Miami Legal Business Development | Branding | Lawyer Coaching | Paula Black

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Throughout the year I try to find Black Pearls, informative resources, that I can pass on to my readers. As I mentioned on Tuesday, here are a few I thought were not only incredibly important to creating and maintaining initiatives, but interesting as well. Enjoy!

Blogs—“Start a blog to grow your practice,” Kevin O’Keefe

Twitter—“Twitter Power,” by Joel Comm

LinkedIn and Facebook—“LinkedIn Group versus Facebook Group,” via Search Engine Journal

Article Posting—“Be A Celebrity in Your Own World,” by Paula Black

Client Service—“Flip the Funnel,” by Joseph Jaffe

Referrals—“Missed Opportunities: Not Asking Clients for Referrals,” by Donna Erickson

And more:

Find A Niche— "Discover, and Market, Your Niche Law Practice" by Ann Macaulay

Looking Outside the Law— "What Bruce Springsteen Can Teach Lawyers about Law Firm Marketing" by Elizabeth Ferris

Your Brand— "Make the Logo Bigger: 10 Rebranding Disasters" by Bianca Male

Video— "The Lawyer's Video Studio"

Attitude— "If you need to, got to or have to- You won't" by Cordell Parvin

Email and Newsletter— "5 Reasons Why No One Is Reading Your Email Newsletter" by Sean D'Souza

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If you’ve been following this blog for the past year and a half, you probably know that I am constantly handing out ideas for simple (but impactful) initiatives. In an effort to help you get a jump start on 2011’s planning, I’ve decided to take this week to revisit some important initiatives and re-link to some of the best Black Pearls from 2010. So go over the list below and see what you’ve implemented and what you need to get moving on. On Thursday I’ll post links to some of my favorite resources for each one…

• Blogs—a fantastic way to increase visibility and credibility
• Twitter—build relationships with industry insiders, colleagues and media
• LinkedIn and Facebook—see who you’re connected to…and who they’re connected to!
• Article Posting—great for building a strong internet presence (and a great marketing tool for potential clients)
• Client Service—an important, and often forgotten, piece of business development
• Referrals—other attorneys, your friends and family…they’re all strong sources of business

What have you implemented this year and what will you focus on in 2011? It’s time to start thinking.

Black Pearl: When it comes to Marketing and Business Development I can't say it enough...Do Something Every Single Day. "Create A Marketing Habit"...that is the foundation of success.
 

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Now that you’ve started to see who you want to be in 2011, it’s time to put it to action. I’m sure, as loyal readers, you’ve all been working hard on your elevator speeches. Let’s revisit that. Think about who you want to be, what you want your practice to be and what kind of client you wish to attract. Now tailor your elevator speech to those ideas. See the difference? Market to what you WANT, not what you HAVE.

On the same note: Start mentally rolling through your contact list to think about who can help bring you the clients you want in 2011. Make a list. Send them a personal New Year’s—not Christmas!—card (or gift) and start the conversation. There are only a few degrees of separation between you and your dream client. Connect the dots and see who can help you make it happen in 2011.

Black Pearl: One of the easiest ways to connect with old friends, colleagues and clients is via LinkedIn. It’s also a great way to see how you’re connected to the clients you need to get in front of. But how? www.imonlinkedinnowwhat.com by Jason Alba is a great blog (and book) that can give you tips and tricks to making the most of the site. Take a look and start connecting!
 

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Yes, I know…a lawyer. But today let’s think about who you really want to be in 2011? Truly define it. Do you want to focus your practice on a certain niche? Do you want to be “the small-banking go-to lawyer,” the “aviation law expert for the Northwest,” the “Georgia divorce expert?” Where do you want to steer your business and what type of client do you want to attract? It may sound silly, but just writing down the kind of clients you want to walk through your door can help you see opportunity when it presents itself.

Quick example: In October of 2009 I sat at my desk and wrote down a goal. I wanted to get one non-lawyer coaching client in 2010. Then I put the thought away. Fast-forward to January 2010 and an old client happened to call me up and ask for my help in branding his new (non-legal) company. Had I not written down that goal I would have taken the business, been happy to hear from an old friend and moved on. But a light went on and I took him to lunch, pitching my services as a marketing coach. He became my first non-lawyer coaching client. Write it down.
 

Black Pearl: Think outside of the box when re-thinking your strategy. Cordell Parvin recently found 10 core values after reading Zappos' founder Tony Hsieh's book "Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose."

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Once you’ve answered Tuesday’s questions (and hopefully a few more of your own asking), you’ll be better able to rework and rethink your marketing plan to see even more results in the coming year. For instance… if you went the entire year without writing a single article but managed to reconnect with 5 old clients, it’s clear where your interest—and therefore—your strength lays. So increase your goal to reconnect with 8 old clients in 2011 and reduce your article goals. Another area that’s easy to rethink is that of referrals. How many did you give? How many did you get? Who were they to and from? Then alter that section of your marketing plan accordingly. It’s really that easy.

Black Pearl: In case you need a quick refresher in writing a plan, click here to browse through previous posts dedicated to the topic. And here’s a great—and short—thought on tactics versus strategy article from Jeff Berman at Law Marketing Monitor.
 

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As I’ve mentioned many times, your marketing plan is a constantly evolving entity. Because of that, it’s important to revisit your plan on a regular basis and see where adjustments need to, and can, be made. The end of the year is a great time to do this—you’re able to take stock of the year that was and see where you can make both time and fiscal investments in marketing and business development in the year to come. A few quick questions to ask yourself before you begin:

Did I make marketing and business development a priority this year?
If not, why? (time, money, lack of focus…) If so, how?
How many new clients did I bring in this year? What drew each of them to me?
How much business came from existing clients? Did I seek it out or did it fall in my lap?
How many “missing” clients did I reconnect with?
How much did I increase my visibility this year? What’s on the first page when you Google your name?
Did you build relationships with other lawyers? With clients? Within your industry or community?
How many articles did I write?
How many speeches did I give?
How much did I further/update/increase my presence on my social media?

Black Pearl: Here are more questions to ask yourself "How Full is Your Bucket?". It may spark ideas that create the foundation for WHY you should be growing your business. Authors Tom Rath and Donald O. Cliffton talk about making every moment matter and created a Positive Impact Test...take the test.

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It may sound counterproductive, but stopping to think about what you want to do in 2011 is actually a great marketing and business development exercise. So think about it. Do you want more time to coach little league? Do you want to get a pilot’s license? Travel somewhere exotic? Now, rather than retrofit your life into your marketing plan, make your marketing plan fit into your life.

Alison Rowe realized that she wanted to spend more time focusing on her passion for horses. The result? The Equine Law Blog. Take your hobby, your passion…whatever you love to do and make it part of your marketing and business development.

Black Pearl: I came across this article via the Canadian Bar Association and thought it mentioned some incredibly interesting niche practices: Wine law? International art law? Video game law? Yep. Click here for the full article “Discover, and Market, Your Niche Law Practice.”