It is now that time of the year when lawyers put together their list of who to send holiday greetings to. From a marketing standpoint, I have always thought that they were a waste of time and money. When I was an in-house attorney, I usually received about fifty. I simply tossed most and rarely read them. Occasionally, they were even insulting. Some sent cards with their names already pre-printed on the card. Couldn’t they spend a minute or two and write a few personal words or at least sign their name? Get Noticed If you insist on sending cards, do it at a time of the year when it will not be received with ten other cards on the same day. More importantly, make it memorable. Every year I receive a card from a lawyer I know who practices in Memphis, Tennessee. He is a huge Elvis Presley fan. Around the time of Elvis’ birthday (January 8th), I always receive a New Year’s card which has an Elvis theme photo and a short greeting. One year it was a picture of President Bush and the Prime Minister of Japan (a big Elvis fan himself) during a visit to Graceland. It certainly was memorable; I’m blogging about it five years later. The purpose of the holiday card, as well as every marketing activity attorneys do, is to remind your clients that you are still around to perform legal services. You want to stay top of mind. Traditional holiday cards simply do not do it. Originally appeared on Lawyerist.com’s law firm client service portal Read More

When coaching or speaking to lawyers about the importance of networking, the knee-jerk reaction of many is “you gotta be kidding me; I would rather take the bar exam again than network!” I was recently reminded of this mentality when one of my clients commented to me after two months of aggressively networking for a job, “it really doesn’t suck like I thought it would.” Continue reading this post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

Perhaps the most effective networking is a one-on-one setting over coffee or lunch. That is usually within most people’s comfort zone. But how comfortable are you when attending a conference with a room full of strangers. Can you “work the room” without breaking into a cold sweat? Continue reading this post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

In this tough economy, perhaps the most frequently asked question I get from my business development coaching clients, as well as attendees at my marketing CLE’s is “Should I be doing anything differently now?” The answer is basically no. Now is the time you simply cannot afford not to market. You need to reconnect with former clients and jump start your networking efforts with acquaintances, both professional and personal, who could become potential clients or referral sources. With that said, there are two things that make this environment unique and are worth mentioning. You have the time; make the most of it First, for those of you in the past who complained that you simply did not have the time to network, unfortunately for many lawyers now, that excuse is no longer available. The phone is not ringing as frequently as it used to and you are billing less hours. In short, there is no excuse why you should not be networking or doing other types of marketing activities such as speaking or writing. You have the time; no more excuses! Spend less, but get out more Second, I am a strong believer that the best networking activity for lawyers in most practice areas is having lunch with clients and prospects. Accordingly, I occasionally hear the understandable pushback, “I cannot afford those fancy lunches.” Well, they do not have to be fancy. There are many places that will not break the bank—and I am not talking about McDonalds or Subway. There are many nice casual dining restaurants where two can eat for under $25. For those of you who are really experiencing tough times and genuinely cannot afford $25, having coffee at any time of the day can be an effective Plan B. Spend the 5 bucks; it will be a wise investment. Even if you only receive one small matter as a result of your networking coffees, that matter will have paid for well over a year’s worth of buying someone else’s coffee. Now is not the time to be penny wise and pound foolish. Originally published on Lawyerist.com Read More

Lawyers must market because the competition for business can be brutal in virtually all practice areas and localities. That is the bad news. The good news is that the vast majority of the competition stinks. Here are two stories to illustrate my point; both of them told to me by attendees at one of my recent CLEs. Both are general counsel at mid sized corporations. Continue reading this post at www.lawyerist.com Read More