How Else May I Help You?

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While visiting Wyoming last summer, I had an epiphany that made owning a home there possible:  I could buy a duplex.  Renting out one side would not only give me the cash flow to pay for the property, but it would also alleviate the problems of wintertime absentee ownership.  (Love Wyoming though I do, this Atlantan is not cut out for months of snow!).  I browed through a few listings but didn’t see anything suitable.

One day, I asked my contractor an offhand question:  is it difficult to divide a single-family home into a duplex?  He explained that it depends on the home, asked why I wanted to know, and offered to look at listings with me and tell me what he could about the ease of making a house into a duplex.  As we looked at listings and talked and he explained what the considerations are (and also how to tell the difference between an easy-to-fix deal and a moneypit that looks promising), I could see my dream coming to fruition.

I could also see that I didn’t have all the necessary knowledge to make it happen, and that he did.  I have contacts in Wyoming and could easily have found a good local contractor to help me choose and renovate a property, but because Oldrich (my contractor) has been so helpful and so clear, he became the only logical option for me.  We hopped on a plane in late October, selected the right properties and put in offers.  Thanks to Oldrich, I got the house I wanted, in the areas I wanted, for less than half the going rate.  We’re planning the renovations this week, and the next week he and a crew will head back to Cheyenne to get it done.

Bottom line:  because Oldrich listened to my question and offered to help beyond a simple answer to that question, I’m getting the result I want and he’s getting additional business that he would not have had otherwise.  We both leave happy.

What does this story have to do with legal business development?  Simple:  there’s always another opportunity to assist a client (or former client), but you have to be prepared to identify and seize the opportunity.  Sometimes you’ll get more billable work, sometimes you’ll be able to make a referral to another lawyer, and sometimes you’ll be of assistance in some other way.  One thing is for sure:  when you watch for opportunities and lend help, you’ll build relationships with your clients.

What can you do to identify an opportunity to help a client?

  1. Initiate conversations with your clients (and former clients) so that you are in a position to know what’s going on in their businesses and lives.  If you rely exclusively on the representation and cease communication when it’s completed, you won’t be privy to other circumstances in which you could help.  Note that, of course, not every client will want to engage in conversation.  Some clients will want a transaction rather than a relationship.  Even so, stand ready in case an opening appears.
  2. Listen and clarify.  Often, a client will ask a question (as I did of my contractor) that suggests the need for some additional assistance.  If you’re busy, it’s easy to answer the question without exploring the underlying context that could reveal the need.  The better approach is, of course, to ask any questions necessary to be sure you understand the situation.
  3. Determine how you can best help.  Sometimes that’s offering additional legal assistance.  Be clear that doing so in the appropriate situation is a service to your client, and don’t fall into the trap of feeling awkward.  Otherwise, offer referrals or contacts, and be prepared to follow up.

While these steps are simple, many lawyers are so focused on the matter on their desk that they fail to notice hints of other needs.  Others feel such discomfort with selling that they hold back on picking up on a potential need and offering help.  And yet others fail to make it a practice to keep in close enough touch with clients and former clients, eliminating the opportunity to offer help before it even starts.

Ask yourself these questions…  How open are you to hints (intentional or otherwise) that clients drop and questions they ask?  Do you have a process that allows you to stay in touch with former clients and periodically check to see what’s going on with them?  How comfortable are you with offering help, and is your network strong enough that you know or can identify someone who can help your client if their need is outside the scope of your practice?

Quotations of the Month: On Innovation

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“Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know.  Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.”
~George Kneller

 

“It’s easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worked for you two years ago, but will soon be out of date.”
~Roger von Oech

 

“Companies have to nurture [creativity and motivation]–and have to do it by building a compassionate yet performance-driven corporate culture.  In the knowledge economy the traditional soft people side of our business has become the new hard side.”
~Gay Mitchell, Executive VP, HR Royal Bank

 

“Where all think alike there is little danger of innovation.”
~Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire 

The Power of the Pocket (of Time)

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I’ve been thinking lately about the power of the pocket.  Not pockets of money, but pockets of time.  You see, I’ve gen myself a deadline of March 15 to finish the draft of my upcoming book Legal Rainmaking Myths:  How What You THINK You Know About Business Development Can Kill Your Practice.

With that big deadline looming, here’s what else I’m doing:  preparing for and holding regular client meetings, doing my own marketing, working on content for a program I’ll be releasing soon, engaging on social media, finishing up a real estate transaction, caring for one of my dogs who almost died recently (dog lovers:  bloat and torsion are terrifying; read up on it in case you ever face the symptoms, because minutes matter), caring for other quad- and biped family members, managing a renovation project, planning some upcoming presentations, and so on.  While our specific tasks will be different, my guess is that you have as much or more on your plate.

Maybe the volume of tasks sounds familiar.  Most of us have more to do than we have hours available.  We also have the inevitable waiting time and downtime, some of which go unused.  Free time is important for recharging and getting grounded.  But it’s hard to recharge while waiting in line to renew a driver’s license or finding 10 free minutes when arriving early for an appointment.

That’s why it’s helpful to know what you can accomplish in a pocket of time.  I use Reeder to catch up on blog posts and Pocket to catch up on other reading I’ve clipped from the web.  I often carry notecards, and I maintain a list of non-critical “when I can” tasks (for example, comparing prices and shipping costs for dog food on various sites) in Nozbe.  Give me 10 minutes, and I’ll knock at least a couple of items off my list.

What can you accomplish in a pocket of time?

Obvious but ignored: rainmaking requires action

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New behaviors, especially those that play out in public for others to see, can be difficult.  We lawyers especially, who tend to fall toward the perfectionist side of things, perceived a high risk in trying something new.  What if we fail?  What if we look stupid?  What if we really mess up?

Last Sunday, I took on a new role in my church.  Despite having observed others perform this role, I was really nervous:  I’d be in front of the whole congregation, taking on a highly visible part of the service.  In preparation, I read the handbook for performing this role, searched online for other guidance, drafted and revised the words I’d say, and mentally walked through every part I’d play in the service over and over.

I noticed three things about my preparation:

  1. I could envision failure more easily than success.
    I imagined tripping and falling on the altar stairs.  I imagined dropping the microphone and books and trays.  And I even came up with my response should those things happen:  flash a winsome smile, chuckle, and say “Well, at least I got THAT over.”
  2. I spent more time preparing than I did acting.  I invested close to three hours reading and working on the comments I’d make.  I even typed out the comments and then copied them by hand onto an index card!  And all told, I probably spent 15 minutes performing my role.
  3. While the preparation I did by myself was helpful, I got the most benefit from the few minutes I spent talking with others who could tell me what to do.  The handbook, while helpful, included some directions that we didn’t use, and certain steps weren’t clear to me.  So I grabbed someone who’s served in this role for more than ten years and asked for help–and she straightened me out right away.

The other thing I noticed is that I hear these same observations from my clients when they’re talking about business development.  Reluctant rainmakers (those who would really prefer to build a book of business just by being a good lawyer, not engaging in specific business development activity) are especially inclined to spend as much time in gearing up for activity as doing it, and much of that time may be spent in fruitless worry.  We typically don’t call it that, of course:  we may call it planning or brainstorming or waiting until the time is right.

The antidote to this paralysis by analysis is action.  Action is the only antidote.  In my church analogy, I started to feel more competent in my anticipated role when I talked with someone who could answer my questions, not when I raed books or visualized my part in the service.  And having performed that role once, even thought I didn’t do things as well as I would have liked, I know what it feels like, where my specific challenges are, and what I need to do to improve.

With business development tasks, action may feel high-risk because of the possible consequences if it goes wrong.  The truth, however, is that (barring exceptional circumstances) a misstep can usually be corrected, and in most cases, a small amount of preparation will avert disaster.  In other words, don’t go into a meeting cold, don’t attend an organization’s meeting without knowing what the group is about and who’s in leadership, and don’t call an important contact without having some sort of plan.

Most of us hold back too long on rainmaker activity; few rush in without forethought.

Here’s the take-home

Where are you stalling in your business development plan?

  • If you’re stuck in planning where to start, get outside help from a mentor, a colleague, or a marketing professional.  It can be difficult to begin with the 30,000-foot view that is an overall strategy, and outside help can be instrumental.
  • If you’ve been putting off an activity because the time isn’t right, ask what will make for a “right time”.  Sometimes the delay is legitimate.  If you can’t pick out specific circumstances that you’re waiting for, you’re probably just delaying.  Examples of appropriate delay include waiting for a contact to return from vacation before you make a call or waiting until there’s a vote on specific legislation before releasing a white paper about how to respond to the new rules.  Fruitless delay occurs, for example, when you’re waiting to get “more information” without being clear on what information you need or how to get it.
  • If you’ve been delaying an activity because you don’t know how it will play out, ask what you can afford to lose rather than what you might gain.  Good planning can’t remove all risk.  If you’re considering an action that might blow a relationship, you’re right to be cautious.  If you’re holding off on getting your profile up on LinkedIn because you’re not sure how best to describe your practice and experience, you have almost nothing to lose.  (For a review on this, see Little Bets by Peter Sims, and my review of the book.)
  • If you’re waiting for your schedule to free up, act immediately.  One of the most challenging aspects of business development is doing the work even when you’re busy with client work.  Failing to do that, however, risks getting into the feast/famine cycle.  Almost worse, for mid-level and senior associates and service partners, you run the risk of believing that everything is going okay with your career, when the truth is that today’s economy demands that every private practice lawyer must at least contribute to business development.

Action is required for business development success.  We’re still early in 2013:  get your year in gear by acting today.

Creating and Harnessing Momentum in Business Development

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When an attorney is focused on business development and is implementing consistently a strategic plan designed to reach clearly identified goals, magic happens.  Often it’s magic that brings in new business, and for practices with longer sales cycles, it’s magic that first brings in connections and opportunities that eventually  lead to new business.  The magic that always exists in the presence of consistent activity, though, is momentum.

Momentum is defined by the Macmillian Dictionary as “progress or development that is becoming faster or stronger,” and Merriam Webster adds that momentum is “strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events.”  Momentum is a force that seems to take on a life of its own.  In business development, momentum occurs when opportunities begin to flow from one another, introductions materialize, and all of the work that you’ve done yields a noticeable uptick in rainmaker results.

I’ve identified several steps to create momentum in business development.

  1. Develop a plan that includes activity in several complimentary domains.  In other words, when you identify one activity to include in your plan, look for related activities that naturally build on that one.  For example, if you plan to write articles or a blog, look for ways to repurpose that content, perhaps by launching a newsletter (which is a good complement to a blog) or by speaking once or twice a year on themes that you’ve identified through your writing.
  2. As soon as you’ve decided to commit to an activity, put it on your calendar.  Momentum requires action, not just plans.  It’s easy to “decide” to have two lunches a week with good contacts and then to “decide” to start nextweek.  Or the week after.  Or the week after that…  You know, when things slow down long enough for you to catch your breath.If a commitment isn’t in your calendar, question whether it’s really a commitment.
  3. Take consistent, concentrated action. One push may be all it takes to roll a perfect boulder down a perfect hill, but business development doesn’t exist in a perfect world.  Committing to an activity requires committing to consistent engagement.  One lunch isn’t momentum.  Five lunches might start to create momentum.  Twelve lunches in a month may be enough to get some momentum going:  not only will you know that you’ll have lunch with strategically selected contacts three times a week, but you’ll be in the habit of mentally sorting your contacts to select the right lunch partners, identifying why you should meet, and planning what you’d like to realize from the lunch.  You’ll also likely get into the groove of offering and asking for assistance.Concentrated action is usually required to create momentum.  Taking action once a month is consistent, but unless the action is massive (such as hosting a seminar and then implementing a follow-up strategy that requires additional action) you’re unlikely to see momentum build.  In today’s world, our attention spans are shorter, and momentum both thrives on and creates attention.  Make business development your top priority for a set amount of time (the length of which will depend on your specific plan and practice) and that concentration may create the right content for momentum to blossom.
  4. Measure your results.  Tracking results quantifies outcomes (even when the only measurement is qualitative, as it often is especially in the beginning stages of business development) and helps to create momentum.  When you see that doing X leads to positive outcome Y, you’re more likely to repeat X.  Measurement also helps to avoid fruitless activity.
  5. Once a quarter, review your activity and results, looking specifically for synergy and complementary opportunities.  For example, if you’ve received several referrals from CPAs, perhaps you should consider how to spend more time with selected CPAs.  If you’ve sponsored a meeting, review the results of the sponsorship and your planned follow-up steps, then think about how you might build on that activity — for example, you might invite attendees to hear you speak on a topic of interest.

We all feel momentum when it happens:  the phone starts ringing, one great idea generates another (and both get implemented), and you discover that your network of contacts really is a network that you can access.  Calculated steps can create momentum, but you must also prepare yourself to recognize it and to analyze what specifically created it.  When you’ve identified that what, make sure you build more of that into your plans.

A caveat about momentum, though:  when it comes to business development, think of momentum as an accelerator, not as a continuous motion machine.  Remember that we commonly talk about losing momentum at least as often as we discuss gaining it.  Momentum leads to strong results, but it is not an independent force that will continue in perpetuity.

The key to creating momentum is also the key to keeping it going:  consistent action.

Do you have momentum in business development?  What would it take?  If you’re uncertain, a good place to start is by evaluating what activity has delivered the best results over the last six months and then asking yourself how you might create momentum around that activity.

Quotations of the Month: on focus, action, and priorities

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This month’s quotations suggest how to get focused, follow priorities, and get things done…

Clarity affords focus.
~Thomas Leonard

 

Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.
~Attributed to Andrew Jackson, Napoleon Bonaparte, and others.

 

“The Principle of Priority states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (b) you must do what’s important first.”
~Steven Pressfield, The War of Art:  Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles

 

He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.
~Victor Hugo

 

First things first

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I spent all of last weekend outlining and getting started on my next two books.  They’re both about business development, of course, but one is designed to be an idea-generator and action-prompter, while the other is more of a teaching book.  I got outlines done for both and started working on the actual writing.  By Monday morning, I was really ready for a weekend.  (Oooops.)

The reason I started two books at once is because the subject matter is so intertwined that I needed to rough out the scope of each before starting to write.  And as I did that, I started thinking of related articles and blog posts I should write, seminars I should offer, and how to incorporate the information into a workshop that I’ll be introducing soon.  I ended up with my desk covered in notes, windows galore open on my computer, ideas exploding every few minutes, and way too many avenues to pursue.

At first, the energy was seductive:  I was excited and everything was flowing, so I kept working on multiple ideas at once…

But then, everything shifted.  I started feeling confused as to which idea belonged to which project, I lost sight of which project should take priority, and I couldn’t decide whether one idea was reinforcing another or simply repeating it.  UGH.

Have you ever felt like that when it comes to business development?  Especially when first diving into rainmaking activity, some lawyers get neck-deep in activity without a cohesive plan that defines objectives, priorities, and strategy.  And sometimes, even successful rainmakers can have so many ideas that it’s hard to know where to start…  And so all those lovely ideas go to waste or, worse yet, get partially implemented without the necessary support to reach the goal.

When I realized that I was falling victim to idea frenzy, I stepped away from the desk to clear my head.  When I came back, I cleared my desk and my screen, leaving only the text of one book and a gathering place for notes and ideas for other projects.  That allowed me to focus, and I was able to make a substantial dent in writing  Better yet, I see how each project fits into the overall picture, and I can assign priorities.

Do you ever get deep into business development activity and find yourself spinning?  That’s a symptom of an unclear (or nonexistent) plan or attempting to implement all parts of a plan at once, without regard for priorities.  But the fix is simple:  stop, consult (or create) the plan, and then move forward deliberately.  (Just don’t deliberate when action is needed.)

 

Speak Your Clients’ Language

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I don’t watch much television, but while I had the flu I didn’t feel up to doing anything more energetic than staring at a screen.  As I was flipping channels, I happened across what I thought at first was a rather poorly done law firm ad… And then I discovered that it was a promo for Staten Island Law, one of the newest shows on the OWN channel.  You can see the promo spot here and another one here.

(If you’re from Staten Island and horrified, my condolences — I once saw a neighborhood where I used to live on the Real Housewives of Atlanta, so I can empathize.)

The Staten Island lawyers, Elura Nanos and Michele Sileo, are former New York City prosecutors who founded Lawyer Up to tutor law students on complex legal concepts using easy-to-understand terms.  Their book titled How to Talk to Your Lawyer is already on sale, with good reviews.

Staten Island Law is about mediation rather than legal representation as such, but many reviewers won’t catch that distinction, and those who do may or may not understand that mediation isn’t quite the same when it isn’t part of a reality TV show.

Why should you care about Staten Island Law?

Whether you represent individuals or Fortune 50 companies, the series portrays lawyers who appreciate their clients’ needs, which should be your focus as well.  When I speak, I often say that to be most effective, you must grok your clients.  Robert Heinlein coined the word grok, which means “to understand profoundly and intuitively.”  Although the word is most often used by programmers, engineers, and those who enjoy science fiction, it’s applicable to attorney-client relationships as well.

What does it mean to grok a client?  It means that you understand their needs and wants, you speak their language, and your interests are aligned with theirs.  Staten Island Law offers a great example of client-grokking in terms of legal language and colloquialisms.  If you watch some of the program clips available online, you’ll also see that the Staten Island lawyers move beyond the stylistic connection to understand their clients’ wants and needs.  For example, this clip shows them exploring why a woman is so opposed to the prenuptial agreement that her fiance insists on having, only to discover that their explanation of marital property rights puts his fears to rest.  (Don’t look to the specifics of the advice, just the conversation.)

Think about how you approach your clients:

  • Do you speak your clients’ language…?  Or do you expect them to speak yours?
  • Do you spend time getting to know what your clients want and need…?  Or do you assume and project?
  • Would your clients say that you “get” them…?  Or would they shake their heads and sigh, “You know lawyers…”?
  • Do you ask questions and explain concepts using examples that are relevant to your clients…?  Or do you use cookie-cutter examples that they may understand intellectually but not in any experiential way?

The more you can empathize with and relate to your clients, the more satisfied they are likely to be with your representation.  Demonstrating this same connection with potential clients will also make it more likely that you’ll get hired.

You may be wondering how you can come to grok your clients and potential clients.  Simple: build relationships and ask questions.  Even intuitive understanding requires a base of knowledge.

Whatever your client profile, make sure you spend time getting to know them and demonstrating that you understand and care about their perceptions and needs.  Your client relationships will be strengthened as a result, your referrals will grow, and you won’t have to wonder whether your clients are learning from books or ACCA meetings how to “wrangle” you.

Discipline, Experience, and Innovation: 3 Must-Read Blog Posts

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1. Why “Inspirational Quotes” Don’t Work (and what does).  Peter Shankman, founder of Help A Reporter Out(“HARO”) writes convincingly on the short-lived motivation from inspirational quotes.  I love quotes, but I agree that they won’t carry you for the long haul.

Shankman suggests this instead:  “Do today, what you know you can do tomorrow.” In business development terms, that’s one reason it’s generally more effective to spend 30 minutes on marketing every day than it is to plan a half-day of marketing once a week.  (And by the way, HARO often features reporter queries for lawyers, so you or a staff member should make it a practice to scan them.)

2. Overheard at the American Bar Association’s Women in Law Leadership (WILL) Academy.  Dyanna Q, writing for Ms. JD, summarized some of the points from panels at the WILL Academy.  Although the Academy was designed for women, many of the points are useful for men as well.  A few favorites:

  • “Get yourself a ‘kitchen cabinet’ – a personal group of advisers and mentors who provide valuable feedback / guidance.”  (Edith Perez, speaking on Setting Our Sights on the C-Suite)
  • “The most important tip to rainmaking:  reciprocity.”  (Victoria Pynchon, speaking on Communication Skills:  Can We Talk?)

3. LinkedIn Tops 200 Million Members:  One simple way lawyers can use it.  One of the complaints I hear most often about LinkedIn is that it’s more like a directory than a social network.  LexBlog’s Kevin O’Keefe, author of Real Lawyers Have Blogs, shares a simple tip to overcome that issue:  share information and updates, and respond to others who are sharing.And don’t miss Kevin’s post, Is your law firm using Google+?  It ought to be.

Selling The Invisible

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Selling The Invisible by Harry Beckwith

You can’t see them — so how to you sell them?  That’s the problem with services… This book begins with the core problem of service marketing:  service quality.  It then suggests how to learn what you must improve, with examples of techniques that work.  It then moves to service marketing fundamentals:  defining what business you really are in and what people are buying, positioning your service, understanding prospects and buying behavior, and communicating.

 

Selling The Invisible offers targeted suggestions for marketing your services, using anecdotes to teach.  Divided into eleven sections with multiple one- to three-page chapters in each section, Beckwith’s book gives bite-sized lessons on what clients and prospects (that is, potential clients) want, expect, and find persuasive.  A few notable tidbits:

Serve your clients as they want to be served.  Beckwith criticizes lawyers who write a “really good brief” but fail to notice that the brief was “equally effective for the client $5,000 earlier” and that it “covers an issue that might have been avoided entirely through good lawyers.”  In other words:  don’t get so caught up in technical merit that you overlook what the clients see.

Marketing starts with you and your employees.  “Review every step — from how your receptionist answers to the message on the bottom of your invoices — and ask what you could do differently to attract and keep more customers.  Every act is a marketing act.  Make every employee a marketing person.”  For example, notice how you (or your assistant or receptionist) answer the telephone:  would you-the-caller want to talk with whoever answers your phone, or would you-the-caller have the impression that you were interrupting something more important?

Clients seek personality and relationships.  “Service businesses are about relationships.  Relationships are about feelings.  In good ones, the feelings are good; in bad ones, they are bad.  In service marketing and selling, the logical reasons that you should win the business — your competence, your excellence, your talent — just pay the entry fees.  Winning is a matter of feelings, and feelings are about personalities.”

Being Great vs. Being Good.  “People in professional services are especially prone to thinking that the better they get, the better their business will be.  The more the tax lawyer knows about the tax code…the more business will beat a path to [her] door.”  Beckwith cites examples in law, medicine, and financial services to prove that clients place relationship, trust, good communication, and other non-technical proficiencies above technical skill.  (I would add the corollary that technical excellence is a prerequisite rather than a pure competitive advantage.)  Beckwith’s summary:  “Prospects do not buy how good you are at what you do.  They buy how good you are at who you are.”  (But you still have to have the skills to deliver.)

 

Why should you read Selling The Invisible?

If you consider yourself skilled at selling your services (and you have the business to back it up), review Selling The Invisible for reminders.  If you’re new to marketing your services, this book will serve as a foundational text for basic marketing principles.  You’ll also pick up terrific ideas for client service and for contributing to your team’s or organization’s business development efforts.

Selling The Invisible is an invaluable addition to a marketing library.  It’s quick to read; one could even read the bolded summary statements at the end of each chapter to get the gist of Beckwith’s ideas.  But, as you read, be sure to implement Beckwith’s bottom line in the chapter entitled Fallacy:  Strategy is King, and “Do Anything” (preferably passionately) rather than creating and revising strategy endlessly.