1. Find an opportunity – Many organizations and business associations hold conferences, workshops and seminars for their members. Consider approaching the organization with a few potential speaking topics. Alternatively, you can network with influencers in the organization to potentially land a speaking gig.
2. Attend a few meetings – Before you speak in front of an audience, attend a few meetings to learn more about how that organization structures its talks. Some prefer individual keynote speakers while others offer panel discussions. Familiarize yourself with the proceedings and people who attend meetings regularly to learn how to structure your talk as well as which topics would be most beneficial to listeners.
3. Have a hook – Good speeches focus on solving a particular problem or avoiding pain. They aren’t a sales pitch for your services.
4. Know your time limit – Most organizations have scheduled time slots, so know how long you have to speak, and organize your content accordingly. Don’t speak too long, especially if another speaker will follow up. If you have an hour to talk, create enough material for a forty minute speech and leave twenty minutes for questions.
5. Prepare your talk – How you prepare your talk will depend on your personal style. Some people prefer to write out a script word-for-word to clarify their thoughts. Others use an outline to highlight the key points they will cover. If you will use slides or transparencies, make sure they highlight the main points of your talk and add to your presentation.
6. Practice your talk – A good rule of thumb is to practice your entire talk aloud at least three times. If you’ve written out a script, put it aside during the practice sessions. Good talks are conversational in nature, so if you want to connect with your audience, you must be focused on reading their body language and connecting with them through eye contact, not reading your script or trying to remember what comes next during your talk.
7. Arrive early – If you have the option to arrive at your event early, do so. This will allow you to talk with members of your audience in advance and uncover what they are most looking forward to learning during your talk.
8. Close with information about your services – Because generating leads is the purpose for your talk, make sure you include some way for people to contact you if they have additional questions. If you have published a book or offer a free report, tell the audience how they can get a copy. If you can provide presentation notes or slides, ask people to give you their business cards if they would like you to email copies to them.
9. Stay after the talk – Plan to stay after your talk in case audience members want to ask you specific questions. These casual discussions can build rapport and may translate into potential leads later.
10. Follow up – Most of your leads will come from interested prospects who stay to chat with you after your talk. Additional leads can come from people who give you their business card in exchange for your presentation materials or free report. You should follow up with prospects as soon as possible, preferably in the day or two after your talk when it is still fresh in their minds.

Public speaking can be one of the best law firm marketing strategies to generate qualified leads because it demonstrates your expertise while building rapport with prospects in an informal setting. Though it can be time consuming to prepare a talk, it is usually well worth the effort.

Yet, when done with the right mindset, networking can be one of the most effective and affordable ways to attract new business. People do business with those they know, like and trust, so the heart of networking is meeting new people and creating relationships that are mutually beneficial to both parties.

Networking is Relationship Building

Networking is the process of making specific contacts and building upon them by following up. Often, lawyers approach networking as a one-sided ordeal, where they must answer the question, “So what do you do?” and pitch their services a hundred times in exchange for someone else’s business card. Perhaps they meet one or two people who seem lukewarm about their services, but rarely do they meet a hot prospect, and lawyers often leave the event feeling as if they’ve wasted their time.

Instead of approaching networking as something you “should” be doing, approach it as a way to establish long-term relationships. Networking is not a hard sell. It’s about meeting new people and tapping into their vast network of resources. Each of us has a personal sphere of influence of roughly between 200-250 people. Most of these people aren’t close, personal contacts of yours. Rather, they are people you who would recognize you on the street, or who you might invite to your wedding or send college graduation announcements.

More importantly, everyone you know also has a sphere of influence of that size, so every new person you meet has the potential to add 200-250 more people to your own network. While many of them won’t be a good candidate for your services, chances are, someone in their network will be. If you’ve worked to build relationships and have a keep-in-touch strategy with the contacts you make, you will be a good candidate for any referrals if someone in their network does mention they need the type of legal service you provide.

7 Tips for Effective Networking

Here are seven tips on how to make your networking more effective.

1. Genuinely connect with others – Networking should be about making connections and sharing ideas, information, advice, recommendations and referrals with those in your personal network. Some of the bonds you form will be stronger than others, but you should genuinely care that those in your network succeed and be willing to help them if you can.
2. Network strategically – When you network to make business contacts, look for people who would be a good fit for your personal network and find ways to connect with them regularly. It’s important to define which types of people you want to meet and what you hope to get out of each interaction. Before you go into any networking interaction, be able to answer in a minute or less: who you are, what you do, and what you need from the group.
3. Be selective – Because you will actively refer business to those in your network, you must be selective with those you add to your personal network. Look for people who are well-regarded among their peers and who already demonstrate that they understand the value of networking. Focus on people who are good at what they do, have a large network they have cultivated, and who are able to actively refer you business.
4. Provide value first – Successful networking involves providing value to others. You must give before you receive. People won’t refer business to those they don’t know and can’t personally vouch for, so you must build rapport before you can expect anything in return. Things like a personal note, a referral, a thank you card, or an introduction go a long way towards establishing trust and credibility.
5. Recognize leads for others – The best way to build rapport with people in your network is to frequently provide leads and introductions to those within your network. To do this, you must understand your prospect’s business well enough to know who would make a good lead for them. Ask them “How would I know if someone would make a good client for you?” In addition, every lawyer will talk with a prospect who isn’t quite right for his services from time-to-time. Realize that if you turn down business, that person could be a good lead for someone else.
6. Don’t keep score – The best way to sabotage a relationship is to give something with the expectation of getting something in return. Building relationships takes time. If you provide a favor or referral to something and immediately expect something in return, there’s a good chance you’ll be disappointed. Focus on building good will and trust rather than that someone will immediately return the favor.
7. Develop trust – One of the biggest fears people have when referring business is that someone will embarrass them or let them down. Effective networkers have high ethical standards and are well respected among their peers. They are well-known for providing high-quality service and going the extra mile to clear up any client disagreements.

Networking isn’t something that just happens – you must actively pursue it and make relationship building a part of your marketing activities. Because you will likely meet far more people worth networking with than you have time for, be selective and focus your time on cultivating relationships where there is the greatest potential for mutual benefit.

Law firm marketing only works when you do it regularly. Plan – and make time – to do a set number of marketing tasks each week. Your tasks don’t have to be time consuming or elaborate, but you must do them. Here are some ideas to get you started today:

1. What information can you send to a contact in your network?
2. Which client can you visit at their business to learn more about them?
3. Who can you take to lunch, coffee, golf or an event? When?
4. What organization can you become more active in? How?
5. Which subject can you write an article about? Where can you publish it?
6. What topic can you speak about? For whom? Where?
7. What other types of activities might you do?

Make it a weekly practice to do at least a few of these tasks and you’ll start seeing more clients come in the door.

Prospects

What types of clients do you want to attract? Given what you know about these clients, what is the best way to reach them? Do they read specific magazines, newspapers, or trade publications? If so, try advertising in those publications. Are they part of the same industry? If so, attend seminars, trade shows, and events where you have the greatest likelihood of meeting them. Do they search the web for information? If so, create an informative website with articles and free reports that address their top concerns.

Keep in mind that one contact is rarely enough to convince someone to hire you. How might you follow up with them to keep in touch? Can you add them to your newsletter, invite them to an educational seminar, or send them additional information?

Clients

Your current clients offer a wealth of opportunities for repeat business and referrals. Since they’re already doing business with you, they probably already know and like you. As their lawyer, it’s your fiduciary duty to provide the best service you can to your clients. That means getting to know who they are, what they do, and what motivates them. Often, as you learn more about your clients, you will see other potential legal risks and can offer additional services to further aid your client.

Also know that happy clients will sing your praises and refer others to you, especially if they believe you truly care about their well-being. In what ways can you educate your current client about the types of clients and cases you’d like more of? In what ways can you show your appreciation for referrals they give you?

Referral Partners

Many lawyers generate most of their business through referrals, yet this is often where they spend the least amount of their marketing budget. Look back over your firm’s history. Who is responsible for sending you referrals? How can you give back to them and show your appreciation?

The second part of this lawyer marketing strategy involves identifying possible sources of referrals and working to build relationships with others. When you get a new client, what other firms can also do business with them? When you get a prospect who needs a different type of legal services than you provide, to whom can you refer them? How can you cultivate relationships between non-competing firms that will benefit each of you?

How can they be sure they are making an informed decision about which attorney is right for them, can do what they say, and will provide the best value for their money? In other words, why they should they pick you to help them over all the other options available to them?

For most lawyers, the answer lies in creating a niche practice that focuses on a specific practice area or type of client. There are two reasons for this. First, most people would rather hire a specialist than a jack of all trades. They want someone who can solve their specific type of problem right now. They aren’t concerned with all the other services you may be able to provide them down the road. They want you to relieve their current legal pain as soon as possible.

Second, specializing in a particular area makes it easier and cheaper to find clients. Since you know the type of client who is most likely to hire you, you can spend your marketing resources in places prospects are likely to notice. Targeting “everyone who might need my services” is a lot like gambling. Sure, you may get lucky, but the odds aren’t in your favor. How will you know what marketing tactics to use? Where to promote your services? What message resonates best with prospects?

Trying to reach everyone is inefficient because (a) the majority of people you reach won’t need your services and therefore, you’ll waste a lot of money and (b) different people have different reasons and motivations for hiring an attorney so even if they do need your services, your marketing materials won’t clearly explain why your firm is a good fit for them.

The best way to differentiate your services is to focus on who your target audience is, what common legal problems they have, and why your specific solutions matter to them. A good way to uncover the answers is to hold client interviews and ask key questions like:

• Where did you learn about our firm?
• What other firms did you consider?
• Why did you choose us?
• What do you like best about working with our firm?
• If you could change one thing about our service, what would it be?

The last question is extremely important. Client dissatisfaction and complaints are big reasons why clients leave your firm for another. If you can uncover trouble areas, you can turn problems into opportunities. You will also discover how clients view and verbalize their problems, which is probably quite different from how your firm describes its solutions.

Finally, put together a 30 second elevator pitch that clearly states who you work with, what types of problems you solve, and how you solve them. For instance:

“I help [ your target audience ] who are struggling/having problems with [ your target audience's problems ] by [your solution].”

Why do lawyers (and most small business owners, in general) hate sales so much? From talking with numerous clients – and in my own experience – a lot of it comes down to perceptions of what “sales” is and a fear of rejection.

What is “sales”?

To most people, sales is about presenting yourself in the best light possible – or saying that one “right” thing – so that your prospects will want to hire you. This makes sales sound extremely shady and unethical. And with decades of experience trying to buy cars or getting sucked into buying stuff we didn’t want or need from high pressure telemarketers or door-to-door salesmen, it’s not surprising that most people think of sales as distasteful or unprofessional or even sleazy.

In reality, the hard close – or the philosophy “always be closing” – rarely works anymore. People have so many choices and they don’t want to feel pressured into buying something they don’t want or need. They can always go with someone else.

On the other hand, people love shopping and buying things they “absolutely must have.” They want the positive experience that comes with making a purchase that will alleviate some pain they are experience or give bring them more joy. They want to buy a solution to their current problem so they can move on with their life.

Modern sales is about listening to what people really want, what problems they are currently having, and what pain they are currently experiencing. Once you know this, you can craft a solution to that problem that will help them.

As a recent article in Inc Magazine put it

“Instead of selling, I think of it as listening to the challenges that my customers face and providing them with a way to help them solve them.” – Are You Sales Phobic? March 2007

Why do we fear rejection?

As a service provider, what we offer is our knowledge an expertise – a part of us – so we’re attached to it. We believe strongly in it. When we’re rejected, it’s not just businss. We take it personally. Our prospect isn’t simply rejecting a third party product that we can detach ourselves of any emotional outcome. They’re rejecting us. They’re telling us that for whatever reason, we’re just not good enough to take on their project.

Of course, from our prospect’s perspective, it’s not personal. It’s simply that there wasn’t a good fit, or we didn’t have that emotional bond that a competitor did, or our price was too high, or that it wasn’t a good time for the prospect to move forward.

Regardless of the reason, we take that baggage with us – as anxiety that our next prospect will be just like our last and won’t want our services. It builds. And eventually we want to avoid the rejection at all cost so we shy away from opportunities to promote ourselves.

In other words, it’s classic punishment theory. We try something. We are “punished” by our own negative reaction (feelings of failure) to not getting the client. We want to avoid the pain of feeling like a failure so we avoid the activities that cause them (sales).

The same Inc article mentioned above gives the following advice for overcoming this type of fear.

“In cognitive therapy, people identify negative thoughts – those they perceive as limiting their performance – and reframe them. So, for example, if the problem is fear that a sales call won’t result in a sale, the entrepreneur would learn to treat each individual call as an interesting exercise and ultimately to bolster his confidence in the next round. He would try to see any individual rejection as part of the routine: a discrete, inevitable setback that can improve the chances of ultimate triumph.” – Are You Sales Phobic? March 2007

I tend to frame things slightly differently. Now, I see each conversation I have with a prospect as a way to better understand the current problems of my target audience. Each conversation offers a bit of market research that helps me provide better service to my current clients – because if one person is experiencing a certain problem, there’s a good chance that many others out there are also experiencing the same thing.

Develop a Niche

Today’s general practice attorneys are barely scraping by. That is because today’s clients demand specialists. They don’t want a lawyer that has done a couple of cases in every practice area out there. They want someone who handles their specific problem. They want someone who has handled cases for clients just like them and have proven over and over that they can get the job done.

From a lawyer’s perspective, there’s only so much time in the day to learn new areas of law. It’s much easier to pick one or two topics and master those. That’s why it’s in your interest to specialize. Your clients expect you to know your area of expertise cold. They aren’t looking for someone who has dabbled in their problem area, holds a passing interest in this area of law, or will have to go ask someone else or consult a legal library every time they have a question. When you’ve become a master at something, you know it and can communicate it effectively to others without the legal jargon so that clients quickly understand.

From a marketing perspective, developing a niche makes it much easier to find clients. General practitioners that take any case that comes their way rely on chance – or hoping and praying – to get clients. They never know when their next prospect might call or walk in. That’s because anyone could be a candidate and their case could be on any variety of topics.

With a niche business, you define what types of clients you want to work with and what type of law you want to practice. Then, you create a strategy. Where would you find this type of client? Where have you found this type of client in the past? Once you have some idea of that, then you focus all your marketing efforts on places where those types of clients are likely to go – specific publications, networking events, seminars, websites, etc.

Develop Rainmaker Skills

Your clients are your bread and butter. They are what bring in cash to pay your monthly bills. Without clients, you don’t have a business. You have a money pit. That means that marketing and sales – or business development or rainmaking, if you prefer – are fundamental to your business. They aren’t simply something to do when you need clients. They aren’t one time events. They are activities you must do weekly to ensure that you always have a stream of clients coming in the door.

Why are marketing and sales so important? Because without them, no one would know who you are or what you do. Being good at your niche practice area isn’t enough. Providing excellent client service and doing a good job isn’t enough. You must also educate prospects, clients, and referral sources what it is specifically that makes you different from other lawyers and why they are getting tremendous value by working with you.

Every person you meet will have a different frame of reference and different expectations. Simply because you say you’re a “lawyer,” they will form a picture in their minds of what it is they think you do. Most likely, however, that perception of what you do differs dramatically from what you actually do. It’s up to you to bridge the gap by educating prospects, clients, and referral partners in each interaction you have with them.

That’s rainmaking – there’s nothing sleazy or unethical about it. Think of it as “helping others” because that’s what it is. You’re educating prospects on what the best solution to their problems would be – you’re not “selling others on services they don’t need.” That would be unethical.

Developing Financial Skills

Finally, to run a successful business, you must have a means by which you manage your finances. That doesn’t mean dumping a file full of receipts, invoices, and purchases on your accountant’s desk once a year when tax time rolls around. That means getting a program like Microsoft Money or Quickbooks and learning exactly what comes in and what goes out.

Cashflow is the lifeblood of a business. If you don’t have enough money coming in so that your income exceeds your expenses, you won’t be in business very long. By staying on top of your finances, you can watch for trends a number of trends like is our income increasing, steady or declining? Are our expenses increasing, steady or declining? Are certain months slow for us? When will we be able to hire a new receptionist or partner? Did that expensive ad campaign net us any clients? And so forth.

Establishing a successful solo or small law practice – just like any small business – takes time, effort and patience, but by understanding these three pillars, your law firm can become much more successful in less time.

The first step is to understand why might people refer others to you? It’s not because you have a slick brochure or a funny advertisement. It’s not because you send them Christmas cards every year.

People refer others because they find what you do to be valuable and believe your services can enhance the lives of others they know. In other words, people refer those that they know, like, and trust can do the task at hand.

With that in mind, here are some strategies to develop referral relationships.

1. Target specific people. Look at where your current referrals are coming from. Now, what characteristics do those people have in common? Maybe they’re all from the same industry or do a certain type of work. Those are the people you want to focus on.
2. Uncover why they refer you. Once you’ve uncovered a group of people with specific characteristics, ask them why they choose you as their preferred provider. What benefits do you offer them that are above and beyond what others are offering? This is important because you need to be able to differentiate yourself from other lawyers out there. Simply focusing on how long you’ve been doing it, where you went to law school or which firm you work for isn’t enough. You have to uncover a particular problem them have and why they choose to refer others to you rather than other lawyers.
3. Meet people. Yes, it’s obvious, but people refer those whom they’ve met and like. How many times have you given a referral to someone you’ve only heard about or received a letter from? Now, think about who you do give referrals to – you’ve probably met them, like them, and know they can get the job done. You’re reasonably comfortable that if you refer your clients to them, you won’t be embarrassed by the shoddy service your clients received because of you.

How To Meet People

1. Make a list of people you’d like to meet. Chances are that you already know of a few companies that you’d like to work with. Make a folder for each and start collecting any information you find about the person or company.
2. Ask colleagues to introduce you. Take note of any of your colleagues who may know people within the company and ask if they might introduce you. Keep your eyes open for anyone you might meet – do they have contacts you could use?
3. Go to industry and trade events. Choose conferences, trade events, and other outings where you are likely to meet people that have clients who could refer your services.
4. Hold seminars or speaking engagements. One of the best ways to demonstrate your credibility by speaking about a topic your target audience is concerned about. Invite the people you’d like to get to know to attend.
5. Hold office or charitable events. Hold an office holiday party and invite those you’d like to meet. If you hold similar charitable interests to those on your list, get involved in a charitable event or hold one yourself.

Advice for Getting Referrals

1. Don’t talk about yourself. When you finally are introduced to someone, talk about their business, not what you can do for them. Always keep the conversation focused on them and learn as much as you can about their interests, motivations, and concerns.
2. Make it worth their while. Just like you, other people are looking for referrals for their own business. Whenever you meet someone, ask them who would make a good referral for them. Then refer someone. The best way to demonstrate that you care about this person’s wellbeing is to help them first. Give first and without expectation and don’t keep score.
3. Offer something in return. If your state bar association allows lawyers to give referral fees, consider a joint venture with this person. If not, find other ways to show your appreciation. That might be as simple as a thank you note. Or a special offer to their clients only. Or even a gift certificate to their favorite coffee shop or restaurant.
4. Keep in touch regularly. Whenever you see an article about that person or their company in the local business paper, call or write them about the article. If you see an article they’d be interested in, send them a copy. It’s important to nurture the relationship even if they haven’t referred anyone to you just yet.

Like any successful marketing system, setting up a referral system will initially take time and effort on your part. But once you incorporate these basic practices on a regular basis, you’ll start reaping the benefits.

For a fantastic book on the subject, consider picking up Bob Burg’s Endless Referrals, which I’ve recently reviewed.

In his Action Plan Toolkit (aff), Robert Middleton addresses 7 steps to disarm the negative belief.

1. Identify the negative thought – What is it that you’re resisting? Whenever you find yourself saying “I just don’t have time for this” or “No one will be interested in my services” or “Even if I do this, it won’t be good enough” or “If I call, I’m just going to end up in an argument” or “I’ll never get this done on time,” pause and reflect on that negative feeling.
2. Ask “Is this true?” Just answer with a “Yes” or “No.” Sometimes it will be. Other times, not.
3. Ask “Can I absolutely know with 100% certainty if this is true in all cases?” Again, answer with a “Yes” or “No.”
4. Ask “How to I react when I think that thought?” Look at how you react when you think that negative thought. How do you feel when you think that thought? (ie defeated, not wanting to deal with it, fearful of rejection, avoidant, etc) What do you do because of that thought? (ie put it off until later, ignore it, ask someone else to do it, beat yourself up about it, yell at your secretary, etc)
5. Ask “If it was impossible to have that thought, how would things be different?” What would your life be like if you couldn’t think that negative thought?
6. Take that negative thought and turn it into a positive. “I can make the time to do this” or “Prospects X and Y will be interested in my services” or “If I do this, the group will be pleased that we can move forward” or “If I call, we’ll have a pleasant discussion” or “I have plenty of time to complete this project.”
7. Finally, ask yourself “Is this turnaround as true or truer than your original negative thought?” Find three reasons why it is. For instance, “I can make the time to do this if I (a) take an hour today to clarify the project’s objectives and create an action plan (b) work on the project tomorrow between meetings with Clients A and B and (c) eat lunch at my desk on Wednesday and use the extra time to finish up what needs to be done.”

It’s important to realize that most negative thoughts creep in without us being aware of them. We simply assume they are true and react accordingly. After all, they seem reasonable and logical, and since our brain is so good at associating things it deems to be relevant, they just make sense. In other words, if you think you won’t have time to do something, you’ll find all sorts of ways to procrastinate or something will “come up” and prevent you from getting around to doing it.

Therein lies the problem. Lawyers want to sustain or grow their practice, but they don’t want to come off as the proverbial sleazy used car salesman.To make matters worse, there are all sorts of ethical rules in place on what lawyers can and can’t do. In some states, lawyers can’t do fundamental things like use client testimonials or promote their status as a “Super Lawyer”.

It seems that not a week goes by without law.com reporting that some ethical concern has been breached or an attorney was disbarred or suspended. In fact, a brief search of the article archives reveals 3414 results for success compared with 8155 results for fail (obviously, not all pertain to lawyers and law firms succeeding or failing, but the vocabulary choices are interesting).

It’s as if the profession of law looks down on self promotion – that lawyers should be so good that business just comes to them. They shouldn’t have to tell an uncaring world who they are, what they do, and why it matters. Prospects and clients should already know. But it’s even worse – yes there will always be a few bad apples, but it’s like the legal industry is more concerned with admonishing the wrongdoers than praising those who are doing a good job.

What’s Holding You Back?

Every entrepreneur, small business owner, or rainmaker eventually realizes that there are two forces working within them – their positive intentions and their negative intentions. When they focus on their positive intentions, they look at where they’d like to see their business in 5 years, how they’d like to grow their firm, what income level they want to sustain, and what kinds of work they want to attract. They see the potential for success and it energizes them.

But with every positive intention comes a negative “Yes, but.” I want to do this but I don’t have experience in that area of law. I don’t know how to get to that point. I don’t know where to find that kind of business.

If you aren’t where you want to be in life, perhaps it’s time to look at the negative beliefs you hold that are preventing you from achieving the level of success you’d like.

For instance, let’s say you want to attract a particular kind of work. What’s holding you back? Perhaps when you start to think about attracting those kind of clients, you think about past clients who were a pain to deal with, or unprofitable, or had difficult expectations to manage. Perhaps you had to fight with them over your bill or they second guessed you at some point. All those negative ideas about how you’ve handled past clients build up and you start to think things like “I can’t get it right” or “I’m just not good enough” or even “What if they find me out?”

In other words, for every positive belief that we hold, chances are that there are negative beliefs working against them. What is it that’s holding you back? What’s preventing you from being passionate about your work and helping others? What’s stopping you from getting the work you want from clients you want to work with?