Readers ended the summer looking for ways to build on their practice, win more business, and market themselves in a different light.
Which one of these most popular posts in August was your favorite?
1. 3 Tips for Dealing with Client Rejection
SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE! The next time you're hit with rejection from a prospect, take a step back and turn a negative situation into a prized LEARNING OPPORTUNITY!
2. 3 Creative Ways to Get More Business Referrals
When it comes to getting referrals... think outside the box! Here are some creative referral-generating ideas to spark motivation.
3. E-mailing: Strike the Right Tone Every Time
Don’t inadvertently send the wrong message! ToneCheck actually checks your outgoing email for any false “tones.”
4. Do Female Managing Partners Have an Advantage over Male Counterparts?
The road to becoming a managing partner may be a long one, but women attorneys who have achieved that success say sexism is never a hurdle. In fact, many female managing partners suggest their gender has actually helped them!
5. 10 Rules for Today's Legal Job Search
Whether you are fresh out of law school or looking for a mid-career change, throw those tried-and-true job hunting techniques out the window.
So what’s an eager, qualified job seeker to do? Here are 10 new rules for today’s job hunt.
6. 5 Ways to Guarantee ROI for Your Clients
Give your clients what they want and deserve: top-notch service that is cost effective and worth every penny!
7. Price Yourself to Win More Business
Get the best results for the BEST VALUE to your clients by pricing your services in ways that will help you WIN and KEEP more business!
8. 5 Ways to Build Your Niche Marketing Campaign
Do you want to make a lasting impression, build business, and create some deep, personal connections? Then it may be time to narrow your marketing scope! Start NICHE MARKETING.
9. Marketing Mistakes Inside Your Firm
Cross-selling is the easiest and most cost-effective way to GROW BUSINESS and KEEP CLIENTS HAPPY. But success hinges on many factors. Here are 5 reasons why your cross-selling campaign may be failing.
10. 3 Ways to Sound Animated on the Phone
Did you know people tend to lose 30% of the energy in their voices on the phone? That’s right. Your body language and facial expressions comprise more than half of your personality, yet the minute you get on the phone, part of it is lost.
Questions?
Email your comments to Top Lawyer Coach!
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
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They may be few and far between, but they exist - mom lawyers who love having demanding jobs.
These are lawyers who have traded-in minivans and soccer practices for board meetings and grueling litigation.
These are moms who won't quit - literally.
But the question is, are these "happy" mom lawyers spreading themselves too thin? Some experts say - yes.
A recent article by Vivia Chen at The Careerist actually paints a not-so-happy picture of what these working moms are facing at home.
Chen cites Middlebury College sociology professor Margaret Nelson who argues inThe Washington Post that professional women see their life choices in stark terms: "They can overwork themselves, or they can leave the workforce." For many, it's a matter of being a "good lawyer" or a "good mother" - there is no grey area.
Even worse are the expectations working moms place on themselves. In "All Joy and No Fun" in New York magazine, Jennifer Senior writes:
When people wait to have children, they're also bringing different sensibilities to the enterprise. They've spent their adult lives as professionals, believing there's a right way and a wrong way of doing things; now they're applying the same logic to the family-expansion business, and they're surrounded by a marketplace that only affirms and reinforces this idea.
Despite this push-pull scenario being played out inside working mom households, there is a silver lining - the children. Studies show parents - especially moms - are actually spending more time with their kids than ever before.
"Since 1965, the amount of time mothers spend on all child-care activities has risen, even though the majority of mothers are now in the labor force; the increase has been particularly sharp among highly educated mothers," writes Nelson.
Are you a working lawyer mom? How has your career impacted your relationships with your children? And, more importantly, how has juggling family and career impacted you?
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
Do Female Managing Partners Have an Advantage Over Male Counterparts?
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Do you want to make a lasting impression, build business, and create deep, personal connections?
Then it may be time to narrow your marketing scope! Start NICHE MARKETING.
Niche marketing allows attorneys to connect with target clients within a particular industry or trade who arel likely to bring them business. But, niche marketing has to be done right. There's a fine balance between what works and what doesn't.
Here are five ways to build a niche marketing campaign.
1. Become an expert in a specific field.
You need to have substantive expertise relevant to a given niche that you can market.
Think of ways you can develop your experience. Can you couple your current legal experience with prior work experience? Can you apply your legal experience to a particular market because of personal interests, like a hobby?
Think of all of the types of matters you have handled as an attorney. Maybe they represent meaningful expertise in a particular niche.
2. Monitor your target market.
Invest in some reading time and begin sifting through Web sites, industry publications, blogs and e-mail alerts that relate to your niche market. All of these can be delivered right to your desktop computer, laptop, or mobile device.
The goal is for you to be able to speak knowledgeably about the latest news or issues that are of interest to the clients in your specific market.
3. Remember to market to your target industry, not to an area of law.
Think about how your target clients view their own businesses and consider marketing on those terms rather than to an area of law, like real estate or insurance. Many sophisticated clients know what type of legal services they are looking for, but marketing based on the legal profession’s categorization of services is far from ideal, particularly when trying to target a market niche.
4. Seek out key industry leaders.
Niche markets have key figures who can be an invaluable resources to an attorney trying to build a brand. They offer access to a large section of the market and add instant credibility just through association.
But, be aware that the small world of a niche market is not without its dangers when it comes to such relationships. As much as a good relationship with a key figure can advance your brand-building efforts in a niche market, so too can a bad relationship with such a figure hinder—or even destroy—your efforts.
5. Be persistent.
Success won't happen overnight. A niche brand is built over time.
Develop an action plan, set your goals and incremental benchmarks. Be persistent, but not a pest. You want to reach out to people and make them want to reach back and give you business.
Niche marketing campaigns are about getting focused. Identify your strengths, then learn how to convey them to the right people in your field of expertise. If done correctly, niche marketing can be your best tool for getting new business.
Article adapted from Branding Yourself: Seven Thoughts about Niche Marketing by J. Manly Parks.
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
Niche Practice Provide Marketing Advantages
How to Sniff Out High Potential Clients
5 Ways to Capture More Business
3 Facts about Marketing You Need to Know
Be Cost-Effective and Valuable!
Tight budgets don't mean you have to cut corners.
Give your clients what they want and deserve: top-notch service that is cost effective and worth every penny!
Is this what you offer your clients?
Better yet, is this the type of service your clients perceive they're getting?
If there is some uncertainty here, then it's time start thinking about ensuring a good ROI for your clients. Deliver results, but make sure clients know just how cost-effective you're being on their behalf.
Here are five ways to get started.
1. Tap into intelligence resources.
Don't even think about beginning your research from scratch. Ask around first. Check with colleagues, the firm's librarian and in the firm's intranet to determine where you can find precedents or memos that you can build from.
What you provide to clients must add value, even in routine tasks.
2. Manage expectations about expenses.
Be honest and open about the project scope, staffing and budget expectations. Develop a communication plan for each phase or milestone.
Talk about how the budget might affect the approaches you take, the options clients will have and the possible outcomes. Doing this may prevent you from spending time going down a road the client doesn’t believe is important relative to the cost or risk.
3. Utilize project management tools.
Litigation matters in particular will be managed much more cost-effectively if you evaluate the merits, outcomes and risks at the outset. Doing this can help you produce a preliminary assessment of damages, devise better strategies, manage costs and enhance the chances of more favorable results. Key dates, decisions, case facts, prior disputes, key witnesses and experts and all other information about the dispute should be kept in a database and regularly reviewed and updated. This will also help you track time and budgets.
4. Use technology to the client’s advantage.
Look for technology tools and that can streamline project management, litigation management, case assessment and task estimating.
You can also use collaboration tools for larger clients to facilitate document and information sharing. Try to use the same software as your clients for exchanging reports with them.
5. Don't be afraid to outsource.
Many clients and firms now outsource legal research and other routine work to contract providers in the United States or overseas. Talk to clients about whether they do this and how it is working for them. Also, look inside your own firm to see if there are more cost-effective ways to get administrative and even legal research work done, and how you can pass those savings on to clients.
Clients don't want to bear the brunt of your inefficiency.
Set a fair price for your legal services and DELIVER RESULTS AT THAT PRICE! In the end, clients want to see that you're getting the job done while being open, honest, and COST-EFFECTIVE!
Article adapted from Aligning Pricing and Value to Win More Business by Susan Saltonstall Duncan.
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
Price Yourself to Win More Business
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Women managing partners.
Unfortunately, they're pretty scarce among the nation's biggest law firms with only eight of the 100 largest firms reporting a woman in a position of firm-wide management. That means only 6% of managing partners are women!
Still, when you do come across a female managing partner, they're, well, happy.
The road to the top may be a long one for women lawyers, but sexism, they say, is never a hurdle. In fact, many female managing partners say their gender has actually helped them!
"Women have a natural tendency to multi-task," says Margaret Wenke of Connor, Weber & Oberlies in Paoli, PA.
And, Wenke tells the Legal Intelligencer that many of the outside professionals she works with are also women.
"Many of our clients, which are insurance companies, have women in power and they're quite receptive to having a woman managing shareholder," she adds.
The good news is that Wenke's experience is not unique. More people - both inside and outside the firm - are more amenable to having a woman in charge than they are a man.
"It seems to be sort of a breath of fresh air for them, honestly," says Wenke.
Marie Milie Jones shares a similar story.
At 35, Jones became the youngest female ever to manage a Pittsburgh law firm and says that, back then, the majority of the outside vendors she dealt with had male representatives who were sometimes taken aback to find a young woman at the helm of a law firm.
"Oftentimes their reaction -- and perhaps it was just a facial thing -- was one of surprise," says Jones.
But, Jones never felt like being a woman impeded her ability to negotiate. In fact, her gender may have even helped her.
"I have a fairly social personality," she says. "I'm a friendly, big-smile-on-my-face kind of person and my approach in dealing with vendors like banks and copy vendors was to have a pleasant relationship but, when you had to make a tough call, to stick with that decision."
While progress still needs to be made in getting more women lawyers to the top of the ladder, it seems women who are in charge are doing their jobs free of gender constraints.
In the end, Jones says it boils down to the attitude of the firm itself.
"I think firm culture makes a difference," she said. "Not every firm is prepared for that, but ours was."
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
A Woman Lawyer to Inspire Us All
Confidence: The Key to Brand Success
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Key Components in Assessing the Value and Pricing of Your Legal Services
There's no doubt about it. Your business is your bread and butter. You want to keep business steady, yet keep your legal fees fair and competitive. And, for some lawyers in this recession, that's not easy.
Get the best results for the BEST VALUE to your clients by pricing your services in ways that will help you WIN and KEEP more business!
How?
Begin by assessing your clients needs. Understand that no two clients are alike - some services will be worth much more to one client than others, and certain outcomes will be more important. While value is typically measured over time in a relationship context, you can also gauge client expectations upfront by asking the following questions.
- What are the outcomes they hope to achieve and the expectations for what that should cost?
- What do they perceive to be more routine work that should be charged at a lower price, delegated to a non-lawyer or perhaps outsourced?
- What factors pose the greatest risk to your clients’ clients (e.g., the chief executive or the shareholders)?
- How will they measure your success and the quality of your work?
- What are they willing to pay top dollar for?
Before you set your pricing, don't forget about alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) for your clients. Creative billing methods are being adopted by more and more firms, so it's important for you to have an AFA plan in order to remain competitive.
Here are some ways you can set an AFA for your practice:
- Find out what AFAs your firm has used in the past that have been effective and well received by clients.
- Review the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Web site and its ACC Value Challenge resources to investigate what alternatives other firms are using.
- Look at DuPont’s Legal Model, especially its use of strategic case assessment, strategic budgeting and alternative fees.
- Prepare a history of work you’ve performed for particular clients over the past three years, grouped by types of matter. Identify areas where you could have reduced or better controlled costs and determine some appropriate fee ranges for certain types of matters or transactions.
- Talk to your clients about what types of budgeting and pricing works best for them and how you can develop better approaches to align with their concerns.
Finally, keep in mind that steady business also boils down to client satisfaction. Evaluate how happy your clients are by conducting formal client interviews, surveys, or "after action" reviews to get feedback about your services.
Make your pricing work for you, your firm, and your clients. Determine what your clients need and value - and deliver at a fair and competitive price!
Article adapted from Aligning Price and Value to Win More Business by Susan Saltonstall Duncan.
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
What is the Dollar Value of that New Client?
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A standout resume and a successful job interview can help get your foot in the door at a law firm, but a poor reference check can quickly ruin your chance of landing that new position.
A recent Robert Half International survey indicates that hiring managers eliminate more than one in five job candidates from consideration after talking to references. This information suggests that your contacts play a key role in whether or not you'll get hired.
Choose wisely!
Select former bosses and colleagues who can speak most knowledgeably and persuasively about your top skills, abilities, and attributes. But, keep in mind that you may not be able to handpick your references. Many firms will ask to talk with your most recent colleagues and partners. That said, it's important to try to leave a job on good terms and not burn bridges!
Keep in mind that you don't have to include references when submitting a resume unless they are required. If so, be sure to provide each reference's:
- Full name.
- Job title.
- Company.
- Phone number.
- E-mail address.
- A reason why you included that person on your reference list.
Be honest!
A hiring team may ask your references about any statement you make on your resume, cover letter, or interview. So, stick to the facts! Even one white lie can come back to haunt you.
The job market is a difficult place to be right now. Don't make it any harder on yourself by neglecting an important component of your resume. Check your references and let them know they're on your list.
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
10 Rules for Today's Legal Job Search
10 Job Hunting Tips to Help You Get Your Foot in the Door
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External Intelligence Can Help Firms Understand What's Happening Now - and What Could Happen Down the Road
Law firms have a bad habit of looking inward. They like to review internal statistics, keep tabs on their associates, and survey colleagues on a regular basis. That's all well and good, but there is one crucial component missing: EXTERNAL INTELLIGENCE.
In order to stay viable and productive, law firms need to look outside their company to assess what's really happening in their market. And guess what? Client contact is one of the best ways to help firms understand what's happening today and to anticipate what's to come.
Stay in the game by looking OUTWARD!
It is important for law firms to know how they can grow their business in new ways, which means identifying trends that may affect people and companies with whom the firm is not currently working, or new areas in which it would like to work. Market intelligence needs to kick into high gear!
Clients are a great source for extracting information on opportunities, concerns, and trends. This can be done through conversations or formal client interviews. However,the method is not nearly important as timing and consistency. Client contact must be a regular, sustained activity in order to keep the firm apprised of changes in the market.
Most larger firms have a competitive intelligence team on staff to handle market analysis. But, even the smallest firms can take steps to open the lines of communication, including:
- Visiting clients at their place of business to discuss about the issues and trends affecting them.
- Meeting with referral sources to learn what issues are affecting their businesses and clientele.
- Attending important trade, industry or professional association meetings to stay abreast of developments.
- Monitoring key issues by tracking Web sites and other relevant resources.
A decent marketing campaign will only get a firm so far. Stay successful by opening your mind and ears to what's happening around you - and your clients.
Adapted from article Open Mind and Ears: The Keys to Thriving in the Future by Sally J. Schmidt.
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
Get Business Insights from Your Clients
Take the Pulse of Small Business Clients
5 Ways to Capture More Business
Free Things We Can Do For Clients
How to Conduct an Effective Client Interview
Tips to Help You Boost Traffic and Business!
It's no secret that law firm Web sites are one of the most effective marketing tools around. They're affordable, easy to manage, and one of the best ways for firms to generate new business.
But, not every Web site produces results. It can have flashy graphics and plenty of good information about the law firm, but if it's poorly designed or not search engine optimized - a Web site can be a wasted effort.
So how does your law firm Web site stack up?
Start by taking a good hard look at the site traffic. Where are your readers coming from? Google? Yahoo? Bing? And, what search terms are people using to find your Web site?
These are some of the important questions you need to ask yourself in order to MAXIMIZE WEB TRAFFIC.
Link popularity is the number of links that point to a Web page. Google bases its numeric Page Ranks based on this popularity.
Yahoo, however, operates a little different. Its ranking system is highly dependent on anchor texts, or word or words that make up the link – the text you actually click on (generally highlighted or underlined). Anchor texts are one of the most ignored elements of a law firm’s Web site - yet, they're one of the most important!
So how can your Web site start using anchor texts more effectively?
Start by reading Patrick Della Valle's article - Is Your Firm's Web Site Really Producing Results?
Valle's article is an informative, easy-to-read guide to SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. He explains:
- Internal links, or how to use important key words as links that point to other pages on your Web site.
- Inbound links, or links from other Web site that point to yours.
- How to generate link popularity.
- The importance of fresh content. Search engines are more likely to "spider" your Web site if it's regularly uploaded with fresh articles that are rich in keywords and links.
Your firm's Web site should be generating real traffic from search engines. If it isn't, now is the time to read Valle's article and make the BASIC CHANGES needed to boost your rankings. Believe it or not, link structure can make all the difference.
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
5 Tips for a Successful Legal Blog
Law Blogs: You are Your Content
Use Social Media to Interact with Clients
5 Ways to Develop a Video Marketing Strategy
Emailing: Strike the Right Tone Every Time
A New E-Mail Tool Can Check the Tone of Your Outgoing Messages!
It's happened to the best of us.
You fire off an email to a potential client or partner, only to have a snide reply sent back. Your email was misconstrued and now your chances for new business or even perhaps a long awaited promotion have fallen by the wayside.
You ask yourself, "What just happened?"
It was the tone of your e-mail. You inadvertently sent the wrong message!
One wrong salutation, phrase or punctuation can - believe it or not - spark World War III via e-mail. BUT, it can be avoided with a handy new tool called ToneCheck by Lymbix.
With ToneCheck, a simple thought will no longer be interpreted as hostile, threatening or something far different than you intended. ToneCheck actually checks your outgoing email for any false "tones."
Simply specify your "tone tolerance" and the program will flag any phrases or sentences that look angry - then, offers a substitute. And, ToneCheck also flags lines that appear too "contented" or overly cheerful when you are actually trying to strike a tougher tone.
The program’s sensitivity can also be adjusted and it offers eight different ‘emotional ratings’ - like affection and amusement- to help you get the tone of your email just right. Anger, fear, and humiliation are generally the emotions users will try and avoid.
Lymbix has also developed a program which monitors your updates on Twitter for any unintentional deviation in tone.
You can download ToneCheck and use the service free for 30 days.
As the saying goes, impressions count - even when you're trying to make one by email.
So, don't send the wrong message. Check your tone before you hit send!
More resources from Top Lawyer Coach:
Cheap Technology Tips and Tricks
Using a Digital Nanny on the Web