Business Referrals

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what's next

I came across a terrific (and short article) in Attorney at Work by Tea Hoffmann on “Developing a What’s Next Mindset” that I passed along to the lawyers with whom I work because I like how it drives home the point that lawyers should always be thinking about the next step in trying to turn a prospect into a client. I also like how it drives home the point about how thinking strategically and carefully about the next steps in the sales cycle can lead to more business – a lawyer and his/her advisors must always be planting the seeds for how to engage with the prospect and how best to “pitch” the story of the firm and its services.

As the article notes, “typically it takes up to eight interactions, done over the course of six to 18 months, to convert a prospect to a client and only 20 percent of your prospects will become clients.” Now, this is a generalization of course, and it can take much longer or much shorter for a lead to become a client – but you get the point that the buyer journey to client is oftentimes quite long with mnay touchpoints along the way. The author also goes on to say that a what’s next mindset is great for lawyers because they tend to be deadline driven and laser focused – so this gives them motivation and the opportunity for goal setting.

enhance

In this article, I provide 16 easy ideas to incorporate into your social media, business development and branding efforts for professionals at all levels because it’s never too late or early to shake up your marketing efforts, and the new year is a great opportunity to start fresh and add new activities to our business development and marketing mix.

A word to the wise for young professionals – you should build your network before you think you’ll ever need it. Your peers will be tomorrow’s business leaders. And a word to the wise for seasoned lawyers who don’t think they need to spend the time on business development – today it’s not enough to just be a great lawyer.

You need to market yourself as well as churn out exceptional legal work. One day your steady stream of work could dry up or something unexpected could happen where you need to rebuild your practice.

Also, you never know who can turn out to be a client, referral or future employer. I always tell the lawyers with whom I work to never underestimate the importance of every person and connection. Be friendly and kind to everyone. Because you never know. Read the full article for the 16 tips. 

clients want

If you could hear directly from your clients about what they want and need, wouldn’t you jump at every opportunity to listen? And even better act on it?

With that in mind, I try to attend as many events featuring in-house counsel as I can, even if what they largely say is the same, because I appreciate their insights especially when it comes to what they value most when working with outside counsel. And every year, what they say they need and want most from their outside counsel – transparency, responsiveness, cost-sensitivity, understanding my business, anticipating my needs and providing value-added content and educational add-ons – continue to be a challenge for some firms and their lawyers to consistently hit the mark in all areas.

A law firm’s most precious assets are its clients, which are the source of both today’s business and tomorrow’s referrals. Therefore, you’d think that firms would strive to integrate the voice of their clients into all they do. But not all of them do, or maybe they try but just can’t.

Law firms always need to remember that their clients do not need to work with them. They need to want to work with them. And it is all within the power of law firms (and their lawyers) to achieve true client satisfaction and long-term loyalty by providing the highest-quality legal services, quickly resolving client issues, being a fierce client advocate who anticipates and solves problems and adding consistent value throughout the client lifecycle.

In today’s competitive environment, law firms must adopt a client-centric perspective in everything they do in order to remain competitive. Every single touchpoint matters and will be remembered, and a misstep can be very costly.

Here are some ideas from recent panels featuring the voice of the client that I hope inspire you on how to enhance attorney/client relationships at your firm: 

customer-centric

It’s never been more important to stand out from your peers in this crowded, saturated market. Becoming totally immersed in your clients and prospects by learning as much as you can about them is one way to separate the good lawyers from the great lawyers.

This requires time and effort by asking smart questions and conducting thorough research (for example, by setting up free Google alerts on your top clients/prospects so that you are informed about important news about them, and using social media tools such as LinkedIn to learn about job moves and updates of your important connections). Today, most people just don’t send emails announcing their new positions anymore – it’s now up to you to do research.

Being aware of major developments and news affecting your clients’ organizations enables you to better anticipate their needs and it shows that you care. In this case, knowledge is power.

So how do you put this into practice? 

lmase

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak at the 2016 LMA Southeastern Chapter Conference last week. It was my first time attending this conference, and it was well worth the trip to Orlando as it was the perfect size to facilitate networking, collaboration and learning.

A talented group of industry speakers provided attendees with actionable and innovative ideas to inspire under the conference’s theme of “grow, innovate and succeed.” Some highlights included: