Measuring Your Marketing ROI: Part IV
By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler
Email: TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
This is the fourth and final post on Measuring Your Marketing ROI. This post will focus on the fourth pillar of marketing–Creating Targeted and Effective Communications. Below are listed Pillar IV marketing strategies, along with suggested techniques for measuring ROI.
Strategic Communications
Does your practice have the ability to send out truly strategic communications? Targeted and effective communications are not broad-based “firm newsletters” but instead are communications that are sent to various segments of your client base with targeted messages relevant to them.
If you invest your time and energy to create this level of targeted messaging, you can measure you ROI by tracking the number of direct responses from clients and referral sources because of your various communications. In addition, over time, you should see an increase in the level of client retention and flow of referrals into the firm.
Marketing Database
A marketing database is only valuable to you if you keep it updated. A strong marketing database should be easy to update, allow segmenting of client type for targeted communications, and interact with other firm data (like client revenue numbers).
Your ROI for creating your marketing database can be measured in saved time and increased client communications. In return for investing in your marketing database, you will save billable time by not needing to send individual lists to professionals for updating. Additionally, as a result of the database, you will find it easy to communicate with various groups of clients, contacts, and referral sources because you will have email addresses and other contact information for each person on your list.
Website
A website is a must-have for every law firm. When used correctly, a website can be a powerful marketing tool with the ability to attract new clients and retain current clients. The content on your website should be regularly updated and should reflect the overall branding and identity of the firm. You should also ensure that your website is search engine optimized, which will result in higher rankings on Google and other search engines.
Website ROI can be measured tangibly by tracking search engine rankings and by using Web-trends, Google Analytics or other programs to track and measure website visitors and activity on your website. You can also track your website’s strength by monitoring direct client inquiries from the website, seminar registrations using web-based registration options, and client comments on the website.
Learn more about maximizing your website. Read my blog post on “Online Marketing Strategies for Lawyers: Make the Most of Your Website.”
Client Events
Hosting a client event can be a time consuming challenge for any firm. Lawyers often wonder if the event is worth the hassle. How can you tell if your client event is a success?
Start by tracking the number of clients who attend the event—the more clients there, the better! Next, be sure to provide an evaluation form and ask clients what they thought of the event. In the evaluation, ask clients if they would attend the event again next year. Repeat attendees demonstrate that clients appreciate your event and see it as a valuable service. Track how many professionals from the firm attend the event and ask them if they were able to actively build relationships. Ideally, the event will lead to new clients or new matters generated from the event.
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Measuring Your Marketing ROI: Part III
By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler
Email: TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
My last post examined ways to measure marketing return on investment under the second pillar of marketing– Attracting New Clients and Developing New Business. This post will explore measuring marketing ROI under the third pillar, Increasing Name Recognition and Awareness. This is an area of marketing where it is very easy to spend lots of money (buying advertising, hiring public relations firms, or attending tradeshows), so carefully measuring your return is particularly important. Below are listed Pillar III marketing strategies and their corresponding ROI measurement techniques.
Advertising (Print and Web-based)
Considering the generally high costs associated with advertising, it is important to make sure that your advertising dollars are truly well spent. While you may like to think that your advertising helped you to land that new client, you can’t be sure unless you ask. Check in with new clients and ask why they hired your firm. If they cite specific advertising as one of the reasons they hired the firm, your advertising has resulted in measurable ROI!
Another simple way to determine whether your advertising works is to include a call to action in your ad (such as registering for a seminar). You can also determine if your advertising works by seeing if there is higher name recognition of your firm in the marketplace based on independent market
research. Finally, if you are using web-based advertising, monitor your search engine rankings to see if they improve.
Branding and Identity
Developing professional, cohesive identity and branding materials for your firm is a smart investment. Your materials should include a logo,
letterhead, brochures, and website that, when viewed together, are consistent and have the sa
me strong visual identity. Done correctly, your materials will result in a higher level of professionalism conveyed through your firm’s brand and resulting identity materials that will generate complimentsfrom clients, contacts and referral sources. You will know your branding and consistency has paid off when your firm “becomes known” in the marketplace for some element of its branding or identity.
Public Relations
We all know that, generally speaking, publicity for your firm is a good thing. But how can you measure the ROI of such an intangible marketing function? If you have an article written about your firm in a local or national publication, or if you appear on the radio or television, check the media outlet’s advertising rates. Multiply the cost of placing an ad of similar length by 3 or 4 to arrive at the approximate dollar value that the public relations “advertising” has been worth to your firm. Next, count the number of media impressions your firm made – how many people had the opportunity to see the article or hear the interview.
In a more general way, you can measure your public relations ROI by looking at how often the firm gets substantive content placed inpublicationswhich are read by A-level clients. Look at the number of news releases the firm proactively distributes each month and the number of bylined articles published per year by you or other professionals in your firm.
You can also measure your public relations ROI by examining the relationship between your firm and reporters. How many times in the last year have firm professionals been quoted in the press? How many reporters does each professional know and have a relationship with?
To learn more about effective public relations, see Tip #10 in my blog post, “Marketing Your Law Practice in a Tight Economy—Part III.”
Trade Shows
Participating in key trade shows in your area of expertise and within your community can be a great way to reach a focused group of potential clients. However, with your limited time and resources, it is important to only commit to those trade shows that generate the most ROI.
To measure the ROI of a participation in a trade show, look at the number of new client or referral source leads generated as a direct result of the firm’s participation in a trade show. Also, count the visitors who leave their card or ask for additional information and the number of your own firm professionals who participate in the event. If you or someone from your firm is a speaker at a trade show, it is likely that you were able to reach more potential clients. Finally, look honestly at your level of proactive follow up after the event. Are you truly reaching out to and connecting with the trade show participants?
Community Involvement
Volunteering in your community is the right thing to do. It can also be an opportunity to build your skills and your network. Is your firm taking advantage of this great professional and marketing opportunity?
To measure how well your firm is doing in its community involvement efforts, look at the number of professionals in your firm serving on non-profit boards and delivering pro bono work (hours per year).
Does your firm create an environment and culture where volunteerism is encouraged and rewarded? If your firm encourages its professionals to volunteer for organizations they are committed to and passionate about, your firm can become a community leader with a reputation for excellent and ethical work. While not every volunteer or board position will directly lead to new clients, it is important to stay consistently involved. Positive results may take time but community involvement is always rewarding!
To learn more about the importance of community involvement in your marketing efforts, read my blog post “Giving Back: Why Lawyers Need to Spend More Time Volunteering.”
Social Networking
Considering how recently online networking has developed, it’s astounding how pervasive it has become in such a short time. And it’s only growing! As you consider ways to market yourself and your practice, keep in mind that social networking allows you to communicate your key messages and make connections with people that you would likely never find using traditional methods.
Although social networking can seem amorphous, social networking can and does lead to the development of new relationship and clients. Tomaximize your social networking activities, participate actively in groups on several social networking sites. Be willing to share expertise and NOT use social networking to directly sell. Finally, spend time on each site at least once a week to update your profile or status, to contribute to conversation, or to post an informative article.
To learn more about the social networking for lawyers, see my blog post “A Lawyer’s Guide to Social Networking.”
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Measuring Your Marketing ROI: Part II
By Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC
www.MarketYourLawPractice.com
TWheeler@marketyourlawpractice.com
Our last blog post focused on ways to measure marketing return on investment under the first pillar of marketing—Retaining and Growing Relationships With Existing Clients. This week’s blog focuses on measuring marketing ROI under the second pillar of marketing, Attracting New Clients and Developing New Business. Below are listed Pillar II marketing strategies and their corresponding ROI measurement techniques.
Networking
While it would be nice if all of your networking efforts resulted in a new client, networking doesn’t always work that way. However, if you are networking successfully, you should begin to notice other benefits, including having a loyal base of friends and contacts who will always return your calls and who begin sending you more referrals for A-level clients.
Successful networking means that you have two to three networking meetings each week, you always make time to meet with someone who was referred to you, and you look for ways to open doors for others on a regular basis. As you increase your networking activities, you will notice that you actually start to enjoy staying connected to great people. Remember, effective networking is more about looking for ways to help others (versus what’s in it for you)!
To learn more about successful networking, see my blog post on Effective Networking Strategies for Solo Practitioners Part I and Part II.
Targeted Business Development
How can you tell if your time spent on targeted business development has been successful? First, do you have a written list of your top ten prospective clients, with a plan for each prospective client on what your next steps are to land their business? A written plan is an important investment in your marketing success that will
lead to results as you put your plan in place.
Look at the number of proposals you have submitted to A-level clients each year, as well as the number of new clients you actually attract to help you determine if your targeted business development efforts have been successful. You can also measure your success by looking at the amount of revenue generated by the new clients you have attracted. Make sure you remain focused on business development by developing a strong sales pipeline with dates, action items, and next steps.
Proposal Development
Proposal development is an important place to spend some time focusing your marketing efforts because of the direct correlation it has with securing new clients. One way to measure your ROI is to look at the number of proposals you submit to A-level clients each year. Strong proposals that lead to a client selecting you and your firm over the competition during a competitive bidding/RFP process are a great way to measure your marketing ROI.
Another important measure of your ROI is the existence of a proposal archive at your firm, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time. A strong proposal will contain current examples of representative experience for everyone in the firm and should begin with a summary of the client’s situation and your approach to meeting the client’s needs (not with firm history and bios).
Market Research
Market research is an important tool that lawyers can use to understand more about their clients and prospects. Time spent conducting market research prior to meeting with a contact can lead to increased business, a new client, or a new referral source. Your contacts will be impressed by the time and effort you take in understanding their company or industry.
To ensure your market research yields positive results, make a point of taking the time to research a new client or prospect before your first meeting. Keep an electronic file or “dossier” on your top prospective clients and review and update the files periodically. Track the activities of key clients or prospective clients using Google Alerts or other web-based research tools.
Trade and Professional Association Involvement
Involvement in trade and professional associations is a great way to network, build name recognition, and generate new clients. The most important way to ensure a strong ROI in is to measure your actual involvement with the association. Look at the number of years you or your firm has been involved with the association. Trade association involvement requires a long-term investment to the association and its members. Make sure you regularly attend meetings—belonging to the association without participating will not build trust with other members.
You can also measure your ROI by looking at the strength of your network of contacts within the industry. Does a member of your firm serve in a high profile position within the organization? Do you or your firm have regular speaking engagements for the group or regularly contribute articles to the association’s publication? Do you have clients who have who hired the firm because of its perceived industry expertise?
While attending association events, speaking to association members, and writing for association publications can be time consuming, measuring your ROI can make you feel more secure in knowing that your time is well spent.
Learn more about maximizing trade association involvement by reading my blog post, Be Where your Clients Are: Tips for Maximizing Trade Association Involvement.
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Measuring Your Marketing ROI: Part I
Lawyers are results-oriented and often have questions about how to quantitatively measure marketing success. Determining return on investment of marketing initiatives can be challenging because not every marketing initiative will directly result in a new client. However, in addition to attracting new clients, marketing success can be measured in a number of ways. This blog post will address ways in which to measure marketing ROI under the first pillar of marketing—Retaining and Growing Relationships With Existing Clients. Below are listed a number of Pillar I marketing strategies and some corresponding ROI measurement techniques.
Client Satisfaction and Retention
How can you tell if your clients are truly satisfied, and how can you tell if your marketing related efforts to increase client satisfaction are working? One key measure of marketing success is to look at the duration of your client relationships. Long-term relationships with clients are a strong indication of client satisfaction.
In addition, clients who have increased the amount of work with your firm, either through working with other practice groups or increased workflow specific to you, are expressing their satisfaction with your client service. Clients also show that they enjoy working with you by referring you and your firm to others. Maintaining strong relationships with clients is the best return on investment you can get for your marketing efforts!
See my blog post on Low Cost, High Impact Strategies to Market Your Law Practice: Part II to learn more about keeping your clients satisfied.
Client Service
Measuring your return on investment in your client service efforts can be tricky because most clients only let you know if something is wrong—not if you’re doing everything right. Because
of this, one easy way to measure your client service is to measure the number of client complaints you receive. Very few client complaints likely means clients are satisfied with your service.
Clients also demonstrate their satisfaction with your services by paying their bills on time and by referring you to others. You can also gauge how well you are serving clients by honestly evaluating your responsiveness to client phone calls and emails. A great way to increase and ensure client satisfaction is to develop client service guidelines that are followed by everyone in your firm.
Read my post on Client Service Reminders: What Lawyers Can Learn from Toyota.
Cross Marketing
The best way to measure your ROI on your cross-marketing efforts is to track how many of your clients utilize more than one service of your firm. Clients who are satisfied with your work and are aware of you and/or your firm’s depth and breadth of expertise are likely to increase their work with your firm.
To ensure that you have a strong ROI on cross-marketing efforts, create a firm culture that supports cross-marketing. Consider implementing a compensation system that rewards growing existing relationships. Host firm events where clients can meet other attorneys at your firm, and work to actively introduce your clients to others at the firm.
Referral Source Development
Finally, it is important to measure your ROI on your referral source development efforts. Taking time to build relationships with referral sources can seem like a frustrating waste of time when you consider that your time could be spent developing new clients. However, developing your referral sources pays off and it’s important to remember that by tracking your marketing success in this area.
To measure your ROI, keep track of how your new clients found you. A strong base of people who regularly refer business to you is a great ROI for your efforts. Look at who your best referral sources are and determine what they have in common—are they from a particular industry or profession, do they have common personality traits? Knowing who your best referral sources are makes it easier to spot and develop relationships with other potential referral sources. Make it easy for your referral sources to refer business to you by providing them with concise marketing materials and messages that they can pass along to their contacts. Maintain strong relationships with your referral sources by scheduling coffees or lunches with them to stay in touch and by providing them with referrals where appropriate.
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Myths and Realities of Marketing Your Law Practice
By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler
Email: TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
Sometimes the biggest challenge in marketing your law practice is overcoming a preconceived notion of what marketing your law practice really means. Many lawyers have developed an aversion to marketing because they still believe in the following myths. Understanding the realities of marketing a legal practice can help you get out of your marketing rut, help you develop your practice, and yes—even learn to enjoy marketing!
Myth #1: Marketing is really selling and I didn’t go to law school to be a sales person
Reality: You don’t have to be a natural-born salesperson to market your practice! You do, however, have to overcome the idea that lawyers don’t have to do anything to attract clients. To be a successful lawyer with a booming book of business, you must integrate marketing and networking into your approach to serving clients. : While marketing is sometimes about selling, it is mostly about developing relationships with others and helping others succeed. Don’t think of it as “selling” your services. Instead, focus on building relationships with existing clients, meeting new people that you would like to work with, and understanding and sharing with others how you can add value to their life or business.
Myth #2: Effective marketing takes too much time – - and I am just too busy
Reality: Effective marketing does take time. However, think about the fact that you will continue to have clients only if you continue to market. If you don’t make time for m
arketing, you may come to realize you have too much time on your hands because you no longer have enough clients! Marketing doesn’t have to be time consuming. If you schedule time into your calendar every week to market you won’t have to spend large blocks of time later, scrambling to catch up on your marketing activities. Here are 5 simple marketing activities you can do in ten minutes or less:
- Call one of your top contacts and schedule a coffee or lunch.
- Develop an elevator speech.
- Update your professional biography
- Create or edit your LinkedIn profile
- Send a copy of an article to a contact that you think might interest or affect them
Also, see my blog post on creating your marketing plan in just 10 minutes per day!
Myth #3: Clients will find me because of my exceptional reputation – why market?
Reality: The legal industry is more competitive today than ever before. There are literally thousands of lawyers out there practicing in the same area of law as you. Gone are the days when law firms had “legacy” clients and partners could pass down these client relationships along with the firm name. In today’s competitive marketplace, you cannot just sit in your office and expect clients to come to you, no matter how excellent or well-deserved your reputation may be. You must go out and market!
Myth #4: Contacts will see right through me asking them to lunch or coffee as a ploy to get business from them
Reality: Contacts will see through you if you are only trying to sell them. But effective networking is all about helping the other person. When networking, ask yourself: “How can I help this person in their life and business? Whom do I know in my network that I can introduce to this person? Is there anything I can do to help this person achieve a personal or professional goal?” Follow-through on commitments you make. If you tell a prospective client that you will introduce them to a great accountant you know—do it. If you say you’d like to volunteer in an organization they are involved in—do it. The point is, if you network and build genuine relationships with people you actually enjoy, trust, and respect, they will feel the same way about you.
Myth #5: I am an introvert and do not feel comfortable networking
Reality: If you feel uncomfortable in large group settings, have no fear—effective networking can be done one-on-one! In fact, since effective networking is all about building relationships, one-on-one networking is particularly effective. Set up one-on-one meetings, lunches, or coffees. If you are going to an event where you know there will be a lot of people and you are feeling overwhelmed, set a goal for yourself of talking to one or two people. Prepare some questions ahead of time to help you feel more comfortable. You may want to ask questions like, “How long have you been a member of this association? What do you do? How did you decide to go into your profession? Tell me about your company—who are your clients/patients/members/customers?”
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Gender and Business Development: 6 Predictors of High Originations for Women Lawyers – Part II
By
Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC, Founder
Vanessa K. Townsend, Esq.
Part I of this post covered predictors including years of legal experience as well as time spent actually pursuing business development activities. This post picks up where the previous post left off, covering the four final predictors for high originations for women lawyers.
3) Using a targeted approach to business development
Women who have a business development plan in place and follow it are more likely to have high originations. The busier you are as an attorney, the more important it is to take time to create a marketing plan. By focusing your energy on activities proven to generate origination dollars, you can make the most of your limited time.
Create a detailed business development plan for 2010 in as little as 10 minutes per day: http://esqcoach.com/2009/11/29/create-your-2010-marketing-plan-in-one-month-ten-minutes-per-day
4) Participation in pitch groups
While participation in pitch groups was a predictor of high origination, many women in the study reported that opportunities to participate in pitch groups were not as available to them as to their male counterparts. Participation in pitch groups is especially important because it is a great learning environment, where senior partners can mentor younger partners and associates and demonstrate marketing and selling skills. Moreover, pitch groups often provide an opportunity to meet lawyers from other practice groups and can foster cross-department relationships and cross-selling opportunities.
To become involved in your firm’s pitch groups, ask! Discuss your desire to learn more about business development with the partners you work with and with your firm’s marketing professional. Offer to do background research on the potential client’s industry or the pricing of competitor’s services.
5) Cross-selling other firm services
Another predictor of high-origination for women lawyers is an ability to cross-sell other firm services. It is likely that 80% of your firm’s revenue this year will come from existing clients. Don’t overlook current firm clients– it is far more efficient to deliver more services to current clients than it is to go out into the marketplace to attract new clients with whom you have not yet worked.
Cross-selling is a process that not only seeks to attract new business from existing clients but also to provide referrals of current clients to others in your firm that may deliver complementary services. Many times clients will work with other lawyers or law firms in areas you or your firm have expertise in, simply because they did not realize you offered the service.
Here are some ideas on how to cross-sell your legal services:
- Identify and communicate your services. A simple mailing or email newsletter listing the services you and your firm provide can help educate clients as to the breadth of your services.
- Meet with Colleagues. Sit down with your colleagues and brainstorm lists of clients that could be better and more fully served by the firm. Learn more about their practice and tell them about your practice and your ideal clients.
- Identify colleagues’ clients. Identify those clients where you could add value with legal knowledge – - and approach your colleague asking for an introduction to the client.
6) Asking clients for introductions to others who may need legal services
The study also found that women lawyers with high originations know how to ask for referrals. Learn to tap into the willingness of your clients to refer you to others to ensure you maximize your income and earning potential.
Many professionals do not actively ask their clients and contacts to refer them to others. They “assume” everyone knows they are looking for more business – which is just not the case. Learning to ask for referrals will allow you to tap into more work from people who already know you, like you, trust you, and respect you – a logical place to focus a large percentage of your marketing efforts.
Calling all Lawyers!
Participate in Dr. Keshet’s current research study on how attorney specialty and diversity effects business generation. The measures of diversity include gender, race, ethnicity (Asian American, Hispanic American and others) and sexual orientation.
We are seeking your assistance in informing attorneys at your firm. Our online questionnaire takes less than 15 minutes to complete. You and the participants from your firm will receive an executive summary of the study results. The study is completely confidential. To take our questionnaire click here: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AEMFKQWU5
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Gender and Business Development: 6 Predictors of High Originations for Women Lawyers – Part I
By
Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC, Founder
Vanessa K. Townsend, Esq.
More women have been graduating from law schools and becoming associates at law firms, with almost half of law degrees now going to women. Yet there is still a significant gender gap at the partner level of most law firms due to women dropping out of the partner track or leaving the field of law entirely. At the same time, law firms have been changing the way they approach business development—shifting away from relying on a few rainmakers to expecting all senior associates and partners to contribute to new business development. Because business generation is now a significant factor in determining which associates will advance and become partners, business development is a key skill for women lawyers who want to succeed.
Harry Keshet, Ph.D. is a social researcher and marketing consultant who has worked with law firms for over 30 years. In 2007, Dr. Keshet designed and conducted the Women Attorneys Business Development Study with the goal of discovering the activities, attitudes, and organizational factors leading to high origination among women attorneys. The study used a large, national sample of 423 women attorneys, 85% of whom were working full time and more than 50% of whom were equity or non-equity partners. Average origination dollars for the year 2005 for the women was $338,653 with the highest origination at $4 million.
The study found that there were 6 predictors of high originations for women lawyers. This blog post addresses the first two predictors: years of legal experience, and time spent doing business development each month:
1) Years of legal practice
The single best predictor of business development success for women lawyers was the number of years they had been in practice. As women develop their career, they build both legal and marketing expertise that helps them succeed. As their legal skill grows, so does their confidence and reputation and they increase participation in community organizations, pitch groups, and referral networks that help them grow their practice.
However, with more women leaving the practice of law, fewer women are gaining the years of experience that lead to business development success. Further, business development and origination are now being expected earlier in lawyers’ careers as firms shift away from the rainmaker business model. So what can young women lawyers do to hone their business development skills earlier in their careers?
- Develop Your Practice: first and foremost, a young woman attorney, like any new associate, must focus on developing her legal expertise. At the same time, however, she can and should practice providing outstanding service to clients and to the partners with whom she works
- Focus on Partners: work on building relationships with partners, as your current “clients.” Turn work in on time, be details oriented, and ask for feedback on your work. Take a partner to lunch and ask about how she built her practice and ask for advice on how to build your own
- Stay in Touch: Don’t lose track of your law school and college friends. Make a point of staying in touch with people you connected with (liked, trusted and respected). They will be the legal services decision makers of tomorrow. Meet them for lunch a couple of times per year. Make it a priority to stay in touch. Practice developing client relationships by developing the contacts and network you currently have
- Practice by Selling the Firm: While you can’t market yourself individually until you have solid experience to market, you can practice your marketing skills by marketing the firm. Ask to join pitch meetings or become active in a trade association with clients that interest you and your firm
2) Time spent doing business development each month
The study found that the more time spent doing business development each month, the more new business generated. In particular, spending over 15 hours per month on business
generation was a high predictor of business origination.
This may seem like a lot of hours, particularly to someone who feels they are too busy practicing law to work on new business development. Yet, relationships take time to nurture and grow. If you don’t continually work on building your relationships, you may find you have very few clients and a lot of time on your hands! Be proactive in managing your relations by setting aside time each week for business development:
- Identify your top contacts: make a list of 20-30 current clients, prospective clients, and referral sources with whom you would like continue to grow your relationship. Keep a list with their names on your desk to keep them top of mind
- Meet with your top contacts: make it a goal to meet with one contact per week. Go to lunch, coffee, or a happy hour just to catch up
- Have a contact-focused agenda: don’t go with the goal of selling your services. Rather, your agenda should be focused on your contact. What can you do to help them personally or professionally? Who in your network can you introduce them to?
- Do What You Say You Will: introduce them to that contact, send them that article, etc. Keep a marketing file where you make notes of when you meet with people and list of follow-up items. Put a note on your calendar to schedule another catch-up meeting a few months down the road
Watch for Part II of this blog post that discusses how best to use a targeted approach to business development, participation in “pitch groups,” cross-selling other firm services, and asking clients for referrals.
Calling all Lawyers!
Participate in Dr. Keshet’s current research study on how attorney specialty and diversity effects business generation. The measures of diversity include gender, race, ethnicity (Asian American, Hispanic American and others) and sexual orientation.
We are seeking your assistance in informing attorneys at your firm. Our online questionnaire takes less than 15 minutes to complete. You and the participants from your firm will receive an executive summary of the study results. The study is completely confidential. To take our questionnaire click here: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AEMFKQWU5
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Client Service Reminders: What Lawyers Can Learn From Toyota
By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler
Web: www.MarketYourLawPractice.com
Email: Twheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
Toyota was the most admired car manufacturing company in the world. However, the recent recalls, manufacturing defects, and Congressional hearings have undeniably tarnished its reputation, cost it valuable customers, and reduced its market share. While Toyota is a manufacturing company, there are valuable lessons lawyers can learn about managing client expectations, communicating with clients (good news and bad), and providing the highest possible level of client service.
Accept Responsibility
Toyota’s Approach – Toyota first blamed the brake problem on floor mats that jammed the accelerator and issued only two small recalls in 2005 and 2007. They simply refused to believe that there was a mechanical error. By the time they finally issued a major recall of 2.3 million cars in late January 2010, their reputation was suffering and the government became involved. Worse, Toyota’s President remained silent for days after news of the recall broke.
Lessons for Lawyers – It is important to own up to mistakes quickly and to remedy the situation as soon as possible. As a lawyer, if you notice there have been billing errors or a mistake made in litigation, or a deadline missed, it is critical to address the issue head on with the client. Accept responsibility. Discuss what went wrong, how you will remedy the situation, and how you will prevent future errors. Proactively addressing problems with your clients builds trust and can help you preserve a client relationship that may otherwise have been lost.
Focus on the Client
Toyota’s Approach – Experts say that one of Toyota’s problems was corporate arrogance. They had become so accustomed to success that they were unable to adequately address problems and had lost their focus on their customers. They have been accused of “resting on their laurels” and failing to keep pace with customer expectations.
Lessons for Lawyers – For lawyers and law firms, this can be a serious problem. Experienced lawyers and successful f
irms often take their clients for granted and can become out of touch with client concerns. Toyota was so successful for so many years because it did not just meet customer expectations—it exceeded them. To exceed client expectations as a lawyer, you must focus on what clients want consistently over time.
Develop a superior knowledge base in an area of law, be solutions oriented, follow-through on commitments, manage client expectations, and be proactive in anticipating and meeting client needs.
A client-focused law firm relies on the opinions and impressions of its clients to deliver service and drive future business decisions. Consider developing and conducting annual client surveys, focus groups, or interviews to stay focused on your clients and their needs. Soliciting client feedback will allow you to:
- Expand and Strengthen Client Relationships – Asking for feedback and suggestions lets your clients know you care about what they want and are committed to making changes in order to retain their business
- Identify Service Offering Gaps – Ensure you are delivering all of the services your firm is capable of delivering and that you choose to selectively expand to deliver more services your clients need
- Cross Market your Services – Understand client awareness of the services you offer and reveal cross-marketing opportunities
- Uncover Client Needs – that might now be delivered by your competitors
- Grade your Marketing Efforts – by identifying what marketing efforts resonate and have a positive impact on your clients’ and those that don’t
- Determine How Often and on what Topics your Clients are Interested In – Discover the most effective and appreciated forms of communication with your clients as well as the topics of greatest interest to them.
Manage your Growth
Toyota’s Approach – Toyota developed its reputation for quality due, in large part, to its widely admired Toyota Production System—a manufacturing system that focused on continuous improvement, shared learning across plants, and employee empowerment. Experts blame the recalls on Toyota’s rapid growth over the past 10 years, from 58 production facilities in 2000 to 75 in 2009. This rapid expansion meant that Toyota was not able to effectively share corporate culture, technology, and know-how between all of its plants.
Lessons for Lawyers – While growth in a law firm is generally not rapid or widespread, law firms opening new offices, expanding practice areas, or adding new associates can learn a lesson from Toyota. Don’t sacrifice client service or your firm’s reputation simply to expand your market share. It is important to ensure that the level of growth is matched by a commitment to quality service. New lawyers and lateral hires need mentoring both to learn substantive law and also to learn the firm culture and understand client needs. New offices should be opened only where and when they can be used most efficiently and effectively to serve client needs.
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What Lawyers Need to Know About Search Engine Optimization
By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler
Email: TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
What is Search Engine Optimization and Why is it Important?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a website through organic searches on a search engine. Increasingly, potential clients are turning to the web to find legal services. To be competitive, your website must be found by potential clients when they search the internet using search engines like Google or Yahoo, or when they are surfing the blogosphere or social networking sites like LinkedIn. Learn more about SEO so that you can ensure that you are being “found” on the internet!
The Difference Between Paid and Organic Search Results
There are two types of results on search engines—paid results and organic, or natural, search results. Paid results are typically listed at the top of the search results or in a side bar and must pay a fee to the search engine for the listing when certain key words are used in the search. The most common type of paid result is the Pay Per Click, where the website pays the search engine every time someone clicks on the paid link.
In contrast, organic search results are generated by search engine crawlers that go through websites, scan their content, and then list the websites most relevant to the search term used. If your website is one of the first sites that comes up, it is more likely to be clicked on. Not only are these organic search results free to you and your website, but organic search results are clicked on much more frequently than paid search results.
How are Rankings Decided?
In order to make the most of organic searches and get more web traffic directed to your website, it is important that your site is ranked highly so that you are one of the first websites listed in the organic search. Search engines like Google rank your website based on relevance to the search term, which is determined by factors like the content on your site and the number of links to your website from other websites.
How To Search Engine Optimize Your Website
- Determine Your Key Words: Decide what search terms you want to be found under. For example, you may want to be highly ranked when someone searches for “Minneapolis patent attorney” in a Google search. Be sure to use words that your clients would know and use when creating a search, not legal jargon.
- Gauge the Competition: Do a search for your selected keyword and look at the top ten to twenty results. Do you think you can overtake them based on your site’s relevance and authority related to the search term? If not, you may want to experiment with another key word or search term.
- Work with your Web Developer: Once you’ve selected some key words you want to be found under using a search engine, work with your web developer or technical support to ensure the terms are used in the page content, the metatags, page titles, and page descriptions. If you are in the process of creating a website, be sure to work with the copywriter or content creator to ensure that key words and terms are drafted into the site content from the beginning.
- Build Inbound Links: The more websites that link to your website, the higher your ranking will be because search engines see such links as a recommendation or referral to your site. You can use hyperlinks within your own site to other pages on your website. You can also submit your website to online directories like Yahoo! Directory or business.com. Finally, consider creating a blog and participating in social networking activities in order to build traffic to your site.
For more information, see my blog postings on:
- A LAWYER’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL NETWORKING
- BLOGGING 101
- ONLINE MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR LAWYERS
- BLOGGING FOR LAWYERS
- SOCIAL NETWORKING: TIPS FOR LAWYERS WHO WANT TO TRY IT
Measure Your Results
Website analytics programs, like the free Google Analytics
(www.googleanalytics.com) program, allow you to measure and analyze various aspects of your website traffic. You can track site statistics, like the number of site visitors and unique site visitors, how long visitors view each page, and, most importantly, what key words are driving visitors to your site and what search engines they are using.
Looking at what key words current site visitors are using to find you can help you determine which key words to use when you optimize. Moreover, getting a snapshot of your site’s traffic both before and after search engine optimization will show you how well your SEO worked or whether you need to make some modifications.
Other Resources:
Information on SEO from Google
Learn more about Google Analytics
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If you wait until you have Time to Market, It’s too late: Networking tips to nurture and grow relationships
By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler
Email: Twheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
For over 20 years, I have helped lawyers market their law practices. Through the years, I have heard an ongoing stream of reasons—no—call them what they are—excuses—on why they cannot “do marketing” right now. Do not get me wrong. I know you are busy and that you went to law school to practice law, not to be a sales person. However, I also know that building a sustainable base of clients and referral sources takes time. If a lawyer does not work diligently to build these relationships, he or she will awaken one day to realize they have very few clients and a lot of time on their hands. They have let their relationships go. Why did this happen? Many times, it is because they have been too busy practicing law— and not focusing on new business development.
Relationships take time to nurture and grow. Consequently, relationships require constant attention (yes, a bit like a rare plant you have to water to prevent it from drying up and dying). So as you move into 2010 with hope and high expectations for your practice, consider the following tips to ensure you continue to focus on serving your clients, but also on making sure you will always have clients to serve!
Identify Your Top Contacts – Focus your marketing efforts by focusing on your contacts. Identify your top current clients, your top prospective clients, and your top referral sources. While you are at it, identify those in your network you respect greatly for their business acumen and identify your top business advisors as well. This list of 20 or 30 people will become your focus. Keep this list on the top of your desk therefore top of mind.
Set an Agenda (Mentally, that is) – You are not going to distribute an agenda on the glossy bar top, or on the table of your local coffee shop. Rather, before you meet with your contact, think about the following and mentally prepare for the meeting. The focus of your preparation might surprise you (no it is not about developing your key “hire me” messages):
• How can I help this person in their life and business?
• Whom do I know in my network I can introduce to this person?
• On what boards and in what community work is this person involved?
• How can I personally support their volunteer activities?
• What do I remember from my last “social” meeting with this person – - an upcoming vacation, interesting hobby, children’s activities, spouse’s accomplishments, colleges attended by kids
• Is there anything I can do to help this person achieve a goal they have—personally or professionally?
Meet with your Top Contacts – Set a goal of scheduling at least one meeting each week with a top contact. Meet for coffee before work or for a beer at happy hour. Schedule the meeting just to see how they are doing—make it crystal clear you are not billing them for the time (if it is a current client). Let your contact know you simply have been thinking about them and want to catch up.
Do what you Promise – That evening or the next day, record the highlights from your meeting into the notes section of the person’s Outlook contact page. Then, do what you promised to do. Make the introduction; send the email; buy tickets to the show their daughter is starring in; introduce them to another one of your contacts. Proactively make good on each activity you committed to doing for them. This is where well-intentioned professionals fall down on the job. We all know how frustrating it is when someone offers to do something nice for you, and not follow through. Do not be that person.
Schedule another Meeting – Even if the action item is”let’s do this again in the fall,” put a note on your calendar for early September to contact the person you just met with. Staying in touch with people in your network is not just a good thing to do, it is critical for you to nurture and grow your relationship with that person.
Reengage in at least one Association – One of the first cuts in the “I’m too busy to market” saga is usually a trade association in which you are a member. I am not talking about your local or state bar. Continue attending bar association programs for your CLE credits and for your professional development as a lawyer. I am talking about the trade or industry association, which attracts your current or prospective clients. There is no better way to build genuine relationships than to participate actively in the associations attracting your ideal client types. So pick one in which to reengage. Then do the following:
• Calendar each monthly meeting and commit to attend
• Arrive early to each event and introduce yourself to the association’s executive director and other association staff
• Scan the registration table for nametags of contacts you may already know
• Introduce yourself to new contacts and focus on finding out more about them – - not on telling them all about you
• Follow up with the executive director and offer to contribute an article of interest to members for their publication, or to speak on a substantive topic of interest at an upcoming monthly meeting
• Follow up with the best contacts you make and add them to your contact list above; schedule a time to meet with them informally (coffee, beer, etc.) “to learn more about them and their business” and follow the steps above during your meeting
Remember if you tell yourself, “I don’t have time to market,” at some point you will realize you have more time than you had ever imagined to market because you will have no clients. I know this seems harsh, trite, or even like a scare tactic. Nevertheless, it is true. The best time for you to market IS when you are busy practicing law. Remember to identify your very best contacts, reflect on how you can help them, meet with them personally, do what you promise, schedule another meeting in a few months, and reengage in at least one trade association you have let go dormant. Nurture and grow your relationships, as you would grow a delicate orchid. You will continue to build genuine relationships with people you like, trust and respect, and because your focus has been on helping them, they will feel the same way about you.
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Create Your 2010 Marketing Plan in 21 Days Ten Minutes per Day!
In almost the same amount of time it takes you to get your daily cup of coffee, you can create an entire marketing plan for your law practice. Intrigued? Here’s how! Spend just 10 minutes each day going through the marketing planning process below. In less than a month, you will have created a cost-effective, dynamic marketing plan.
Start with a Word document and make the entries in order (feel free to copy and paste from this blog post) so you have all of your responses in one place. Almost effortlessly you will have created a proactive, results-oriented marketing plan for 2010.
Your 10 Minute a Day Marketing Plan for 2010
WEEK 1 – IDENTIFY YOUR BEST CONTACTS
Day 1 – Current Clients: Create a list of your top five current clients; those you could do more work with in 2010
Day 2 – Prospective Clients: Create a list of the top five clients you would like to attract in 2010; clients you are not yet working with but would like to next year
Day 3 –Referral Sources: Create a list of your top five referral sources – - those you would like to continue building a relationship with in 2010
Day 4 – Other Contacts: Think about others in your community you would like to spend more time with in 2010
WEEK 2 – ESTABLISH YOUR MARKETING OBJECTIVES
Day 5 – Target Audiences: Identify your A-level target audiences – those prospective clients who best utilize the highest level of your expertise as a lawyer
Day 6– Key Messages: Create three to five statements on why you are THE best lawyer to work with your target audiences – - really focus on what makes you unique as a lawyer
Day 7– Create Your “Real” Business Development Goal: A. Identify what amount of revenue you want to generate in 2010. B. Create a list of your current clients and what you project you will generate with each in 2010; then subtract B from A to arrive at your new business development number for 2010!
Day 8– Marketing Objectives: identify your specific objectives for 2010 in the categories of:
I. Retaining and Growing Relationships with Current Clients and Contacts (cover topics including client service, client satisfaction, cross marketing, and referral source development)
II. Attracting New Business (include objectives surrounding networking, targeted new business development, proposal development, market research, and professional association activities)
Day 9– Marketing Objectives: Identify your specific objectives for 2010 in the categories of:
III. Increasing Your Name Recognition in the Marketplace (include objectives in the areas of advertising, branding, public relations, trade shows, community involvement, social networking)
IV. Pursuing Targeted and Effective Communications (cover topics including client communications, your marketing database, your website, and event planning)
WEEK 3 – DEVELOP YOUR MARKETING ACTION PLAN 
Day 10– Retain and Grow Relationships Action Plan – Identify five activities you will pursue in 2010 which support the objectives you created on Day 8 in this area
Day 11– New Business Development Action Plan – Identify five activities you will pursue in 2010 which support the objectives you created on Day 8 in this area
Day 12– Increase Name Recognition Action Plan – Identify five activities you will pursue in 2010 which support the objectives you created on Day 9 in this area
Day 13– Targeted Communications Action Plan – Identify five activities you will pursue in 2010 which support the objectives you created on Day 9 in this area
Day 14 – Review and Refine your Action Plan – It takes time to put your action plan in place. Use today to review what you have created this week!
WEEK 4 – CREATE YOUR CONTACT ACTION PLAN
Day 15– Current Client Action Plan – Review the contacts you identified on Day 1, and plan one follow up activity per contact; set a date for when you will follow up with each person and what your message will be
Day 16 – Prospective Client Action Plan – Review the contacts you identified on Day 2, and plan one follow up activity per contact; set a date for when you will follow up with each person and what your message will be
Day 17 – Referral Source Action Plan – Review the contacts you identified on Day 3, and plan one follow up activity per contact; set a date for when you will follow up with each person and what your message will be
Day 18– Other Contacts Action Plan – Review the contacts you identified on Day 4, and plan one follow up activity per contact; set a date for when you will follow up with each person and what your message will be
WEEK 5 – CREATE YOUR MARKETING TOOLS
Day 19 – Revise your Biography – Take a look at your professional biography and make sure it reflects the activities and accomplishments you have made to date – - update as needed
Day 20– Create Your Representative Experience – Show your clients how you can help them. Clients want to see you have done what they need. Create multiple pieces of representative experience organized by:
Type of Client:
Client Issue:
Your Approach/Solution:
Results:
Day 21– Develop your Elevator Speech – Create a summary of what you do for your clients based upon the “best and highest use” of your talent and expertise. Focus on the value and results you deliver to clients, not on the fact that you are a “tax attorney,” or “an estate planning lawyer.” Practice this for your next social event in response to “So, what do you do?”
By
Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC, Founder
www.MarketYourLawPractice.com
twheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
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Online Marketing Strategies for Lawyers: Make the Most of Your Website
By Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC Founder
TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
For lawyers, a website is no longer a “nice to have” tool – it is a competitive necessity. As a result, nearly every lawyer and law firm in the country has website. Because of this, it will become increasingly important to ensure your online presence in more than simply an electronic brochure. Following are hands-on, practical suggestions that every small firm and solo practitioner should consider.
Tips from Our Experts
The objective of your website is to validate your firm, build its image, create credibility, convey important firm and industry information, and help prospective clients, contacts and referral sources contact you. Following are some tips to ensure you make the most of your firm’s website investment:
Be strategic – Develop your website based on and in support of your firm’s strategic marketing plan. Your website strategy and marketing strategy must be in synch and based on:
- A clear definition of who your target market is and what makes your firm unique
- Positioning against firms with whom you compete
- Your firm’s brand, image and visual identity
Think creatively – Use the “Parade of Homes” concept and visit law firm/attorney websites. Pick the most creative functions you like and build your “dream home” website. Select features that allow you to stand above the competition versus blending with it.
Find a strong technical partner – Make sure your website developer has the turnkey skills necessary to:
- Create a strategic site map and user-focused navigational strategy
- Design the visual/graphic elements of the site
- Develop the content with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind – - writing for the Web is very different
- Technically develop the site
- Register your site and domain name with relevant search engines
- Integrate web-driven database functions
- Maintain your website to ensure that over the long run your site remains current
- Provide statistical updates on website usage using software like WebTrends, or Google Analytics
Do your homework – Create an overall plan and outline for your website so that it is logical and consistent; focused on the experience you want visitors to have when they visit your site. This will help your website designer create the site map.
Be realistic – Allow enough time and money for the project.
Plan for the future – With the proliferation of websites, it is becoming increasingly difficult to pick a domain name that is not already in use. When you do find the domain name that works for you, consider registering not just the .com but also the .net, or other extensions.
Be consistent – Make sure you have a unified strategy for visual design (logo, font and tagline) that is consistent across all of your printed marketing communications materials.
Be creative – Try to let go of the old, boring, static approach. Make the website reflect your success and solid experience combined with a dynamic modern approach. Don’t create a website that is simply an online brochure. Rather, focus on creating a dynamic, ever-changing site that is constantly updated with new content of interest to your visitors.
Stress what makes you unique –Make sure that your website promotes the services and features about your firm that are truly unique and client-service oriented. Use representative experience to show clients you have done what they need versus just identifying a long list of client services: show them don’t tell them!
Focus on your audience – Build every feature and function of your website with your clients, contacts, and referral sources in mind.
Brag! – Your home page should promote your successes, big deals your firm has done, and awards received. Set a goal of updating your “what’s new” content weekly.
Create a Web-based media room – An online media section will support your firm’s public relations efforts. An online press room can include news releases, published articles, fact sheets, backgrounders, biographies, contact information, and more. Make it easy for reporters to cover your firm in the news by providing media kit information on your website.
Market Your Website – Make sure you add your website address to your email signature block, to your invoices, letterhead, note cards, and any other printed or electronic materials used to communicate with your clients and contacts.
Promote your Website – Create a proactive plan to communicate the existence of your website to relevant audiences. Generating traffic to your website is a continuous job. In a service business, it is likely you will need to “drive” traffic to your site rather than wait for someone to find you online.
Track your Website’s effectiveness – Subscribe to WebTrends or Google Analytics, software that allows your website host to provide valuable visitor information including:
- Number of visitor sessions
- Number of unique visitors; number of repeat visitors
- Search phrases used to access your site
- Length of time visitors stayed on your site
- The path visitors use on your site – the pages they accessed
- Most popular day of the week for website traffic
- Top referring search engines
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Blogging 101: What Lawyers Need to Know
By Terrie S. Wheeler
Twheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
Blogging 101: What Lawyers Need to Know
A blog is a website, maintained by a person with substantive knowledge willing to share their viewpoints, opinions, and ideas with the world. It’s easy to establish a free account with www.Wordpress.com, or www.Typepad.com . You can search all blogs by topic (and subscribe to those you are interested in) at www.technorati.com. One of the best ways to “get into” blogging is to find blogs in areas you have expertise, and provide substantive comments on select posts. Here are links to a few blogs serving legal and financial professionals:
- Blog for Small Law Firms and Solo Practitioners: www.ESQCoach.wordpress.com
- Financial Advisor Blog: http://segal.advisorblogcentral.com
- An Inside Take from the Outside (written by a lawyer in the UK): http://geotrupes.blogspot.com
Blogging is a very powerful tool for professionals with refined knowledge, who are willing to share substance, who are good writers, and who will make the commitment to keep adding posts to keep the blog current.
Another great way to find blogs of interest to you is through Google Reader, a service which searches blogs and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to deliver desktop access to the content you are interested in (including links to blogs).
So if you have significant expertise, are willing to share the substance of your knowledge, are a good write, and will keep your blog current (at least one entry per week), here are some tips for you to consider:
Blogger’s Block: Don’t Over-Think your Blog Post – It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing each and every blog post must be an amazing work of art – - a literary treasure that will rock the world of its readers. It’s easy to fall into the trap of painstakingly over-analyzing the content of your next post. In other words, learn to overcome any perfectionist tendencies you might have, and simply trust your intuition on what readers would be interested in – - and DO IT.
Don’t Take your Role as a Blogger Too Seriously – - but Seriously Enough – There are millions of blogs out there in the blogosphere. Is anyone really keeping track of yours? Actually, they are! A well written blog must not only convey substance, it must convey the personality of its writer. Don’t let your quest for brilliant, thought-provoking content prevent you from sharing your thoughts right now – today – in the format that flows when you meld fingers with keyboard.
Promote your Blog – Join an affinity group on a social networking site like LinkedIn or Facebook. Start a discussion “thread” and ask for comments on your blog. You’ll be amazed at the responses you receive by reaching out to other bloggers and readers of blogs. There is also a very cost-effective service called PRWeb where for a reasonable amount of money, you can send targeted news releases about YOUR blog to web-based news outlets and search engines to drive visitors to your blog.
Cross-Market Your Blog– Drive traffic to your blog by doing any (or all) of the following:
Signature Block – Include a link to your blog in your Outlook signature block
Add an RSS feed to your blog on your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles – These links show you how to establish RSS feeds on both sites. In doing so, each time you post to your blog, the posting automatically appears on both of your profiles.
Make sure your website home page provides an easy-to-find link to your blog – Consider adding a “What’s New” section to your homepage which is automatically updated using an RSS feed. Here is one example on the Professional Services Marketing website. Adding an RSS feed to your homepage has the dual benefit of driving traffic to your blog – - but also of ensuring the content on your homepage is fresh, which ultimately increases your search engine rankings
Promote your Blog on other Sites – Promote your newest blog posts on Twitter. Learn more about how to use ONLY 140 characters by shortening long web addresses using Tiny URL.
On every blog post, reference your other social networking activities.
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A Lawyer’s Guide to Social Networking
By Terrie S. Wheeler
Twheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
With all of the new social networking sites popping up, sites like MySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook have been joined by hundreds of others. If you print this link you will have over ten pages of social networking sites listed on Wikipedia.org alone including the name, description, number of users, registration requirements, and global ranking. Wikipedia defines Social Networking as:
A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services. Social networking has encouraged new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people.
Social networking has changed the way we build relationships by opening a previously one-on-one interpersonal process – - into the electronic world of global cyberspace. Professionals are jumping onto the bandwagon too, and because of this, we would like to provide a few practical tips on your journey to not just understanding, but utilizing and benefiting from this amazing – - and free – - technology.
A Few To-Do’s as You Get Started
Build a Solid Profile – each site allows users to build a personal profile. Spend time ensuring your profile accurately represents who you are as a professional, includes your photo, and is well written and free of typographical errors.
Invite your Contacts to Join You – extend invitations to your best contacts asking them to join you. Your social networking efforts should be built around your current business relationships
Update your Status Daily – Most social networking sites ask questions like “What are you working on?” or “What are you thinking?” Make sure you focus on your professional reputation when you update these little snippets.
Stick to Business – If you join a personal site like FaceBook or MySpace, make sure you keep your updates focused on the activities you are pursuing as a professional, not on what you drank and with whom last Saturday night
Manage your Privacy Settings – every social networking site allows you complete access over who can see your profile. You can even control what parts of your profile certain people can see.
Choose your Friends Wisely – Social networking sites all have a process where you invite someone to connect with you online. Then, the recipient of the request needs to affirmatively acknowledge their desire to add you (or vice versa) to their contacts. Don’t randomly connect with people, be strategic and only connect with those you know or met professionally.
Look into Aggregator Services – there are web-based services like www.delicious.com that will take your status updates and automatically disseminate your update to all sites you are a member of. Make your social networking time as efficient as possible!
Join a Group and Interact – sites like LinkedIn allow you to join affinity groups. Research groups that attract others like you including, Legal Marketing (5,000 members), Legal Blogging, (2,700 members).
Add an RSS Feed of your Blog to your Social Networking Page – if you also decide to join the “blogosphere,” make sure you add a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed to your blog on your Facebook or LinkedIn profiles.
Additional Resources on Social Networking:
Link: Social Networking Sites on Wikipedia
Book: The New Rules of Marketing and PR, November 2008, David Meerman Scott
Book: World Wide Rave, March 2009, David Meerman Scott
Book: Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, October 2008, Dave Evans and Susan Bratton
10 Ways to Use LinkedIn, Guy Kawasaki
www.Delicious.com – Social bookmarking site
www.Digg.com – Social bookmarking site
www.Ping.fm.com – Social media communicator to multiple sites
www.Wordpress.com – blog spot
www.Typepad.com – blog spot
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Effective Networking Strategies for Solo Practitioners – Part II
By Terrie S. Wheeler
This post continues identifying more of the traits and characteristics demonstrated by lawyers who are exceptional at networking:
Create your A-Level contact list – Think of those you know and trust and whose opinions you value: role models, mentors, those who comprise your support system, and those with whom you share common interests. Consider current and former clients, referral sources, acquaintances from your place of worship, neighbors, former co-workers, college and high school classmates, and service providers with whom you have a long-term relationship (doctors, dentists, accountants, insurance agents, stylists, or service/repair people). Cultivate, nurture and manage your relationships. Stay in touch. Be sure your contacts know the basics of your “Elevator Speech”
Always make time to meet with a prospective referral source – Good referrals come from solid relationships. Relationships start with meetings. It’s likely that well over 90% of your future business will come from referrals. Do your very best to find time to meet with quality people.
Follow up and follow through – Maintain contact with those you meet and keep contacts apprised of your actions on their behalf. Do what you promise – always. When a contact has referred you, let them know how things have progressed. When you meet someone at an event and offer to send them…or put them in touch with… Do it! Exceed their expectations of the relationship from the start.
Make it easy for your contacts to refer you – Create a summary of your specific areas of expertise and a brief biography. Include examples of your representative experience. Email this to your referral sources as a PDF document so they can easily forward it to prospective clients.
Focus on quality, not quantity – When evaluating a possible referral source; ask yourself, “Would I refer this person to one of my clients?” If not, find someone else with whom to build a relationship.
Show them you’re thinking of them – Send copies of articles you think would be of interest to your referral sources – as well as keeping an eye out for their firm in the news – and acknowledging coverage.
Track your success – Keep track of those to whom you send referrals as well as those who send prospective clients to you.
Say “Thank You” – Thank those who refer business to you – a personal hand-written note is most effective; a personal telephone call next best; then an email if it’s that or nothing. A “form” letter is the least favorable.
Support one another – Form a small group within your firm or business community to meet, compare notes on networking activities, brainstorm new ideas and most importantly – to hold one another accountable to meeting one’s relationship building goals.
Effective networking skills will enable you to build, nurture and grow relationships with your contacts and clients. Networking is truly at the core of every lawyer’s success in marketing. Go back and revisit the suggestions from Part I of this series and select a few areas in which you can improve, so that at your next event, you too will be a stellar networker!
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About MYLP
Unique Web-Based Tool to Help Lawyers Develop New Business
ESQCoach, Terrie Wheeler has been helping lawyers attract new clients for more than 24 years. In 1996, she founded Professional Services Marketing, Inc. (PSM), helping professionals develop Targeted Strategies for Business Growth. In January 2011 Terrie merged PSM with Ingenuity Marketing Group in Saint Paul, MN.
Launched in 2007, www.MarketYourLawPractice.com (MYLP), is an innovative web-based marketing coaching tool for lawyers which replicates ESQCoach Terrie Wheeler’s individual marketing coaching process. Today, MYLP is helping lawyers across the US and in the UK develop new business, retain and grow current client relationships, increase their name recognition and more effectively communicate with clients.
Numerous bar associations across the country, including New York, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and others, have recognized MYLP as a cost-effective marketing coaching and training tool for lawyers and have partnered with MYLP to offer the tool as a valuable member benefit.
MYLP was recently launched internationally in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Visit www.MarketYourLawPractice.co.uk, developed with our UK business partner, James Dunning of Geotrupes Consulting.
Join our Linkedin Group: The Legal Network - created just for lawyers and in-house marketing professionals to compare best marketing practices.
We have also launched a sister product for financial advisors, www.MarketYourFinancialPractice.com, and are marketing the site nationally to financial advisory firms.
For more information, contact Terrie: ESQCoach@MarketYourLawPractice.com
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