These are not prioritised
in any particular order of importance or likely impact…they are listed here
(and will be regularly added to) so you are never short of ideas from the menu
to tailor to your personal Business Development activities…
1.
Time…everyone has
the same amount of available time…it’s how effectively and consistently you
choose to use your time for Business Development that makes all the difference…
2.
Many people who
claim to not have enough time for Business Development in my experience do not
achieve particularly impressive fees generation anyway, and often, careful
analysis of what they do with their time reveals serious lack of focus and
waste of time…managing themselves a little better would produce ample time for
a strong Business Development turnaround…
A common trap is
leaving activity in this area until after all client work…an incorrect priority
judgment. Because this work is not so familiar and comfortable to most lawyers,
much of it is most effectively done early in the day when you are quite fresh
and less likely to get easily bogged down.
3.
Developing your
skills
in legal areas is a given…
w We’re talking
here about how best to communicate useful information to people who can benefit
from that...so they recognise you, and remember you, as being across your areas
of expertise, approachable and helpful…thus you Build your Brand!
4.
Learn, if you aren’t already, to be passionate about helping people succeed
in life and business... to
successfully grab their opportunities, and to avoid as many of the
bigger risks out there in “the Minefield of Life” as possible. One of Emerson’s
multitude of quotes was, “Make yourself useful and the world will give you
bread”.
5.
Your aim is to build
as good a profile as possible in the market niches/service areas that you
are interested in:
w With existing
clients
w With their
advisers – e.g.: Accountants are just one such adviser group of many.
w With referrers
generally…actual and potential.
w With people of
influence, e.g. the President of an Association, the Secretary of an Industry
Group, The Editor of a relevant publication etc.
w This includes
the Media:
§ Journalists
where relevant
§ Editors of media
publications
w With potential
clients
6.
Set aside the
time from your KMS Work Plan™ on a daily basis to do appropriate
activities from your own Business Development Plan. Create a One-Page-Plan that
fits with your firm plan and/or team plan to give you consistent focus. Ask us
at KMS for a Template/Example…click here for a free copy…
7.
Build up a
database/index of possible speaking opportunities and regularly ring or
write to the contacts...offer to speak…be flexible to meet their needs, and politely
press for their current gaps…
Opportunities for speaking engagements do arise ad
hoc and you should take up every appropriate opportunity. Speaking engagements are an incredibly
powerful way to establish credibility if you do a little bit of preparation and
develop a suitable style.
However, you should also develop a list of
potential people who could ask you to speak, and regularly keep those people
informed, and keep yourself at the top of their list when they are putting on a
function, a seminar, etc.
It would be quite easy for you to spend 10 or 15
minutes during one of your marketing meetings with all of your team
brainstorming the kinds of people who could be put onto such a list on your
database, and then gradually add to it over time as you observe other opportunities.
Those of you who are currently not particularly
comfortable with public speaking should get some training in this area, as it
is probably the most powerful relationship building marketing tool after direct
personal contact.
On any occasion when you address a gathering you
should do everything possible to get a list of attendees and drop them all a
suitable follow-up note. Perhaps
the biggest failing of people who speak at gatherings is their failure to
follow-up.
In time you should be able to get into a position
where you have many opportunities to speak in situations where you are paid,
often well-paid, to speak…and it is important to again recognise how effective
this is…to be paid to do your Business Development!
8.
Write articles on areas affecting
the market niches…keep them short and punchy.
There are literally
thousands of publications produced in Australia/New Zealand every year ranging
from daily publications through to annual publications. Do not pay to have them
placed except in truly appropriate exceptional circumstances. Often lawyers pay
to have articles placed when the articles are appearing alongside items for
which the publishers have actually paid the contributors!
Obviously most of the
publications are very hungry for relevant material, and you should develop an
ability to regularly write articles of varying lengths and submit them to
publications, together with a photograph and a short by-line.
Always pop articles onto
your own website so someone entering a search into their web browser has a
chance of finding your article and site.
Send articles to others to
put on their website as appropriate.
Submit articles to article
directories on the Web…there are many…and people are regularly looking there
for suitable articles they can use and they must attribute credit to you…
Articles appearing in your
marketplace do a lot for your credibility and help to establish the conditions
for work to be referred to you when someone has appropriate circumstances
later. When your name is mentioned
they tend to relate it back to having seen or read your articles, and there is
a greater likelihood that you will get the referral.
If you get a particular
article rejected by a publication don't hesitate to call the editor and ask
whether the article would have been acceptable in some other form, or whether
the publication is looking for articles of a different type or on a different
topic.
Very often an editor will
assume that you are not available, or able, to write on other areas, and that
may be incorrect, or there may be an opportunity for someone else in the firm
to write the article that the editor is interested in.
9.
Send short pithy
emails with significant points to suitable contacts…and as much as possible
avoid the need for an attachment…they reduce the chance that the content you
want to get across will be read on the spot…
10.
Join suitable
interest groups…and be a strong contributing participant…these days there are
many such groups on the Internet…you don’t even need to leave the office for active
participation!
11.
Prepare brief
regular newsletters based on your targets/topics combinations.
12.
Prepare useful
checklists for niche interests…here are some to give you a flavour of the
preferred style…
w 7 Basic Traps
For Lessors
w 6 Major
Potential Headaches For Directors
w The Big 6
Watch-Outs When Buying A Business
w Key Steps In
Disciplining An Employee Properly
w XYZ & Co
“Subpoena Survival Kit For Professional Advisers”
w 11 Guaranteed
Ways To Lose Your Commission – For Real Estate Agents
w How To
Effectively Leave Someone Out Of Your Will And Minimize The Likelihood Of
Challenge
w Ten Key Traps to
Avoid In Business Partnerships
w So You Want To
Be A Director...You Must Read This First!
w Seven Key Things
To Get Right To Get Full Benefit From A Self-Managed Super Fund
You must develop your own
checklists based on your interests and the clear needs of Clients/Contacts,
load them on your website and keep them updated regularly and keep developing
useful materials of this type forever.
13.
Send key
contacts useful relevant articles displaying an interest in, and some
knowledge of, their business, or even just a reference to an article in a
magazine or on the Web. By setting up a range of Google Alerts you can daily
stay easily abreast of what’s happening on the web in relation to areas your
clients are/should be interested in. With Google Alerts you’ll get an email
when your nominated terms/names feature on the web…saving you a lot of
pro-active trawling…
14.
Make at least
two “How’s Things” calls a day...to keep in contact with people and keep
in touch with latest developments…demonstrate an interest in their well-being
and success.
w Where possible
send/give/tell them something relevant/useful.
15.
Prepare booklets, or even write a small book or
e-book... gives a further impression of your expertise for you to be seen in
print.
16.
“Engage” in
relevant on-line debate...you’ll learn what different people’s drivers and
challenges are…
17.
“Engage” in
dialogue in print media.... write constructive letters to “The Editor” of
publications read by your key prospects.... where appropriate e-mail your
prospects the letter...even before publication. EG: “I thought you may
find this letter I wrote to the Editor of XYZ of interest”…
18.
Consider where you can issue a suitable Press Release on a relevant topical
issue…and be available to take calls on the content!
19.
Establish a
Discussion Group of your own...and/or find one or more to join. Meet regularly
with a theme for the day…
20.
Run small
seminars
for hand-picked clients, prospects, etc
21.
Sponsor suitable
events
and organise properly to maximise value…monitor carefully and review usefulness
before re-committing…
22.
Put events on
yourself…supporting
emerging artists, theatre, film-makers etc…invite key clients and contacts,
gate-keepers etc
23.
Invite contacts at key
organisations to hold one of their meetings at your offices…often they’ll
appreciate the change of scenery.
24.
By all means attend
functions hosted by important contacts…your local Mayor for example…but
normally organizing a coffee meeting at your own offices will give you far more
opportunity for effective dialogue and idea-sharing, relationship building…
25.
“Key
yourself in” to existing training programs run by your clients/prospects…they
often need presenters.
26.
Offer to
summarise
(in Plain English) applicable legislation that affects your clients/prospects.
27.
Establish a
Helpline
for;
w Prospects
w Employees of
businesses… as an employee benefit…make clear your conflicts policy.
28.
Use some of the freely available technology to
establish your own Client Relationship
Management database and operate it vigorously...every day...to maintain
contact with your priority contacts...among other things it can assist in
identifying who to schedule for “How’s Things” calls...but use it also for
carefully targeting newsletters and emails.
29.
Routinely exchange
Business Cards and follow up with a short “Enjoyed meeting you”
communication... send something informative: e.g.
w a relevant
newsletter... recent or not...a useful checklist…send a further business card
too.
w “relevant” and
“helpful” are the keys.
30.
Daily…add all new contacts to relevant database and
ensure they will automatically receive future relevant newsletters/seminar
invitations etc.
31.
Listen “like
crazy”
– contacts will identify specific or generic needs for you to follow up on...
32.
“Extrapolate”.... a KMS-coined
term for seeing, and acting on, the wider opportunities of the present scenario
– which of your “contacts” (in the widest sense of that term) can benefit from
knowing more about this issue you are presently dealing with?
33.
Collect “War
Stories”
(anecdotes) which strongly demonstrate points you wish to communicate... they
usually resonate better with your target audiences. Work them in to your
communications at every opportunity.
34.
Audit matters
after receiving instructions, and again at completion, for both “War Stories”
and opportunities to “Extrapolate”.
35.
Invite key
contacts/prospects/clients to events where you get to enjoy quality time
together…sports
events, theatre shows, exhibitions etc. Opportunities abound, and a
well-maintained database will guide you to the recorded interests of potential
invitees…
36.
Cultivate an
appearance of being happily busy...successful helping a lot of people,
but always able to handle an enquiry or a referral.
37.
Work hard at
“delighting” people who enquire... it is a major turn-off to prospects if
they feel they are being “teased”...offer them a way forward, a solution they
can take steps with...now! Don’t confuse this with giving away “the whole farm”
for free…there is always a happy balance point.
38.
Develop a program
of “Initial Consultations” and “First Step Packages” suitable for
prospects who are clearly wanting to “hasten slowly” …controlling their
investments in you.
It is not
surprising that many of these “paid Business Development” opportunities develop
into full-blown work and ongoing relationships.
Some firms offer clients the opportunity to book Initial Consultations on-line.
Some firms offer clients the opportunity to book Initial Consultations on-line.
39.
Find a variety of ways to make it clear to your
contacts that you welcome referrals...
E.g. A one-liner
introducing a “War Story” in a newsletter could be, “In a recent assignment
referred to us by a local Accountant”…
40.
Thank Referrers
promptly and warmly...for the consideration of you in their act
of referral...don’t wait for any work to flow from it.
41.
Identify
products/services you could license to others and charge a
regular fee for updating...Booklets you have written, Trusts, Self-Managed
Super Funds etc.
42.
Encourage relevant journalists to call you for an expert comment...
43. Consistent with the overall image you want…be
yourself, but work hard at differentiating
yourself...try to be anything but boring!
44.
Price-positioning is an important
part of marketing/branding…consider carefully the branding that flows from
being perceived as more expensive than some alternatives, but excellent value
and great to deal with…
45.
Always address why a piece of material should not
be added to your website as part of
the resources there…usually it should be!
46.
Add recent news
items to your website as often as humanly possible…and consider who you
should e-mail with the news item too…
47.
Make “How’s
Things” visits…or even phone calls…
Experienced business builders know that the best
place to identify needs, and convert those needs into file openings, is in
close contact with your better clients and better contacts.
There are many ways to do that…
One of the most effective…but also difficult for
novices…is the “How’s Things” Visit…
The idea is to visit a key client (or contact) and
facilitate a relaxed discussion that is focused on them and their interests, aspirations,
difficulties etc…rather than on you and what you’d like to sell.
It’s a chance to catch up and refresh and refocus
relationships…
Each client is different, so be flexible, but most
people who do this well find that getting in and out in less than an hour in
the early morning is a good way to make the visit most palatable for the person
you are visiting.
·
Ask what they’re
presently trying to do with their business that is special for them…
·
Ask what is
presently keeping them awake at night…
·
Ask who other
than you they use for legal services and what you’d need to do to be in the
frame for that work…
·
Ask permission
to ask what they spend on legal services annually and how they see that
reducing or growing over the next 12-24 months…
·
Ask what about your
own firm services, systems, people etc bugs the heck out of them…
Arrange necessary follow-up and cross recommendations etc
inside your firm and to outside resources as appropriate…then thank them
profusely and get out of there so they can get on with business/life etc.
Do whatever is needed to follow up…including
dictating notes of the meeting…taking notes in the meeting makes it harder to
run an effective dialogue…really listening and responding effectively.
Put a follow up date or dates into your database…and
repeat the process.
48.
Rank your
clients and referrers and act accordingly…
To get the most “bang for your buck” you have to be
selective about where you spend most of your available time and energy.
I stress the need to really look after the clients
you rank as “Crucial” or similar.
You must know who all their key people are, and
have a person in your organisation responsible for maintaining an overview of
the strength of each key relationship.
You must establish and maintain contact at each
level in both organisations so the relationship can flourish despite changes in
the quality, and even very existence, of relationships at any given level.
A poor relationship at a low level can lead to an
off the cuff comment by someone you perceive as just a bit player, leading to
internal discussions in the client that perhaps you’re falling off your game,
and giving a bit of work to a competitor might spice you up a bit!
Don’t allow that door to open, never give the
opposition an even break…love your major clients to death!
A relatively minor player can in due course seek to
develop his/her career by going to a higher level in another firm…where an
existing good relationship with you can become a major factor in getting work
there too…and you should also keep the original client…
Think about it…what is your Client Care Program for
each major client…is it written down…do your team members all understand it and
the roles they need to play in keeping and improving relationships with all key
clients?
49.
Take advantage of an anniversary for them or for
you to contact clients and contacts…not
merely about you but with more relevant helpful material for them. Where
appropriate couple this material with a special anniversary offer…to celebrate
your 21 years in business…etc etc.
50.
Get a writer’s slot on some websites that are used by your target market players…
51.
Do your own blog in a relevant
area…if you can make the necessary time…it has to be done regularly. You can
easily blog within a blog on your website, or there are free blogging
websites…blogger.com is just one example. Blogs tend to allow you to do shorter
more spontaneous communication with your marketplace and often create
discussion which is a useful mechanism for further “listening”…
52.
Social media…Investigate
truly practical ways to utilise social networking such as LinkedIn, Twitter
and Facebook…there is a lot of practical comment on the web from business users
who do…and there are now plenty of specialist advisers operating in this area…review
what impresses you that other firms your size are doing…
53.
Join a reliable
paid referral service…investigate well before joining, by talking to
other users, and then test over time carefully that your investment is
worthwhile.
54.
SEO…Pay to
regularly have your website optimised for the leading search engines…Google etc.
People find your website in a variety of ways, but of course one channel is by
seeing you listed in their search results after they Google a word or more
likely a phrase.
Even if you are lucky enough to be on page one now,
as time goes on your site will lose prominence and it’s “first page of results
or nothing”…position can change fast…inside a week certainly.
Again, there are genuine experts at this, and
frankly for the average law firm site it’s not that expensive and results can
be tested…if they can’t deliver move on and trial someone else with
demonstrated experience…
55.
Another way to achieve
on-going better ranking with the search engines is to have a good flow of
relevant information items on your site that your advisers test are being
properly picked up and indexed by the leading search engines. Sprinkle key
words and phrases in them (without over-doing it so as to get your site
black-listed by search engines) embolden certain key words etc…test a week later
by searching the terms yourself and see where your article ranks in your search
results.
Firms are reporting deriving enquiries and work
from good articles within a week of posting them…
Use a free web tool to check the page rank of any
page on your website…a quick Google will give you a long list of sites offering
free tools…
56.
What key
words and phrases are important for your practice? There is cheap freely
available software such as KeyWord Spy (free demo versions available on-line to
test for yourself) that allows you or your advisers to check what key words
your competitors are using…this intelligence may assist you in your ongoing search engine optimisation (SEO) program…
57.
Pay Per Click…Consider using
a pay per click web-based advertising service…Google’s AdWords is well-known.
Some commentators are already wondering aloud if PPC will quickly make SEO
redundant. With AdWords you in effect “bid” to have your short ad appear above
or next to the search results people get when they enter a search term into
their browser. If people do click on your ad you pay, and you can set a limit
on what you are prepared to pay in total and what you are prepared to pay per
click. This is quite a
sophisticated area of marketing and there is a lot to learn so it pays to get
involved in a limited area initially and test the results you are getting
before increasing your investment and also expanding your areas for further
testing. The market here also changes fast, and cost per click will rise in
areas that are proven to generate fees for businesses. Anecdotally for example,
the CPC for the term “life insurance” is well over $100 in Australia in
mid-2014.
58.
Content is King
on the web…despite the comments above about the rapidly growing influence of
PPC it’s vital that you get good content onto the web…just as you should have
been getting good content into the hands of your target audiences beyond the
web, and before it. Learn to write clearly, concisely, relevantly and
helpfully…and do it often.
59.
Seminars for your clients and for the public have
been very successful over a very long period…tried and true. Take the concept
to the next stage and put on webinars…greater
reach and reduced staging costs.
60. Google has developed a service known as re-marketing. You code selected pages
of your website so when someone visits them they will later again see your ads “on”
other sites they visit that allow ads to appear. You can set the period for
which this will happen, and create a series of ad designs to alternate. This
creates an impression of you to be “everywhere” on the web to the visitors
affected and may assist them to make a contact decision they deferred earlier.
Again this advertising is pay per click, but very targeted. It will still need
close monitoring to assess effectiveness and ROI.
61.
Get a newspaper to agree to publish a regular
column on legal issues. This is particularly useful for firms offering general
legal services to a wide public, and in my observation leads to a healthy flow
of new clients and their ongoing legal work. With many newspaper groups
consolidated these days a single column can get very wide distribution.
Exposure in the media in this way can also draw your firm to the attention of
useful contacts and gate-keepers, leading to new opportunities.
62.
Investigate subscribing to a legal article-writing
service. For a relatively low cost you gain access to a steady stream of
material written by professionals that you can weave into your outflow of
information for clients, prospects and contacts. For an example from the UK see
legalrss.co.uk
63. Consider including a LiveChat facility on your website.
64. Firms are including Explainer Videos on their websites...it's all about using different techniques to improve communication. Some firms are very successfully using Explainer Videos that are animations. Around 60 seconds appears optimium.
63. Consider including a LiveChat facility on your website.
64. Firms are including Explainer Videos on their websites...it's all about using different techniques to improve communication. Some firms are very successfully using Explainer Videos that are animations. Around 60 seconds appears optimium.
65. Consider starting a LinkedIn Discussion Group of your own...or....
66. If it suits your personality, be innovative on LinkedIn...the excellent Coffee and a Case Note videos posted by James d'Apice, a Senior Associate at Makinson d'Apice in Sydney, are a good example...here's the link... https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdapice/
66. If it suits your personality, be innovative on LinkedIn...the excellent Coffee and a Case Note videos posted by James d'Apice, a Senior Associate at Makinson d'Apice in Sydney, are a good example...here's the link... https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdapice/
Above all have fun marketing…after all it’s about helping people. There is no denying that there is plenty of perspiration, and often some experimentation, involved, but doing it consistently delivers wonderful results that will keep you and your team busy and invigorated, and capable of helping more people and businesses, thus ensuring your own business profitability, healthy survival, enjoyment, and professional satisfaction…
