I often think about how my role as a legal marketer draws a lot of similarities to the role of a lawyer. Legal marketers are driven by clients, are relied upon for our unique expertise, and our success is tied to positive outcomes and results. But, perhaps the most significant similarity is the simple idea that if you can build strong and trusted relationships with your clients, it can mean the difference between an ordinary career and one that truly thrives.

I canvassed some of my colleagues about how they perceived relationship building in our industry and how, in practice, . . . [more]

Over the past year, have you noticed your ability to chit chat has changed? Those conversations you have with someone in a store, with a server at a restaurant, or at a dinner party have all but gone away. Small talk is an important workplace skill that has many benefits. Yes, we are connecting with people virtually, but those conversations are different than when we are in person.

There have been many studies on the effects that the pandemic has had on people’s social skills. From a business development perspective, our ability to connect with clients and prospects is a . . . [more]

In March of this year, artist Mike Winklemann, AKA “Beeple”, sold a compilation of digital art for $69m through Christie’s. The artwork was comprised of 5,000 images, created daily over a 13-year period. Unless your firm is planning on investing in digital art anytime soon, why should law firms care about this sale? Because whether you are a Managing Partner or a Marketing Director, business strategy is about identifying important shifts in the marketplace BEFORE they are entirely relevant to your current business processes so you can determine if and how they might affect you and your client base in . . . [more]

I saw a version of this poster on LinkedIn a few months ago and it immediately resonated with me. I suspect many of my legal marketing colleagues would feel the same.

I often hear from lawyers that it’s difficult for them to find the time for marketing and business development and that they don’t know where to start. My response is almost always the same – start small, keep it simple, and focus on your strengths.

START SMALL

Or in other words, figure out what you can do in 0.1 (six minutes)

• Get online – Make a habit of using

For those of us that use Facebook, one of the fun features is Facebook Memories – those tidbits we posted or reacted to over the years that remind us of moments in time. A year into the pandemic, it is interesting to look back at our reactions to COVID-19 at the early stages. A lot has changed during that time: Zoom is now a household name; there have been fun viral moments like “I am not a cat”; and unfortunately depressing news about death and job losses. In many ways our priorities changed as we watched this unfold on the . . . [more]

Despite hiccups on vaccine receipt and distribution, we now know that by the end of the year, there’s a very good chance we’ll all be back to normal. That means there’s still another considerable block of time to get through first. We don’t want to be in either survival or neutral mode forever. So as we finish weathering this storm, what should law firm strategy look like for the remainder of 2021?

First and foremost, stick to your longer-term strategic plan. The point of a strategic plan is that it helps to guide a firm through the goods times, and . . . [more]

Anyone that has followed me over the past 15 years knows that I am a firm believer in the power of writing a book for business development purposes. In my view, it is a big audacious business card—period! If written as a business development tool—it lets prospective clients inside your world and how you think. It is a strong credibility builder since “you wrote the book on the subject.” Over the past 15 years, I have written 6 books, which have led to millions of dollars in revenue. But NOT in book sales. Yes, I have been an Amazon bestseller, . . . [more]

We have all heard that the reward for doing good work is more work but there are a lot of factors that contribute to a client sending you more work and for being a strong referral for you.

For starters, we need to understand that the client that sent you the work in the first place is not focused on you. They are focussed on their own business and their current issues. Hard to believe but it is true. By actively staying in front of your clients and empathizing with their needs, you will ensure they do think about you, . . . [more]

Over the years, I’ve had the honour of being invited into many law firms to examine and make recommendations on their strategy, structure, practice areas, compensation, management, leadership, and marketing.

My initial advice is always the same: start with a strategic plan so you understand your long-term goals before you attempt any short-term implementation. But aside from this, my advice tends to move quickly to ensuring the right people are doing the right things. This might require some process or structural re-organization within the firm but the end of the day it all boils down to one thing: establish and . . . [more]

One of the easiest ways to stay on track with an activity is to make a list. For many people, business development doesn’t come naturally making it easy to put off. By making and sticking to a list, you will begin to form a habit around business development to the point you eventually don’t even know you are doing it.

I have used contact lists with lawyers for years as a simple reminder of people that the lawyer wants or should keep in touch with throughout the year. The best part is that it works at every level of practice. . . . [more]

Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter developed the theory of creative destruction to describe how something good, and even much needed, can come out of a tragedy. The theory suggests that some businesses must die and paradigms must be “swept away” in order to make room for new ones that will better survive the future.

This is a concept found in nature. For example, we know that left to their own devices, forests will burn down from time to time to clean out the forest floor and force a renewal. While it might feel heartless to apply the same principle to business, . . . [more]

It all started out well. Like most years, in the fall of 2019 we looked at the strategic plan for the firm, growth opportunities and developed a targeted approach and budget for 2020. As we roll into the fall of 2020 planning is different. Mentally this has been a year like no other in recent times and as a marketer it is one where we have constantly be making adjustments to our plan.

With the benefit of hindsight, planning for 2021 will look different. Our master plans, our insight and our playbook will change. There are annual items from previous . . . [more]