If our STRATEGIC BUSINESS ROADMAP approach sounds straightforward, it is. It serves as the first step toward lead generation, providing a platform from which clients grow, with tools to measure progress and success. Many of the groups we have advised over the past eight years have more than doubled their books of new business.

4 Steps to Master Closing New Business

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Law Firm Marketing, Marketing Partners, Strategic Planning.

When focusing on how to master closing new business, this post emphasizes work by Rick Justus at 36ixty.com and Bill Aulet’s “Disciplined Entrepreneurship” (Amazon, et.al.). These link directly with making a profit from your service.

Aulet identifies 4 steps to master closing new business:
* Design a business model;
* Set the pricing framework;
* Calculate the lifetime value of a client;
* Calculate the cost of client acquisition.

All too often, we see clients spending too little time in designing a business model. But in the interest of closing new business, building a pipeline future business requires: how and where to establish rapport; qualifying the buyer by finding their need; building your value to meet those needs; creating a desire for your firm and your service; identifying answers to overcoming objections; and methods and tactics to close new business. These 6 elements are known as the DEAL MAKER from Rick Justus’ 36ixty.

In our next column, we will offer action details for setting the pricing framework, calculating the lifetime value of clients and calculating the cost of client acquisition.

4 Secrets to Accelerating Growth

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Content Marketing, Conversion Rate Optimization, Email Marketing, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing for Law Firms, Practice Group Leaders, Strategic Planning. 1 Comment on 4 Secrets to Accelerating Growth

In order to practice the 4 secrets to accelerating growth, using our one-page-strategic-plan becomes key. As practice areas, offices and cross-specialties groups build this approach into their firm culture, they will open and then close multiple new business development opportunities. And business acceleration becomes a highly recognized and respected key to your firm.

By turning your business growth strategies into action, you have learned to avoid fatal mistakes and garnered more management support. You will build and sustain new revenue by using the 4 secrets;

* Increase the number of clients you serve;
* Get those clients to purchase more services each time they retain you;
* Encourage your clients to purchase more often from you;
* Increase your fees.

Now get to it before the competition does.

Don’t Make Flying Pigs From Law Firm Rainmakers

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Content Marketing, Conversion Rate Optimization, Email Marketing, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing Partners, Strategic Planning.

It is stunning how many lawyers treat all leads alike, and market to the wrong prospects. Another major leadership mistake is asking law firm rainmakers to get out and prospect, which is analogous to “teaching pigs how to fly.” It would be far better to determine where each attorney needs the most business development help.

36ixty asks:
* Are they comfortable building rapport with new prospects?
* Do they know how to qualify the buyer/user?
* Will they build real value for clients?
* Can they create the desire to buy?
* How do they overcome objections?
* Do they close?

Use these questions and marketing training tools to bring along the next generation of law firm rainmakers.