Lessons from 2010

I spend some time at the end of each year planning for the next, and the kickoff is a year in review. In the process, I look at what went well, what didn’t go well, what’s changed for me and within me.  I picked up on 5 key discoveries for 2010.

  1. Turn off the email notifications.  All of them. I haven’t had a desktop email notification in years, but I never removed it from my BlackBerry.  Given the volume of email I receive, that means my phone was blinking read (“Urgent! Urgent!”) more often than not.  In the Fall, I attended a conference and wanted to concentrate, so I turned off the email notification blink.  I felt less harried right away, which I hadn’t expected.If I’m expecting a critical email, I switch back until it’s arrived, and I do get notified on text messages, which tend to be more pressing.Leaving the notification off under ordinary circumstances has made a huge difference in my day-to-day Pavlovian wear and tear.  Try it.  You won’t be sorry.  (Or if you are, you can switch back.  Seriously, it’s worth a try.
  2. It’s important to step outside your comfort zone. A couple of weeks ago, I attended a conference as a sponsor, which meant that I had to step outside my ordinary introvert comfort zone and be “on”, engaging people and chatting seemingly through the whole conference instead of taking a few minutes to regroup.  It was exhausting… And exhilarating. (And a big “HELLO!” to everyone who’s reading this after meeting me at the conference!)I’m still an introvert, but I learned that there’s a real benefit to trying out another way of experiencing the world. Business benefit, yes, but personal as well.  What would be a step out of your comfort zone?  Try it on for size. Again, you can always switch back.
  3. Most email isn’t as important as you might believe. As some of you remember, I took a sabbatical over the summer to handle some personal business.  Even my BlackBerry didn’t work in some of the areas where I was spending time, and I worried about being out of touch for (gasp!) 4-6 hours during the business day.  The world didn’t end.  I continued to work with my clients, book new speaking gigs, and meet and begin work with new clients.I noticed that when I’d return to the computer, about 80% of my email would be unnecessary. (This matches the Pareto Principle, of course.)  I’d delete that 80% quickly and move on to the meat, and life continued to run just as smoothly as ever.  I started trimming the 80%, but even though I now receive less email, I notice that the 80/20 rule still applies.  Knowing that makes clearing my inbox easier than ever.  What can you trim?
  4. Sometimes, you just goof up.  Admit it and deal. This one is embarrassing.  I had a 90-minute speaking engagement in September.  I was sharing information that I knew would help the audience, and it was a good group, with lots of participation even though we were meeting at 8 AM on a cold, rainy morning.  I’d prepared and rehearsed, and I had my presentation down cold.  It wasn’t until people started leaving that I realized that I’d goofed up — in a big way — and planned to finish after 2 hours instead of 90 minutes.  Oh, did I mention that this was a time management presentation?  (I told you it was embarrassing.)I’d love to pretend that I never make a mistake, but too many people could call me out on that. I always take my mistakes seriously — what can I learn, how can I adjust to avoid this happening again, and what can I do to correct the problem? — but there’s a difference between taking them seriously and taking myself so seriously that the only option is self-castigation.  During the presentation, I admitted my mistake (not much of a chance of hiding this one, y’know?) and wrapped up quickly… And then I went to another speaking engagement and gave one of the best presentations I ever have, using a timer that counted down to zero rather than up to the time I was allotted.Many professionals I’ve met hold themselves to a high standard that doesn’t allow for mistakes. But mistakes happen anyway.  Find the middle ground that allows you to respond appropriately to mistakes, get to the heart of what happened and change it, and then move on.
  5. Less input may generate more creative output. Earlier this year, I discovered an article that reported that in 2008:  households in the United States consumed a mind-boggling total of 3.6 zettabytes of information and 10,845 trillion words in 2008.  That’s a daily average of 33.8 gigabytes of information and 100,564 words per person.  Put another way, it’s the equivalent of covering the continental United States and Alaska in a 7-foot high stack of Dan Brown novels.Does anybody think we’re consuming less now?I’m an incorrigible reader, and people fascinate me, so I love Twitter and Facebook and surfing in general, not to mention my hard copy reading and even TV and radio. And I’ve noticed that it’s tough for me to come up with creative ideas for my clients or myself when I’m taking in so much information.  There’s no time for ideas to germinate.Have you ever been so nervous while speaking that you keep breathing in but you don’t exhale?  That’s what a lot of us are unintentionally doing with information.  We take in more and more, but we don’t allow ourselves the luxury of letting ideas roll around and transform and spark.  Try taking in less information, at least for a time, and see what happens. Perhaps (like me) you’ll find yourself generative creative ideas that would have been crowded out.

What have you learned this year? I’d love to know.

What if WikiLeaks leaked about you?

I read a Forbes article about WikiLeaks last week while waiting for a delayed flight. The release of diplomatic cables has caused much embarrassment, both because of unpalatable (though apparently legal) directives and thanks to candid assessments of diplomats and leaders in other countries.

WikiLeaks is transforming the era of transparency in operations to one of forced transparency, and that got me thinking. Back when I was practicing law, I often heard friends and colleagues complaining about their clients.  “Business would be great if it weren’t for the clients!”

Some complaints were good-natured; others were real complaints about overly demanding, rude, difficult clients. I hear similar complaints at times from my clients now.

We’ve all heard the anecdotes about service providers who’ve complained about their clients on Facebook, and that’s just stupid. That’s a self-inflicted wound.  I honestly find it a little tough to feel bad for someone who doesn’t know not to whine about clients (or just about anyone else, really) on the Internet.  But you don’t do that… Right?

But imagine if someone intercepted a handwritten note attached to a file, “Mr. Z is being obnoxious about the bill again — pls call him.” (Insert your own complaint here.)  And I started thinking (as you should), what if Wiki leaked that?  The chances are remote at best, that private communications within a small organization would ever be viewed outside that organization… But what if it happened?

Here’s the real issue:  what we say tends to take on a certain power and truth in our thoughts and is expressed in our actions. I don’t mean that in some touchy-feely, weird way.  Think about this:  if you get all incensed thinking about how Client X is always calling to ask questions you’ve already answered and then Client X calls you again, aren’t you more likely to be frustrated with that call?

Professionals don’t allow that frustration to show, but when words, thoughts, and actions are all aligned, a belief is solidified. And when a belief exists, we tend to selectively see evidence that supports that belief.  We don’t intend to, necessarily, but we tend to see what we expect to see.  That, in turn, can create a self-perpetuating cycle of dissatisfaction.

Consider how you usually think and talk about your clients. Do you enjoy the people who engage you?  If not, ask yourself why.

  • Perhaps you’ve elected to ignore warning signs that a potential client will be difficult. The truth is, difficult clients do exist, and they can lead to headaches and even ethical or legal complaints against you.  Learn the signs of a difficult client so you can make a conscious decision about whether you want to work with a particular person, and consider that a difficult client can cost far more than the income he or she may bring.
  • Perhaps you’re working harder than you’d like or with fewer resources than you’d like, and stress is showing up as frustration with clients. If this is the case, figure it out and fix the problem.  Now.  You’ll be happier, your clients will likely be happier, and you’ll probably do better.
  • Perhaps you’ve simply fallen into a habit. It’s sometimes easy to be negative.  If you notice that you’ve dropped into a destructive view of your clients or your practice, call a time-out and focus on why you do what you do.  Especially in a period of prolonged stress (as we’ve experienced in this long recession), you may need to reconnect with your purpose more frequently.

Check your words and thoughts about your clients. There’s no doubt that clients can be frustrating, simply because human beings can be frustrating.  But your success, and your clients’ success in your work together, depends on your ability to address your frustration when it’s well-placed and to set it aside when it isn’t well-placed.

So, the next time you catch yourself grousing about a client, ask yourself:  What if WikiLeaks leaked that?

Educate Them!

One of my favorite self-care activities is getting a massage. I tend to tighten my shoulders when I’m working intently, and despite stretching, the end of a major project always finds me feeling as if there’s a hot spear piercing my left shoulder.

A friend recently told me about a chain of stores that offer inexpensive massages, and I’ve noticed a proliferation of clinic signs promising slashed prices. I’ve been sticking with my favorite massage therapist because she’s fantastic and I like her tremendously…  But those signs kept showing up, and I found myself wondering if perhaps I should check out cheaper massage options and save some money.  But I wondered if the massage would be as effective and relaxing.  Would I save money, or would I waste it?

I tell you this story not to discuss my massage habits, but because this is the thought process that your clients may go through when they become aware of another service provider who charges less. It’s human nature, especially when times are tight, to notice and to consider investigating a deal.  But we all know that a “deal” isn’t always a deal.

How can you help your clients distinguish a deal from a sub-optimal service?

Educate your clients. While I was mulling massage options, I received a newsletter from my favorite spa that offered a series of questions to ask a reduced-price competitor, inquiring about important massage aspects such as the training/experience of the therapists and the atmosphere in which the services are performed.  The questions qualify the preferred provider — in this instance, the spa — as the ideal, but they’d also allow me to vet competitors to see whether another option might be a good deal.

WHAT?  Tell potential clients that someone else is offering a good deal?  Why would you do that? When you give candid information that may cut against your economic interest, clients recognize it, and it tends to raise your credibility.  When your credibility goes up, it becomes more likely that they’ll trust you when you tell them that in situation A, it’s fine to use a cut-rate provider, but in situation B, they’ll come out ahead by paying more and working with you.  And when you gain client trust, all manner of good things begin to happen.

To educate your clients and potential client market in this way, take these steps:

  1. Who are your competitors?  Who offers the same services to meet the same needs (your direct competitors) and who offers different services to meet the same needs (your indirect competitors)?  To continue the massage example, other massage therapists are the spa’s direct competitors.  Yoga studios, gyms, aromatherapy solutions, and many other modalities can credibly claim to help with physical tension that results from stress, and those other service providers are indirect competitors.
  2. How are you different from your direct competitors?  Why is massage better than yoga for addressing stress-induced tightness and pain?  Why should a business planning to incorporate hire you rather than using LegalZoom?
  3. Once you’ve identified what sets you apart, decide how you can communicate that to your potential clients.  Maybe it’s a newsletter, like my favorite spa sent.  Or you might write an article that compares and contrasts your services with others.  Perhaps you’ll weave it into conversation.

However you communicate your distinguishing factors, make sure you provide both emotional and rational distinctions. You have more experience (rational), which means that you can give clear guidance about a convoluted situation (emotional).  Because you’ve been through an experience like your client’s (emotional), you’re able to identify the steps that will have the biggest impact for your client (rational).

Instead of worrying about competition, educate your clients and turn obstacles into opportunity.

Threat or opportunity? It’s all about perspective

Most businesses do some sort of year-end review and lay plans for the next year. Many client-based businesses slow down a bit this time of year, and you have two choices:  coast along, or use the downtime to your advantage.  Surely you can guess which approach I’d advise!

When you sit down with pen and paper or cozy up with your computer, what’s the best way to look at where you’ve been this year and where you’d like to go next? Or, for those of you who are new in business, what should you be considering as you lay your plans?

You may have heard of a SWOT analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. SWOT analysis is taught in business schools and elsewhere as a model to distinguish your business from competitors.  It’s a helpful model, but it’s never felt like a fit to me.

I don’t find “threat” to be a helpful concept — and it isn’t because I’m an overly optimistic Pollyanna who never sees a threat. Certainly, there are situations and circumstances out there that can pose a challenge to your business, some of which can be fatal if they’re ignored.  But focusing on “threat”, in my experience, tends to call forth a defensive response, which sets up a reactive, rather than a creative, approach.

A more powerful perspective recognizes that where an obstacle exists, there’s almost always an opportunity. Sometimes it’s exploiting a particular market condition or a news story that’s put negative focus on something you or your clients are doing.  That’s an opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade, meaning that the opportunity isn’t one you would necessarily seek out under other circumstances.

But sometimes spotting an obstacle leads you to recognize an opportunity that you would have dismissed as a problem. A few months ago, I was talking with a lawyer whose practice centers on family law and who wanted to work with a certain slice of the celebrity market.  She’d identified a big obstacle:  she wasn’t a part of the celebrity lawyer crowd.  She described a group of lawyers known to one another and to that market, and even though she had many celebrity contacts, she was an outsider to that world.  And there’s the opportunity.  Much as politicians campaign on having the “outside the beltway” perspective, she could position herself as someone who wouldn’t have the same old, same old approach already known to others in the crowd.  She could use her outsider status as a positive differentiation.  Do you see it?  Obstacle… Opportunity.

Another example:  I worked with a consultant whose business was exploding at the seams. She had a unique process to solve a particular problem, and she had a deep connection to the community of people who were struggling with the problem.  Obstacle: not enough time and energy to work with the clients beating down her door.  Opportunity: she was able to raise her fees so that she could work with fewer clients one-on-one, and she certified some associate consultants in her process, so clients who didn’t want to pay her new fees could still work with someone she’d personally trained to apply her unique process.  The result?  She continues to serve a large community and to help them solve their problems, but she now does so in a way that provides more income without draining her energy.

What’s your biggest obstacle? You know, the one that keeps you up at night.  The one that you find yourself worrying about even when you didn’t intend to think about business.

Turn that obstacle on its head.  Look for the (as yet) unappreciated opportunity that exists within it. Sometimes it’s difficult to see the opportunity if you’re too close, so ask for help from creative colleagues.  Or call on me.  Opportunity-spotting is one of my favorite things to do, and I’d be delighted to help.

How committed are you?

Be committed. What’s the first thing you think when you think of commitment in the context of your business?  Without commitment in three particular areas of business, success is unlikely.

Commitment to succeeding in the business. What’s your backup plan if your business doesn’t prosper?  Some professionals (especially the risk-averse, like lawyers) need to have a backup plan to feel secure, but having an acceptable fallback can in some instances be a sign of serious trouble.

I recently spoke with a lawyer who commented that she was excited about opening her own practice and determined to make it work, but that if things didn’t go well, she could always go back to the job she’d left.  Plan B so permeated our conversation that I virtually guarantee she’ll be back at the job within a year. And that’s ok, except that she’ll return with a feeling of failure if she doesn’t recognize that she was never really committed to building her own business.

I don’t know a single person (especially over the last couple of years) who hasn’t wondered at least occasionally what if this doesn’t work… But having a clear fallback position makes it too easy to put that plan into action instead of executing the plan to make the business work. The reason is often simple:  Plan B is familiar and safe, which may not be the case with one’s own business or practice, especially during the start-up phase.

Let me be clear:  sometimes a business doesn’t work or a practice lacks the clients to survive, and you still have to pay the mortgage.  If that happens, adjust course.  You may need to take on some part-time work or even throw in the towel on the business.  But if you’re starting every week (or every day or every project) with Plan B in mind, you’ll end up with Plan B before you know it.

Commitment to business development. To get consistent results, you must be consistent with your business development efforts.

When I consult with a potential client who wants to bring in more business, I always ask questions to uncover not just what business development activities they’ve tried, but how consistently — and when a business is underperforming, consistency is always lacking.

Create a schedule of your activities, divided into daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly activity. Otherwise, you’re leaving it up to chance.  Even when you’ve developed a habit, a change in outside circumstances can undermine that habit, and you’ll never even notice unless you have a system in place.

One client wrote articles for publication every other month, but when the journal that published those articles went out of business, he neglected to put writing for publication on his task list, and guess what?  It just didn’t happen.  He searched out a couple of journals eager to publish his articles and added writing to his quarterly task list so it wouldn’t slip through the cracks again, and his stalled list of publications began growing again.  Checklists and schedules will help to keep activity consistent.

Commitment to clients. I have observed professionals who are so committed to growing their businesses that they focus almost solely on getting the next new client, leaving behind current clients.  Some professions mandate a minimum level of client service, but when’s the last time you felt good about receiving adequate service?

To succeed in business, make it part of your habit to deliver exceptional client service. That means providing the substantive service the client needs, plus providing it in a way that surpasses need.  For example, one of the top complaints about lawyers is that telephone calls go unreturned.  (I haven’t seen statistics, but I imagine unanswered emails are a growing area of dissatisfaction as well.)  Of course, you must respond in some way to your clients’ communications to provide adequate service.  Take adequate to excellent by setting a policy that you or someone on your staff will respond to every client communication within X amount of time, and then stick to that policy.

For ideas on crafting service that will delight your clients, read Seth Godin’s excellent book Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable.

How committed are you? Are you willing to do what it takes to grow your business or your practice, applying a “no excuses” approach?

111 Ways to Streamline Your Time

111 Ways to Streamline Your Time:  An Inside View of Outlook® by Mary Scott

The author of 111 Ways to Streamline Your Time, Mary Scott, is a friend of mine, and just about every time we’d talk I’d learn something new about getting the most from Outlook®. I was thrilled when Mary shared that she’d decided to put the tips together into a book.  If you use Outlook®, you must pick this one up.

A few of my favorite tips (and note that although Mary’s focus is Outlook®, these tips can be adapted for any system):

  • Tip 2 (Add content from an email to a Contact): Relationship-building is easier when you’re able to remember information about your contacts and don’t have to fumble around with names and important dates.  Mary shows you easily how to copy something from an email — a spouse’s name, perhaps, or a favorite author — into the Contact record for easy retrieval.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have these reminders at your fingertips when you’re preparing to meet with a contact?
  • Tip 19 (AAA Rule:  Always Attach Attachments): Some systems (Gmail, for example) have safeguards to make sure you remembered to attach the file mentioned in your email — but typically only if you use some variation on the word “attach”.  Without that safeguard, it’s easy to forget the attachment (especially if you’re in a hurry), forcing you to spend extra time resending the email with the file.  Mary’s AAA Rule suggests attaching the file, then typing the email, and finally addressing it, thus eliminating the risk of hitting send and then realizing the mistake.  (Tip 21 is related and helpful — make addressing the email the last step of all messages to prevent premature sending.)
  • Tip 51 (Save Each Other Time) could revolutionize email communications. Mary points out simple time-saving ideas that we should all use in email, such as “Save the reader the time and frustration of trying to figure out what you want — indicate the action you want taken in the first lines of your message.  Don’t bury it in the content.  Don’t assume that everyone will read to the bottom of your message.”  (Emphasis mine.)
  • Tip 81 (Use Contacts for more than people): Mary suggests using contacts for static lists, information like clothing sizes and books to read, etc.  For example, Mary describes that one of her clients uses this approach to save packing lists for various kinds of trips, under “Contact” names like Packing List – Business, Packing List – Family, and Packing List – Skiing.  Save the relevant information in the Notes (or “white space”) section of the Contact record, and you’re ready to go.
  • Tip 104 (Recurring tasks) is a time-saver and memory aid. If you have tasks that recur on a regular basis (quarterly reports, for instance), set the task to recur on the appropriate basis.  Before this tip, I’d always run late (or worry that I had) in remembering to draft reports that are always due in mid-January and mid-July; now I set recurring tasks for January 1 and July 1 and I know I’m covered whether the due date is a little early or a little late in any given year.

Mary’s book is a must-purchase for every Outlook® user (especially since she specifically addresses both 2003 and 2007, so you never have to wonder how to adapt a particular tip to your system), and I strongly recommend it for everyone who’d like to make the most of their email/contact/task system, even if you don’t use Outlook®. While not all of the tips will transfer to other systems, Mary includes plenty of ideas and approaches that transfer easily to non-Outlook® products.

Meeting Client Expectations… Or Not

One of the top client complaints received by bar associations across the country has to do with lawyers’ failure to return telephone calls. I haven’t seen statistics, but I suspect that clients also complain about lawyers who fail to answer email.  Clients expect that their lawyer will communicate with them in a timely manner, and on the surface, just about all lawyers agree.  And the same is true for other service providers, including those who don’t have a professional oversight board of some sort.

But we’ve all had that annoying client. You know, the one who is constantly on the phone or sending yet another email with an unnecessary question or comment.  The one who is so insistent on knowing when a task will be completed that it may feel like you won’t have time to do the work unless you “ignore” the client for a while.  And even if you don’t have one of those clients, you’re probably still swimming in telephone calls and emails — we all are these days.

So, how do you deal with client expectations about communications? If you meet every expectation, you’ll add dramatically to your workload and you may worry that your clients will dictate how you operate your business; if you don’t meet expectations, you may find yourself on the wrong end of a complaint, or you may discover that dissatisfied clients are telling their friends and colleagues about your [perceived] poor service.

Have a conversation with your clients about communications at the time of engagement. The most dangerous expectations are those that go unexpressed.  If, for example, a client is expecting a weekly check-in and you don’t realize that, it’s probably a safe bet that the client will quickly feel dissatisfied and either start clamoring for attention or silently smoldering.  If you ask what the client expects, you’ll have an opportunity to meet that expectation.

And, you may choose not to meet the client’s expectations. When there’s nothing pressing, for instance, you may not communicate with the client for some period of time.  If you bill based on time, unnecessary communications will run up your client’s bill (perhaps creating greater dissatisfaction), and if you use a flat fee arrangement, unnecessary communications can eviscerate your profit.

When you discuss expectations, you can respond to what your client expects by sharing your own expectations. Some clients will be satisfied when they understand when and why you communicate (especially if you agree to communicate in the manner your client prefers), some may negotiate with you in some way, and some may choose not to hire you.  Regardless of the outcome, both of you will come out ahead for having had the conversation.

How to Reach a Leadership Position… Quickly!

Working on a professional association committee or project is a good way to get leadership experience quickly. The reason is simple:  because of the number and variety of professional associations (such as the ABA and local bar associations, the International Coach Federation, Professional Photographers of America, Licensing Executives Society, etc.) and the number and variety of sections and committees within each, leadership opportunities are numerous.

Why should you consider involvement in a professional association?

  1. To grow your professional network. Having a broad group of colleagues will prove useful over the span of your career in ways you probably can’t even imagine right now.  Networks are useful if you need to refer a client to someone in whom you have confidence, if you’re visiting another part of the country (or world) and need business resources, if you’re looking for a new position, on and on and on.
  2. To contribute to the profession. The work produced by each group will vary, but you may have an opportunity to contribute to a report studying the challenges faced by women attorneys of color, the latest revision to substantive or procedural rules of your profession, or to track legislation that effects your clients.  You can use your skills and develop them further through this work.
  3. To advance your business development goals. If your practice is supported by referrals from colleagues, professional associations can create the opportunity for you to become known by your potential referral sources.  (But note:  if referrals from colleagues are uncommon in your field, don’t hide out in a safe professional group and pretend you’re going to get new business there.)
  4. Because it’s fun. When you find a group that’s a good fit for you, networking and conferences become a time to reconnect with friends and accomplish something of professional benefit.

So, how do you get started?

  1. Identify the groups that might be a good fit for you based on your goals and interests. Do you want to be involved with a local group or a national group?  (If you’re looking to create a referral network, this is probably the #1 question you’ll need to answer.)
  2. Next, identify a subgroup of that organization that you find interesting. Look through the sections, committees and subcommittees, or the list of projects that the group maintains.  Your goal is to identify a small working group that will be a good fit for your skills, your interest, and your goals — in that order.
  3. Working groups almost always need help. Perhaps you’re already a passive member of a group, receiving information and maybe attending CE programs.  To reap the benefit of membership, you must be active.  Decide how much time you have available and what kind of assistance you’d like to offer.  You may be able to get a feel for current projects from the group’s website.
  4. Contact the leader of the subgroup you’d like to join and volunteer. For all but the most prestigious groups, I can almost guarantee that a committee chair’s favorite words to hear are, “I’d like to help!”  Find out how you can make a contribution.  Look for something fairly short-term, so you aren’t boxed in and you can prove yourself quickly.  And, of course, do a great job.
  5. Attend the business meetings of your select group. Most professional organizations meet at least annually, and those who attend are the leaders.  If you want to become a leader, meet them.  Learn more about the group’s activity, who’s involved, what its history is, and how things operate.  Ask about the leadership track — how might you become a committee leader, a section leader, or an association leader?  Contribute to the conversation and volunteer where appropriate.  Show your interest and your ability.
  6. Once you’ve taken on a few projects and done well, you will start to advance. Depending on the group, you can probably expect to become a subcommittee vice chair (or some equivalent title) within a couple of years, and sometimes much faster.  Should you choose to advance in leadership, you’ll know much more about how to do so in your selected group; if not, you can probably continue at your current level of involvement and accrue additional benefits.

Selling The Invisible

Selling The Invisible
by Harry Beckwith

“You can’t see them–so how do you sell them?
That’s the problem with services…
This book begins with the core problem of service marketing:  service quality.  It then suggests how to learn what you must improve, with examples of techniques that work.  It then moves to service marketing fundamentals
defining what business you really are in and what people really are buying, positioning your service, understanding prospects and buying behavior, and communicating.”

Selling The Invisible offers targeted suggestions for marketing your services, using anecdotes to teach. Divided into eleven sections with multiple one- to three-page chapters in each section, Beckwith’s book gives bite-sized lessons on what clients and prospects (that is, potential clients) want, expect, and find persuasive.  A few notable tidbits:

  • Serve your clients as they want to be served. Beckwith criticizes lawyers who write a “really good brief” but fail to notice that the brief was “equally effective for the client $5,000 earlier” and that it “covers an issue that might have been avoided entirely through good lawyers”.  In other words:  don’t get so caught up in technical merit that you overlook what the clients sees.  (For those of you who aren’t lawyers, don’t miss this lesson — it applies to you, too.)
  • Marketing starts with you and your employees. “Review every step — from how your receptionist answers to the message on the bottom of your invoices — and ask what you could do differently to attract and keep more customers.  Every act is a marketing act.  Make every employee a marketing person.”  For example, notice how you (or your assistant or receptionist) answer the telephone:  would you-the-caller want to talk with whoever answers your phone, or would you-the-caller have the impression that you were interrupting something more important?
  • Clients seek personality and relationships. “Service businesses are about relationships.  Relationships are about feelings.  In good ones, the feelings are good; in bad ones, they are bad.  In service marketing and selling, the logical reasons that you should win the business — your competence, your excellence, your talent — just pay the entry fees.  Winning is a matter of feelings, and feelings are about personalities.”
  • Being Great vs. Being Good. “People in professional services are especially prone to thinking that the better they get, the better their business will be.  The more the tax lawyer knows about the tax code… the more business will beat a path to [her] door[].”  Beckwith cites examples in law, medicine, and financial services to prove that clients place relationship, trust, good communication, and other non-technical proficiencies above technical skill.  (I would add the corollary that technical excellence is a prerequisite rather than a pure competitive advantage.)  Beckwith’s summary:  “Prospects do not buy how good you are at what you do.  They buy how good you are at who you are.”  (But you still have to have the skills to deliver.)

Why should you read Selling The Invisible?

If you consider yourself skilled at selling your services (and you have the business to back it up), review Selling The Invisible for reminders.  If you’re new to marketing your services, this book will serve as a foundational text for basic marketing principles.  You’ll also pick up terrific ideas for client service and for contributing to your team’s or organization’s business development efforts.

Selling The Invisible is an invaluable addition to a marketing library.  It’s quick to read; one could even read the bolded summary statements at the end of each chapter to get the gist of Beckwith’s ideas.  But, as you read, be sure to implement Beckwith’s bottom line in the chapter entitled Fallacy:  Strategy is King, and “Do Anything” (preferably passionately) rather than creating and revising strategy endlessly.

Take Off The Blinders!

The monument pictured here marks a spot where Thomas Edison camped in 1878.  While camping, Edison threw a broken bamboo fishing pole on a fire and noticed that the frayed pieces glowed and resisted burning.  He later tested a fiber derived from bamboo as a filament for the incandescent light bulb and came up with a bulb that would burn for over 1200 hours.  (An earlier version burned for only 40 hours.)  Someone else used a bamboo filament in 1854, but legend has it that it’s the camping experience that prompted Edison to use bamboo.

You may be thinking, so what?  Edison’s story (whether it’s pure truth or a nice legend) illustrates something that is critical to your professional success.

Looking outside a single box brings benefits — whether that’s knowledge from one field to another, an “out of the box” idea that leads to innovation, or drawing support (literal or metaphorical) from one area to another. Getting a jolt of “new” can stem from just about anywhere, if we create the opportunity for it.

And yet, when we specialize in a particular area, we tend to limit our attention to that area. One of my clients recently confessed that she reads plenty of information that’s directly connected to her photography business, but she rarely reads anything else — not even for pleasure.

When I was practicing patent litigation, I read in two primary areas:  patent law and litigation.  When I began to read business articles and magazines, however, I started to pick up tips on topics ranging from marketing to client service.  Occasionally, I’d even see a discussion that would in some way bear on one of my cases or a client’s business.  Even good information can leave us with stale input when it’s more of the same.

Here’s your challenge for the week:  pick up a magazine that you’ve never read before. Try Inc., Fast Company, Kiplinger, Forbes, or Entrepreneur. If you read those, consider a political magazine or even The New Yorker — just something that’s well outside your norm.

Much of what you read will be interesting but inapplicable to your business.  Look for the “zingers” that you can transfer into your own field or that spark a new idea.