CounseltoCounsel Blog

While social media is growing in importance as a tool for mass communication (and therefore as a tool for marketing a professional services practice), for the foreseeable future, e-mail still has an important role to play in marketing a law practice.    But we still have a “Tower of Babel” problem when it comes to e-mail.  Simply put, different users of e-mail speak “different languages”.

The dramatic growth in the use of smartphones in the past two years has only exacerbated the problem.  Smartphone users tend to prefer terse e-mail messages.   Meanwhile, people who mainly  use their desktop or laptop computers to read  or compose e-mail messages may have more tolerance for lengthy messages.

So how does one navigate this challenging communication problem?  For starters, know what your clients and other professional contacts prefer and then follow their lead.  Beyond that, here are some general rules:

• don’t use e-mail to deliver bad news or complex messages [e.g. firing someone by e-mail is a poor use of the medium]
• if you have a complicated message that needs to be sent in writing, send the first paragraph of the letter in the body of the message and then use an attachment for the complete letter.  In other words, you can use the message as teaser and let the reader know they can read the attachment if they want more information.
• try to limit each e-mail message to one main idea and use descriptive subject lines.  (i.e. better to send multiple messages if you have several things to say that are unrelated).  Good subject lines help the recipient to quickly decide if they need to read the message right away and if the message requires a quick response.
• if you receive an e-mail message that gets you angry, DO NO RESPOND IMMEDIATELY.  I continue to be amazed at how often I misread the content of e-mail messages.  There is something about the medium that lends itself to this.  Instead, reread the message once you have cooled down and make sure your first reading was accurate. Sometimes, this may mean waiting until the next day.

Finally, try not to read too much into a “non response” to an e-mail message.  While many of us have an expectation that an e-mail message will be answered in a relatively short period of time, not everyone operates under this set of rules.  Furthermore, spam filters and a mountain of other messages may bury your message.  In other words, with e-mail, there is no guarantee that the recipient saw the message.

E-mail does provide an inexpensive way to communicate with a lot of people and it is therefore an important tool in a lawyer’s marketing arsenal.  But recognize that it is only one tool and that not everyone uses e-mail in the same way.

In my last post*, I discussed the issue of whether using Groupon to garner new business in the legal community is ethical.   When a St. Louis law firm marketed its services for $99 via a Groupon offer, many felt selling law services through Groupon should be frowned upon and some local bar associations have begun to analyze the issue as well.

With the rise of new channels, particularly online and in social media, law firms have an array of new marketing forums available. Also for smaller firms, looking to market locally, services like Groupon could give them a competitive edge, but again is it ethical?

Below are some marketing tips (traditional and new) to consider when pursuing new business:

• Understand the state-specific guidelines and rules of professional conduct for advertising in your state, and display the proper disclaimers.  Offering to practice in states where you’re not licensed can be considered the unauthorized practice of law – be sure to word online advertisements accordingly, since they can be viewed by residents in any state.
• Be “content discriminating,” as sometimes less is more.  Be sure that the information listed on your website is an accurate reflection of your practice area, firm expertise and staffing.  The potential promise of increasing your Google ranking and web visibility with elaborate messaging isn’t worth the risk if you haven’t triple checked the website content.
• Never list clients without their explicit permission, even if you “think” your clients won’t mind.  It’s imperative to ask before posting client names on your firm’s site.   You should also confirm that firm successes or case results are not subject to a confidentiality agreement before posting online. [Comment from Steve Seckler:  although you should always get the permission first, note that listing names of clients and describing matters you have handled is a very effective marketing practice.  In fact when general counsel visit your website, the three things that they most want to see  are 1. industry experience  2. representative clients and 3.  representative matters you have handled for these clients.]

What new business practices have been successful for your business/firm in the new media marketplace?  Have you encountered any challenges like the Groupon example? More to come on this topic as we continue to examine some of the new advertising options taking advantage of technology.

*This post by Matt Probolus, assistant vice-president and senior underwriting specialist, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, is one of a series of guest posts on CounseltoCounsel. Special thanks to Matt for his contributions.

In order to make alternative fee agreements work, law firms need to find ways to control their costs.  But it is a win/win scenario for attorneys and their clients as the business of law shifts to this new paradigm.  Clients get more predictability with fixed fee billing and with outsourcing,  law firms of all sizes have the ability to handle document intensive cases.  In addition, large firms have a way of continuing to provide very high end strategic advising at premium prices without having to charge the client $300 per hour to have first year associates doing relatively low value document review work.

There are, of course, a number of ethical issues that should not be neglected and we will be covering some of these in my upcoming MBA panel on marketing your practice with conventional and alternative fee agreements.  But if you want more depth on the ethical issues, LPO giant Inegreon is hosting a webinar featuring LPO guru, Mark Ross.  I’ve heard Mark speak in the past and he does a great job (i.e. don’t let the price convince you otherwise).

Fee agreements are the cornerstone of any legal practice. Drafted properly, they increase the likelihood that you will get paid for your services in a timely fashion.   Good fee agreements decrease the chances that you will get into a dispute with your clients or with the Board of Bar overseers, and they can even be an effective marketing tool as well.  On May 4th, Stephen Seckler will chair a panel on the subject at the Massachusetts Bar Association.  For more, click here.

Yes, you have my undivided attention

The other day, I called a former colleague to get some advice.  I really value his opinion and he is someone I know I can count on to be frank.  Unfortunately, he is also someone who likes to multitask (and someone who is easily distracted.)  In fact almost every telephone conversation that I have with him ends the same way:  “Oh, I’m sorry Steve.   I really need to take this call.”

This time, I decided to nip the problem in the bud.  I needed an uninterrupted block of time to get his feedback on something so I asked him when I could have his undivided attention for 20 minutes.  He quickly wrote back and said “sure”.  He also said that he would be driving to New York and that I could reach him the next night after 7 p.m.

I wrote back to him and pointed out that talking in the car means that he would be dividing his attention between me and all of the other cars on the road; nonetheless, I decided to take what I could get.

The following night, I called him at the appointed hour and he answered right away.  As we began our conversation, I was able to put aside my own bias (i.e. that talking on the phone while driving means that you are not fully engaged in either driving or talking).  But a few minutes into our phone call, it became apparent that we were not alone.  He was driving to New York, yes; but he had his whole family in the car.  When his daughter needed to throw up, that was the end of the call.

Giving someone your undivided attention is not easy in our wired world.  We are surrounded by many sources of distraction throughout the course of our work day and e-mail has changed our expectations about how quickly we must respond.   Before the internet, the phone was a potential interruption for meetings that took place in the office.  Now  cell phones, blackberries, laptops and other digital media constantly vie for our attention wherever we are.

The up side is that we don’t have to finish our conversation before we set off for our next destination.  But we are fooling ourselves if we think that the person on the other end of the line is getting our full attention when we check our e-mail, look at our blackberry or get in a car to drive somewhere.

This may not always matter.  Sometimes, a conversation is simply a chance to quickly pass along some information.  And as a self employed individual, I greatly value the flexibility that comes with being able to leave my office without having to risk missing an important phone call or e-mail message.

But this has to be done with balance.  We harm our relationships when we refuse to give them our full attention.  In contrast, we really strengthen our relationships when we listen with no interruption.  And it is by being a great listener that we build our referral networks.

So what is a busy professional to do?  For starters, try turning your blackberry to silent when you meet with your clients and referral sources face-to-face.  Setting the phone to vibrate will be less of an intrusion if you happen to receive a message during the meeting; but in all likelihood, a little buzz in your pocket is still likely to distract you.

If you are speaking on the phone and don’t need your computer, then don’t face your computer.  Turn off any audible alerts that tell you e-mail is waiting in your in box.

There is great power in giving other professionals your undivided attention.  Good relationships are not based on efficiency; they are based on trust, something which can only be built when you make the necessary investment of time.

Try giving one of your professional contacts your undivided attention and see what happens.  Ask open ended questions and listen.  Let the other person do 80% of the talking.  You’ll be amazed at what you uncover and how it helps your practice to grow.

1. Industry Experience 2. Representative Clients  3. Case Histories .  Larry Bodine explains on Youtube.

As a consultant, I’m always looking for ways to give referrals to other professionals.  I do this because I like being helpful.  But I also know that making introductions that may lead to referrals for one of my contacts is one of the most effective ways to generate referrals for myself.    When you help someone in an meaningful way, it is human nature to want to return the favor.  For a professional service provider, getting a lead for potential business ranks high on the “meaningful” scale.

Making an introduction can be done in a number of ways.  The simplest thing you can do is to tell someone in your network that they might want to contact person X because person X may have need of their services.

But there are more effective ways to make connections for the referral sources in your network.  Sharing a lead with one of your referral sources may certainly help that individual, particularly if you give that individual permission to use your name.  In a sense, telling someone to use your name is a way of lending some of your own credibility to the person you are trying to help.

Making a direct effort to help an individual connect with a lead is even more valuable for your referral sources.  For example, a few weeks ago, I contacted a partner at a regional accounting firm and told him that I was interested in seeing if there were any opportunities to do some marketing coaching with his partners.  I had been introduced to the partner by someone else in my network and I wasn’t even sure that this individual had any role in marketing or business development at his firm.

As it turns out, he does not have a lot of involvement in the marketing function at the firm.  But he did something that I truly appreciated.  He could have simply told me the name of the Director of Marketing  and suggested that I contact this individual.   He could have sent an e-mail on my behalf introducing me to the marketing director.  That would have been better.

Instead, he invited me to meet him for coffee and he asked his marketing director to join us.  In other words, he actively facilitated the introduction.

I have not generated any work yet from this introduction.  It is a new connection.  But I honestly believe that my chances of doing some consulting with this firm are much greater because the partner was there.  He not only took the time to speak with me and respond to my e-mail, but he made time to meet with me.  And through his actions, he demonstrated to my real prospect (i.e. the Marketing Director), that he thought I was important enough to meet.

It is certainly more convenient to give someone a name and tell them to follow up on their own.  But if you really want to deepen your relationship with a referral source, make the extra effort to stay involved in facilitating the introduction.  If you can’t join them for a networking meeting, then at least make sure that you are the one who makes the e-mail introduction (or phone call).  Then follow up with your referral source and ask him or her how things worked out with the introduction that you made.  Doing so will not guarantee that you get referrals in return.  But for a very small investment of time, you will greatly increase your odds of getting something in return.

Yes!  (According to this month’s guest blogger*.)

While Groupon may be a marketing marvel for the broader business community, whether or not lawyers can get in on some of new business action is yet to be decided. The question buzzing around the legal community: Is using Groupon to garner new business ethical?

For those who have never heard of the website, Groupon features daily deals on activities, restaurants, products, and services in more than 300 markets and 35 countries. Visitors who sign up receive a daily email listing local deals to take advantage of.  To date, the total amount of Groupon offers purchased totals almost 30 million, which is significant for a site that only launched in November 2008.

According to a recent article in the ABA Journal, a St. Louis law firm marketed its services for a will and durable power of attorney for $99 via a Groupon offer. The ethical issue stems from the fact that Groupon takes a percentage of the profits for each offering to its subscribers (negotiated on a case-by-case basis). An ethics subcommittee of the North Carolina state bar is currently investigating whether a Groupon deal amounts to “impermissible fee-sharing with a nonlawyer.” The St. Louis law firm that marketed its services on the site argues that offering a Groupon deal is similar to a coupon offering a discount. Interestingly, the firm reportedly lost money when individuals purchased the Groupon offer, but the firm did benefit from the new business calls that resulted from the original ad.

This case raises a timely issue for law firms looking to market their services through new channels, particularly online and in social media. Services like Groupon could be useful for law firms looking to market their business locally – but are they ethical and can they lead to new business for the firm? What are your thoughts?

My next post will focus on best practices for law firms looking to market their services in an era of new media.

*This post by Matt Probolus, assistant vice-president and senior underwriting specialist, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, is one of a series of guest posts on CounseltoCounsel. Special thanks to Matt for his contributions.

Learning how to deliver a focused marketing message is a challenge for the most of the  lawyers I meet.   Many litigators, for example, pride themselves on their ability to get up to speed quickly in new subject areas.

While there is nothing wrong with being a litigation generalist, telling the world that you are a generalist is a poor way to differentiate yourself from other attorneys.  When asked “what do you do?”, it is equally ineffective to list 10 different kinds of cases that you have handled.

Starbucks understands this concept.  The name Starbucks has become synonymous with coffee.  If you want to meet someone for coffee, Starbucks is likely to be on your short list of options.

But Starbucks sells many things besides coffee.  You can get baked goods and other snacks at Starbucks.  You can even get non-coffee drinks at Starbucks.

Similarly, lawyers may have many services that they can sell to their clients.   Some of these services may even be in practice areas that the attorney has no experience (e.g. other partners in their firm have expertise in real estate, taxation or corporate transactions).

To be successful in generating referrals, however, your branding needs to be focused like Starbucks.  With a focused message, you will get the clients in the door in the first place.  Once they are happy with your version of a “tall dark roast”, see if they are interested in a muffin.  Ask them if they would like a taste of your “iced pumpkin spice latte”.

Thanks to Chris Litterio, Managing Partner of Ruberto, Israel & Weiner for contributing this tip.

It is important to recognize that all buyers of professional services are not alike.  For a description of 8 different types of buyers and how to sell to them, see an excellent article published in Rain Today.