Archive for year: 2020

Fleming Strategic serves a global audience, and it’s safe to say that wherever you may be in the world, we’re facing unprecedented challenges. From the fact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the panic that’s generating to working from home, self-isolating, and social distancing to the economic hit that appears to be underway, times are uncertain.

More is currently unknown about these challenges than is known. What’s certain is that we have three choices: we can react or respond to the challenges we’re facing, or we can look for ways to innovate and initiate. And we face those choices in a wide variety of contexts, so it isn’t as simple as making one decision about how we will behave. We’ll make these decisions dozens of times in the course of a day.

Reaction is easy. It doesn’t require thought and simply zigzags from one development to the next, thriving on emotion and quite often fear. While our humanity means reaction may be unavoidable at times, I urge you to prime yourself to recognize the moments when you’re reacting, to take a breath, and to question whether a reaction is helpful.

Response is possible. Response requires a pause between stimulus and answer or action. News comes in, and you may choose to take a series of breaths, get up and walk around for a few minutes, or use a meaningful motto or prayer of some sort.  After you’ve created that break (which can be as short as a few seconds or as long as you need), then you can revisit the development and make a conscious decision about how you will respond. This is always possible, but it is not always easy. In times like these, it is often not easy.

Innovation and initiation require a clear view of reality and a focus on your objectives. It’s critical to know what’s happening in your world: health, culture, finances, general business. Don’t allow yourself to get sucked into the constant stream and the fear that it can generate, but stay updated. Most news outlets offer a daily newsletter that will catch you up, and the Washington Post offers a newsletter specific to corona virus news.

What are your objectives right now? Here are some I’d suggest:

• Care for yourself, your family, and your community. Unprecedented times require unprecedented action. Please follow recommendations by the WHO, CDC, your local government, etc. And please look for opportunities to support your community where you can. The need is likely to grow and perhaps become overwhelming, but we can do so much if we pull together.
• Maintaining the culture you’ve built in your office and/or on your practice team: consider virtual “watercooler” gatherings via Zoom or other virtual meeting platforms. Set aside a day for a group lunch via video. Be aware that others may be stuck in reaction mode and be prepared to act as a leader, whether or not you wear that official title.
• Maintaining and developing your client relationships: Likewise, set aside time to talk with your key client contacts. Virtual coffee dates or lunches and telephone conversations may be easier to arrange now. Come to those meetings with an intention to help wherever you can. That may mean legal help to address what’s happening now, or it may mean helping to identify other resources. It may even mean something as simple as an email that asks, How are you doing? Connection is perhaps more important than ever before.
• Thinking critically about your practice, identifying new opportunities, and spotting holes that changing circumstances may exacerbate: We don’t know what’s coming next. The news is suggesting a recession or depression. We know what happened in 2008, which offered a legal industry correction unlike anything most of us had experienced before, and indications are that the coming economy may be even more difficult. We don’t know what will happen yet and so we don’t know how to respond, but it’s important to be thinking carefully about your practice so that you can shift as circumstances change both to support your clients and your own practice.
• Learning about new technologies and legal issues: If you’re an ABA member, check out the free CLEs that are available. Look into classes offered on the Ivy League MOOCs. Read business books that you often don’t have time for, including Blue Ocean Strategies (which will open your eyes to unappreciated opportunities) and its sequel Blue Ocean Shift, The Art of Gathering: Why We Meet and How It Matters (which may change the way you think about meetings and events of all kinds), and leadership books such as The Infinite Game or Leadership in Turbulent Times.

Finally, communicate with your clients to let them know how you’re handling current circumstances. Is your office open? If so, what structure is in place to make sure that it’s as clean and hygienic as possible? If not, what are you doing instead? How can your clients reach you? What other information do you need to share to allay client concerns? We’ve all been swamped by COVID-19 emails, most of which seem to have been written by robots. Please communicate like a human: clearly and factually, with compassion and care. 

I’ll be back next week with more ideas for how you can move with these changing times. In the meantime, stay safe, healthy, and mindful.

The statement “I’ve got your back” is one of the most powerful business development messages there is. When you have someone capable and attentive on your side to offer assistance and cheer you on, you’re likely to be more willing to undertake new, difficult, or risky-feeling activity.

Consider this: a child learning to walk or to ride a bicycle will often look to a parent, to be sure that someone is there to encourage them and catch them if they waiver. We applaud speakers and those receiving awards as a way of saying, “Good job!” And we’ve probably all called a friend for support after being rejected by a potential client or date, or a job opportunity. Just about everybody appreciates encouragement and support. 

There’s another side to “I’ve got your back,” too: someone capable who’s in the trenches with you, ready to help. And that’s where “I’ve got your back” goes from a source of feel-good emotional support to a do-good, hands-on promise. That’s also where it becomes a powerful business development message.

Think from your client’s perspective. Whether your clients are legally sophisticated large companies or individuals who have never worked with a lawyer or legal problem before, every client wants to know they’re in capable hands.

More importantly, clients want to experience being in capable hands.  That means, for example:

• Having a lawyer explain the heart and the context of the legal matter, to an extent that feels comfortable to each particular client, and knowing that the lawyer fully understands and appreciates the relevant law and its impact on the client
• Having a lawyer who’s proactive in flagging new issues and opportunities
• Getting calls and emails promptly returned by the lawyer or a knowledgeable staff member
• Knowing the status of the matter, including the reason for delays or quiet periods in a representation
• Being billed clearly and appropriately, in accord with expectations
• Receiving emotionally intelligent communications, whether that’s congratulations or an explanation of what went wrong and why (this is the feel-good side in a business context)

When you convey that you’ve “got a client’s back” through your actions, you’re laying the groundwork for great client service. You’re building a relationship that’s characterized by respect and support, in the context of legal skill. That service not only keeps your current clients happy but also creates the potential for repeat business or referrals.

You might choose to say, “I’ve got your back” (or more businesslike words that convey the same message), but your actions must back up your words. If not, your statement will backfire: your actions will demonstrate that you don’t have the client’s back and, almost worse, that you either don’t realize that fact or you’re willing to lie about it.  (This, I believe, is one root of many lawyer jokes and the usual low standing of lawyers of lists of trustworthy professions.)

How can you demonstrate and perhaps say that you’ve got your clients’ back?

From your own perspective, working with someone who’s “got your back” as you undertake business development activity (which may be unfamiliar and feel risky, at least at first) can be a key factor in your success.  It’s the flip side of the points above, substituting marketing for legal knowledge and skill. When you have great support, you get a cheering squad, a listening ear, a brainstorming partner, a source for new ideas and insight, needed resources, and more.

Here are a few ideas on how you can get the support you need:

• Join forces with one or two colleagues who are also working to grow their practices
• Join a rainmaker group (or create your own)
• Use social media for accountability and support
• Hire a consultant or coach

If you’d like to join a group of colleagues, check out Chapter 1 of The Reluctant Rainmaker (pages 26-30 in the print edition) for specific suggestions of how to find or create the right group.  And if you’re looking to hire a consultant or coach, let’s talk and see if we’re the right fit. Click here to schedule a FREE 30 minute call.

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 Macmillan 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 complementary 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 next week.  Or the week after.  Or the week after that… You know, when things slow down 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.

Recently, I’ve searched several times for a lawyer (or other client service provider) only to discover that he or she doesn’t have a website, or that it’s woefully out of date.  In the past, websites were expensive to create and difficult to maintain, so web developers tended to charge quite a lot for their work.  Indeed, many would hold the websites hostage so that only they could make updates and changes.  No more!

The bottom line is that you must have an up-to-date website.  In today’s market, the failure to do so sends the message that you aren’t in step with today’s economy or even our modern culture.  Period.

Your website must connect with your potential clients and address their needs and questions.  For years, websites functioned as pretty (or not) online brochures.  No more.

Your website must let potential clients know that you understand their needs.  Programmers created a word I love: grok.  To “grok” (as best I, a non-programmer get it) means to understand on a deep, almost visceral level.  Your website needs to let your clients know you grok them and their concerns.

The first way to communicate deep understanding is to use website copy that talks to your clients about their concerns, not at them about your experience.  Which approach do you find more persuasive and helpful when you’re searching for something online you need?

Far too many websites open with something like, “Here at Black & White, our lawyers have 500 years’ experience in handling real estate, intellectual property, and personal injury matters.”  A potential client needs to know that you understand something about their concerns before they care about your experience or credentials.  Start where your clients are.

Two effective ways to communicate with potential clients via a website: describe client concerns using declarative sentences, or ask “pull” questions.  “Pull” marketing is marketing that is intended to prompt someone to self-identify as your potential client or to repel them if they don’t meet your client profile.  The purpose of these two formats is identical, and both can be effective.

As you’re drafting your website copy, pay attention to the number of times words like “you” and “your” are used compared to the frequency of “I,” “we,” “mine,” or “our.”  You should have many more “you” and “our” words than “I,” “we,” “mine,” or “our.”  Otherwise, you’re most likely talking at your readers, not to them.

What if you’re in a big firm and you have no control over your website?  If you’re in management, this is an issue you should examine.  If not, recognize that the website is unlikely to change based on the input from a single lawyer — whether associate or partner — and figure out how to make your biographical sketch more attractive to a potential client.

What should your website feature?

• A home page that talks to your potential clients.
• Biographical sketches of each key players, focused on appropriately detailed descriptions of the individual’s experience that will show a potential client the match between that experience and the matter he or she is considering.  The sketch should also include experience and credentials that serve as objective indicia of your competence.
• If the firm is small, shorter sketches of the firm personnel that a client is likely to meet, especially those who are likely to be the client’s first or frequent contact points.
• Articles written by or about the firm’s key personnel.
• Presentations made by the firm’s key personnel.
• Links to blogs maintained by the firm or its staff.
• A subscription form for the firm’s newsletter, with a description that lets subscribers know what they’ll be receiving and an offer that will encourage subscriptions.
• Directions to the firm’s office(s), including narratives for the most common approaches and a map.
• Full contact information.
• Appropriate language to comply with your state’s ethics rules.

Review your website today through fresh eyes.  Ask someone who’s never read it to take a look.  And then develop a time-based plan to ensure that you fix what’s broken.  If you don’t have control of your website (meaning that you or a staff member can update the website on a moment’s notice), you need to correct that immediately.  (Large firm lawyers are, of course, excepted from that rule.)

If you don’t have a website, or if your website is out of date and you need to start from scratch, drop me an email and I can make some cost-sensitive suggestions.

Content marketing refers to the process of generating articles, blog posts, presentations, and more that are centered on your practice area and that share substantive information useful to your audience.  This newsletter is content marketing, for instance.  When you teach a seminar to a room of clients, potential clients, or referral sources, that’s content marketing.  When you speak for a CLE program, however, even though you’re presumably delivering useful information related to your practice area, it isn’t content marketing unless you stand to get business or frequent referrals from lawyers.

Content marketing is a reluctant rainmaker’s friend.  When you offer valuable information to an interested audience, you’re demonstrating your knowledge, skill, trustworthiness, and approach-ability, among other qualities, without imposing on your audience.  You’re marketing with information that’s beneficial, and your audience usually appreciates your efforts.  (If they don’t, they’ll quickly leave your audience.)

Content marketing is effective because your audience is actively interested in the information you’re sharing and you’re demonstrating your value while marketing. 

But content generation can be the bane of a lawyer’s existence.  The content needs to be timely (or evergreen), relevant, easily consumed, and – most importantly – good.  If you imagine sitting in front of an empty computer screen, wracking your brain for an interesting topic you can cover effectively in the time allotted, trying to squeeze in one more activity in your already-overburdened schedule, you aren’t alone.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be so painful.  Most of my clients find that coming up with ideas is the most difficult part of content marketing.  Here’s how to make it easy:

1. Use listening tools.  Twitter is great for tracking trending topics.  Skim or read periodicals relevant to your industry as well as some from outside your industry.  One of my favorites is Zite (available for the iPad, iPhone, and Android phones) a “personalized magazine” that pulls news from a variety of sources grouped by the categories selected by the user.
2. Use your clients’ questions and concerns.  You probably field questions day in and day out.  What themes do you notice?  What questions should your clients be asking?  If you’re stumped, skim your outbox.  You’re almost certain to find topics suitable for content marketing.
3. Ask your clients what they’re thinking and wondering about.  Not only will you learn more about your clients’ needs, which is a great business development activity in itself, but also you’ll notice themes that interest your clients and are ripe for content generation.
4. Review a book or service that your clients will find useful.  Chances are that you’re aware of sources that your clients don’t generally follow.  (That’s why I review business books in this newsletter.  Most lawyers don’t read these books, and I often get notes of thanks for highlighting useful information.)  Bringing information they might not discover otherwise adds value.
5. Myths, misunderstandings, and outright lies.  Chances are that there are some incorrect but commonly-held beliefs or approaches related to an issue that your clients face.  Sometimes it’s a simple factual misunderstanding or misinterpretation, and sometimes it’s all about the deeper truth.  Debunk those misapprehensions or challenge the common wisdom.  When you explain myths and truths, you can quickly get the attention of your audience.

Whatever methods you use to identify content topics, keep a running list of your ideas.  You’ll probably find that the best ideas occur to you while you’re exercising, showering, watching TV – anything except sitting at your desk.  Use Evernote or a simple Word document to list your ideas.  That way, when you are in front of the blank computer screen, you’ll have a list of ideas ready to go.