Leadership for Lawyers

Eight Ways Staff Can Participate in Business Development

 

While the burden of business development falls primarily on attorneys, staff members such as secretaries, administrative assistants, paralegals, technologists, librarians and directors can and should make significant contributions to the firm’s business development efforts.   Here are eight ways staff can make a difference.

 

1. Provide remarkable client service:  For many clients, an attorney’s secretary or assistant is their lifeline to the firm.  Attorneys rely on staff to help them be responsive to phone messages and email while they are busy with cases and deals.

 

Staff members, especially assistants, need to take the time to get to know their clients.  Have your attorney introduce you in person.  Get to know the client’s voice when they call.  Do some research on their business and the details of the matter.  Understand what is at stake for the client professionally and personally.  Learn their communication styles and preferences.  Develop a relationship with the client’s administrative assistant and other members of their team (especially the accounts payable folks). 

 

Remarkable client service is defined differently by each client.  Remarkable client service will open the doors to new and interesting work, and retain profitable clients.  Remarkable client service will drive referrals and word of mouth advertising. 

 

Look for ways to WOW your clients in an individual and person way. 

 

2. Create a Verbal Business Card (VBC):  A verbal business card is an effective way to introduce your firm to other people.  It is often used in social and professional networking situations.  Some people call it an elevator speech. 

 

How would you answer these questions at a cocktail party?  “So, where do you work?  What do you do?”

 

Many of us might answer in lawyerese, “I’m a litigation support specialist for a PI firm that handles med-mal cases.” 

 

What???? 

 

Visioncasting in Turbulent Times

These are tough times for law firm leaders.  Many firms have had one or more rounds of layoffs.  Attorneys are pressured to bill more hours and bring in more work.  Staff are being asked to do more work with fewer resources.   Attorneys and staff alike wonder if they'll still have a job next week, month or year.  Anxiety is high, even in the best of firms.  While there is a light at the end of the tunnel, some wonder if it is a freight train. 

Managing partners and firm leaders have a lot to think about now, including changing client expectations, fee pressures and increased convergence, not to mention internal issues of compensation, talent management and profitability.

Casting vision is probably one of the last things they are thinking about.  Sure, in good times, communicating a compelling vision of the future for an ever growing firm is standard, but today it seems risky, even fool-hardy. 

But attorneys and staff need vision more now than ever before.  People want to know how they are going to get out of this mess.  They want to know that the firm has a plan and is working hard on it.  They want to know  how they can  individually contribute to make the vision a reality.  They want to be part of creating the future of the firm.  They want to be part of the solution and have confidence that their contribution will be recognized, appreciated and remembered. 

Lawyer leaders need to articulate a clear and compelling vision of the future.  They need to describe, with confidence, what the firm will look like next year and beyond.  They need communicate how the firm will be different from others and why they will have a competitive advantage.  They need to outline the specific steps the firm will take to get there and the specific contributions and actions needed by every individual to realize the vision.  They need to identify the key metrics the firm will measure to track their progress, and promise to share them with the firm as they move forward.  The vision needs to forward-looking, positive and compelling, yet practical and realistic.

Survival is not a compelling vision.  Nor is maintaining status quo till the market gets better. 

A compelling vision is one that gives people a reason to come to work early on Monday morning and creates hope in the hallways.  A compelling vision inspires innovation and creativity.  A compelling vision motivates and doesn't discourage.  A compelling vision is transparent, open, honest and trustworthy.

Vision casting is a lot like fly casting - you have to cast over and over and over again before you get a bite.  Constantly communicating your vision and connecting individual and group contributions to the vision is critical for people to 'get it'.  Lawyer leaders need to continually connect the firm's vision to the firm's activities, goals and metrics. 

As  you enter this season of annual review and strategic planning, consider how you will communicate  your compelling vision. 

Legal Marketing Conference Announces Speakers for Denver 2010

I am pleased that the 2010 Legal Marketing Conference will be held in Denver, Colorado from March 10-12, 2010.  This year the program will be a bit different from previous conferences.  American Conference Institute (ACI) has been hired to develop and manage the conference.  Recently they announced (on LinkedIn.com) a very interesting faculty, including:

• Sarah Andeen, Legal Business Analyst, Greenberg Traurig
• Jeff Baron, Director, National Pursuit Team for New Business Development, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Steven B. Bell, Director of Sales, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC
• Harris E.Berenson, Esq., Assistant Vice President/Chief Counsel, Liberty Mutual Property
• Lindley J. Brenza, Partner, Barlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP
• Susan Brelus, Chief Development Officer, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.

What's in the Marketing Budget for 2010?

Greenfield Belser asked CMOs at Amlaw 200 firms what they are planning for next year.  Here's a summary.  Read the full article here. 

• The top two marketing/business development projects are investing in social media (92%) and investing in client loyalty interviews (92%)
• When asked what marketers plan on doing differently, they indicated that they will "Focus on business development efforts" (15.6%) and "Client Centered business development efforts" (12.5%).  Taken together, they represent the largest category of "innovation".  "New enhanced ways of marketing" (18.8%) and "Using Social Media" (12.4%) rounded out the top four.
• 50% of law firms are looking to redesign their website.  Belser suggests that firms, "Convey what you want the visitor to do, create a dialog and position the firm as important, confident and a leader in the field."
• Surprisingly, "Alternative Billing Arrangements" were on the bottom of the "To-Do List". 
• There seems to be a paradox between the 92% who say they are investing in client loyalty interviews but only 6% say that conducting client satisfaction interviews would be "radically different" next year.   Perhaps most of the Amlaw 200 think that they already have sufficient client visit programs.

Authors Burkey Belser and Sue Allison conclude:

"Fortunately, there is life after Lehman Brothers and the panics and declines across the market over the past year. Law firm marketers are making concrete plans for reaching out and cooking up new business, even though in some cases they have to do it with one hand tied behind their backs. (Read slashed budgets, decimated staffs and gun-shy partners.) Many firms and lawyers now seem to realize that their business development and sales efforts cannot be successful without strong support from marketing. And that’s a cause for hope among true believers in marketing."  -  Greenfield Belser

The Integration Imperative

Suzanne Lowe has recently published her new book, The Integration Imperative: Erasing Marketing and Business Development Silos - Once and For All - in Professional Service Firms.  In it, she featured a dozen case studies of how law firms, accounting firms and other professional service organizations have knitted together the marketing and business development functions.  Suzanne interviewed the staff and leadership of Holland & Hart about two years ago for the book, which resulted in one of the case studies.  A summary of the case study is the feature of her latest newsletter, which you can read here.  The case study focuses on how we (I was the CMO at the time) created an internal marketing agency, treated our lawyers like clients, and realigned our services to adjust to changing market conditions and the needs of the firm.  If you are considering restructuring your firm's marketing and business development functions, I encourage you to read her book. 

Four Strategies to Thrive in a Downturn

The Boston Consulting Group has four videos on "Winning in a Downturn, Accelerating in the Upturn" on the Wharton @Knowledge site.  The focus on (1) Generating Cash, (2) Finding Strategic Opportunities, (3) Managing in Turbulent Times and (4) Seeking New Sources of Growth. 

A few take-aways:

-  Leaders must listen (like never before) to employees, clients and the market to identify opportunities and possible land mines.

-  Leaders must focus on maintaining trust (like never before) to keep key talent and teams together.  People may stay with a troubled company in a difficult time when the job market is down, but when it picks up, they may bail for other opportunities.  Leaders must act with integrity and transparency.

-  Leaders must focus on improving morale (like never before) to keep people focused and motivated to perform. 

Preparing Associates to Sell

The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog has an insightful post on "Do Law Firm Associates Fear Rainmaking?" It articulates the paradox of associates (and perhaps most lawyers) reluctance to engage in sales and the obvious necessity of building one's individual book of business and attracting clients to the firm. 

This Legalweek.com eludes that lawyer's training focuses on academic performance and not necessarily the people skills and risk tolerance required for success in sales.  It reminds me of the work of Susan Daicoff, who wrote the book, Lawyer, Know Thyself, in which she discusses how law school literally changes the way people think. 

Perhaps we need to consider law school education to focus not only on the study of law and ethics, but also on people and business skills.  Business and medical schools have dramatically changed their approach to give their graduates better "bedside skills".  It is no wonder that law firms, despite significant budget cuts, are still investing in business development training and coaching.

Good Lawyers, Good Leaders?

I want to thank Janet Ellen Raasch for her article on lawyer leadership, based on my keynote address for the Legal Marketing Association's Rocky Mountain Chapter in September.   Janet is a legal ghostwriter that reports on all of the chapter's programs, writing a summary in the form of an article, and distributing it to various legal media outlets.  She maintains a terrific blog, Constant Content.   This week she'll be a guest moderator on Martindale Hubbell Connected, hosting a conversation in the Legal Marketing Group Forum.

You can read Janet's article, Good Lawyers. Good Leaders. Are They Mutually Exclusive? on her blog, or download it here.