Archive for category: Business Development

One of my clients (let’s call her Renée) had a major disappointment recently. She had been courting a potential client (let’s call it ABC Corp.) for quite some time, and all the signs indicated that she would be tapped to handle a major piece of litigation. And then, instead of returning the engagement letter, ABC Corp. called Renée to share the news that another lawyer had landed the matter instead.

Certainly, a painful moment.

To her credit, Renée took the opportunity to ask what she could have done differently. ABC Corp. was pleasant and gave some answers that were plausible but didn’t quite ring true to Renée, and then the call was over.

Now what? What should you do next when you’ve lost a potential client?

1. Find out why, if possible. Since the answers Renée received didn’t ring true to her, we stepped back to consider what the real reasons might be. Money is always a likely suspect, so we discussed how the competitor lawyer may have structured the winning fee proposal and whether/how that should affect what Renée does. We also discussed other possibilities like a long-term relationship between the GC, a perception that the other lawyer has more experience, and a few other factors.
2. Evaluate your own performance. Would you, with the benefit of hindsight, change anything about the way you approached the potential client and matter? Would you change the make-up of your pitch team? Were there any awkward moments you would seek to avoid next time? Did you spot a way to improve your marketing materials?
3. Determine your next steps with the would-have-been client. How far has this ship sailed? In other words, do you expect a future opportunity to arise with this client? (For Renée, there’s always the possibility of more litigation; if the matter was the sale of a business, what potential might exist with the successor?) Based on how the process proceeded and was completed, should you continue to court the would-be client, should you consider asking for a referral, or should you let things lie for the time being?Whatever your answer, unless you decide to take no further action (which in the majority of cases is not the best decision), sketch out your next steps and put dates or time-frames on your calendar.
4. If you’re taking the loss hard, remember this quote from Pat Summit: “Left foot, right foot, breathe.” In other words, keep going. Don’t let one loss, even a painful one, knock out your drive to build your practice.

Rejection of any kind is unpleasant, so make sure you learn as much as you can from losing a matter to help you improve your business development skills.

You’ve probably recognized by now that social media activity can be useful for business development purposes… but you may not have figured out exactly how to make that happen for you. All too often lawyers tell me that they’re working hard but not seeing any meaningful results from their social media activity. It’s frustrating and enough to make you question whether the effort is worthwhile. After all…

Social media too often becomes a time-consuming activity that seems to promise results are just around the bend—the next post, the next connection. But some lawyers have cracked the code.

Since as far back as 2016, my favorite resource for lawyers has been the annual social media white paper from Good2BSocial. This year’s report offers some good tips (the do’s and don’t-do’s) based on a survey of AmLaw 200 firms’ social media, with winners identified by name and the reasons for their success analyzed. (If your firm is nowhere near the 200, don’t worry: the tips apply regardless of the size or type of firm.)

Note that registration is required to read the report.

It’s worth it if you’re looking to up your social media efforts.

The whole report is worth reading for its analysis of which firms excel in social media and why, but let’s focus on key points:

• Podcasts and video use are on the rise: consistency in production and targeted content separates the successful from the also-rans.
• Firms are increasingly focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as corporate activism.
• COVID-19 resource centers remain useful, though not as hot as they were in 2019 and 2020. The most successful firms created their resources from a client-centric point of view.
• Targeted content cuts through the noise of social media.
• Just posting doesn’t work: only engagement can build relationships.
• You must track data to measure social media performance. Otherwise, you’re just guessing at whether your efforts are paying off.
• Know what distinguishes the platforms from one another and how to use each most effectively.
• Focus on your clients and potential clients, not on your own firm.

The bottom line? You must tailor your posts to your clients’ and potential clients’ interests, you must engage with those clients and potential clients, and you should go beyond text to audio (podcasts) and video content.

If that feels overwhelming, take heart: when you take the time to create a cohesive social media marketing plan, you can harness the work you do (whether that’s answering questions that multiple clients are posing, presenting a CLE program, or writing an article, for example) and repurpose it in multiple forms and formats, then share it in ways designed to reach your target audience.

To succeed with this, you must create and use a cohesive plan, not just “do social media.”

There’s more useful information in this report, so please do read it if social media use is any part of your marketing plan. Most importantly as we’re still in the New Year’s glow, decide what your objectives are with social media and then create a plan you can follow consistently.

If you haven’t already done so, I invite you to make a decision (not a resolution) about how you will engage in and with business development activity going forward. Your consistent commitment makes the difference between a decision and a garden-variety resolution (which, statistically speaking, has a 25% chance of being broken within the first week and only a 46% chance of being maintained for more than six months).

When confronted with a new, daunting challenge, many of us have a tendency to say we’ll try.

In the business development context, that might show up as, “Oh, I hate networking, but I know I need to meet new people, so I’m going to try attending the monthly entrepreneur’s meetup.” Or “I know I need to be easier to find online, so I’m going to try to publish a few articles this year.” Or “It’s been a couple of years since I looked at my business development plan, so I’m going to do that and try to get it updated this month.” Or… Well, you get the picture.

Here’s the truth about saying, “I’ll try”:

Sometimes “I’ll try” does mean “I plan to make a legitimate and strategic effort to accomplish this goal.” If that’s what you mean, leave out “try” and just say you plan to do it. Of course, there’s a risk of failure—there’s always a risk of failure—but leaving out the fuzzy word “try” may help to minimize that risk.

I urge an honest and pragmatic approach to business development. So if you aren’t fully committed to undertaking an action (and by fully committed, I mean intending to take planned, strategic, and consistent action), don’t kid yourself. You don’t have to do everything—in fact, you can’t do everything—so acknowledge what you can and can’t do (or will and won’t do) and leave “trying” on the sidelines.

Relationship development is a key part of any business development initiative. That’s why we put so much effort into meeting new people, getting to know them, and following up with them over time. But how do you gather and track the relevant must-know information about your contacts?

Enter the CRM: the Client (or Customer) Relationship Management system.

(One prefatory note for the rest of this conversation: if you’re working in a larger firm, you may have access to the firm’s CRM and consider that sufficient for your purposes. Before you reach that conclusion, find out how easily you will be able to extract your contacts’ information should you leave the firm. If it’s at all difficult, given the reality of today’s professional world, don’t rely on the firm’s system.)

A CRM is most often software (local or in the cloud) that organizes contacts and information about them, but it need not be highly technology-driven. Some people successfully use spreadsheets, Outlook, Evernote, or even a Word file. CRM software offers functional advantages.

Here’s a list of features and attributes your CRM system should include:

• The system must be accessible from wherever you are.
• The system must be secure.
• The system must be a centralized and easy-to-update repository for contact data, including address, email, and telephone as well as business and personal interests.
• The data within the system must be sortable (so you can identify people who are located in a city before you visit, for example).
• The system should include a tickler function to prompt you to follow up with clients and contacts on the schedule you define.
• The system should track your communications so you can see when you last spoke with a contact and what you discussed.
• The system should allow for easy import and export of your data.
• Optionally, the system may save a library of resources you can use for follow-up contacts.
• Optionally, the system may include some automation to streamline your efforts. 

Why might you not want to use a CRM? If you won’t keep it updated, a CRM may do you more harm than good. Otherwise, a CRM is a good investment to facilitate building your network.