If you’re in the US, chances are that you’re either out of the office today or working hard to clear your desk so you can leave the office to celebrate Thanksgiving. So, I’ll be brief. Thank you for the opportunity to share ideas and information with you each week. Our in-boxes are all jammed these […]
I received my first holiday card this week. You know what that means: the beginning of the slippery slope that will have us all sliding into 2017 before we know it. But we still have some six weeks to go… Six weeks, and a heavy dose of holidays. What would you like to accomplish during […]
One of the best things about business development is also one of the worst: you have multiple strategies and tactics at your disposal to grow your practice. Sure, you can boil down all business development to just a few actions: get known for work in your area of practice, meet people who need your help […]
Nobody wants to hear “no” in response to a request for business. Very often, unless you’re participating in a formal RFP process, instead of being told directly that you’re not getting the business, you’ll get either an objection or dead silence. Silence may feel less uncomfortable than an objection that is by definition negative feedback. […]
Three key words in building a strong practice: satisfaction, service, and value. Get these right, and chances are pretty decent that you’ll see repeat business (where feasible) and referrals. Get them wrong, and you may not like what you see. The blog post 7 Good Customer Service Ideas That Work offers insight into how to get […]
If you’re using social media for business development purposes, you know that it can be a strong opportunity – or a black hole that will steal hours and energy and return absolutely nothing in the way of business results. As with so many other tools, your results have nothing to do with social media itself […]
I recently spent nearly two hours sitting at an airport gate, sitting about 5 feet behind a stand with Delta American Express card representatives. You’ve probably seen these stands: a table to the side of a concourse, with various promotional freebies, application forms neatly stacked, and one or two hawkers, trying desperately to get people to […]
I was recently talking with a friend who is an extremely savvy business owner. She set up an LLC a number of years ago and, now that she’s expanding that business in a new direction with a partner, she consulted with an accountant to determine what sort of entity, if any, she and her new […]
Things certainly have changed since the pre-recessionary days of the early 2000s. We can name some of the changes easily: more competition, more attention to and negotiation of fees, less day-to-day work distributed to outside counsel, more effort to use technology to make legal work more efficient in both time and money. When I speak […]
Do you know what is the biggest stumbling block for lawyers who want to grow their practices? You might think it’s being too busy, dislike of networking, or fear of asking for business. And those are all good guesses, but incorrect. Lawyers who want to grow their practices most often stumble over their marketing plan. […]