The ABC's of Legal Marketing - Z is the End

There is no end to marketing a legal practice. A career can go in many directions over 40 years, and you can never expect that what got you here will get you to the next level.

You will need to be engaged in positioning yourself throughout your career.  While the exact marketing activities which you participate in will change at different points in your life, it is important that you never ease up on promoting your practice.  Those who continue to have their marketing, networking, and business development activities a priority will have more choices in the future.

Now that you have read "The ABC's of Legal Marketing" we hope that you are inspired to be more active in your efforts to grow and expand your brand and to win more business.  All opportunities come from people, thus you cannot expect to develop your practice from behind your office door.  

Get to work and never stop.

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - Y is for Yes

Most law schools do not teach the importance of marketing, and by skipping this topic they are launching young attorneys into the workplace without all the tools they need to succeed.  Being able to promote and sell your services is a key factor in establishing long-term success in your career.  There are many unknowns and the pressure to succeed can be overwhelming, but not taking action will limit your future.

If you have a yearning to grow an amazing practice, and will not be satisfied with the mediocre, you will need to take ownership of your branding. If you work for a large firm you can hope that other lawyers will provide you with work, but that means you have no control over your future.  You will always have to rely on the marketing efforts of others to ensure you keep you job.  If you work in a small firm, then you have to take an active role in marketing or you will go hungry.  When you view yourself as a good lawyer, watching others cultivate larger books of business will leave you envious of their careers.  The longer you wait on this, the harder it will be to achieve results..

If you have this desire to build your practice then get ready to say "yes" to marketing. This means you embrace the importance of business development activities and make them a priority in your daily routine. 

Marketing is not magic and does not guarantee success. Some people will fail and have to try again and again to establish their reputation. There will be those who will get discouraged and go hide behind their office door and wish that there were other ways to earn a living.  Others may succeed still not be satisfied with the practice of law, however those who have marketed well will have many other business opportunities to go in-house or pursue other non-legal careers if they are well known in their community.  No matter where you career goes, you have to try harder and take chances. Wayne Gretzky said "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take".

A great way to get yourself comfortable with marketing is to surround yourself with other attorneys that are aggressive in managing the growth of their career.  Spend time getting to know others both professionally and socially while observing how they go about raising their visibility will show you the variety of paths to success.  There is no one right answer, but if you are not knowledgeable about what it takes to treat a legal practice as a business, then you will be blindsided by many unknowns.

Contemplate your marketing options, and then take action.  If you know you want a stronger career, just say "Yes".

Have A Great Day

thom singer

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - X is for eXpert

When you are known as an expert in your area of practice, you will attract more clients.  When hiring a lawyer people are more confident when your reputation for success is well known.  This is about both "doing good work" and the cultivation of your a reputation and a brand in your business community.  

To become an expert in your legal skills involves considerable effort and you must always be keeping up with the changes that are happening in your field.  The same is true in promoting your expertise.  If you are not working on this, then nobody will know you exist, and you will be passed over for the business. 

Marketing and branding have to be a priority that stands along side your legal knowledge.  If you do not care about your visibility, you will leave future income on the table.  In addition to your successful record of serving your clients, you must intentionally let people know about the work you do so well.  This involves a variety of integrated activities that we have discussed in "The ABC's of Legal Marketing".  If you have read this far (to the letter "X") you have found several ideas that can get you started, but success will not happen overnight.  

Take a close look at the lawyers you admire as "experts" across practice areas.  Beyond the obvious, seek to find the behind the scenes activities they and their firm are engaged to promote themselves. While you cannot always uncover all their efforts, you will discover that it is rare for top reputations to be built by accident. 

Writing, speaking, educating, social media, interviews, networking, advertising, pro-bono service, client alerts, mailings, etc... are all needed to ensure that your excellent legal skills are understood by your clients, prospects, referral sources, and others in your community.  Do not assume people will think of you when you are hiding in your office.

Confidence, not cockiness, is what makes an expert shine.  Never be embarrassed about being an expert.  Some attorneys with amazing skills feel weird about talking about telling their story.  While you do not want to be seen as a bragger, if you are not promoting yourself, remember that nobody else will do it.  You are the product and service that you provide to your clients, and if you are ashamed to admit that you are amazing at what you do, why should anyone select you to represent them?

Have A Great Day

thom singer

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - W is for Wisdom

The World English Dictionary defines "Wisdom" as:

wisdom (ˈwɪzdəm)
— n
1. the ability or result of an ability to think and act utilizing knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight.

This obviously is key to anyone in the practice of law.  But when it comes to marketing, too many lawyers skip over the necessary study and knowledge of this topic.  Somehow "marketing" has a bad reputation and some hope that just being a "good lawyer" will bring them a lifetime of clients.  But I argue that the wise lawyer understands that being "good" also means managing all the business aspects of their practice.

Every successful businessman has a keen focus on sales and marketing.  Without customers / clients the company will fail.  The same is true for lawyers.  The more you can you learn, experience and understand the strategies and tactics for growing your reputation and brand can be the difference between a mediocre career and one that is amazing.  If nobody knows you exist, they cannot do business with your firm.

This means that you must know and comprehend an understanding of marketing in addition to your experitse in your field of the law.   

If you had a major case or a big deal pending and you were aware you were not up-to-date on the latest statutes in a specific area of the law, what would you do?  You would invest the time to do the research and get up to speed before you moved forward.  You would reach out to peers who had the specific expertise you were lacking and enlist their help.  The same should be true with your marketing plan.  If you do not feel you have all the wisdom you should, then why would you ignore the wholes?

If you have read this far in "The ABC's of Legal Marketing" you are already showing your commitment to gaining knowledge and wisdom.  As we wrap up this series, do not stop here.  Make marketing a priority and you will see the results.  

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - V is for Vision

If you do not know where you are going, you will never know if you arrive.  It is too common for those who work in professional services, such as law or accounting, to get caught in the loop of doing the current work, and not thinking about how they want to grow their practice.  

You must have a clear vision of how you want your career to progress if you expect to reach the top of your potential.  Regardless of if you work inside a large multi-national firm, a small boutique or if you hang out your own solo-shingle, having vision of the end goal is paramount to success.

Your vision will not necessarily be where you end up, as life will happen for better or worse along the way, but to have no path for what you are trying to accomplish in the long run usually leads to frustration for the lawyer, his or her staff, family and clients.  It is easier to work long hours, or make the tough decisions, when you know that it is leading you closer to your long-term plan.

The vision you have for your future should be spelled out in your marketing plan.  If you do not have a written plan, then you will most likely never do the work it takes to grow you practice.  The excuse of current work will always be easier than making the choices that will propel your business to the next level.

In order to understand the whole of your vision you must dedicate time to thinking about the future and clarifying what it is you desire to create.   This means setting aside the time to regularly explore the options you have in designing your practice.  Many lawyers do not really believe they are in control of their business development and assume those who achieve great success were lucky or had some special personality traits that allowed them to attract the right clients.  The reality is that you are in charge of your future, but only if you take ownership of the results.

Ask yourself the hard questions about what you want as the legacy of your career.  Do not fall into the trap of thinking too big or too small.  Be honest, and look for examples of other lawyers who are ten or twenty years further along in their careers and reverse engineer the steps they took to achieve their success.  If your vision is unclear, you will never reach the desired destination.

Once you know what you want to create, take only steps that lead you closer to your goals.  Share your ambitions with co-workers, family, friends, clients, etc....  The more people who know the type of practice that you are working towards, the more chances they will bring you new opportunities.  

If this idea of looking forward make you nervous, find a coach or consultant who can and will challenge you to look at your past, present and future.  Trying to do this alone can be a daunting task, which is why many attorneys allow their career to just exist without a vision.

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - U is for Unique

Have you ever seen very young children play soccer?  Someone kicks the ball to the left, and everyone runs left.  The ball goes right, the crowd follows.  There is little strategy and lots of running back and forth.  This is the perfect analogy for how most law firms market.  If one firm advertises, sponsors an event, or takes another marketing action, their local competitors are sure to follow.

This is how magazines make a lot of money on their regional "Best Lawyers" issues.  Most firms assume they must buy a full page ad congratulating their own attorneys since their competitors are going to be represented in the publication.  This may or many not be a good idea (probably not), but it does not stop firms from spending thousands of dollars.  They are chasing the soccer ball with the wild abandon of a kid on a field.

I enjoy the story about southern law firm in the 1990s that featured the managing partner's bulldog in their local advertising.  Within a year dozens of other firms in their region had dogs and other pets prominently displayed in their advertising.  Really?  What was the purpose of being a copy cat? (yes, some used their cats).  Does this type of planned sameness make you stand out?

Being unique is what gets you remembered.  If you look like every other law firm there is no reason for people to call you.  Go to the websites of your competitors and look at the pictures on their homepage.  Almost all of them will have photos of their local skyline, their state capitol building, or the scales of justice. That is what most law firms select for their image.  I mentioned this at a bar association meeting where I was the speaker, and one lawyer came up laughing as his firm displayed all three of those images.

My advice is to review what other firms are doing with their marketing, and then do something different.  To copy others in your marketing means you are a commodity.  Commodities are not exciting, have to sell on price, and lose business to others regularly.  Does this describe your firm?

Stepping out and being unique is scary for everyone, but apparently more of a stretch for law firms.  While you must abide by your state's bar association advertising rules, you should not care what your competitors will think of your unique position in the marketplace.  In fact, you can rest assured if you get any attention at all for your efforts that many other firms will follow you down the path.  This means you will only be unique for a short time, and then you need to be ready to change again.

Do not leave your marketing strategies to chance.  Hire a professional marketer to help you brainstorm ideas.  As an attorney you are an expert in your legal practice, you are most likely not trained at marketing.  Do not assume attaining a JD means you can effectively promote your business.  Marketing is a learned skill, and if you embrace working with consultants who can assist you then you will create a campaign that will allow you to stand out from all the other lawyers in your area.


Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - S is for Simple

To effectively grow your practice it is not necessary to be over the top with your marketing and advertising. Too often attorneys believe that they must do amazing campaigns that include a large investment of time and money to be successful at branding, and thus to do little or nothing to promote themselves.  

It is naive to assume that doing good work is enough to attract future clients.  Most of your competition does good work, as that is the ticket to entry in the business community.  If you want to attract opportunities you have to be known, but this is easier than you might think.

Never underestimate the power being interested in others.  Being engaged in your community and choosing to pay attention to the people around you will make them feel important. When they feel important (and respected) they will appreciate you.   It might sound easy, but it is rare that anyone is made to feel significant these days.

The difficult part is that when we get busy, many times we want to shut out the rest of the world to get stuff done.  This creates a disconnect, and can undermine your efforts.  To market your business you must choose people all the time.  

Make a commitment to being more present with those around you and you will discover better results.  It is simple, but cannot be done without effort.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - T is for Tenacity

Lawyers are tenacious when it comes to their work. The definitions of tenacity include; holding fast, highly retentive, and persistent. When trying a case or pouring over documents attorneys have high level of commitment to doing whatever it takes to complete the task.  However, when it comes to marketing, branding, networking and business development many are not focused and give up easily when they do not see immediate results.

To build a successful practice you must be committed to the long term efforts it takes to raise your visibility in your business community.  People do business with those they know, like, and trust... but if you are not participating with the key people who can hire you or refer business, then they are working with other lawyers.  

To be tenacious in your marketing efforts you must understand and honor the importance these activities have to your future success.  If you continue to believe "doing good work" is enough to build a practice then you will find yourself frustrated with the ups and downs of your career, as when you get busy you will forgo the marketing work (while justifying your time spent on billable activities).  The most successful lawyers realize that there is more to business than billable hours.

Create a plan and identify the activities that will impact to your success, and then do not let anything get in your way.  Developing new business is complicated. Many people think networking is just going to "after-hours" events, drinking some beers and waiting for the referrals to role in.  Others think marketing is about website and logo design.  This is why so many lawyers give up on the whole process. When they do not see fast results they trash the whole concept.

To experience marketing success means that you have to be tenacious. Many people you meet can be great connections for you, however it takes a long time to build meaningful relationships. Stick with it. You cannot reach the top by quitting half way up the mountain!

Be tenacious.

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

Please join the LEGAL MARKETING SOCIETY on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/LegalMarketingSociety

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - R is for Referrals

To get referrals you have to give referrals.  If you desire that people in your network would tell others about the good work you do, then you have to be one who leads by example.  

Giving referrals and promoting others is paramount to your own successful sales efforts.  If you only care about your own business development efforts, then how can you expect others to care about anything besides themselves?

When people tell me they never receive referrals, my first question is, "when was the last time you sent a referral to someone that lead to real business?".  If there is a long pause I know they are not focused on helping others find success.  There is a long-term connection between those who promote others and those who receive an abundance of inbound opportunities.

Create a habit to review your contact list and discover whom you know that should meet.  Do not make introductions without a purpose, but when there is a clear reason that people should be connected, take action to facilitate the connection.

At the end of each week ask yourself if you have referred business or otherwise promoted someone in your extended network.  If the answer is "nobody", then put your excuses aside ("I have been busy working on my clients matters") and seek a way to help another person get closer to their own goals before you go home on Friday.  It only takes a few minutes, and few things can build a business relationship more than a referral.

Of course, you cannot refer or promote others if you do not understand what they do for a living or the type of clients they serve.  Outside of other attorneys, do you really understand how your friends, family members and clients earn their living?  Do not just ask people what they do, but inquire about the profile of their ideal client.  While you may not always have the right types of connections to make direct introductions, when you comprehend the details of their career you will be able to recognize opportunities when they cross your path.

To get referrals you need to give referrals.  Take pride in being the catalyst that brings success to others without expectations of reciprocation.  While the person you assist may not return the favor, the real givers in the world are always watching.  There are too many who are self-focused and givers are tired of takers.  They recognize those who give and look for ways to help them in the future.

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - Q is for Questions

Many business professionals are taught craft and memorize a unique "Elevator Pitch" so that when they meet someone new they can clearly and concisely tell the person the highlights of their career.   While being able to communicate to others what makes you great at your job is important, the amount of attention placed on the elevator pitch mistakenly causes people to lead with their own story when they meet new people.

The problem is that people do not care much about you and what you do before they know you care about them.  Get people to talk about their life rather than hearing about yours in the moments after you meet them for the first time.  When you immediately begin a rehearsed commercial about yourself, it does not necessarily advance the relationship.

Asking questions is important to successful business development.  Your goal is not to pepper clients and prospects with facts and figures about your practice.  Instead you want to discover as much information as you can about their unique situations.  Do this by posing open-ended question and then listening closely to their answers.

Eventually you will get your chance to talk about yourself, but the most successful lawyers know how to gain information before simply reciting a practiced pitch.

Some examples of the types of questions are:

• What is your biggest challenge this year?

• How are you unique from your competition?

• What could happen this month that would positively or negatively impact your business?

• Describe your goals for this year?

• Where do you see you business/career in five years?

• In what ways could the right attorney impact your business?

• Who in our community would you most like to meet?

The answers to these questions can give you the type of information you need to customize your own dialogue about your business services when the time is right.  When you understand what others want and need, and then can find ways to give it to them, you will win more business.  Zig Ziglar famously said "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want."

Have A Great Day

thom singer

 Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - P is for Positioning

Hard work and experience alone will not translate into new business.  To make the short list that prospective clients create when seeking counsel you need to be positioned as one of the top experts in your business community.  If you are the best kept secret in your area of expertise you will never reach your income potential.

Positioning yourself as an expert is important because there are many choices that clients have for representation, and they can ever only talk to a small number of lawyers when they are looking to make a decision.  Most professionals tell me their clients will interview approximately three options before making a decision, and thus is you are not showing up on these "Short Lists" then you are not even being considered.

A lawyer who is viewed as the "Go To" provider in their practice area is always top of mind with both clients and referral sources.  This positioning rarely happens by accident, and is not always because they have the highest level of experience.  Becoming the "Go To Lawyer" means you intentionally engage with people and put in an effort to establish your reputation.

Being good at what you do is important (do not think I am saying the opposite), but most of your competitors are also smart, well educated, and have the right expertise to serve the same clients you want to represent.  Many lawyers discredit their competitors only to see clients select the "lesser choice" as counsel.  They then rationalize that the clients are at fault for making the "wrong" decision.  When you view your competitors as worthy adversaries you will work harder to set yourself up as the "right" choice by consistently building a strong brand.

To be positioned you must get involved in your community.  Doing work for current clients is important, but if that is all you do you will see gaps in your practice as once the matter at hand is concluded there will be no other work coming in the door. 

If you are worried about the amount of effort it takes to be positioned as one of the top experts in your area, you should be worried.  This is work that is paramount to the long-term success of your practice.  When you are not positioned near the top, then someone else is.... and this means you are handing them your future clients (and I doubt they will send you a handwritten thank you note for your complacency).

All law firms should make positioning a regular topic in their partner meetings and section meetings.  Each lawyer should be asked to realistically report who is viewed as their biggest competitor and dissect what factors play into the reputation and status of other lawyers.   If  this is not a priority then it is left to chance. If you do not know who is realistically positioned as the expert, then you are not going to win business.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

 Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - O is for Office

Many lawyers are not alone.  While the job can feel isolating, most work in offices filled with very talented and dedicated professionals.  Look outside your office door and you will find an office full of people who should be viewed as part of your business development and marketing team.  

The partners and associates in your practice group, and other groups, should be working together so that you are all cross promoting each other's skills.  Having three, ten, fifty or one hundred lawyers marketing your business is much more powerful than standing alone.  

However it is common that firms develop an "eat what you kill" mentality and actually set co-workers up as competitors.  If this sounds like the  culture at your firm then you are leaving future revenues behind.  This will not change unless it is actively addressed, and this is a major cause of why lawyers leave firms (and take their books of business with them).

This team effort should not limited to only the attorneys in your firm.  The professional staff can often be the best fuel for the word of mouth marketing in your community.  Those who work with you have a reach that is much farther than you may be aware. These people all have neighbors, friends, and others who they know through any number of activities.  When they speak of their career (and most of us do talk about work), what are they saying?  It is surprising how often people (including other lawyers) share the dirty laundry of the dysfunction at their offices.  This becomes part of the firm brand all over town.  When people are treated as an important part of the team, they will spread the word about your office with a positive spin.  Treat them poorly and they will talk.

Your office should be having regular business development and marketing meetings, and include the professional staff (this will let them know they are viewed important members of the team).  Open discussions about prospects, business development efforts, and marketing plans allows everyone to be focused on the same goals, and eliminates the ability for some attorneys to hide and not participate in marketing the firm.  In these meetings everyone should be encouraged to participate and share ideas.  No idea is a bad idea, and those who are trying to advance the cause should be praised publicly for their participation.

If you want those in your office to help you succeed, you must remember that they also want to find success.  You must lead by example, and not always keep score.  Make it part of your own business development plan to help people you work with achieve their goals.  This is more than sending business leads to the other lawyers (although that is part of it), but involves understanding what motivates your co-workers in life and then being a resource for them when you can.  

Final thought..... Do not refer to the professional staff in your office as "non-lawyers".  This is a condescending but common way the people in a law firm are described ("lawyers" and "non-lawyers").  It separates the team and creates an "us vs. them" culture that will limit creating a unified culture.  Some larger firms even have separate holiday parties... one for attorneys, and another for staff.  The worst part of this is the per-person cost invested in the party is often much higher for lawyers.  If your firm does this you can be sure this is impacts your brand in the community (nobody is impressed when you pamper your attorneys and give less to the rest of your team).

Have A Great Day

thom singer

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - N is for Networking

Growing a legal practice can be an all encompassing experience. Many lawyers put so much attention into their current client matters that they fail to honor the time to make, grow and keep their business relationships. The immediacy of issues surrounding today's problems leaves little space for things that do not create instant billable "ROI".

The pressures inside law firms to meet an annual billable requirement takes away the focus from all other activities.  With limited hours in the day, and the intensity necessary be a successful attorney, it becomes easy for a lawyer to push the cultivation of relationships to a "nice to have" activity instead of a "must have activity". 

 While time is limited and precious, it is important for lawyers to remember that all opportunities come from people and that law is a relationship business.  If you have the right network in place, most of the challenges faced (including developing future business) will quickly be solved through a few well through out phone calls.

However, you cannot wait until you have a need to try to build a network. If the only time you show up at business events or place calls to those you already know is when you have need, you will find it difficult to get the responses you desire. Building long-term and mutually beneficial relationships takes time, and even in our fast paced digital world you cannot create a friendship through sending a LinkedIn request (or a bill).

It is through people that you can quickly find new business or other things you will require to have a successful practice.  There are not short cuts to meaningful connections with people who know, like, and trust you and that understand your business.

Lawyers often make the mistake of only wanting to network with other lawyers. While this is a good idea for certain practices, if you only socialize with others who hold JDs you will never have a well rounded life. There must be diversity in your network.  This also goes beyond the types of jobs people have... and includes diversity of race, religions, sex, and age.

Out of sight is out of mind. Even when you are busy serving your existing clients, you cannot disappear from your extended business community. There will come a time when you will need other people, and you cannot expect them to be sitting around waiting for your call. You must cultivate the connection always and everywhere.

Make networking a priority.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - M is for Moments

In all your business efforts you must be present in the moment.  There is a time and place for everything, and your marketing activities are important for your future success. Business development should not be treated as a low priority.  To position yourself for a long and successful career you must be intentional in what your actions.  This is especially true in your activities that involve interacting and networking with other people.

It is easy to get distracted with work, family and other obligations, and thus allow business development to happen when you feel like it, if you have time, and regardless of if you are focused on the task.  This will lead to haphazard results, and then you lose your enthusiasm for the whole concept of building your reputation and brand.

Wherever you are, be there and pay attention to the people around you.  Too often lawyers show up at business events and spend their whole time distracted by checking emails, making calls, and scanning their social media stream.  If you are talking to someone who is staring at their phone and not listening to what you are saying you will not be impressed.  But my guess is you have done the same thing to others (most of us have done this).  

I see people who treat others poorly on a regular basis (and not intentionally) then become angry at those who do the same thing to them.  Step back and look at how you behave when you are sharing a moment with people in your business community and lead by example.  Keep your phone in your pocket, or better yet... leave it in your car when you go to a meeting, lunch or other business gathering.

Why give people a reason to jump to conclusions that you are a jerk.  In your mind you are just keeping up with the onslaught of information that comes your way, but from the point of others you are not choosing to be present in the moment (this is true at home, too).

Occasionally you will have an important issue brewing somewhere (and I am talking about real important issues, not the ones you justify in your mind to add to your sense of self-importance), in which case I suggest not going to networking functions.  When you know you will distracted, stay focused on the one issue that needs your immediate attention.  By not making your interactions with people a priority, you are wasting your time (and their time!). 

Some justify they always have important things happening that require them to multi-task, but I believe if your biggest client who accounted for most of your income asked you for an hour of undivided attention (or you would be fired) you would be very focused.  Business development and marketing activities are just like the client who holds your future income in his or her hand.  

Not being mentally present in the moments spent with others is a problem that impacts many driven business professionals (not just attorneys) - but this is not true of all people who are successful.  I hear excuses all the time, but if you look at the people who have the best reputations in any industry, those around them feel they are all that matters to that person when they are in their presence. 

Show people that they are important to you in the present moment and you will invite an ongoing relationship. 

Being in the moment is a choice.  The alternative is rude.

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - L is for Lawyers

Across many practice areas attorneys often receive referrals from other lawyers.  Some refer business inside their firm, others help steer business outside their firm, but in either case it is common for new clients to originate from referrals.  Other lawyers are an important part of a solid business development and marketing plan.

If this is true, then why don't you find lawyers treating each other as if they were made of solid gold. Connections to attorneys can be very valuable over a career.  Networking and cultivating relationships with as many lawyers as possible should be a top priority.  Being respectful to peers would be a great first step, but too often there is a tendency to dismiss others in the legal business without any thought to the long-term benefits to a successful practice.

A lawyer in any size firm can cost his firm big bucks by not being professional with opposing counsel.  When you are disrespectful or try to bully the other side in litigation or in a deal negotiation, those on the other side of the table remember your actions.  When you act in a way that leaves them with a sour impression, you can rest assured that they will never send business your way.  It is not uncommon for lawyer who work opposite one another to later become allies (or even friends).  

How you treat people matters.

Throughout this series of blog posts (The ABC's of Legal Marketing) we are talking about the importance of how you relate to people, and this is doubly important in regards to other lawyers.  Your legal community, however defined, is a tight-knit group.  Your reputation is your calling card.  If you act like a pompous ass thinking it will show how tough or smart you are as a lawyer, it can (and will) backfire on your efforts to attract clients through this amazing network of those with JDs.

In addition to finding clients through referrals, it is more common than ever for lawyers to move their practice from one firm to another.  There are many examples of partners who thought they would never change firms that are suddenly on the market for a new place to hang their shingle.  If you have a long list of people you have alienated there will be fewer options for you (which means less money in compensation).  The smartest firms are adopting the "No Jerk Rule", as law is a tough enough business without working with people you do not like or respect.  Treating people poorly along the way is a fast-pass to less opportunity in your future.

Get involved with your local bar association and take a leadership role.  Be engaged in your alumni association and any other groups that have lawyers as members.  Create friendships, help others, and create a legacy of being a lawyer that others admire for both legal skills and people skills.

It is important to remember that others are not in business to be a one-way referral machine.  If you want to establish long-term and mutually-beneficial relationship you must look for ways to help others reach their goals.  Sometimes this mean referring clients to them (when you can), but it can also be as a resource for them and introducing them to others in the community.  Ask question to discover what they need, as sometimes what is hard for them is easy for you.

A great way to start building relationships in the legal community is by reaching out to those you already know. Reconnect with former co-workers or law school friends.  It is easier to reestablish a relationship than to start fresh.  Learn about their practice and find ways to help them long before you ever expect anything from them. 

Check the calendar for your local bar association and attend one or two educational or social events each month.  If you make an effort to be part of the legal community you will find success. 

Have A Great Day

thom singer

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - K is for Keywords

In the world of internet marketing a priority is placed on "Keywords".  With regards to websites, blogs or other online properties these are words that are assumed important to those conducting searches for products or services.  The right keyword can make the difference between  being noticed or being passed over in online searches.

But keywords are not just for the internet.  How you talk and the words you use will make you stand out and be noticed.  Selecting keywords that resonate can lead to people having a better understanding of what it is you actually do for a living.  

Search engines often give the most attention to the headings and the first 200 words on a webpage.  Therefore search experts advice that you use these ever important words appropriately up front.  The same is true in when you speak.  People will tune out if you do not grab their attention.

Overused "buzz-words", non-descriptive descriptions, and industry slang will have little meaning to those who are not attorneys.  However, simply saying "I am a lawyer" is far too broad to give any context to the services you provide or the types of clients with whom you work. 

In the same way that SEO consultants prioritize the words for your website, you should pay attention to how you speak and the words you use.  Be intentional in your descriptions of your business. Integrating keywords and phrases into the dialogues you have with other people in your business community will make you memorable.  Being too general is wasting your time.  An internet search engine can only work with what is typed in, and the brains of people can only go with what you tell them.  The rest is left to assumptions, and that can take people down the wrong path.  

We all want to be top of mind with those who can hire us or refer business.  In the same way everyone wants to come up on the first page of a Google search in their area of expertise, you want people to remember you in their minds when they need legal services.

Think about the words you choose and the stories you tell about how you impact clients.  Creating an "elevator pitch" that you memorize and blindly recite is not the best plan.  You need to be flexible in how you talk in different situations and with different people.  How you describe yourself to a potential clients should be unique from how you speak to a referral source, vendor, or past client. 

If you have not given any thought to how you present yourself, or the words you use when you describe your services, you may be missing a valuable opportunity to increase the reach of your brand in your community.  Invest the time in hearing how others talk about their practices and learn from those who do it well (and from those who fail to clearly express themselves).  

Choose keywords that make sense and matter to the people who are listening. Words have power and can paint lasting images that will impact how others judge your business.  

Have A Great Day

thom singer

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - J is for Join

You cannot market a professional services career from behind closed doors.  Lawyers are not commodity widgets, and cannot be sold as such.  Thinking that being in your office doing great work for clients will build a sustainable book of business is short sighted.  Oh, and it wont work.

As an attorney YOU are the product.  People want to do business with those they now like and trust, and while tangible items can be sold without any personal human-to-human connections, a professional service often requires the person who performs the work to be engaged in their community.

A mistake made by many firms is that they join nothing or they join everything.  Besides, the firms is not what needs to join, it is the individual lawyers.  

If you join nothing you fall back into the "out of sight is out of mind" situation.  Those who are engaged in a community expect others to also have connections into the larger ecosystem.  However, joining everything means you most likely do not participate properly in any one thing.

When I suggest people "join" organizations I make sure they realize that the commitment goes beyond paying the annual membership dues if they expect their money to be well spent.   Joining alone gets your name in the directory, but most of the time that is useless.  To find the value in joining a civic, business, philanthropic or social organization you must be involved.

Being involved means showing up and serving.  When someone belongs to too many groups they end up doing "drop in networking", which means they drop in a couple of times a year when their schedule allows.  However it takes time for people to notice you, much less establish any long-term and mutually beneficial relationships.  I believe it can take as many as seven to ten times of showing up at events before the other members begin to feel you are part of their crowd.  Since most of these organizations meet only once a month, that means it will take participating for nearly a year before you will begin to grow connections.  If you only go twice, you will never establish real bonds with people.

Choosing which groups to support is key.  There is not one magic club that will feed a pipeline of referrals over a lifetime.  Each person, firm and practice area have differing needs.  

I recommend lawyers find two or three organizations that whey will be dedicated to joining and in which they are committed to participate.  You can belong to more and drop in on those as appropriate, but your main groups get an "A-level" commitment.  This means you treat these meetings on par with appointments with your top clients.  

What you prioritize is a choice that you make.  Do not fall into the trap of rationalization about networking vs. client work.  When you have two meetings a month you MUST attend, then you can find a way to adapt your schedule.

Within these prioritized groups you should be volunteering to serve on committees or on the board of directors.  It is when you work together with others that you build your reputation and cultivate friendships.  But be careful, if you commit and then drop the ball you will damage the way people view your work ethic.  Blowing off a committee meeting because you are busy tells the other members of the group they are not important to you.  If they found a way to be present at the meeting, you should as well.  Everyone is busy and everyone has other commitments. (There are exceptions, but exceptions that happen every time are not exceptions, they are the norm).

Find organizations that are appealing to your clients, prospects and referral sources.  Bringing others along to meetings is a great way to forge deeper friendships.  Your participation can be the conduit for hosting others from time to time.

If you get a lot of referrals from other lawyers then bar groups (or other legal based organizations) are a great idea.  If you do not see any business from other attorneys then these are a valuable use of your time.  You can still choose to volunteer for your Bar activities, but do not pretend it is marketing your practice.

Social, civic, and philanthropic organizations are also a great way to meet and establish connections with others in your local business community.  Only join groups that have a purpose that matches your interests.  Do not join the young professionals group at your city's symphony or ballet if you do not enjoy music and dance.  Joining because there is "good networking opportunities" will not keep you as motivated over the long run, and you will not participate often enough to have an impact (plus when you hate being there, others can tell).

As you interact with clients (and others), ask them what they are involved with in you local area and beyond.  This is a great way to learn about all sorts of business, social and philanthropic groups in your community.  You may be surprised by all the great options you have to be involved.  Visit the ones that sound interesting to insure the culture of the group is a match with your own personality.

Remember that the pay-off from joining groups comes from the time and energy that you invest in your participation.  Many mistakenly think that there is no value from being involved in their community because they have never really been involved.  Sending a check might seem like "joining"... but it is not.  Those who are engaged will discover amazing opportunities over the long run.

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - I is for Interesting

Marketing is there to help you be noticed by those who could hire you or refer your services to others.  Out of sight is out of mind, and in the highly competitive legal marketplace there are many choices.  When potential clients seek your services you need for them to find you interesting.

Too many lawyers and law firms avoid standing out from others.  They create simple marketing materials and ads that will not look unique, as they do not want to rock the boat within the legal profession.  This ensures that much of the marketing we see for law firms looks like the marketing of every other attorney.  While I am not advocating being outrageous or weird, there is nothing gained from intentionally positioning yourself as a boring commodity.

Be interesting.  Boring is safe, but it is also ignored.

What does it mean to "be interesting"?  This is difficult define as it will be different for each person, practice group, and firm.  To be successful your marketing should allow your own unique experiences (including hobbies and personal life) to be part of what you show to the world. This does not mean a trial attorney should feature his or her herb garden in their marketing, but being true to self is very important.  

Exposing your personality allows others to get to know the whole person, and people want to do business with people whom they like.  Nobody can feel anything about you without an honest connection.  

Some successful lawyers will argue this point, believing that attorneys should only show their professional expertise and remain above exposing anything personal.  But others will have found success by exposing their personality and personal lives to their community.  In all businesses people usually choose to do business with people they know, like and trust.  The practice of law is not different.  Law is a highly interactive industry, and the people you encounter in your career can have a material impact on your future success.

Being interesting also means being able to converse about topics beyond your practice of law when in professional and social situations.  If all you can do is discuss business, you will miss the chances to create bonds with others.  Keep up with the news, current affairs, sports, business, and pop culture.  These topics come up often in conversation, and if you are unsure of who won the Masters (or what it is), which companies in your community are poised for IPOs, or the latest antics of a popular celebrity, you are not part of the discussion.  The advice to know pop-culture references often gets push-back, but pay attention to how often people talk about Brad Pitt or Kim Kardashian in places you do business (it happens more often than you think!).

In addition to being interesting, you need to be interested in others.  Do not always try to put the attention on yourself. Take the time to learn about the whole lives of your clients, co-workers and others in your community.  When you take an interest in what is important to other people, they will pay more attention to you.  People do not care about you until they believe you know and care about them.  

The personal side of conversing with others can be your key to winning more business.  In all situations be sure you are interesting and interested.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - H is for Host

Being a host or hostess allows you stand out from your competition in a world that is full of noise.  It shows your human side.  

Whether you plan your own educational and social meetups or take others along to existing events as your guest, when you provide positive experiences clients and prospects will remember you more.  Humans are experiential beings and when we share time with others we build stronger bonds.

"Hosting" in a business situation is similar to hosting a gathering in your house.  You have to plan all the details to ensure that all runs smoothly. Leaving the flow of the agenda up in the air can seem spontaneous, but the more you pre-plan the better the outcome.  Being the host means investing time and money, but the rewards can be seen in future business and referrals.  

Many lawyers avoid being a host because they do not want the hassle and think it would be awkward to invite people to participate, but if you look around at some of the most successful attorneys,  many use this technique as a key way to establish, cultivate, and maintain their business relationships (This is for those people you already know -- I am not suggesting your stalk strangers and put them on your invite list!)

The ways in which you host others, and the types of events you invite them to, will depend greatly on your own personality and interests.  You should not take clients to the symphony if you do not enjoy the symphony. Golf and other sporting events are often a great way to connect, but it is dependent on the other person's interest level in the activity.  Dinner parties can be effective, but not all types of practices lend themselves to having clients to your home.  And creating educational seminars would depend on the level of impact your field of expertise can have on your clientele.

What you do is not the most important part, it is doing something that gives you an excuse to reach out and make the ask, be the host for the event, and then follow up afterwards.

Individual Shared Experiences

Many business professionals use golf as tool for strengthening connections, but because of the time commitments (or lack of desire or talent for golf), some lawyers do not play the sport. If you are not a golfer it is a mistake to think that the answer to better business development is "golfing".  

Instead you should look at the desired outcome that comes from playing golf with clients:  It is about the time spent together.  Golf takes several hours and you are in a small group.  This provides the rare luxury of time together without an agenda for the conversation.  But this same level of intimacy can be attained by attending any number of types of events: seminars, charity fundraisers, a night at the theater, concerts, dinners out with spouses, etc....  While some activities do not allow for the same type of one-on-one conversations, these are still great ways to get to know people on a more personal level.

Success in in the personal time together and the shared experience.

Hosted Group Events - Educational

Presenting a seminar on a topic that shows you and your firm's level of expertise on a topic can be a wonderful way to provide value to clients and position yourself as the "Go-To Lawyer" in your community.  When you gather a group of clients and prospects together and provide them with valuable information that can impact their business, they remember you for it. Additionally, if those in attendance can have the opportunity to meet each other and share their knowledge on the subject, then you are the conduit that helps them connect with other business professionals.  

Hosted Group Events - Social

The "Client Holiday Party" may seem cliche, but there is a reason that professional services firms host these types of events.  The relaxed atmosphere and festive occasion allows people to come together and celebrate.  While you do not want to recreate an "Animal House" frat party type event, the fun that comes from a causal social gathering will allow people to feel more connected with those in your firm.  

Having people show up at the office (for an educational or social event) is similar to having friends to your home for dinner.  Think about it, we are not invited to everyone's house, but usually once we have been inside someone's home we feel more connected to them.  The same is true in business.  Get people into your facility when possible.  Be sure these events are not all about the firm (it is not a commercial), but instead make the focus on those who attend.  There is no need to interrupt the party with the managing partner to giving a speech (these are usually dull and kill the mood of the event).  Let people mingle, and prepare your staff on how to behave as hosts so they can have meaningful engagement with all your guests.

A great idea is to host your clients social event at an alternative time of the year. Everyone has a crazy schedule in December, and you might get better attendance in spring or summer.

**Side note:  Make sure to provide nametags for any gathering with over 15 guests that is held at your office or other professional site (not in your home).  While your lawyers might know all the clients, they do not know each other (and may not remember everyone on your team).  Make it easy for people to network.  

It is important to remember that a single party or night out will not build a relationship with anyone.  Your hosting strategy must be part of your ongoing networking, business development and branding strategy. 

If you have not acted as a "host" to those in your network (either in one-on-one encounters or group settings) you are missing a great way to build stronger relationships and solidify your reputation in your business community.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.

The ABC's of Legal Marketing - G is for Goals

If you do not know where you are going, you have no way of knowing when you arrive.  Marketing for the sake of marketing is a waste of time and money.  There must be a strategic plan that helps advance the success of your practice.  You are well served when you set clearly defined and realistic business goals that help you stay focused on what you want to accomplish.

Marketing is not magic. Without a purpose, actions, and a way to measure success you can invest a lot of time and money and see few results.  Simply promoting your practice will not make your phone ring.  If you know what you are trying to do, and whom you desire as clients, then your choices on how to market become easier to understand.

Some lawyers roll their eyes at the idea of goal setting, mistakenly thinking that the concept is "motivational fluff".  Because many attorneys are analytically by nature they question if the act of writing down a goal has any meaningful value.  But it is not setting the goal that has the power, it is what keeping focused on the goal helps you accomplish.  The target must be something that the individual, practice group, or firm must stretch to attain, but these goals also must be realistic.  Goal setting is not about random wishes, but instead it is about creating an atmosphere that makes people perform to a higher level.

When a law firm has culturally accepted a set of goals there is no wiggle-room for attorneys on the team to skip out on the efforts.  Goals make the everyone accountable for their actions to increase the visibility of the firm.  Those who do not pull their weight are quickly exposed. The key is for there to be accountability for all on the team.  (Of course accountability is scary for those who do not choose to participate in growing the firm).  

Having clearly defined goals it makes it easy to make decisions.  This allows you to ask if a particular action moves you closer to your goals, or leads you in the wrong direction.  The answer makes choices easier for everyone in the firm.  It changes participation in marketing, networking, client relations, and community involvement activities into something tangible.  When team members understand the purpose over the long run they are more engaged.

Goals take time to accomplish.  Those who dream of a quick fix to raising their profile in the business community will fail.  It takes time to market and build a brand, but there will be little progress without a goal.  It is too easy to get distracted by current client work and allow your marketing efforts to fall to nothing.  When this happens your future is limited.

Lawyers who create plans and work toward their achievement of goals are more likely to succeed in building a sustainable practice than those who leave their future to luck.  

To successfully create a list of goals that are attainable, realistic and measurable you must carve out time for your team to discuss the program.  Everyone must have input and buy into the vision.  There are no shortcuts to formulating a plan.  Working with an outside consultant or coach is often a great way to get this done, as outsiders can have a knack for identifying strengths and weaknesses about an individual or group.

Having a combination of short-term and long-term goals is also a good idea.  To have early wins gets people excited and helps them see the accomplishments that can come from having goals.

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is experienced in legal marketing and business development.  He regularly speaks at law firm retreats inspiring attorneys to embrace their brand and increase their sales.  He also teaches lawyers ways to improve their presentation skills as the firm's secret weapon for business development success.  More information at www.ThomSinger.com.