Classic Close #3: The Puppy Dog Close.

In Part 3, we explore another classic closing technique – the “puppy dog sale” – and ways to make it easily lawyer-usable.

What exactly is a puppy dog close?

The idea behind the puppy dog sale is relatively simple. While buyer’s may be hesitant to make a full commitment, if you give the buyer a no risk trial offer they will fall in love with the product and keep it. Pet store owners use it to sell puppies by letting us take the puppy home and promising we can bring him back for a full refund if we don’t like him. Office equipment salesmen leave the new and faster copy machine behind for a two week free trial period.

I received first hand knowledge of just how effective the puppy dog close can be while I was in law school.  A baby rabbit was brought to my New York City apartment on a Friday night with the promise “if you don’t like him, he can go back to the lab on Monday”. Though I had had no prior plans to include any pet in my small New York City apartment, by Monday it was clear that the close had worked and that Scotch Rabbit was there to stay.

As lawyers, our product is not quite so tangible as a puppy dog (or rabbit).  Since our product is our time and our knowledge, an effective puppy dog sale for lawyers is all about providing time and knowledge in a way that will lead to us getting hired to represent the client. The challenge for lawyers is to do it in a way that is effective – giving away enough to close the sale, without giving all of our knowledge away for free.

Of course, key to any client close, including the puppy dog sale, is determining the services needed by the client and assuring that you can ably deliver those services.

Here are some of the ways lawyers can use the puppy dog sale effectively.

For lawyers whose clients are individuals and small businesses, a free consultation is a good example of a puppy dog close.  To make sure your free consultation is an effective puppy dog close, be sure to put your focus on the client and their needs.  As important, be careful that you give them enough information to feel confident in your abilities, but not so much they can go home and do it themselves.  Finally, it’s a good idea to do a fairly detailed phone screen beforehand to qualify if this is, in fact, a potential and desired client for you.

For lawyers whose clients are larger companies, share your knowledge in a strategic way.  A real estate lawyer I know consistently gets new clients by including some strategic ideas for the potential client, based on both research and her knowledge of the industry and the client, in every pitch. Another lawyer I know noticed that a company had been sued in an area he had a lot of knowledge in — he put together a checklist, shared it with an in-house counsel in hopes of getting retained to handle the lawsuits in his local market, and ended up getting retained to manage ALL of that type of litigation nationwide.  A little knowledge can go a long way if used correctly for a puppy dog sale.

Content sharing, whether on your website or LinkedIn or email newsletter, is really a digital version of the puppy dog sale — provided it’s the right kind of content.  Effective content sharing says: “We’ve got this specialized knowledge that can help you.”

My specialized knowledge of business development tools and the legal market allows me to share what works with you, so that you become a better marketer of your own skills.  The puppy dog close is a good place to start.

Classic Close #2: The Alternative Close. 

In Part 2, we continue to explore some classic closing techniques, and ways to make them easily lawyer-usable.

The Alternative Close is an important and very usable variation of the classic Assumptive Close presented in Part 1 of this blog series.  With the Alternative Close, the Buyer is presented with two choices, both of which assume that the Buyer has already decided in Seller’s favor.

A good example of an alternative close is the ubiquitous “will that be cash or charge?” or “debit or credit” question we’ve all been asked when we go shopping.  Notice that the retail clerk never says “do you really want to buy that sweater?”  Instead, they assume we want to make the purchase and offer us the payment choices –the Alternative Close.

If you’re a parent, you’ve probably already mastered the Alternative Close and have already seen its benefits.  You ask your 3 year old “do you want to wear the orange top or the blue top today?” because it will greatly speed up getting dressed in the morning.  You’ve seen first hand how the process of providing a choice is a positive one that moves things along.

With the Alternative Close, the lawyer doesn’t have to actually ask for the business.  You subtly move things forward by providing the potential client with a choice.  As with the Assumptive Close, an effective Alternative Close assumes that you have already laid the right foundation of clarifying your potential client’s needs and explaining how you can deliver value.  Timing is also relevant to the Alternative Close.  If the potential client has no interest in hiring you, the Alternative Close will not be successful.

The lawyer-usable Alternative Close phrases below assume that you have determined the services needed and that you can ably deliver the services that are needed.

Some lawyer-usable Alternative Close phrases that you may be able to try:

1. Do you want me to start on this today, or will it wait until tomorrow?
2. Shall we write a demand letter to them first, or do you prefer that we go directly to filing the lawsuit?
3. Do you want to pay the retainer we discussed by check or credit card?
4. Do you want me to handle this matter for you personally, or would you like to work with one of my associates with a lower hourly rate?
5. Do you want us to bill you on an hourly basis, or would you prefer our flat fee arrangement?

Whatever question you decide, it should come across casually and it should sound helpful.

The Alternative Close technique works because it provides the power to decide to the potential client, while making it easier for them to make a decision to retain you.   It’s not a pressure technique, and it accomplishes moving the relationship forward successfully.

The Alternative Close technique can also be very useful in negotiations and can be particularly helpful in scheduling appointments.  “Can you meet me for lunch March 1, or is March 15^th a better date for you?”

In closing, let me ask you:  would you prefer to share this post on LinkedIn or leave a comment?

You have networked, you have built good relationships, and you are not shy when telling people what you do.  And yet you are not getting new clients.

Have you asked???

My friend (let’s call him Alan), a corporate and securities attorney at a major firm, told me this sad story over lunch. Alan had a college fraternity buddy (let’s call him Jim) who moved quickly into top management at his public company, eventually becoming CEO.  For over 20 years, Alan and Jim and their wives had dinner once or twice a month; they were the best of friends.  Yet Jim never sent any business Alan’s way.  A few months before our lunch, Jim’s company had been sold.   At that point, Alan had said to Jim:  “Jim, I’ve just got to ask.  Why did you never hire me or my firm for your company’s legal matters?”  And Jim responded:   “Alan, I would have been thrilled to have you as my lawyer all these years, but you never asked me.  I just assumed you didn’t want to mix business and our friendship.”

There are so many instances when getting the business is only an ask or a close away; yet so many lawyers feel uncomfortable asking or attempting to close the deal.  And potential business is left at the table.  Don’t let it happen to you!

Let’s explore some classic closing techniques and some ways to make these time-tested classic techniques lawyer-usable.

Classic Close #1: The Assumptive Close.  

To accomplish the classic Assumptive Close, the Seller simply assumes that the Buyer has already decided in the Seller’s favor.

This is a great technique for lawyers who don’t like to ask because you never actually have to ask for the business.  Instead, you simply subtly move things forward.  You act as if the other person has made the decision to hire you already, and you confidently turn the conversation towards the next logical level of questions or actions.

Some lawyer-usable Assumptive Close techniques to try

Ask a follow up “when” question:

When do you want me to start on this?

When do you need me to get you the first draft of the agreement?

When do you want to stop by to sign the retainer agreement?

Ask a follow up question on the matter as if you were already handling it:

What’s the bottom line number that I could settle this for?

How would you want me to approach this with the Board?

Or if your prospect is in the office, you can go directly to sharing the retainer agreement:

“This is our usual retainer agreement.  Feel free to ask me any questions about it before you sign.”

An additional benefit of the Assumptive Close is that, if the prospective client has any questions or unresolved doubts, they will come to the forefront. They can then be answered or responded to immediately and in person.  This is far better than having those doubts percolate and grow when you are not there to respond.

The Assumptive Close only works well if you’ve already laid the right foundation – you’ve done a good job clarifying your potential client’s needs and you’ve already explained to them how you will deliver value.  It works because it helps your prospect to think of you as their attorney.  The lawyer-usable Assumptive Close presumes you’ve acted ethically and that you can deliver the services that are needed.

The great thing about the Assumptive Close technique is that it’s NOT a pressure technique.   Instead of trying to convince your potential client to do something, you simply assume that they want to move it forward and act accordingly.

Try it out – you’ll find it very lawyer-usable.

This must be a good day to be writing about New Year’s resolutions.  When I googled it, there were over two million results, including way more than I expected that were posted within just hours of my search.  While it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who put off writing a New Year’s message until the middle of January, it also shows a serious preoccupation with the concept of New Year’s resolutions.

I have nothing against New Year resolutions or the New Year! New You! articles and headlines that I keep seeing.  It’s just that the statistics for New Year resolutions aren’t all that good. In fact, by today, January 15^th, there’s a good chance that some of your New Year resolutions have already fallen by the way side.  And, according to Forbes magazine, less than 10% of New Year’s resolutions will actually be successful by year’s end.

So if it’s a New Year, but you’re the same you, don’t worry.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Even if you made your New Year resolutions and you’ve already failed on the implementation, don’t worry.

Just because it’s the New Year doesn’t mean the timing is right FOR YOU.

We make New Year resolutions because the New Year gives us the feeling of a fresh start.  It was one of those “aha” moments when I realized that each of us has the ability to make a fresh start on any given day and at any given moment; we don’t need a ball to drop on Times Square in order to make changes for the better.

Don’t make resolutions because it’s New Year’s.  Make them because you’re ready for change, because you’re ready for improvement, because you want to see movement in the right direction in your life.  Make them when the time is right for you.

Nothing gets done with thought alone.  You will still have to make the effort.  But if you make your resolution when you are ready for change, and not just because its New Years, you’ll find it much easier to make change happen.  Because your time is the best time.

“Every minute is midnight on New Year’s eve to those who know that they can start great changes at any moment.”  Sundrops on Life

Too often, the focus in our careers is on merely surviving. Here are some keys to greater career success that will let you not just survive, but thrive and be happier in your career.

1. Define success.   Give some thought as to how you would define success for you.  After all, it’s way easier to read the map and get where you want to go if you are starting with an idea of where you want to end up in mind.
2. Create your personal map.  While it’s tough to read the map if you don’t know where you are going, it’s also much easier to get to your destination when you have a map to read.  What is your plan for getting there?  What action do you need to take?  What skills do you need to learn?  What resources do you need to accumulate?  What decisions do you need to make and stick to in order to achieve the success you want?  Write it down.
3. Make effective networking a priority.  Whether you are a law firm lawyer or an in-house lawyer looking for greater career success, effective networking is critical. The US Department of Labor reports that 70% of jobs are filled as the result of networking.  All business development rests on the foundation of trusted relationships.  Getting promoted is based not just on the work that you do, but on how you are perceived by others.  Don’t wait until your firm implodes or your company gets acquired to start networking.  Do it now and make it a priority.  And remember that networking isn’t really about going to events (though that may be a part of networking).  Effective networking is about forming, developing, and maintaining important relationships. Make it a priority in 2015.
4. Keep learning and trying new things.  Sure, you’re good at X-ing (whatever X may be) and it’s comfortable to just keep doing it. But growth come from learning new things, from doing new things, from demonstrating both breadth AND depth of experience.  Be willing to take a risk and try something new.
5. Maintain a positive attitude.  Attitude is extremely important.  Look around at all the successful people you know and notice how positive their attitudes are.  While it’s easy to assume that the reason they are positive is that they’re successful, studies done at the University of California concluded that happiness is not only correlated with workplace success, but that it actually precedes that success.  We’re not talking village idiot kind of happiness – just having a positive attitude will make a big difference in your success.  

So go for it in 2015 – follow these five keys to greater career success and then let me know how you are doing!

Part One of this blog explored the inherent strengths of extroverts.  Now, let’s take a look at the inherent strengths of introverts.

INHERENT STRENGTHS OF INTROVERTS

1. Introverts LISTEN.  Extroverts like to speak.  Introverts prefer listening.  They listen AND they take time to understand the needs and ideas of others.   Clients and business clients love being listened to.  Team members feel valued when they are listened to.   More ideas are generated in meetings when leaders listen.  Listening is a key skill for lawyers, and comes easier to introverts.
2. Introverts stay calm under pressure.  Or at least they look that way to the outside world.  Remember, introverts process things internally rather than externally, so they are better able to project calm and confidence in a crunch situation.   Team members pick up on this and get things done.  Clients and business clients trust that the problem will get handled.  Staying calm (at least outwardly) is another key skill that comes easier to introverts.
3. Introverts take the time to think things through.  Introverts really like thinking.  In the quiet, the introvert leader will be able to weigh all the ideas, not just those expressed by the most vocal.  Introverts think first and act second, allowing them to come up with creative strategies and successful implementation.

In the legal world, introverts and extroverts with these inherent strengths can BOTH be very successful.  Just look around and you will find both introverts and extroverts who are rainmakers, General Counsel, Managing Partners, and Bar and Community leaders.

Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, stay true to yourself and develop your inherent strengths.  Success IS possible for everyone.

Extroverts are most often defined as people who get energy from being around other people and sharing, while introverts tend to enjoy and be energized by solitude and thinking.  Are introverts or extroverts more successful in the legal world?

Let’s take a look at the inherent strengths of both and see which is better.

Inherent Strengths of Extroverts

1. Extroverts share their opinions, their feelings, and their thought with others.  They tend to be charismatic and they love being the center of attention.  They are usually very comfortable in public speaking situations and will often use public speaking to get their name out into the community.  They are comfortable speaking in large or small groups.
2. Extroverts are sociable.  They are generally viewed as very friendly, and they comfortably draw others into their circle of influence.   Their ability to connect easily makes them good networkers within and without the legal community.
3. Extroverts make decisions quickly and are quick to take action.  They are very present oriented, and tend to not worry about the future.  Their desire for success means they like to have accomplishments – and they are not shy about letting others know about their accomplishments! They project confidence.

I’m guessing you can quickly think of successful extroverts that you know in the legal world.

In Part Two, we’ll explore the inherent strengths of introverts, and see which personality type is more successful in the legal world.

Marketing.  Just the word puts fear in the heart many lawyers. They tell me they hate marketing because:

• They don’t like bragging
• It makes them feel like a used car salesman
• They didn’t go to law school to sell something
• It takes too much time

Sound familiar?  Are these the thoughts that come to mind when you think about marketing?

If so, you can relax.

Legal marketing isn’t about bragging or hard selling.  And while it does take awareness and some effort, it doesn’t need to take huge amounts of time.

SLM – Successful Legal Marketing  - isn’t about selling at all; it’s about communicating effectively.

SLM is the process of communicating the value of your service.  It’s identifying what your client’s needs are and then, communicating how you fulfill that need. It’s communicating what you do from their point of view instead of yours.  It’s not about how great you are – it’s about how you can help them.  It’s not about how many cases you’ve won or deals you’ve closed – it’s about how you can solve their problem efficiently.  And most importantly, it’s not just about talking – it’s about listening and connecting on a level that is real communication.

So forget about the word marketing.  Just get better at communicating.  Now, doesn’t that make you feel better?

Bizspeak Blacklist

actionable (apart from legal action)
agreeance
as per
at the end of the day
back of the envelope
bandwidth (outside electronics)
bring our A game
client-centered
come-to-Jesus
core competency
CYA
drill down
ducks in a row
forward initiative
going forward
go rogue
guesstimate
harvesting efficiencies
hit the ground running
impact, vb.
incent
incentivize
impactful
kick the can down the road
let’s do lunch
let’s take this offline
level the playing field
leverage, vb.
liaise
mission-critical
monetize
net-net
on the same page
operationalize
optimize
out of pocket (except in reference to expenses)
paradigm shift
parameters
per
planful
push the envelope
pursuant to
putting lipstick on a pig
recontextualize
repurpose
rightsized
sacred cow
scalable
seamless integration
seismic shift (outside earthquake references)
smartsized
strategic alliance
strategic dynamism
synergize
synergy
think outside the box
throw it against the wall and see if it sticks
throw under the bus
turnkey
under the radar
utilization, utilize
value-added
verbage (the correct term is verbiage — in reference only to verbose phrasings)
where the rubber meets the road
win-win

And the second article, The WaPo’s Outlook Section Avoids These Phrases, and You Should, Too, is from Law.Com’s Legal Blog Watch. 

THINGS WE DO NOT SAY IN OUTLOOK

At first glance
As a society (or, “as a nation”)
Observers
TK is not alone
Pundits say (or “Critics say”)
The American people (unless in a quote)
The narrative (unless referring to a style of writing)
Probe (as substitute for “investigation”)
A rare window (unless we’re talking about a real window that is in fact rare)
Begs the question (unless used properly — and so rarely used properly that not worth it)
Be that as it may
It is important to note that
Needless to say
[Anything] 2.0 (or 3.0, or 4.0 …)
At a crossroads
Outside the box/Out of the box
TK is a favorite Washington parlor game
Yes, Virginia, there is a TK
Underscored
Midwife (as a verb that does not involve childbirth)
Call it TK
Pity the poor TK
Imagine (as the first word in your lede)
Palpable sense of relief
Rorschach test (unless it is a real one)
The Other
Effort (as a verb)
Gestalt/Zeitgeist
Little-noticed (that just means the writer hadn’t noticed it)
Hastily-convened
Ignominious end
Tightly knit community
Rise of the 24-hour news cycle (it rose a long time ago)
Remains to be seen
Feeding frenzy/feeding the frenzy
Double down
Dons the mantle of
Hot-button issue
Face-saving compromise
The argument goes (or its cousin, “the thinking goes”)
Shutter (as a verb)
Paradigm shift (in journalism, all paradigms are shifting)
Unlikely revolutionary (in journalism, all revolutionaries are unlikely)
Unlikely reformer (in journalism, all reformers are unlikely)
Grizzled veteran (in journalism, all veterans are grizzled — unless they are “seasoned”)
Manicured lawns (in journalism, all nice lawns are manicured)
Rose from obscurity (in journalism, all rises are from obscurity)
Dizzying array (in journalism, all arrays make one dizzy)
Withering criticism (in journalism, all criticism is withering)
Predawn raid (in journalism, all raids are predawn)
Sparked debate (or “Raised questions”)
Ironic Capitalizations Implying Unimportance Of Things Others Consider Important
Provides fresh details
But reality/truth is more complicated (oversimplify, then criticize the oversimplification)
Scarred by war
Shines a spotlight on (unless there is a real spotlight that really shines)
TK is no panacea (nothing is)
No silver bullet
Shifting dynamics
Situation is fluid (code for “I have no idea what is going on”)
Partisans on both sides
Charm offensive
Pushback
Going forward
Stinging rebuke
Mr. TK goes to Washington (unless a reference to the actual movie)
The proverbial TK (“proverbial” doesn’t excuse the cliche, just admits you used it knowingly)
Fevered speculation
Oft-cited
Iconic
Growing body of evidence
Increasingly (unless we prove in the story that something is in fact increasing)
Tapped (as substitute for “selected” or “appointed”)
Any “not-un” formulation (as in “not unsurprising”)
There, I said it (more self-important than “voicey”)
To be sure

To be sure, while these lists shine a spotlight on the current paradigm shift impacting words that are acceptable or at least not un-acceptable to use, I remain unconvinced.  There, I said it.

Instead of memorizing lists of words you should or shouldn’t be using, just go back to the basics of good communication – think about your objective, think about your audience, and choose your words accordingly.

And meanwhile, have fun with these lists!

For those of you who don’t know Seth Godin, he is an entrepreneur, best selling author, and speaker.  He packs in audiences at companies like Google and Disney.   He has a different way of looking at things.  I’ve just started reading Seth Godin, but already I can see where Lawyers can learn a lot from him.

Seth gave his first book away online.  For free.  No strings attached.  He didn’t even collect information to build a list.

Giving something away for free isn’t entirely new – in fact, in marketing speak, this used to be called the “puppy dog sale”, so named because if you leave a puppy dog with someone for a few days, they will likely fall in love with it and keep it.  It used to be a favorite sales method for office equipment -– the salesman would bring the copy machine to your office and let you try it for a month.  Today ‘s puppy dog sale might be the free trial download you get for thirty days.  But Seth took it further, giving books away without capturing information and with no give it back deadline.   He just gave it away.  And his books became best sellers anyway.

What’s the lawyer equivalent of giving a product away for free?   Share your knowledge and legal expertise — even before you’re getting paid for it.   The most successful pitches are not the ones where lawyers come in and say we’re great– they’re the ones where lawyers come in and say we’ve looked at your situation, and we’ll share this strategy or solution with you even before you hire us.   And if you don’t hire us, that’s OK – we still want to help.

A coaching client of mine noticed his client had a lot of cases like the cases he was handling for them in Texas.  He created a case checklist, sharing what he had learned about these types of cases and how efficiencies could be created, and brought it to a client lunch. He didn’t bill for this time; he didn’t wait to be asked; he didn’t require new business for it.    I call this kind of extra client attention value add.  The client called it brilliant, and hired my coaching client to manage the litigation for the company nationwide.

When you give something of value away for free, you earn trust; and that trust leads to future sales.