Tag: Business Development

Driving Performance: The Next Piece of the Business Development Puzzle

Written by Allan Colman on November 17, 2016. Posted in Business Strategy, Law Firm Marketing.

Driving performance is the next piece of our business development puzzle (part 4 of the 9 pieces). Sure, today’s marketplace is about as challenging as any market on earth. But there is a reason why some of us continue to slug away for decades. Once that iron wall of resistance totters, we find that the intellectual and professional rewards are extraordinary. You can enjoy the sweet satisfaction of knowing that you have succeeded where many other worthy aspirants have failed. [Visit our Books page for more details from Own the Zone.]

To Hit a Target Is to Take a Shot!

Driving performance to increase marketing and business development growth requires its own separate set of best practices, including:

Designate leaders for each client target that you and your firm have been keeping in the backs of their mind.
Enhance performance results by providing greater strategy debates before investing in RFP’s or in making new initial contacts.
Demonstrate successful performance by submitting success reports to firm managing partners.
Constantly review the failed business development efforts in post mortem meetings. Codify the steps that led to successful new business development.
Populate the marketing and business development program with targeting and pursuit efforts by specific groups.
Assure that business development training sessions are practical, not academic.
Keep your firm ahead of economic and industry trends and build this knowledge into every prospect call and current client.
Make decisions on under-performing activities by either abandoning them or improving your approach in each case.

Driving Performance: Get Started

You can achieve success driving performance using many different tactics. Pick the ones that serve your current situation best and get started. The shot that will never score is the one you never take…

What DOES WORK in the Business Development Closing Zone

Written by Allan Colman on November 1, 2016. Posted in Business Development, Conversion Rate Optimization, Law Firm Marketing.

What does work in the business development closing zone is a followup to our last 2 columns, what does not work in business development. We have taken a collection of quotes from successful business development professionals on what does work in the “closing zone.”

1. Major effort to communicate from the very beginning of an engagement.
2. Handle complaints quickly.
3. Refer business to your clients; or introduce clients to each other; or cross sell clients.
4. Make sure you obtain contact information for whoever attends your presentations.
5. Mine your children’s activities.
6. Set periodic review meetings re: budgets, billing, timeliness of engagement process; etc.

In a following column, we will illustrate more observations on what does work in the business development closing zone.

Let Us Help You Strengthen YOUR Business Development Closing Zone

We are available for a complimentary 30 minute consultation on accelerating your business development successes.

– acolman@closersgroup.com

What Did Not Work in Business Development II

Written by Allan Colman on October 27, 2016. Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Client Retention.

Continuing from our previous post on “What Did Not Work in Business Development”, we hear more comments from in-house counsel about business development tactics where many fail:

7. Go to a prospect/client presentation and not getting names of all attendees;

8. Choosing the wrong medium to communicate i.e. email vs. phone;

9. Surprising client with late breaking information;

10. Lack of business etiquette – during a meeting using iPhone or Blackberry, taking calls, or being the “potted plant”, not engaging in the meeting.

11. Sending out cold call materials;

12. Not being prepared for meeting;

13. Not following up with clients at sponsored events.

Business Development Tactics

In case you missed the previous post, you can find it here.

What Can You Do For Your Client? (Business Development Part 2 of 6)

Written by Allan Colman on June 20, 2016. Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Law Firm Marketing.

The second theme focusing on new business development in Bill Aulet’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship is “What Can You Do For Your Client?” Once you have taken the first steps outlined in Part I, identifying who your client is, Aulet says you must now identify what you offer of value. These include:

Full life-cycle use
High-level service specifics
Quantify the value proposition
Define your core
Chart your competitive position

Want to Learn How to Tell Clients about YOUR Value Proposition?

To receive more details on creating value in a highly competitive market place, contact us.

Who Is Your Ideal Customer? (Business Development Part 1 of 6)

Written by Allan Colman on June 13, 2016. Posted in Business Development, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing for Law Firms. 1 Comment on Who Is Your Ideal Customer? (Business Development Part 1 of 6)

In Disciplined Entrepreneurship, Bill Aulet begins his 6 themes with Who Is Your Ideal Customer, focusing on business development. Topics covered include:

Market Segmentation
Selecting a Beachhead Market
End User Profile
Total Addressable Market for the Beachhead Market
Persona for Beachhead Market

Want to Learn More about YOUR Ideal Clients or Customers?

The Closers Group offers a complimentary collection of speed-review questions that are essential to Getting To Know Your Client and determining how to undertake new business development.

Grow Your New Business in 5 Minutes a Day!

Written by Allan Colman on April 25, 2016. Posted in Allan Colman, Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Content Marketing, Conversion Rate Optimization, Email Marketing, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing Partners.

Guest editorial from Valerie Goodman

Grow your new business development in just five minutes a day.

MOST FIRMS who approach us looking for business development and sales training want fast results. Many of them are surprised when we say that a firm’s bottom line can grow by dedicating five minutes a day to a simple plan. This is especially true for smaller firms whose principals may not have someone dedicated solely to relationship-building and business development.

On the flip side, adding this uncomplicated five-minute- a-day strategy can lead to unexpected rainmaking. Even if people believe in you, and even if they believe you’d be a great hire, business partner, vendor, or whatever, people need to be reconnected with and reminded that you’re there.

If you spend five minutes a day for a year that is at least 250 business development “touches”. And if you are in a firm of 30, and each attorney does 250, that’s 7,500 touches per year. Wow!

THE ACTIONS themselves will take longer, but by dedicating just five minutes per day to generating new business, you will be mapping out a course marked by true efficiency and will be on the road to accelerating business growth.

Contact Closers Group to learn your plan for the week.

Don’t Make Flying Pigs From Law Firm Rainmakers

Written by Allan Colman on March 22, 2016. 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.

“Strategic Thinking Cannot Be Taught” – Business Development Strategy

Written by Allan Colman on January 26, 2016. Posted in Allan Colman, Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Law Firm Marketing, Managing Partners.

In George Gallup’s famous words, “Strategic thinking cannot be taught.” And since strategy is the 3rd of 36ixty’s 12 Essential Practices, we work with clients to identify where they need the most help.

Establish Rapport
Qualify the buyer
Find their need
Build value
Create desire
Overcome objections, and
Close the sale!

Build your new business development strategy on integrating these elements into your 90 day plans, and calendar year plans.

Business Development Leaders — Have You Been Provoked? Pt. II.

Written by Allan Colman on November 10, 2015. Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners.

Business Development Leaders – Have You Been Provoked? Pt. II.

From Allan Colman, Business Development Accelerator, Speaker and Author – Clients average a 60% increase in new business in 6 months.

Continuing with the series begun last week, these questions are meant to “provoke” business development leaders and professionals to ask and answer these questions. You will find your true business development successes — or improvements needed!

Can you raise your firm’s profile with no “out-of-pocket” expenses?
Are your marketing and business development staff being trained for a continuum? a long range pipeline of new business?
What, if any, IT and Finance metrics are being used to plan future growth?

More provoking questions to come. What can you add to this growing list? I will include them in the upcoming series.

Start Your Speech With a Magic Trick

Written by Allan Colman on June 25, 2015. Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing Partners.

My colleague, Frank Mims V, offers this tactic to make your speeches yield more leads. “Magic” is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions. These are called magic tricks.

Your story is your magic trick. It should answer these 3 questions as part of your speech:

Who are you?

What do you have?

Why should they care?

More on building business from speeches in the next several columns.