Many lawyers dislike the idea of selling. It is not why they got into law and it is not something many are comfortable engaging in. Firms tend to stay away from using the word “sales” by talking about business development and client service.

The main aim of a sale is to generate profit. The difference in sales vs. service is that servicing aims at supporting new and old clients in order to increase client satisfaction. A practice thrives by creating an experience that is not only satisfactory but builds upon multiple client concerns.

For a lawyer, the focus should always . . . [more]

“Customer service is the new marketing, it’s what differentiates one business from another.”
– Jay Baer, Author

Every legal marketer will tell you that they have two sets of clients – internal lawyers as well as the firm’s clients. For those of us working at larger firms, at any given time, our clients can also include Human Resources, IT, Knowledge Management, Finance, and so on. Similar to lawyers with demanding clients, legal marketers cannot predict the requests that will come in on any given day. But after a few years in these roles, many tend to master how best to . . . [more]

For many, creating content can seem like an intimidating task. With over 130,000 lawyers in Canada, finding a way to stand out is imperative to building a book of business. Creating content is a tool all lawyers have available to them but very few know how to strategically include content creation in building their profile and, in turn, their book of business.

If you use content creation to build your profile, one of your key goals should be in anticipating what client wants to read next, and how to get your expertise out to that network. For marketing, providing information . . . [more]

I provide a wide range of services to law firms, so I can always tell what’s happening in the industry by the run on certain types of services.

Sometimes I seem to do nothing but coaching; lawyers wanting to improve their personal skills in a range of business areas. Other times, it seems that everyone wants to sell their firm. We’re sort of in the middle of that right now. But the real push this year so far has been for strategic plans. Normally, each plan looks completely different because each law firm is different. They are in different stages . . . [more]

Knowing as much as you can about a client, prospect or industry is fundamental to being successful, yet many lawyers jump at an opportunity before understanding what that opportunity truly is. By putting time into research, the insights gained often reveal keys to a successful strategy.

As marketers, we often speak with lawyers who feel there is a new target client or market that is ripe for business development. Their feelings may be based on a hunch, what other firms may be doing, or information that has been shared with them. They want to jump right in, speak to people . . . [more]

These days, I’m being asked to do a lot of presentations and training on law firm leadership. People with a marketing background tend to gravitate toward this area because so much of what we do focusses on helping to improve the leadership skills of the lawyers we work with – be if for practice groups, client teams, or simply to improve management of their own practice.

I’ve been focussed on this for years, but it’s taken a while for law firms to get here…to understand how critical strong leadership is. Back in my days in a national firm, I created . . . [more]

“The value we create is directly related to how much valuable information we can produce, how much trust we can earn, and how often we innovate.”
– Seth Godin, Author

I have been thinking a lot about value lately. For so many of us, work is busier than ever and our social calendars are finally starting to fill up again. But, as legal marketers, it can sometimes feel like you are doing everything in the world but, accomplishing virtually nothing at all. How does one maximize and demonstrate their value? How can a law firm provide meaningful value to . . . [more]

“Any idea can be a great idea if you think differently, dream big and commit to seeing it realized.”
– Richard Branson

I would consider myself an idea person. It’s not a gift. I see it as experience coupled with enthusiasm, curiosity, and most importantly, a complete understanding of how to execute. Surrounding yourself with other idea people and consistently exercising the muscle helps too. Given the nature of the role, legal marketers must be skilled at generating new ideas and supporting other ones across the firm. At Lenczner Slaght, our marketing team is fortunate to have more new ideas . . . [more]

I was speaking with a colleague the other day who was celebrating a significant wedding anniversary. For fun we started looking up the modern vs. traditional anniversary gifts. As I’m sure you can imagine, they vary! But as much as we may like the gift to celebrate the moment, it is the sentiment that is really important.

Milestones and anniversaries should be fun. In our world, law firms have special histories that should be celebrated. Milestones also offer an opportunity to look forward.

For a firm celebrating a milestone, the first questions to ask is who do we want to . . . [more]

Based on a SLAW post I wrote in 2017, I was recently asked to speak at a conference for women lawyers on leadership. The article focussed on how to effectively lead practice groups and client teams. The date of the original article serves as evidence that I’ve been encouraging leadership skills development in lawyers for a long time, but it really began in the early 2000’s when I developed my initial processes for practice group management. Back then, I quickly realized that most of my training and support would need to be with the practice group leaders. They set the . . . [more]

“Set your business plan to win; raise the bar or you’re not going to be prepared.”
– Swizz Beatz

Anyone else working on their 2022 business plan? If you’re like me, you’re in the thick of it right now – pulling data, plotting year-to-date results, analyzing what’s gone well and what hasn’t, and reflecting on why certain things just couldn’t get done. Business planning can be motivating when the exercise is aligned to a clear and simple process.

Know your firm’s strategic plan inside and out – Marketing and business development are generally a focal point of a law firm’s . . . [more]

In over 30 years of working with law firms on improving productivity and profitability, I’ve seen countless marketplace surveys on the incredible value of client feedback mechanisms. In many instances it’s been labelled as one of the fastest and most effective ways to boost firm revenue. So, you’d think that law firms would be all over this business practice as a standard operating procedure. But…not so much. Two decades ago, law firm management expert Jim Durham conducted a survey of 100 MPs to see how many of their firms had client feedback programs. Around 20% of them did (or were . . . [more]