How often do you find yourself doing one activity and thinking about another? Perhaps you check email while you’re talking with someone. Or you might catch yourself in a networking conversation, nodding along as someone speaks and you’re mentally composing what to say when it’s your time to talk. There are two reasons we do […]
Think about the last three referrals you received. Were they good referrals? Did you receive them recently? Are they part of a regular flow of referrals that you receive? If the answer to any of these questions is no (or if you couldn’t think of three referrals you’ve received), it’s time to pay attention. An […]
Business development is serious work. The success of your practice and your private practice career may hinge, at least to some degree, on your ability to secure new work. The process demands care and strategic attention. It can also be fun. Like practicing law, not every bit of it will be enjoyable and some moments […]
I have long believed that being a leader is critical to succeeding in business development. For more on why that’s true, check this 2009 post. Michael Hyatt’s recent blog post The 5 Marks of Authentic Leadership outlines five key aspects of leadership, which include: Insight Initiative Influence Impact Integrity While Hyatt’s post does not focus on […]
I’ve found some interesting articles to share with you this week. The skills new lawyers need right away The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System has published a report of the skills necessary for a new lawyer’s success in practice based on a survey of over 24,000 American attorneys. The survey responses identified […]
How do you know when your business development plan is well designed? It may be an easy answer when you have new business flooding in (as long as that flood is due to your effort rather than good luck), but when you’re working and you don’t see new business as an immediate result, what should […]
I read an interesting article this week titled Law Firm Leaders Still Aren’t Listening. You no doubt know where the article is going based on the headline alone, but here are a couple of excerpts: On the one hand, [law firm leaders] admit that client demand is shaky, there are too many lawyers, the delivery […]
If you’ve ever wondered if there’s an “app for that” when it comes to productivity, you’re going to love the resource I’m sharing this week. Visit this page to view a list of apps and websites that help with the following productivity needs: Notes and Capture Journaling Mind Mapping Storage Time Management Task Management Email Management […]
I’ve written over and over and over again about creating value for clients. Value matters in business development too, of course. Check this quote from Seth Godin that puts marketing into the context of value: How do you tell a story about your value? Case studies? Data and statistics? White papers or other kinds of presentations? Consider […]
Last month, I lured a friend to Santa Fe for a surprise 50th birthday party on the pretext that I needed her help to deliver a retreat for a law firm. She asked a lot of questions, so I made up an entire retreat on the fly, including a presentation about millennials. My friend, a […]