Authentic Law Marketing Blog : Lawyer & Law Firm Consulting : Elizabeth Ferris : Ferris Consulting : Collaborative Lawyer Marketing, Family Law Marketing

The current economic climate has every law firm and practice group focusing on how to maximize resources, reduce costs and optimize partner performance. A recent article in the Wisconsin Law Journal titled, Firm retreats: Business over Pleasure highlights the changes law firms are making in traditional law firm retreats to focus on efficiency and cut costs.

The following are five strategies every law firm, practice group or Collaborative Law practice group can implement to increase the effectiveness and ROI for annual retreats.

1.       Start with a clear understanding on what the purpose of the retreat is, what do you want to achieve as a result of the retreat? What will be different? Why is this a good time to hold the retreat? And most important what do you want to make sure is accomplished by the end of the retreat?
 

2.       Spend time upfront understanding the critical issues and key success factors. Interview the partners or retreat participants in advance to learn what they believe are the most important critical issues and key success factors for the firm or practice group. Interview clients and referral sources to bring their perspective into the retreat.  Summarize your findings into a report to provide a foundation for dialogue in the retreat.
 

3.       Provide each participant with an agenda, summary of critical issues and required preparation for the retreat. The retreat is the time to engage each member to understand the perspectives of others. Proper preparation allows for more meaningful dialogue and results in stronger buy in from all participants.
 

4.       Create a safe environment for unfiltered dialogue in the retreat. Communication and understanding leads to shared purpose and vision among participants. Firms and groups can achieve exponential growth by having a shared purpose and vision.
 

5.       Follow up on the goals and initiatives defined in the retreat. Communicate the results to the entire firm and hold participants accountable for agreed upon action items.

One of the most effective strategies you can implement for optimizing your firm or practice groups performance is to take a step back from day to day client work and bring your team together for a focused retreat that results in moving your firm or group towards your most important goals. This can be achieved through clarity of goals, proper planning, effective communication, accountability and follow up.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Why are some practitioners successfully building their law practice while other practitioners struggle to attract desirable clients and are frequently concerned about, “where the next case will come from?”

I have been consulting with law firms, family lawyers, mediators and collaborative law practitioners across North America and Europe for the past 9 years and have observed the characteristics of highly successful practitioners.

The five characteristics that I have found consistent with every successful lawyer, mediator or collaborative law practitioner include, commitment, competence, community, communication and exceptional client value.

Successful lawyers and practitioners:

1. Know what they want, believe in their vision and are committed to achieving their vision. Commitment is defined as “The state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action.” The first step in building a strong practice is having a clear idea of what you want, internalizing the value for achieving this goal and committing to the “action” to realize your goal.

2.Have a relentless pursuit for competence. Excelling at handling client matters is what will separate you from the pack. This requires a consistent effort to master the underlying skills necessary for being recognized as the "best"in your field. What skills do you have or want to acquire that will position you as "number one" in your field?

3. Contribute to building their community. People will do business with those they know, like and trust. One of the critical requirements for consistent referrals is establishing a foundation of trust among professionals. The number one way to build trust is to spend time making a contribution to your community and showing an interest in others.

4. Effectively communicate what they do, who they do it for and the value of their service. In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes a “sticky message” as one of the rules for creating a tipping point. Stickiness is a message that makes an impact, is easily understood and is repeatable. Successful practitioners consistently communicate a clear message about their practice so everyone knows what they do, the value they provide and who can benefit from their service.

5. Provide exceptional client value.Satisfied clients are the best source of referrals. Higher client satisfaction requires a focus on providing superior service. This means knowing the needs, interests and goals of your clients and meeting and exceeding expectations. The fastest way to grow a practice is through word-of-mouth marketing. This will happen if clients have a positive experience with your service.

Review the above characteristics and conduct a self-assessment of your strengths and weakness.

In what areas are you strong and which areas can you improve?

Create a plan today for making these characteristics an integral part of your practice. By mastering these characteristics, you will be taking essential steps toward growing your law practice and creating the practice you want, a practice that attracts desirable and profitable clients, produces exceptional value to your clients and brings fulfillment to your work.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

This week I wrote a blog post about how the choices we make today determine our success in the future. Today I read Seth Godin’s blog , Take What You Can Get? and he eloquently reinforced this message.

Godin talks about the temptation we face to take what you “can get” when your practice is struggling or the economy is slow.

We can all relate to this temptation:

• You want to build your Collaborative Law practice and meet your monthly revenue quota; you receive a call from a prospective client who wants to “crush” their former spouse. They want you to represent them in high-conflict litigation. Do you take the case?

• Your law firm’s value proposition is to solve problems for clients who have high asset/ complex family law cases. The only clients you have been attracting recently want the cheapest divorce possible and don’t care much about the depth of your expertise. Do you take these clients?

Without question, anyone who is in business will experience these temptations. What will separate you from the pack is how you choose to respond.

In Seth Godin's blog post he  suggests the following:

"There are two things worth remembering here:

1. Like bending a sapling a hundred years before the tree is fully grown and mature, the gigs you take early will almost certainly impact the way your career looks later on. If you want to build a law practice in the music industry, you'll need to take on musicians as clients, even if the early ones can't pay enough. If you want to do work for Fortune 500 companies, you'll need to do work for Fortune 500 companies, sooner better than later.

2. The definition of "can get" is essential. Maybe it seems like this gig or that gig is the best you can get because that's all you're exposing yourself to. Almost always, the best gig I could get is shorthand for the easiest gig I could get."

You can avoid the “can get” trap by knowing what success looks like for you and exposing yourself to the people, clients and cases that will move you toward your desired results.

I would like to hear about the temptations you face in your practice and your strategies or challenges for overcoming these temptations.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

How do you find the time to grow a practice that is in alignment with your most important goals? 

For many lawyers and collaborative practitioners, the greatest barrier to growing their practice is not having enough time to do the marketing activities that will result in attracting new clients and referral sources. 

One solution to overcoming the “time” barrier is to get clarity on your practice goals. Once your goals are clear, the next step is to make choices everyday that move you towards achieving them.

Successful lawyers and collaborative practitioners have made a deliberate choice about their commitment to growing their practice  and it is this commitment that has provided the foundation for their accelerated growth.

Making a commitment gives you focus and direction and helps you to make choices that are in alignment with your most important goals.

Many lawyers and collaborative practitioners believe they “don’t have the time” to implement practice growth strategies such as meeting with referral sources, attending targeted networking events, writing articles, giving talks, updating their web site or participating in social media, but what is really happening is they have made a choice that something else is more important.

We have more control than we think about how much time we have, and it is how we choose to spend our time that will determine our success. 

So next time you feel you don't have the time to meet with a referral source, learn about new advances in your profession or write an article that positions you as a thought leader in your area of practice, give thought to what you are committed to and how the choices you make today will affect the results you want to achieve in the future.

Ask yourself, “What matters most to me? What would I really like to accomplish? The answer to these questions will act as a guide for helping you to make choices that are in alignment with your most important  goals.

I would like to hear how you are managing your time to grow your practice. Please share your story on what is working or what your challenges are for finding time to grow your practice.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

An effective strategy for growing your law practice is to build relationships with professionals and referral sources who work with your target market.

One strategy for building relationships is through networking.

Unfortunately, when most lawyers hear the word “networking” they do not respond with enthusiasm. Images of forced conversation, wasted time, phoniness, and collecting business cards tend come to mind. 

In truth, the essence of networking is none of the above. The true meaning of networking involves building relationships by giving to others and helping them succeed.

To be successful at building professional relationships, it is critical to focus on cultivating mutually beneficial, give and take, “win-win” relationships. The focus is on helping the other person to meet his or her goals. The mistake many “net workers” make is focusing on their own success and how the other person can help them meet their goals.

Here are eight steps you can take to increase your networking success:

1. Do your homework before the networking event. Review the list of attendees and identify who you want to meet. Research the professionals on your target list before the event. (The internet and LinkedIn is an excellent resource for learning about people). Bring value to your target list by connecting them to other high influence professionals who are also attending the event. Relationships are formed when people believe you are authentically interested in them. This cannot be faked and the planning you do in advance will create a favorable impression.
    
2. Know your core message. You will increase your confidence and ability to focus on other people if you know in advance how to respond to the following questions:
   • What differentiates you?
   • Who are your best clients?
   • What value do you provide?
      
3. At any networking event, show an interest in the person or people with whom you are conversing. Once the awareness shifts away from you and your goals to them and their goals, a connection is made with the other person and trust begins to develop. In most situations, once you have shown an authentic interest in someone else, they will respond wanting to know about you.
    
4. Ask questions. When you have an encounter with other individuals, you have two options -- make a statement or ask questions. By choosing to ask questions, you can learn valuable information about others and help them to open up.

5. Listen actively. The best way to understand and meet the needs of the people with whom you are talking is through deep, genuine attention to what others are saying. Pay attention to your body language and what you are thinking as you converse with others. There is nothing worse than talking to someone who is looking around the room and non-verbally communicating, “I have no interest in what you are saying.”

6. Make a contribution. Once you learn about the other person and their goals and interests, offer to send information on resources that would be of value to their work, i.e. an article, book or web site. Show your interest in their success by introducing them to other professionals at the event.  

7. Follow up. After meeting with a prospective referral source from a networking activity, make the follow-up calls, schedule the lunch meetings, and email the article you discussed. Invite the person to join your LinkedIn network. Without proper follow up your will not see a return on the time and energy you invested in attending the networking event.

8. Have fun. Networking is about building relationships. The key to success is to enjoy yourself and spend time with people and attend the events that you connect with both personally and professionally.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

You can build a practice that attracts desirable clients, allows you to do work that inspires you and brings fulfillment to your work. The first step is to identify what you want and then to listen to how your mindset may minimize your success. Many collaborative law practitioners want to increase their collaborative practice but limit their success before they even get started with a marketing plan. The story they tell themselves is , "I  cannot afford to only do collaborative cases" or "if I only do out of court work, I will be perceived as a "softer" lawyer and my referrals will stop."   By acknowledging  how you are creating your own fear, you will be able to overcome that fear and develop a marketing plan that is focused on what you "want".

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

In a white paper recently published by Law 360 on lessons for law firms from the financial crisis, there is a section on business development including an article Getting Windows For Building Business In The Downturn By Shannon Henson. The article highlights a key strategy for lawyers in an economic downturn::

The best way to protect yourself is to make sure you are building up your own client base. If you do that, then no matter what happens, you will be okay.

One of the most important strategies for buidling your client base is to master how you communicate the value of your services to potential clients.

Your goal is to clearly communicate the value you provide clients. Communicate what clients want to hear, i.e. how you solve their problem, verses what you want to tell them, i.e. your credentials.

Description Based message

Many attorneys describe what they do based on a roster of their services or a list of their features. For example, the following message is a familiar description for family lawyers:

"We are a group of knowledgeable, dedicated professionals engaged in the practice of family law."

The emphasis is on the features of the group (knowledgeable, dedicated professionals) and on a description of the service (practice of family law) versus any beneficial outcome to the client. The client has to work hard to translate what this means to them.

Value based message

Compare this response to a family lawyer I consulted with on creating his core message. Through the process of creating his core message, the family lawyer internalized who his best client were, how he differentiated himself and the value of his service.

The result has been an increase in referrals from desirable clients. He is receiving web site referrals from clients who want what he does best.

A few weeks ago, he was at a networking event and when was asked what he did, he replied, “I help divorcing clients to reach solutions.”  One gentleman was listening and heard his unique way of helping divorcing clients and immediately asked for his card. The gentleman said, "I am in the process of getting a divorce and have talked to three lawyers who all said the same thing, you are the first lawyer who has talked about reaching solutions.” A few days later, the gentleman retained him as his lawyer.

Summary

The success this family lawyer experienced came from his ability to differentiate his practice and to convey the value of his services.

When the family lawyer talked about what he did, it was not about him and his credentials. He talked about the client, their problem, and his ability to help them solve their problem.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

If you want to motivate your team, firm or organization to achieve extraordinary results, read Seth Godin’s recent blog post, Achievable avalanche opportunities. In the post he writes what is required in a organization to get people excited to achieve remarkable results.

The two critical components to motivating a group include:

1. Have clarity on the outcome ( results) you want to achieve.
2. Select an outcome that is perceived as achievable.

He said it is highly difficult to get a group excited about “amorphous and ethereal” goals or about an outcome that is vague.

These components are nothing new and make complete sense once you read them. The key is to internalize there importance and put them into action.

How does this relate to effective lawyer marketing?

If you want to achieve break-through results in growing your practice or attracting desirable clients, your first step is to define the results you want to achieve.

Often times, this is the most difficult step in creating an effective lawyer marketing plan.

To answer this question, I recommend taking a step back from your day-to- day routine of serving clients, meeting deadlines and responding to urgent tasks to give deep and meaningful consideration to what defines success for your practice?

Gaining clarity on the results you want to achieve is the "proactive" work that allows you to build the kind of practice that gets you excited and helps you to motivate your group, firm or team to achieve extraordinary results.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

In a previous post I wrote about the importance of developing a unified vision for helping an organization to achieve accelerated and profitable growth. A lawyer from London who read the article asked:

"What is the difference between vision, mission and values, what does each component do and why do you need all of them?"

The terms mission, vision and values have become over used words and often are confused with old fashion strategic planning retreats where hours and even days are spent word-smithing a mission statement that is never looked at again. Many times the words are interchanged causing more confusion over the benefit for creating a mission, vision and value statement.

The Following provides a brief overview of Mission, Vision and Values and why you need all three:

Definitions

Mission: Mission or purpose is the reason for the firm or organizations existence. It answers the question, why do we exist? Another way to look at mission is to ask, what would happen if we disappeared?

Why do we need a mission? Mission is your raison d'etre, your "reason for being" and is what keeps the excitement and motivation in your work. Knowing the "why" behind the "what" is how you create focus, alignment and commitment in your organization.

We all want to be part of something that makes a difference and is deeper than making a profit. A strong "reason for being" is what allows you to achieve what others might view as impossible. It is what motivates ordinary people and organizations to achieve extra ordinary results.

Nelson Mandela comes to mind when I think of a person with a strong sense of purpose. His life has been dedicated to "the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities."

Similar to successful and extraordinary individuals, successful businesses also have a clearly defined mission statement. The mission of Google, one of the most successful companies in the 21st Century, is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."

Your mission statement will help your organization to attract the right clients, the right employees and help you to make decisions that are in alignment with your core purpose. Your mission will keep your organization focused on "why it exists" and provide inspiration, direction and motivation to pursue goals when inevitable obstacles get in the way.

Vision: Vision is a clear image of your desired future. Think Martin Luther King and his "I have a dream" speech. It is a picture of the future you seek to create. A statement of your vision shows everyone in your firm or organization where you want to go and what you will be like when you get there. Vision answers the question, what is the final result we want?

Why do we need vision? Vision paints a picture of what everyone agrees the organization will look like in the future. It gives shape and direction to the organization's future and helps people set goals and prioritize strategies for moving the organization closer to its desired results.

My favorite vision example is Henry Ford's vision to democratize the automobile. Ford wanted to build a motor car for the masses that everyone could afford. Imagine the power of this vision during the early 1900's when the primary means of transportation was horse and buggy.

Once you are clear on what your vision is, then you can make your vision a reality by focusing your plan on the strategies that are in alignment with the result you want to achieve.

Values: Values describe how we intend to operate, on a day-by day basis, as we pursue our vision. Values are best expressed in terms of behavior and are the guiding principles by which an organization operates. What do we do when no one is watching?

Why do we need to define values? Unlike a vision which can change, values never change and are the "rudder of the ship" helping an organization to make decisions and behave in a manner that is in alignment with what the organization stands for.

Imagine how different our economic situation would be if individuals, mortgage companies and banks defined and upheld the values that were most important. An overzealous vision without values can create catastrophic outcomes similar to Enron, Bernie Madoff, AIG and former Morgan Stanley executives jailed for stock loan fraud, etc.

In Summary, Mission is our "reason for being" and answers the question, why do we exist? Vision answers the question, what do we want to achieve? Values answer the question, what do we stand for?

Whether you are a lawyer in a law firm, a sole proprietor or a collaborative practitioner whose goal is to attract more desirable clients , knowing what your vision, mission and values are will lay the ground work for achieving extraordinary results.

I have been helping businesses and law firms to achieve extraordinary results by facilitating the creation of mission, vision and values for over twenty years. Please contact me if you have questions or would like more information on how to create your firms vision and mission.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks