Feeling business development pressure?

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Over the last several months, I’ve noticed more and more inquiries from lawyers wanting to focus on business development.  Unlike some coaching topics (career path and work/life integration, most notably), law firms often provide some business development training in-house to midlevel and/or senior associates as well as partners.  Many firms even provide coaching from external coaches or from in-house rainmakers.  I’d noticed a trend, with more junior lawyers seeking early business development coaching and even lawyers at firms that offer such training and/or coaching seeking it on their own, willing to pay for private, one-on-one work.  According to an article published in New York Lawyer (free registration required), this is a growing trend.

In suburban kitchens, coffee shops and back tables of restaurants across the city, law firm partners are quietly seeking the help of business development and marketing professionals on how to get out from under the shadow of that more senior partner and build their own book of business.

While it might not be as sinister as that description sounds, there is a palpable fear among some fairly high-level partners in the city’s largest firms about what their future holds. Now those partners are trying to take control of their own destiny.

In talking to a number of marketers, coaches and recruiters, there is a clear sense that in these economic times, having a portable book of business is increasingly important.

Firms are threatening de-equitizations, in-house marketing departments are facing budget cuts and partners are hoarding work more now than in the past five years, according to these industry analysts.

Given the current economy, it’s no surprise that lawyers are concerned about career potential, whether with the current firm or looking toward a new one.  If you’re in a large or midsized firm and you aren’t receiving business development attention, perhaps now would be a good time to investigate what’s available to you, through your firm or otherwise.

Internal client development

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Generally speaking, law firms use the phrase “client development” to refer to the process of signing clients that the firm will represent in litigation, transactions, etc.  Today, I’d like to consider another type of client development associates must consider: internal client development.

As an associate, particularly a junior associate who receives work from more senior lawyers, you must consider two kinds of clients: those who are external, meaning the people we typically call clients, and those who are internal, meaning those firm attorneys for whom you do work, your supervising attorneys.  The more junior you are, the more important your internal client development skills are and the longer those skills may serve you.  Let’s consider an example.

Two associates, Ellen and Mary, begin with a firm at the same time.  Both are bright and eager to learn.  Ellen is gregarious, always chatting with more senior associates and partners about work, current events, whatever.  She enjoys discussing the cases she and others are working on, and as a result a lot of the firm’s lawyers tend to know what she’s working on and to have some idea of how she approaches her work.  When Ellen hears about someone who’s working on a case that interests her, she finds a time to talk with that attorney and offers to help if there’s anything she can do.  Mary tends to be shy, friendly when someone speaks to her but not someone who will seek out conversation.  She does very good work, and she prefers not “bother” the lawyer who assigns work until she’s finished unless she has a question.  Mary talks often with the other lawyers staffed on her cases, but she doesn’t interact too much with other members of the firm.

When a case comes in that would be equally appropriate for both Ellen and Mary, who do you think is more likely to get assigned to it?  I’d suspect it’ll be Ellen, if all other things are equal, because Ellen has been working on her internal client development.  A partner is more likely to know what Ellen’s workload is, to know how she approaches her work, to know how she gets along with other members of the firm, and to know enough about her to be comfortable working with her.  Although Mary may do equally good work, by failing to put herself in front of the other lawyers in the firm on a regular basis, they are less likely to think of her, and she’s less likely to get the assignments.

So, what do you do if you recognize that you’re like Mary?  First, go back to the business truism that, all other things being equal, people prefer to work with those they know, like, and trust.  (In a law firm, performing excellent work is the baseline, so be sure you meet that standard.  Otherwise, no amount of being known and liked will be sufficient to override the lack of trust that poor work product will bring.)

Set out on a campaign to become known, liked, and trusted – but start by getting to know, like, and trust other members of your firm.  Go to the cocktail parties.  Eat lunch in the firm cafeteria if you have one, and make it a habit to invite another lawyer out to lunch at least once a week.  Be genuinely interested in the other attorneys in your firm, both professionally and personally.  Perhaps the partner has a son who plays Little League, and it can make a difference if you remember to ask how the game was when you know the partner left early to attend it.  Discuss your cases, chew over a thorny legal issue with a colleague, and ask what cases others have going.  With a effort and authenticity, this approach will put you on good terms with others in your office and you too will be at the top of assigning attorneys’ minds when a new case comes in the door.

And for those who feel that this is a mercenary approach, there’s one other key benefit: your work life will almost certainly improve.  True, you won’t be best friends with everyone (or perhaps anyone) in the office, but spending long days at work is more enjoyable when there’s a sense of camaraderie.  Camaraderie comes from – you guessed it – knowing and liking those with whom you work and fostering a sense of being on the same team.

This internal networking is, of course, only one side of internal client development.  Other aspects of internal client development include building a strong reputation, becoming an expert in a niche area, developing skills faster than your classmates, and last (but certainly not least), asking for the work.

Be aware of your opportunities for internal client development: as a junior associate, you can position yourself as the go-to person in your associate class and you can get superior experience in a relatively short time.  If you’re one of the rare associates who stays at a single firm for the bulk of your career, internal client development will propel toward partnership much faster and with a much higher chance of success.  If you move to another firm, internal client development can pay off in helping you find a new position and in positioning you for referrals from your old firm in case of conflicts.  It’s a win/win proposition.�

A favorite relationship-building tactic

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A few days ago, I posted on the difference between strategy and tactics and recommended identifying strategy first and then move to tactics.  Selecting effective tactics depends, of course, on the strategy and the ultimate goal.  Building relationships almost always comes into play, though.  Strong client relationships form the foundation of a healthy practice; strong collegial relationships are a key component of a satisfying professional life; strong professional relationships create openings for a variety of career opportunities.  Today, I’d like to share one tactic that I’ve found indispensable for relationship-building.

Think back to the last time you received a hand-written note.  They stand out, don’t they?  Penmanship catches special attention these days, when even wedding invitations are often computer-addressed.  Personal notes are usually a different size and shape from ordinary business correspondence, and when I receive one, I always pause because it’s so unexpected.  Have you received a hand-written note this week?  No?  Well, you aren’t alone — far from it — and there’s your opportunity.

Because it’s out of the ordinary, a note generates attention that an email never will.  I like sending notes “just because,” to thank someone for a kindness, or to pass on something of interest to the recipient.  Notes create personal connection.  Because they’re tangible and reflect energy expended, a hand-written note demonstrates that, at least for the time it took to write and mail the note, the recipient was top-of-mind.  It’s nice to be thought of that way, and that thoughtfulness will generate a positive association and begin (or continue) the process of relationship-building.  I imagine my clients get tired of hearing me suggest, “why not drop him a note?”  But I know, and they discover, the positive results that often follow.

 

Lessons at an airport gate

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I spent nearly two hours sitting at an airport gate today.  I’d assumed that between business travel and people headed home after the Easter weekend, the airport would be jammed, but I got through security in an astonishingly short time.  So, I sat about 5 feet behind a Delta American Express table.  You’ve probably seen them: a table to the side of a concourse, with various promotional freebies, application forms neatly stacked, and one or two hawkers, trying desperately to get people to pause and fill out an application.

Annoying, right?  I drowned out the hawker’s calls.  But as I sat reading, I noticed that more people than usual were coming up to this table, and they were staying longer than usual.  So I started listening. And I re-learned something useful.

Unlike the average hawker who bombards passersby with the “great offer” they simply “can’t pass up,” this guy focused on individuals and enaged them: “You, miss, in the red shirt!  Where are you headed today?”  I would have thought that his chances of getting responses, especially in a busy airport at peak travel time on Monday morning, would have been slim, but over and over, people walked up and started talking with him.

Some told him about their travel delays.  Others told him about the jobs they were traveling for or the family they were leaving behind.  Several soldiers told him what it’s like to be on leave from duty in Baghdad.  And the marketer listened.  He asked questions and empathized.  He was genuinely present with the people who were talking with him.

After he’d heard some part of their travel story, he’d weave in his offer: “Man, wouldn’t you like to get an extra 10,000 miles so you can get back to see her more often?”  Sure, he was trying to get people to apply for a credit card, but he was doing it by connecting with people, by building a relationship, albeit a brief one.  And almost without exception, the people who stopped in front of the display filled out something, whether a credit card application or a Delta mileage program application.

Observing this guy reminded me of a Maya Angelou quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  What I saw was the power of listening and genuine, though brief and superficial, connection.

The contrast was clear when he went on break and another pusher took his place.  This hawker didn’t engage people.  He threw out half-hearted, “Sir, don’t you want extra some SkyMiles today?  It’s a great offer!  You can’t pass it up!  Sir, you flyin’ Delta today?  We’re giving away 10,000 SkyMiles free — for nuthin’!”  But the busy passengers did pass it by the table over and over without stopping.   Those who did stop received only the sales pitch, and I’d guess this vendor’s application completion rate was much less than half of the other man’s.

Small sale or large, connection really does pay.  And it doesn’t require a tremendous amount of effort.  It simply requires genuine presence.  Not a bad reminder while waiting in an airport.

Are you satisfied with your client development efforts?

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I often notice that lawyers with whom I talk have some good ideas about client development activities.  They know what to do, and they implement some of that knowledge.  But when someone hires me to work on business development and we take a good look at what they’re actually doing on a consistent basis, the reality check often leads to some interesting findings.  Much like dieters who start keeping a food journal and suddenly discover that the reason for a plateau is not alien invasion but rather an unnoticed increase in caloric consumption, lawyers who pause to do an honest appraisal of their business development activities may be surprised with what they uncover.

My coaching clients and I go through a 5-page narrative assessment that looks at how the lawyer positions him- or herself, what activities s/he engages in and how frequently, and how s/he serves current clients.  Schedule a 30 minute free consultation with me – no strings attached.

How do lawyers learn to become rainmakers?

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While I’m attending the Midyear meeting of the ABA (in sunny LA this year), I’m pleased to reprint a post originally published in September 2006. 

So often, people talk about “rainmakers” as if rainmakers are born, not made.  Not true.  I’ve never seen a survey of great rainmakers to see whether they believe they were born to develop business, but every one I’ve asked asked tells me that, although there may be some personality traits that they were able to develop to help them land clients, the skills themselves were learned.

So, how do rainmakers learn their skills?

1.  Mentoring.  If there’s a lawyer you know who excels at client development, talk with her.  Ask what she did to learn how to approach potential clients.  What attributes does she consider important for business development?  Which activities work well, and which don’t?  Most lawyers are willing to share their knowledge and experience, but you have to ask.

2.  Develop your own marketing plan and work it.  What steps can you take to market yourself to your existing clients and to broaden your network/external exposure?  If you need ideas, ask your mentor or check any of the many rainmaking skills books that are on the market.  Think strategically and plan your networking events (formal and informal), writing and speaking opportunities, and whatever else may be a part of your plan.

It isn’t easy to balance work and personal life, and adding in marketing may seem like it’s too much.  But planning your efforts, and considering how you might fold in personal interests with networking opportunities, will help you to find time to hit all of the bases.  Don’t over-extend yourself.  Instead, break down the larger tasks (like writing an article) into pieces that you can accomplish each day.  That will help you maintain forward momentum and it’ll also prevent overwhelm.  Be sure to share your plan with your mentor, a coach, or someone who can help you stay on track.  That action alone will significantly raise the chances that you’ll keep up with your plan and see results.

3.  Tune up your attitude.  Two beliefs about rainmaking present challenges: that it’s somehow rude, and that it’s unnecessary.

Some people conceive of client development as the task of getting out, meeting people, and self-promoting.  One image of networking is that of an opportunity to foist a business card on any warm body and a soapbox to tell unsuspecting contacts about how great a lawyer the networking genius is.  ICK!  I don’t know of anyone who would like to interact with someone who behaves that way.  That isn’t what client development is about.  Instead, it’s an opportunity to learn about other people and to develop a relationship.  It’s often repeated that clients hire people, not firms, and it’s human nature to prefer to hire a known entity.  (I take some issue with that, but clients certainly interact with particular lawyers and there’s no question that those interactions can facilitate or retard the decision to retain the firm.)  So, the short-term view is that marketing is a way to become that known entity and to develop relationships; the long-term view is that it’s an opportunity to help potential clients solve legal problems they’re facing.  Focus on that attitude.

Although some lawyers would prefer to focus on doing top-quality and top-volume work, and not on bringing work in the door, that’s probably an unrealistic desire.  As a junior associate, it’s easy to expect to be fed work.  But someone has to bring the work in.  A lawyer’s success requires a stream of incoming work, as does a firm’s success.  Firm “grinders” (who grind out the work but do nothing to bring it in) may be in a tenuous position because strong legal abilities and good client service are the minimum requirements for practice, and those who have nothing more to offer are weak when times get tight.  This is even more true in today’s highly competitive environment.  As a result, client development skills are critical.

Finally, consider the career satisfaction that will likely result from bringing clients into your practice.  You’re building in the ability to work with clients you enjoy, on the kind of work you prefer, and you’re creating your own success.  That’s hard to beat.

4.  Think creatively.  As noted above, the market is flooded with books that promise great tips on marketing.  Some of those books deliver, some don’t… But you can bet that your competition is reading them as well.  Spend some time thinking about what you can do that’s outside the norm for client development.  Instead of serving as a speaker at a CLE event, can you organize an event?  Can you get involved in a professional association to which your target clients belong?  Can you put together some kind of program that offers tangible benefits to your target audience?  This kind of activity requires planning time and will likely require support from your firm, but if carefully executed, it can pay off.

5.  Never forget your existing clients.  While you’re working on how to bring in new clients, be sure you attend to your current clients.  Always provide excellent service and legal work.  Clients are often willing to sing the praises of good attorneys, and they are always quick to criticize those who fall short.  Whether you serve individuals or large corporations, your clients will talk about your service if a friend or close colleague asks.  Keep in mind what you’d like them to say, and let that guide your practice.

What do you need to do to increase your rainmaking?

Social networking… Yea or nay?

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I was excited today to open the latest issue of Law Practice Management magazine, which features social networking.  (Thanks to Stephanie West Allen for leeting me know when the link was posted!)  Blogs and podcasts are old news to many people now.  But there’s so much more!  I get requests for connections via LinkedIn and Plaxo fairly frequently, and I keep hearing about lawyers having terrific results from using Facebook and MySpace and Twitter.

The highlight of LPM this month is a “conversation” about social networking between Ernest Svenson and Denise Howell, both early adopters in the legal blogosphere.  Even though law firms have begun using Facebook, I’d frankly given it very little thought… But after reading Denise and Ernie bandy about all the advantages (and mysteries) of Facebook, it may be time to take a serious look.   Here’s a snippet from Denise:

I’m one of the people who abandoned LinkedIn for Facebook. . . As things now stand, I think Facebook is the winner in the interactivity battle.

Facebook makes it possible to funnel certain information only to certain parties.  These fine-grained access controls help Facebook move beyond a resume-type experience and encourage and ongoing and evolving exchange between you and everyone in your network. . .  Also, because Facebook makes it easier and more comfortable for people to share more of themselves and their interests, the information on the site is more genuine and less filtered.  Facebook emulates social interactions in the real world in an impressive way.

Thinking maybe it’s time to investigate some of the newer technology?  Ernie has this to say:

So experience leads me to conclude that social networking tools like blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and so forth are most powerful when you are willing to experiment with them early on — while the pond is still small enough, so to speak. . . If you understand the tools and have a plan, then odds are you’ll reach your goal more quickly.

Seems to me that there are several issues here.  Time is one, certainly.  And I’m seeing a cross-pollination between branding (as in, establishing your brand as a lawyer, your firm’s brand, what sets you apart) and authenticity (as in, being more or less the same person at home as at work, because personal consistency and authenticity is a key attribute of a leader).  Those who balance these issues according to a marketing plan may see some stellar results.  My guess is that the fun is just beginning.

How big is your network… And how strong?

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Have you paused to consider the full scope of who’s in your network?  When I talk with law students, they often worry that they don’t have a network yet or consider their network to be composed of other law students and lawyers with whom they’ve worked or met at some event, and that perception may or may not change over time.  I often ask clients about their network when we’re discussing business development or job changes, and I’m surprised at how narrowly some people define their network.

A Business Week online interview suggests using a tree analogy to analyze the scope of your network:

In the book, I describe multiple ways to map and analyze your network. My favorite way is to describe your networking journey in a narrative summary while in parallel creating a network tree diagram. I describe how my network has formed since birth, starting with my parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends of the family, my friends, school friends, business associates, parents of my son’s friends, etc. If this is done in chronological order, you can see how your network has formed over time and how it has grown, sometimes slowly and sometimes very quickly.

Now, I’m not necessarily suggesting writing your life story and creating your network tree in the process.  I’m sure it’s an effective approach, but the idea is a bit daunting, barring a compelling reason to write such a narrative.  (It sounds like a great thing to do “one of these days,” except that those days tend never to come.)  But I do like the idea of drawing a tree and noting important branches of a network that could otherwise go untapped.  That’s a shorter process, and when I tried it, I quickly discovered that my network is actually quite a big larger than I’d realized.

What I like even better about this network-as-tree analogy, though, is that it’s a nice reminder that a network is only as healthy as the environment that nourishes it.  It requires attention: even a strong tree will be weakened without sufficient water and sunshine, and a network weakens without contact.  A tree grows more quickly when fertilized, and a network expands with conscious effort.  And, like a tree, sometimes a network is stronger if a branch is pruned– if, for example, effort is going into a “nonproductive” group of the network.  Note, however, that groups can be “productive” if they create supportive personal connections just as much as if lead to business or career opportunities.

How large is the tree that represents your network?  How strong is it?  What attention does it need to grow stronger?

The knowing/doing gap

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I’ve been leveled by the flu this week.  Whether it’s due to the resulting brain fog or a flash of insight (and if so, a flash probably triggered by David Maister’s Strategy and the Fat Smoker, which is still buzzing around in my head), I have been struck over and over by a single theme while reading up on recent law-related news: the huge gap that exists between knowing and doing.  Just to select one example:

If you’ve ever considered hanging out a shingle, be sure to read A Conspiracy of One in this month’s ABA Journal.  It’s the story of Michael Grossman, a former Cook County public defender who opened his own office in September 2007.  It’s interesting to read about Grossman’s decision to start his own practice, and the article does a nice job of illustrating the challenges and benefits.  And happily, as the update indicates, Grossman’s practice is growing and he’s pleased with his choices.

Where I saw the knowing/doing gap is in an accompanying article titled Pencil to Paper Prosperity, which sets out David Freeman’s five elements of a successful client development system.  The five elements?

1.  Identify your target market.
2.  Reach your target market in the right way.
3.  [Have a] contact management method.
4.  Set goals.
5.  Create a system or accountability.

These are excellent steps in a business development plan.  They’re critical steps.  And I hope they aren’t news to anyone who’s contemplated bringing in new business.  Really, although some aspects of each step may bring new information, the steps themselves are something that we all know to do.  And yet, a great many lawyers don’t actually do these things in a regular, systematized way.  It’s a knowing/doing gap.  Bridge that gap, and you’ll likely develop more business.

Bridging that gap requires making a commitment, which in turn often calls for devising a system for accountability.  The huge numbers of demands on most lawyers’ time means that without some accountability, the least urgent tasks are likely to get left behind — and while there’s work yet to be performed, business development tasks may well be viewed an non-urgent.  It’s important, then, to create a system that raises the urgency level, whether that’s maintaining a calendar and task list that includes the steps to which you’ve committed or whether it’s having a buddy, group, mentor, or coach with whom you check in periodically to provide updates, to troubleshoot, and to lay plans going forward.

If you’re interested in learning more about this gap, do read The Knowing-Doing Gap by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Bob Sutton.  Although it explores the gap that exists in large organizations and how some organizations bridge it (think GE, Toyota, and the like), there’s useful information that is applicable by analogy.

Where is your knowing/doing gap?  Is it around business development, skills enhancement, a necessary but not pressing career change, implementing time management strategies, or the way you balance your professional and personal responsibilities?  Take a step today.

Relationship or one-night stand: How law firms view associates (and clients)

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As those who frequently reads this blog know, I’m a proponent of planned disengagement from work to facilitate full engagement while working.  Tomorrow will be a regular working day (complete with client meetings and the regular Tuesday Shorts on the blog) but the rest of the week will find me cleaning, cooking, and spending time with my family.  So, you’ll find repeats of some past blog posts that you may have missed the first time around.  Today’s post follows on the heels of Friday’s review of David Maister’s Strategy and the Fat Smoker with a discussion of one of Maister’s articles that’s also featured in the book.

David Maister wrote a fascinating article titled, “Do You Really Want Relationships?”  He suggests that lawyers generally say we want relationships with our clients, long-standing interactions that tend to lead to more work in the future, more referrals, fewer challenges on billing, and more effective working relationships.  This, Maister describes as the “romance” view.  However, in practice, lawyers often act on the transactional view of client relations — “one-night-stands” — in which there’s little commitment beyond the immediate project, little trust, and an understanding on both sides that it’s “us” versus “them.”  Do read the article for a fuller discussion of this very interesting topic; it’s a terrific eye-opener.

What I want to talk about today, though, is a short section of the article that discusses viewing firm personnel in the relationship or transactional mode.

“Are you saying,” they ask me, “that I need to show an interest in my subordinates as people and care about their career ambitions?”

“Only if you want them to respond to you,” I reply.  “If your subordinates feel that you are prepared to work at a relationship with them, ensuring that both sides benefit, then they will give you more of what you want.  That’s human nature, not a political or religious point.

“But if they think that you, their superior, are just trying to get out of the deal more of what you want from them?  Harder work, more billable hours, whatever?  Then they will respond in kind.  They will view you as you are viewing them: useful only to the extent that they can get out of it when they want in the short run.

“There will be no long-term loyalty and no commitment to the larger interests of the firm, because you have set the patten that this is truly a temporary transation, not a relationship.  If you treat people as THEM, as objects, or as ‘other,’ they in turn will treat you instrumentally.”

And that, my friends, is the crux of the associate retention problem in big firms.  Maister nailed it, in my opinion.  Associates view partnership as a distant, likely unattainable goal, perhaps even a goal they don’t want to attain.  Firms offer money as the short-term benefit, “greedy associates” are born, and associates become eager to move on to the high bidder, to the firm where they can get the most short-term benefit, figuring that at some point they’ll end up in a firm where they can and will make partner — but that’s down the road after they’ve switched firms a few times.  (Of course, there’s nothing that will motivate a lawyer toward money like facing $100K or more in law school debt, but that’s another thread.)  According to a NALP study cited in “Law-Firm Life Doesn’t Suit Some Associates” (which I discussed here a couple of days ago), 60-62% of entry-level associates have left their firms by the end of the fourth years.

What can law firms do to encourage good associates to stay?  Create a sense of mutual loyalty.  Pay attention to associates’ professional development, career satisfaction, and concern for the person.  Make sure associates know that they’re not fungible, that they’re part of a team, that they contribute to something important.  Help them recognize meaning in their work — and I’m not talking the do-gooder kind necessarily (though that often keeps lawyers working in public interest despite low pay, lack of resources, etc.), but the kind that comes from practicing an an area of law that fits, taking on advancing responsibilities, receiving appropriate guidance that promotes professional growth.  Say “thank you.”

If law firms do even some of these things, I suspect that associates who fit in the firm will be motivated to do their best and that they’ll want to stick around.  Am I wrong?  I’d love to find out.