Posts tagged with: "client+development"
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23 May 2013, 4:00 am
What is the this you really need to do? Let them practice the following and shoot video and then critique.
The first and last two minutes of a presentation.
A mock meeting with a potential client.
A mock pitch to a client.
You might even video a mock networking event.
Why do you REALLY need to do this? Your lawyers need to:
See their body language.
See their facial expression, what they do with their hands, whether they stand and sit straight. I can go on, but you get the idea.
See their energy… [read post]
14 May 2012, 5:48 am
I love helping law firm associates learn and implement ideas on client development that will pay off for them in the future. I am confident associates in your law firm have little clue what they should be learning and doing now. If you want to help them, I have prepared both slides and a workbook to help you.
So, take a look at the slides I prepared Client Development in 2012 for Young Lawyers. Then, take a look at the Client Development for Associates Workbook.
I have been sharing the slides and… [read post]
25 Jul 2012, 4:27 am
When I was busy billing 2000 hours, I listened to clients, but I did not listen closely to the young lawyers who worked with me. Now that I am coaching younger lawyers, I pay far closer attention to what they tell me.
If you are a regular reader, or if I have coached you, you have read or heard me say that to secure, retain and expand relationships with clients, you should begin with a short attitude check. What do I mean by attitude? Pay attention to how you talk to yourself, or talk to me… [read post]
12 Apr 2012, 6:10 am
I learned to practice law and develop business by watching and listening to more senior lawyers and figuring out what parts of each person’s approach would fit me best. I have been part of panels of senior partners talking to associates about client development. I have also been the moderator of those panels. I am always fascinated by the stories.
Some partners claim to have never done client development. Having listened to them, they were always doing client development. It was just part of who… [read post]
20 May 2013, 4:00 am
Are you staying inside your comfort zone? I hope not. I recently read a Seth Godin quote:
Discomfort brings engagement and change. Discomfort means you’re doing something that others were unlikely to do, because they’re hiding out in the comfortable zone. When your uncomfortable actions lead to success, the organization rewards you and brings you back for more.
I know many lawyers who are focused on results rather than focused on striving to get better. They fear failure to such a degree… [read post]
9 Apr 2012, 4:35 am
This week and next week I am starting a third and fourth client development coaching program with a group of eager law firm partners in a large national firm. A lawyer I coached several years ago offered advice to the next coaching group in her firm and it is still good advice. If you can put together a group of lawyers who share your interest in developing your client development skills, her ideas will work for you also.
She suggested:
Consider your participation in the program a gift/an extra… [read post]
11 May 2012, 4:30 am
If you had a coaching session with me, what would you want to talk about? This week has been filled with coaching calls. The two most popular agenda items were:
How can I make time for client development when I am really busy and want to spend time at home with my family?
How can I convert my contacts/ friends into clients?
How would you answer these questions?
I tell lawyers that when I was most busy I made time for client development because I had a nagging fear of waking up one day with… [read post]
6 Apr 2012, 4:42 am
A friend read my blog Tuesday: 7 Questions to Answer to Develop a Successful Client Development Coaching Program and asked me to answer the questions I posed. She said she wanted my “Client Development Coaching for Dummies” answers. She finally convinced me to answer the seven questions.
Setting a group goal creates a team. One lawyer I coached said his group felt like a firm within the firm. The hope is that no one will want to let the team down.
Agreeing on 25 action items makes the goal… [read post]
22 Mar 2013, 4:27 am
Just suppose…Just suppose you came by my office today for a coaching session. Would it be as eye opening as the Friday coaching session Shawn Tuma had with me a couple of years ago? You can see what we discussed in Shawn’s post: Are you like Clark Griswold or Ray Lewis?
What would you like to get out of a coaching session with me? What would you want to learn? What challenges would you like to overcome? If I asked you for an agenda, what would you put on it?
During our session I… [read post]
9 Jul 2012, 3:55 am
Suppose you asked 15 of the most successful lawyers you know how they became successful rainmakers: What do you suppose they have in common? What do you suppose are differences among them?
This week I am meeting for the last time with the Fox Rothschild partners coaching group known as Make Fox Rain 8. Like the seven Fox Rothschild groups I coached before them, this group has been focused and engaged on becoming more successful and more valuable to clients. Several lawyers in the group are… [read post]
8 Apr 2013, 4:00 am
I love coaching associates. Why? Put simply, associates are eager to learn and open to new ideas.
Here are 16 things I tell them. If I coached you when you were an associate, share anything additional you remember:
The only security you have as a lawyer in a law firm is clients.
The earlier you start to learn, practice and implement client development efforts, the earlier you will see results.
If you are able to practice law in an area you are passionate about or for clients you are passionate… [read post]
21 May 2013, 4:00 am
I know. I hear it all the time. When law firms cut costs, training is the first thing that is cut. I also know that many, many law firms do not see value in associates and junior partners raising their ability to attract, retain and expand relationships with clients.
If your firm has not cut training and if your firm thinks it is valuable for your younger lawyers to attract, retain and expand relationships with clients, here are some client development skills you might consider teaching… [read post]
3 Apr 2012, 3:39 am
I suspect that if you have not started a client development coaching program in your firm for this year, you are not likely to start one now. Yet, I continually receive questions from firms on how to make a client development coaching program successful. As you know, my first response is always to select lawyers who want to be in the program and develop business. If you select the right lawyers to participate, then you are ready for the next steps.
When I coach a group of lawyers in a firm, we set… [read post]
5 Dec 2012, 4:00 am
Do you have anyone giving you feedback on your client development efforts?
I have always had coaches giving me feedback. It started with little league baseball, then high school sports. A law school professor gave me coaching. Then, as a Judge Advocate litigating government contract cases in the Air Force I received coaching from my boss. In each instance, I learned what stop doing or do differently.
Fast forward to when I was at the very top of my law career. I will never forget meeting regularly… [read post]
3 Jul 2012, 3:53 am
As many of my friends know, I am coaching Quebec and Montreal lawyers. As a result, I am trying to learn French. One of the Montreal lawyers I am coaching sends Nancy and me her French word of the day. Nancy and I are taking French I at Collin County Community College each Saturday morning. It is the first class I have taken since law school and I admit it is challenging.
We are using the well known course materials: French in Action. It is the language course developed by Yale professor Pierre… [read post]
11 Jan 2013, 3:59 am
Yesterday I referenced the Wall Street Journal Blog: Law-Firm Partners Face Layoffs. I wrote that the only security in private practice is to have clients. You know that and you are REALLY trying hard to develop business. But, so far it is not working for you. Here are 10 potential reasons:
You just do good work. You bought into the notion that all you have to do is good work, get a Martindale AV rating, get to know lots of people and wait for the phone to ring.
You have no plan. You have no plan… [read post]
1 May 2012, 3:38 am
I subscribe to Selling Power magazine. Each month at the back of the magazine there are quotes. Here is a quote from distance runner and Congressman Jim Ryun.
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
If you are a senior associate or junior partner, you likely know it is important to develop a book of business. You likely also have some idea of what to do. If you know it is important and you have some idea of what to do, Why aren’t you doing it?
In a nutshell, client… [read post]
10 Apr 2013, 4:00 am
I can answer my question in one sentence:
Start your own coaching group because it is more likely you will make client development efforts you are not making now and it is more likely the efforts you make will over time produce results.
A few months ago I posted: Why group component in client development coaching? If you have a couple of minutes, consider going back and reading it again. You will see that I contend:
Client development coaching is about getting lawyers to make changes and… [read post]
13 Mar 2012, 3:27 am
Have you ever known what you wanted, known what to do to get it and you still didn’t do it? I have found many lawyers in that situation, and even today, I am in that situation.
When I worked downtown, I woke up each morning at 4:30, got on my athletic gear (and coffee) and arrived at Cooper Aerobics at 5:00 AM to workout. It was my habit. I really didn’t think about it, I just did it. Sometimes I felt my car was on automatic pilot. When I finished working out, I drove to the office and… [read post]
7 Mar 2013, 5:56 am
Today I am speaking to all the associates in all the offices in a mid-west law firm. I plan to share many things with them. Perhaps my most important advice will be not to buy into some of the myths they might hear about client development.
Here are the most common myths I see and my response:
You either have it (skills to develop business) or you don’t. I can tell you from personal experience that I did not naturally have it. Knowing that drove me to work at it and develop my skills. So, you… [read post]