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Weekly Rainmaker Activity 9/14/09: More on introductions

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Last week’s WRA focused on the language to use in introducing yourself to potential clients and others.  This week, let’s look at the substance of the introduction.

Many lawyers seem to fall into the habit of the “just the facts, ma’am” introduction, which goes something like this: “Hi, I’m Bob Smith.  I’m a litigator with Dew Goode.”  While that introduction does give some valuable information, it’s also downright boring.

Choose a more interesting introduction, and you’re more likely to get conversation going that has a chance of developing into a relationship that may lead to billable work or other opportunities.

In The Reluctant Rainmaker, I share five approaches to introductions, but I’ll focus on two today.

  1. The benefits-focused description.  The typical so-called elevator speech follows a template, such as “I help ______ to ______ by _______ so that they can ______.”  An example: “I help small businesses to maximize their net profits through careful tax planning so they can grow quickly and pass on more of the company’s hard-earned profit to its owners.”  Or, “I help pharmaceutical companies with annual revenue in the range of $2 million to get the cash they need by negotiating funding deals so that they can conduct clinical trials of drugs in development.”  This form of introduction may lack panache, but it offers results-oriented information that will allow your conversational partner to understand quickly what you do.  If you follow this introduction with an interesting example, however, you can provoke good conversation.
  2. The “you know how” introduction.  Using this approach, you cast the problem that you solve for clients in a common, easily-understandable “you know how” framework: “You know how often a couple who’s no longer happy together decide to divorce and the situation turns into an absolute disaster, with each spouse blaming the other and trying to get any possible advantage, with the result that everyone comes out a loser in the end?  Well, I work with divorcing spouses before all of that begins, using an approach called collaborative law.  I represent one spouse and another collaborative lawyer represents the other spouse, and we sit down together to find a way to end the marriage without starting World War III.”

Whatever style you choose, be sure your introduction is brief, conversational (please, do not memorize and recite a great introduction!), attention-grabbing, and cast in a form appropriate to your listener.  Try new introductions regularly and see what gets the best response from listeners.

If you’d like to learn more about effective networking, check out The Reluctant Rainmaker, which is also available on Amazon.com — Kindle version coming soon.

Weekly Rainmaker Activity 9/7/09

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What kind of language do you speak when you’re talking with potential clients and referral sources?  I don’t mean English or Spanish, but whether you use “jargon” or “regular” language.  As with most anything else, each has its place, but you must select the appropriate language intentionally.

If you’re talking with lawyers or legally sophisticated consumers, carefully sprinkled jargon may have its place.  Those who are familiar with the area of law you’re discussing may expect to hear certain buzzwords.  If they don’t hear them, they may not be confident that you’re fully up to speed and skilled in the revelant area.  Dropping a word or two of jargon (a reference to a code section, perhaps) indicates that you are likely competent in the area of practice at issue.

If you’re talking with laypeople, however, sprinking in even a small amount of jargon may confuse the listener or — worse yet — may come across as if you’re talking down to him.  With some care, you can address even complex issues with clear, simple, and jargon-free language.  No one wants to feel stupid, and potential clients (or clients) may be reluctant to ask questions that reveal their lack of familiarity with the subject.

Lawyers often cross the jargon line in introducing themselves.  Think back over your recent introductions.  Do you use the appropriate amount of jargon?  Do listeners immediately understand what issues you address in your practice?  For the purpose of this week’s WRA, focus solely on the language you use.  Next week, we’ll look at a few other aspects of introductions.

Weekly Rainmaker Activity 8/31/09

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A primary benefit of being active online (by having a website with a biographical sketch and having articles relevant to your practice published online, for example) is that potential clients have an opportunity to learn something about you before meeting you.  Whether your name surfaces by referral or by an internet search, it’s a safe bet that almost every potential client will search on your name before contacting you.

Do you know what these potential clients will find?  I recently read an advice column in which the writer was struggling with how to tell her doctor that his son, who shared the doctor’s name (plus a “junior”),  had posted “obscene” photographs on Facebook and that patients were finding those images and associating them with the doctor.  I imagine that the doctor and his son had a rather frank conversation after that revelation, but the questions go a step further: how long had the doctor’s reputation been damaged by his son’s online antics?  And more importantly, how could he recover his professional reputation online?

Your task today: perform an internet search on yourself.  Start with Google, as it’s the most popular search engine, but be sure to check Yahoo!, Ask.com, Excite.com, MSN, and so on.  What do you find?

You may disover that your profile on a social media platform is high on the result list.  If so, one of the quickest ways to ramp up your online presence is to be sure that your profile is complete, accurate, and up-to-date.  If it’s difficult to find yourself online, getting a LinkedIn profile is a quick and easy way to make sure that those who search for you will be able to find something useful.  And if you find results that conflict with your professional persona, consider how you might address them.

Weekly Rainmaker Activity 8/17/09

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Studies show that a prospective client must be exposed to you 7-9 times before they’re ready to hire you.  (Those statistics are not specific to law, granted, but I have no reason to believe they’re off the mark for lawyers.)  The reasons are simple: most potential clients don’t have a current legal need, are already represented, or aren’t sufficiently familiar with you to entrust you with their current legal matter.

The solution should be clear: continue the conversations with your potential clients and potential referral sources.  That’s how you will become known, liked, and trusted — and it’s how you’ll get clients.

So, here’s your assignment this week: Look at the stack of business cards you’ve been saving (you have the stack, right?  Tucked “somewhere safe,” in a desk drawer, or near your computer?) and select 3-5 people with whom you should follow up.  Then, get in touch with them.  Offer something of value if possible — an article likely to interest them, for example.  Alternatively, just pick up the phone (or perhaps drop an email) and let your contact know you were thinking of her and want to know how she’s been since you last talked.

Some contacts will be dead-ends.  Others will hold promise for future business.  But you’ll never find out which are which unless you continue the conversation.

Do you sponsor? (And WRA, resurrected)

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Do you know how to get the most from your sponsorships?

Getting in front of a group of potential clients can mean different things to different people.  These are some of the considerations I recommend you evaluate if you’re contemplating taking on a sponsorship:

  • Who will be present?  Potential clients or referral sources are good; the general public is less likely to produce measureable business results.
  • What recognition will you receive as a sponsor?  Will your firm name be on the signage, on the event website, on bags or t-shirts?  Will you be mentioned during the event itself?
  • What perks will you receive as a sponsor?  Look for opportunities to mingle with attendees at sponsored luncheons, coffee breaks, or cocktail parties.  You’re more likely to be able to meet selected participants if the sponsored event is not open to all comers.
  • Who will attend from the firm, and what is the strategy for making the most of the opportunity?  As usual, without a plan, your efforts are likely to produce little.  The strategy will depend on your business development goals, the nature of the event, the attendees, and more, but you must be able to identify at least the basic strategy before you commit to sponsorship.

Sponsorships aren’t dead, by any means, but it’s just a waste of money to take on a random sponsorship without a defined objective and a clear plan to reach that objective.

WRA, Resurrected!

Back in January, I launched a new weekly blog feature: the weekly rainmaker activity.  I described it this way:

One of the keys to being a successful rainmaker is making a habit of consistent client development activity.  I recommend that lawyer doing something designed to increase business every single day, whether it’s writing a 2-minute email, hosting an hour-long lunch, or attending an all-day industry meeting. I’m launching a new blog feature this week: the Weekly Rainmaker Activity.  I’ll offer a weekly business development task.  Those who choose to accept that challenge will make the time to engage in the activity of the week at least once.  If you’re so moved, please post a comment (anonymous is fine, of course) to let me and the other readers know what you’ve done this week.  Healthy competition of this sort can benefit everyone.

And then I started writing The Reluctant Rainmaker, thus effectively putting the blog on hiatus.  Ooops.  But now, it’s time to resurrect the WRA, and the first task will be posted Monday.

Weekly Rainmaker Activity

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This week’s task: Set up Google Alerts for your top 5 clients.

Why is this a good activity?  Google Alerts deliver news results about whatever topic you select direct to your mailbox on the schedule you select.  They function as a free clipping service.  In this instance, receiving alerts about your clients will let you know what’s happening with their business or industry, what others are saying about them, etc., and put you in an opprtunity to be proactive in providing advice or offering assistance.

How to undertake this activity?   Go to http://www.google.com/alerts and complete the form.  It’s simple of self-explanatory.  Use your clients’ names as the search terms.  If you choose to expand this week’s task, you might also add other terms relevant to your clients — perhaps their industries, their products or service, or their competitors.  Two tips to avoid an avalanche of results:

  1. Be selective in the terms you use.  For example, if you represent Boeing, you would not want to use “Boeing” as a search term because you’d get millions of alerts in a few days’ time.  Instead, you might use “+Boeing +airplane +manufacturer” or ” +Boeing +air +defense +contractor.”
  2. Set up email filters so alerts go to a specific email folder.  You’ll need to make checking that folder a part of your routine, but that’s far preferable to missing a critical email because your in-box is overly full with alerts.

How long will it take?  Just a few minutes to set up the searches, and probably 5-10 minutes daily to review the results and/or edit your searches.

Weekly Rainmaker Activity

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This week’s task:  Review your biographical sketch and update it if appropriate.

Why is this a good activity?  Your bio sketch is likely to be your first introduction for potential clients who are referred to you, for potential clients who find you on the Internet or otherwise, for other lawyers, etc.   Your sketch may also be returned based on a Google or other keyword search online.  It’s important that your sketch be accurate, persuasive, and up-to-date.

How to undertake this activity?   Review your sketch and ask these questions:

  • Is your important accomplishments and memberships listed?
  • Is everything accurate and up-to-date?
  • Have you minimized or (better yet) eliminated legal jargon, so potential clients and referral sources will understand exactly what you do?
  • Is your your photo attractive and does it accurately represent you?  (Flattering shots are fine, but if someone would be unlikely to recognize you based on your photo, get a new one.  Typically, you’ll want a new photo every 3-5 years.)
  • Does your sketch list any community activities or other leadership involvement?
  • Does your sketch include a simple, searchable way of identifying your practice area?
  • Does your sketch include the keywords that someone trying to find a lawyer like you might enter in a Google search?

Look at your sketch online.  Is the most important information “above the fold,” meaning that it shows on the screen without requiring you to scroll down to it?  If not, reorganize.

How long will it take?  If it’s been a few years since you’ve revised your sketch, this could take as long as 1.5 to 2 hours.  If it’s reasonably up-to-date, 30 minutes will probably suffice nicely.

What will it do for me?  Completing this task will ensure that you don’t lose out on opportunities because of inaccurate or missing information.  You’ll know that you’ve put your best foot forward online.

Weekly Rainmaker Activity

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One of the keys to being a successful rainmaker is making a habit of consistent client development activity.  I recommend that lawyer doing something designed to increase business every single day, whether it’s writing a 2-minute email, hosting an hour-long lunch, or attending an all-day industry meeting.

I’m launching a new blog feature this week: the Weekly Rainmaker Activity.  Each Monday, I’ll offer a business development task.  Those who choose to accept that challenge will make the time to engage in the activity of the week at least once.  If you’re so moved, please post a comment (anonymous is fine, of course) to let me and the other readers know what you’ve done this week.  Healthy competition of this sort can benefit everyone.

So, this week’s task: talk with a current client about the economy’s effect on his/her business.  (It should go without saying, but for the sake of clarity: this is an “off the meter” conversation.)

Why is this a good activity?  For better or worse, that’s the chief topic for many people right now — is your business suffering?  If so, how are you handling it?  If not, what’s setting you apart from those who are suffering?  How do you see the next weeks and months playing out?  What do you need to make it through this rough period?  Since everyone is thinking about it, we may as well talk about it, especially if there’s a chance that you could offer some sort of assistance.  Even if you can’t, your client (and you) will likely benefit from the conversation.

How to undertake this activity?  Choose a client.  (If you’re a junior lawyer without much client contact, choose an internal client — one of the partners or more senior lawyers who gives you assignments.)  If you’re talking with him or her anyway, just fold the inquiry into your conversation, perhaps piggybacking on recent news or on a legal discussion about the business.  Or place a call to your client “just to touch base” and raise the topic that way.

How long will it take?  That’s entirely up to you and your client.  I’d say 5-10 minutes is long enough to allow for a meaningful discussion without going into too much depth.

What will it do for me?  It will deepen your relationship without your client.  It offers the client the opportunity to be heard about something that’s likely at the top of his or her mind anyway, and it could offer a chance for you to give useful advice.