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Author: Allan Colman

Prepare For Things That Go Bump In the Night

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

In chapter 9 of our book, OWN THE ZONE, we often refer to Jay Abraham. He has been called “America’s number one marketing wizard” enough times that it’s the tag line used on the “About” page on his website. He’s seen as a genius at getting down to basics and, having worked with him in the past, I check in on his work from time to time.

When we work with our clients, we follow Jay’s “Strategy of Preeminence.” As a marketing and business development consultant, we aim to become a valued friend, to offer results oriented solutions that are profitable for everyone involved and we encourage our clients to approach their prospects and clients in the same way.

In the next several columns, we will discuss how to prepare for things that become challenges and how to overcome them to become -“preeminent.”

PROBLEM – "Our Firm Continues Adding Lawyers – We Need a Complete Marketing Overhaul

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Business Development, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Marketing, Managing Partners, Marketing Partners, Practice Group Leaders.

RESPONSE – the bigger you become, the more you need to focus. Begin with a few promising practice groups and use their successes as a model.

RESULT – One practice group may begin envying another practice group’s success. It’s a dynamic that requires some political sensitivity on the part of management, but it is a another great problem to have. Competition stimulates growth.

PROBLEM – "What Do We Do With Our Junior Lawyers?"

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Law Firm Leadership, Managing Partners, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners.

RESPONSE – A true pipeline for business development includes junior partners and associates. Take them to sales meetings. encourage them to get their names out there via articles and speeches. With newer lawyers, the key is to encourage business development without undue pressure. Whatever they bring in is gravy – and you are making a great investment in the future.

RESULT – We help clients create a true “sales” culture ( I know this is a dirty word, but !!!) from top to bottom. You can too.

PROBLEM – "Our Practice Group Has No Business Development Budget"

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Law Firm Marketing, Marketing for Law Firms, Marketing Partners, Practice Group Leaders.

RESPONSE – Of course it does. Your members are already spending money on marketing and business development at one or more ends of the spectrum. You simply need to collect that data and find out what you’re already spending. That is your budget.

RESULT – Getting a hold on your current, actual spending will allow you to focus resources where they will clearly do the most good. This is a critical step to measure current results and refine and improve the tactics.

PROBLEM – "We Missed the Major New Litigation."

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Marketing for Law Firms.

RESPONSE – Don’t dwell on any one matter or even on any whole genus of legal business. Look to the pipeline to deliver a stream of alternative possibilities, some of which may not yet be on your radar screen.

RESULT – You’ll need to start making decisions about which kind of business to go after, and which to let some other law firm chase. That’s a great problem to have.

PROBLEM – " Our Office has Great Attorneys But Our Revenue is Flat"

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing Partners.

RESPONSE – Organize and attack. Your lawyers need to learn a basic business development truism: that clients and prospects don’t care about how great the attorneys are. They assume that to be the case or they would not be talking with you. Instead, they care about what those great attorneys can do for them.

RESULT – The effect of such an enhanced client service mentality will not only unearth new prospects, but develop new business from existing clients.

PROBLEM – "I JUST LOST MY LARGEST CLIENT"

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing Partners.

PROBLEM – “I just lost my largest client.”

RESPONSE – Setbacks should catalyze action, not cause paralysis. The firm should monitor and evaluate all such occasions where clients fall by the wayside to ensure that the lawyers responsible jump back into the business development “fray” with a new three-month action plan.

RESULT – A crisis should spell opportunity. Losses should pump the collective adrenaline. If that kind of response becomes ingrained in the firm’s culture, odds are the bottom line will actually improve at a reasonable point in time after every loss. Go to www.closersgroup.com/services.

PROBLEM – "Our firm has no pipeline."

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Business Development, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing Partners.

In the next several blogs, I’ll describe problems law firms have brought to us and solutions that worked.

PROBLEM: “Our firm has no pipeline.”

RESPONSE: Manage your speakers, greeters, authors, communicators, trainers, marketers, etc.

RESULT: Properly assigned, with concretely defined roles, the firm’s staff will become a kind of conveyor belt. All of their designated tasks will funnel toward the actual sales moment. The pipeline thereby remains engineered to support the one final moment – the closing – that justifies its existence in the first place

Hidden Business Development Opportunities

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Marketing, Law Firms, Marketing for Law Firms.

By: Allan Colman

Marketing The Law Firm (An ALM Publication)

January, 2015

These days, all firms must provide more value-added services. In the short run, the more you know the better chance you have at winning the business. In the long run, close client knowledge and an understanding of the marketplace will augment client retention.

We often ask, “what is their takeaway?” In other words, look beyond Power Point and fancy letterhead. Think creatively and empathetically. Who is the competition? How close on the heels are they in respect to your target?

Identify the one major asset you bring to the table, the one major differentiator between you and your competition, the major problem you can solve for them and make this your “takeaway” message. Repeat it often during the meetings so if they should remember nothing else during their decision making process, they will remember it.

When you market your firm and services, the only thing a perspective client cares about is what you will be able to do for them. Learn as much as you can about your prospects, identify their needs and prepare for your meeting accordingly.

It is essential to practice your presentation or dinner conversation. By taking time you will:

  • Be able to anticipate questions;
  • Identify and better understand the current and recent patterns of the prospect’s business;
  • Have your primary “takeaways” refined;
  • Establish what you need to plan ahead for your next contact.

Preparation is essential. It will ready you not only for the sales/pitch meetings, but also for conducting a review and “post-mortem” of the meeting once it is finished. Remember the old joke, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” The answer to the question, “How do you achieve success in the closing zone is exactly the same: practice, practice, practice.

Perhaps one of the most unique opportunities to grow future business is rejection! Use it to turn rejection into a future close. What happens when your firm has found a target through business development and marketing tactics, done their due diligence with research to ascertain potential client needs, then finally presents a killer presentation to only be rejected in the end?

Losing never feels good. But don’t count yourself out just yet. Follow this process and you might turn that loss into an engagement … eventually.

Ask what the element was that won it for the competition and what were the strengths and areas of improvement your presentation needed.

Now it’s time to take a tough, retrospective look at the marketing business development strategy and sales/closing techniques used to pitch that piece of business. If you made it to the closing zone then the marketing and business development tactics you used were sufficient to get your firm considered. Where did your closing skills miss the mark? Did the prospect/client feel you had a full understanding of their needs? Conduct a post-mortem from events that occurred at the presentation and then try to pinpoint the areas needing improvement.

Find out which firm won the business, and then find out everything about them From the client’s perspective, what was your firm lacking that they believed the others might deliver? Also remember that if you made it to the finals, they know and appreciate you and have an investment in you and your firm as well.

Stay in touch and you stand an excellent chance of being hired in the future. Maximize this “Hidden Opportunity.”

The First 7 Quick Hits to Business Development

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Client Retention, Law Firm Leadership, Practice Group Leaders.

For those clients who ask us for immediate client targeting, managing, contacting, meeting, training and evaluation, we work with them to:

A. Build additional services into current engagements;
B. Consult recent clients;
C. Target new lead sources who should be using your firm;
D. Revisit clients who have NOT selected your firm;
E. Customize your initial approaches, proposal options, etc.
F. Gather and prioritize input from your colleagues.

Note that most of these first “quick hits” focus on those who know you, clients and significant prospects. In the next column, we’ll add to this list. Go to www.closersgroup.com/services to learn more.