Three keywords in building a strong practice: satisfaction, service, and value. Get these right, and chances are pretty decent that you’ll see repeat business (where feasible) and referrals. Get them wrong, and you may not like what you see. A long-time favorite blog post 7 Good Customer Service Ideas That Work offers insight into how […]
If you’re using social media for business development purposes, you know that it can be a strong opportunity – or a black hole that will steal hours and energy and return absolutely nothing in the way of business results. As with so many other tools, your results have nothing to do with social media itself […]
I was recently talking with a friend who is an extremely savvy business owner. She set up an LLC a number of years ago and, now that she’s expanding that business in a new direction with a partner, she consulted with an accountant to determine what sort of entity, if any, she and her new […]
When I speak with a lawyer who’s interested in becoming a private client, one of the things I probe around is what distinguishes him or her from other lawyers in the same kind of practice. The answers usually revolve around past experiences of some kind, enhanced skill, strategic and business acumen, or lower fees due […]
Do you know what is the biggest stumbling block for lawyers who want to grow their practices? You might think it’s being too busy, dislike of networking, or fear of asking for business. And those are all good guesses, but incorrect. Lawyers who want to grow their practices most often stumble over their marketing plan. […]
As we’re beginning to re-emerge from isolation due to Covid, it’s time to take a fresh look at how we focus our attention. Many of my clients told me that even though working from home was challenging because of family responsibilities, once they got into a groove they found that they were actually more productive […]
Think about the last three referrals you received. Were they good referrals, meaning referrals for the kind of law you practice and the demographic of clients you serve? 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 […]
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 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. How One Company Worked to Root Out Bias from Performance Reviews An audit of performance reviews in a midsized law firm revealed four patterns of racial and gender bias. The authors proposed changes to the evaluation form (breaking job responsibilities into competencies and requesting […]
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 […]