Vermont Bar Association

Seminar Materials

2017 Solo & Small Firm Conference

Legal Marketing 101 for New & Established

Small Firms

May 18 & 19, 2017

Basin Harbor Club

Vergennes, VT

Speaker:

John F. Reed, Esq.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING FOR LAW FIRMS

Legal Marketing 101 for New and Established Small Firms

2017 Vermont Bar Association Solo & Small Firm Conference John F. Reed, Esq., Rain BDM

I. Defining Your Brand

• Question: What Do You Want to Be Known and Valued For? • Brand Elements

II. Communicating Your Brand

• Marketing vs. Business Development • Writing & Speaking Strategies • Social Media & Online Content • Advertising & Other Marketing Opportunities

III. Branding & Building Relationships

• Business Development Conversations • Connecting & Following Up • Account Management

IV. Sustaining Your Branding Efforts

• Contact Management • Executing & Maintaining a Regimen • Establish Meaningful Goals & Expectations

V. Questions & Open Forum

Legal Marketing 101 for BothNew and Established Small Firms

John F. Reed, Esq.May 19, 2017

Develop Your Super Powers

1. Define Your Brand2. Communicate Your Brand3. Build Relationships4. Sustain Your Efforts and Activities

Each of us has a brand. Own it.

Welcome to Brand Camp:What Do You Want to Be Known and Valued for?

• What is your role?• What is your context?• What are your skills?• What is your style?

Meet Kevin

Advising the health care industry about cyber risk

Meet Diane

Bringing attention to divorce and domestic relations issues

Great! You have a personal brand!Now what?

So, what do you do?

I’m an attorney!

???

Just Say No to the Elevator Pitch

So, what do you do?

Hmm. What does that involve?

I help organizations avoid expensive legal mistakes.

Instead, Develop Your Opener

So, what do you do?

Sounds interesting. How do you do that?

I help the smartest people I know protect their ideas and inventions.

Instead, Develop Your Opener

Business development and marketing are not the same.

Make the most of personal marketing.

Before After

Primary Publication

PDF on Website & Bios

Post on Blog & Social Media

Marketing Collateral Piece

Who is your audience?

What “pain” will you address?

How will you relieve the pain?

What’s the takeaway?

What’s your “call to action?”

Reprint in Other Publications

What else?

Write once, publish three times… or more.

Meet Chuck

Using the deliverable as a relationship-building tool

Digital press release on firm’s website, other sites, blogs, and social media

Firm sponsors event to boost visibility, and gets guest list and contact info

Attorney and firm issue invitations; attorney seeks input for presentation

Before After

Send handwritten notes

Invite contacts to LinkedIn

Ask for personal meetings

Update your bios

Publish your slides

What else?

Create opportunities before and after your speech.

Meet Lucy

Warming up the audience before a presentation

Social media matters. Deal with it.

What social networks should lawyers consider?

A Few Thoughts about Advertising and Other Marketing Opportunities…

The options are endless – and growing• Traditional advertising, sponsorships, etc.• Online, SEO/SEM, paid social• Rankings and directories

Evaluate each opportunity with common sense• Is it reasonably calculated to reach your audience?• Does it reflect your brand?• Can it be measured?• Does it comply with legal ethics rules?

Business development is about finding and connecting with your peeps.

Networking Is Dead, Long Live Relationship-Building

• Go where your audience goes• Don’t know where to look? Ask for directions• Quality, not quantity• Charitable organizations and volunteering

Meet Jeff

From food court wallflower to mayor of the rink

Meet Laura

Feeding her family and her soul by serving on a board

Always Be ConversingAlways Be CuriousAssess your Best Clients

Business Development Basics

Situation Questions

Problem Questions

Implication Questions

Need-Payoff QuestionsGlobal Questions

Objectives & Next Steps

Adapted from Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling and Thomas A. Freese, Secrets of Question Based Selling

Successful Business Development Conversations Follow a Formula

Situation Questionshelp you to gather basic information

How many employees do you have?

Tell me about your work.

Where are your offices? How long have you been there?

What’s your role in the organization?

What were your revenues last year?

When you’re not on a soccer field, what do you do?

How many kids do you have?

Do you belong to any other organizations like this one?

Adapted from Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling and Thomas A. Freese, Secrets of Question Based Selling

Breaking Down the Formula

Problem Questionsseek to identify specific pains and needs

Have you encountered this issue?

Will the recent legislative change impact your workplace?

Did the increase in the cost of materials influence your prices?

Are you ready for retirement?

How do you manage all the chaos?

Were you hurt?

How did that make you feel?

Adapted from Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling and Thomas A. Freese, Secrets of Question Based Selling

Breaking Down the Formula

Implication Questionsfocuses your audience on the pain

If you get fired, what will happen?

What will the result be if you don’t change the compensation plan?

If you have to defend a lawsuit, what will your customers think?

If something happens to you, who will take care of your kids?

If you don’t get patent protection, how vulnerable will you be?

If you can’t close the deal in time, how will that change your business?

Adapted from Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling and Thomas A. Freese, Secrets of Question Based Selling

Breaking Down the Formula

Adapted from Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling and Thomas A. Freese, Secrets of Question Based Selling

Need-Payoff Questionsintroduce pain relievers

If you resolve the issue with your employer, how will that help?

Will revising the policy ease the tension and improve morale?

If you the lawsuit goes away, can you then move forward?

If you had a plan in place, could you rest a little easier?

Would you feel better knowing that the contract was signed?

If you could act quickly, would that relieve the stress?

Breaking Down the Formula

Global Questions

Adapted from Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling and Thomas A. Freese, Secrets of Question Based Selling

Can you tell me more?

Could you elaborate on that?

How would that work?

Can you please help me to understand that better?

What else?

Breaking Down the Formula

Objectives & Next Steps

Adapted from Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling and Thomas A. Freese, Secrets of Question Based Selling

Coffee, breakfast, lunch

Share information

Give or ask for an introduction

Make a referral

Host a conference call

Attend an event together

Breaking Down the Formula

What Do Next Steps Sound Like?

• “I’d like to learn more. When can we talk over lunch? My treat.”

• “There’s someone I know who may be able to help you. What’s the best way for me to introduce you?”

• “I have an article on that very topic. How can I get it to you?”

• “Your situation is very interesting to me. Would you be willing to let me help?”

• “I could really use your help…”

• Consider using books, handwritten notes, LinkedIn invitations, an email with useful links, etc.

You Know You’re a Good Business Development Conversationalist When You…

• Build rapport by showing interest• Respectfully convey knowledge and expertise

through questions• Uncover and understand needs • Begin to present solutions• Use little yesses to get to the big yes

A few business development stories…

Meet Mary

Understanding the numbers – past, present, and future

Meet Rick

Using a pen and a pad of paper to build a practice

Back to Jeff

From mayor of the rink to road trip buddy

Assemble, Align, and Manage Your Team

• The problem with cross-selling• Why account management is better• Drafting, quarterbacking, and coaching• Craft a client domination plan

A few account management stories…

Back toMary

Leveraging data to increase share of client

Meet Jason

So you want to be your client’s outside general counsel, huh?

Meet Linda

It’s my client, my team, my rules – got it?

So are you pumpted to get out there and up your BDM game?

Organize and Prioritize Your Contacts

Type of Contact

Level of Attention

Frequency of Communication

Method of Communication

Establish Meaningful Goals & Expectations

• Focus on skills and activities over dollars• Avoid preparation paralysis• Trust = fulfillment = revenue

MeetJulie

Characteristics of a good business development plan

Meet David

Committed to going to the gym every day

We’ve covered a lot today.Questions? Comments? Stories?

Thank you!

John F. Reed, Esq.(248) 613-5897jreed@rainbdm.com