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

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Results! Let's face it... why take on a business development initiative if it doesn't produce results? What's the point? Results include everything that gets you close to: increased visibility, increased credibility and increased business development. These are the bricks that create a solid foundation for your practice to grow.

It is my privilege to work with smart, committed lawyers... the key word here is COMMITTED. These lawyers have produced results because they are committed to growing their practice. Business development is not just something they do occasionally. They work on it every day, every week, every month. And we meet once or twice a month to monitor their progress, address issues and uncover new opportunities. I would like to share a few of the results that my clients have produced in 2011...

1. Doubled her revenue over the previous year (and plans to double it again in 2012.)

2. Became comfortable with blogging; found their blogging voice, followed through on their commitment to a schedule AND generated business.

3. Found passion in a new area of the law and is developing their practice around it.

4. Was recognized by his firm to be one of the firm leaders in his practice area.

5. Appeared on TV talk and news programs more than 6 times this year.

6. This lawyer stopped saying "I'm not good at networking!" Now realizes that she is GREAT at developing one-on-one relationships. She no longer dreads it but gets excited to have lunch with a referral source.

7. Was elected President of a local bar association... we created a plan and focused on winning.

8. Turned a casual agreement to have a conference call with a major player in a major out-of-town organization into a face-to-face meeting. Flying to Washington D.C. resulted in a deeper relationship that could not have been possible on a conference call.

9. Placed an article with a bar publication and positioned herself as "easy to work with, reliable and fast". Now she's writing a regular column.

10. Named a "Lawyer To Watch In 2012."

11. Reached the 1st page of Google when one searches terms associated with their practice area.

12. Several small firms have forged relationships with other like-minded firms for the purposes of business development. Work is now flowing.

13. Made a firm commitment to business development... EVERYONE contributes in his or her way. Yes, EVERYONE from receptionist to managing partner.

These results could be YOURS! Commit to doing something every single day. Stay focused. Find your mentor, accountability partner or give me a call. In 2012 what do you want to achieve?

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There are 525,600 minutes in a year... and EVERY minute we have the opportunity to make choices. Choices that will move us closer to our goals and objectives OR choices that will move us further away. So, where did your CHOICES take you in 2011? 

Last January I was giving one of my seminars... Grow Your Practice... Common Sense Strategies, and I was talking about my philosophy of doing something every single day. I asked the question... What could you accomplish if you focused and made this commitment? I pushed the lawyers... commit to something! I then said... "I want 20 more coaching clients." (Did I just say that OUT LOUD I thought? Yikes, I just said that in public! Now you've done it, Paula! The world knows... 20... Yes 20 is the number!)

Throughout the year I was confronted with choices that could get me closer to my goal or get me further away. My choices got me 23 new coaching clients this year. What was at work here?

I shared my commitment with others. And had several conversations with those that heard the commitment... as to my progress and several of them gave me referrals. I sort of had a team on MY side.

I made choices every singe day that would get me closer to my goal. It was a call, an email, a meeting... a conversation... I made choices!

Who will you share your 2012 goals and objectives with... find YOUR team that can support you. And make CHOICES every single day that will move you closer to your goal. Every single minute YOU have a CHOICE!

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When you look back on the year, do you find that you OVER PROGRAMED yourself? OR did others over program your time by asking you to do things you felt compelled to do? Have you ever thought about saying NO? Well maybe it would be more like, NO THANK YOU, in a very diplomatic way that still makes YOU look like the hero or people pleaser that you are.

A colleague says, "The clients file is on your desk." When this happens you feel you have to drop everything and work the file OR do you?  You could say, "I won't be able to get to it until Tuesday, will that work for you?"

A client gives you a document to review. You must be responsive, (after all your marketing materials say that you are.) But it is about the perception and managing their expectations. You could say, "I can get that for you in 48 hours, will that work for you?" When you say 2 days... that sounds like a long time. But if you say 48 hours... that has a sense of urgency.

An important contact calls and asks you to lunch. You know you need to spend time with this person but lunch is going to cut at least 2 hours out of your already jammed schedule. You could say, "I don't have time for lunch but how about if we both grab our coffee in the morning and have a conference call say, about 8:30, I don't want to miss the opportunity to get caught up. Would that work for you?"

When management asks for volunteers... you know that it is an opportunity to stand out, but you have so much on your plate as it is. You could say, "I can't take on the entire project; however if someone wants to share the project, I could do that, and besides collaboration always makes for a better quality result."

In each scenario you said "No Thank You!"  However, it is in the most gentle of ways. Meanwhile you keep control of YOUR time and negotiate it on YOUR terms.

Black Pearl: Kendra Brodin at Lawyerist.com offers insight... The Art of Saying NO. Lots of great ideas, enjoy! 

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OK... Maybe not change your LIFE! But, it could be a game changer.

"The ONE Resolution You Need To Make In 2012." I ran across this headline at Fast Company.com... as usual I was zooming through and just about got whiplash as I screeched to a halt to click on the link. The ONE resolution... What could that possibly be? I thought.  Dayna Steele hit the nail on the head. If you were to resolve to do just one thing, this is IT... 

"Do what you say you are going to do." Could be a game changer... right?

Dayna gives examples...

"If you say you are going to call, call.

Promise to send someone information? Send it.

Finish a job when you promised... or earlier... with quality work.

Let people know as soon as you can when you are running late for a meeting or won't make it at all."

I would like to add to that...

If you commit to being in a meeting... be there... not on your PDA!

If you tell your clients that you are responsive... make sure you are, ALL the time!

If you commit to writing articles or blogging, make a schedule... and just do it!

If you tell your family you will be home... be home and be present!

Focus... The benefit of accountability is increased credibility. Colleagues, friends and family can count on your word. When you make a commitment to yourself... keep that too! So, in 2012... Make BIG promises and keep them. It could be a game changer when it comes to business development... not to mention everywhere else.

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If you are a regular reader you are well aware that I have been writing and working with clients for the past two and a half months on business development planning for 2012. Part of the process is to look back onto 2011 and examine what went well and what could be improved upon. There is a common denominator in the "improve upon" category.

What I hear over and over again is the fact that many business development initiatives seem to get "stalled". Why? Because they needed more work... the article was not perfect yet... the blog post was not substantive enough... and so on, and so on. It is a lawyer's trait... perfectionism.

It is a very uncomfortable thought that you would put your name on something that isn't perfect. But I ask you... "Whose job is it to judge if something is perfect?" Of course it seems that it is YOURS. When was the last time you saw a PERFECT anything? Not recently, I'd bet! Everything can be improved in some way... big or small. So, I challenge you to find a point that your business development initiatives are "perfect enough." And let go! Don't let perfection get in the way of progress! 

Learn from your initiatives and make them better the next time. Because as we know... business development initiatives need to be repeated to yield results. So, you will have plenty of opportunities to improve as you progress. But you need to do something in order to PROGRESS! So, as they say... let go and just do it!

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Do you enjoy your work? Can you get lost in the process of preparing for trial or analyzing a transaction? Are you energized by the interaction you experience with clients? Do you find it inspiring to discuss the law with colleagues? If the answer is YES... you my friend are very lucky. But sometimes the flip side is... guilt!

Do you have family, friends and colleagues that tell you that you work too much? Chances are you hear it, and when you do... you start to feel guilty and question yourself..."Maybe I DO work too much."

I was just working with a lawyer about this very issue. He was second-guessing himself. Does he work long hours? YES.  Does he like his work? YES. Is he building a practice? YES. Does he take time to enjoy the sporting events he loves? YES. Does he pay attention to his family? YES.

I shared a story with him. Many years ago my father was lecturing me about working too much. My response to him was... "If I were a priest, you would praise me for being so devoted to my parishioners that I would be visiting them at ten o'clock at night. And if I were the baseball player, Cal Ripken you would be so proud that I had played in 2,632 consecutive games... I would be a super star in your eyes!" My father, to his credit responded with..."Point well taken!" And to this day has never chastised me again for working long hours because he knows that it is my CHOICE and I love my work.

If you are passionate about what you do... and you do not neglect your other obligations... then DO what makes YOU HAPPY! And don't let other people's judgment about it make you feel guilty. Stay true to whom you are and what you want to accomplish in life. After all, we only have one life to live!

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I was talking with a client today about an article opportunity and on the surface it sounded very attractive. This publication's target market is a good one, the magazine has published my client's work before, so she already has some exposure to their readers and she can easily figure out a strategy for the article.

Sounds very doable... RIGHT? On the surface it does. But when we start to think of all the other irons she has in the fire it may not seem so attractive. The big question is... What is the opportunity cost?

1. What will she set aside in order to have the time to devote to this article?

2. Is THIS target market where she can get the most return on the time invested?

3. What is the projected time frame to expect a return on the time invested from this article?

After careful consideration the conclusion is: She needs to FOCUS and spend her time more wisely. Work on client matters, continue to stay in-touch with prospects that are considering the possibility of hiring her in the near future and complete the writing assignments she has already committed to. That is what's at stake if she loses focus. A much wiser course of action... don't you think?

She's a get-it-done-kind-of-gal. She first sees the WHY she should do it... then she sees the HOW to get it done. She is a lot like me and chances are, many of you. Let's add a third step... ask "WHAT is the opportunity cost of doing it?" This will help set priorities and will help you FOCUS...FOCUS...FOCUS! 

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Imagine working to your strengths... while your team is working to THEIR strengths. That is precisely what I had the pleasure to ignite...

I had the privilege to work in Victoria B.C. again last week with a team of really committed lawyers and staff. It was a re-branding launch. What made it note worthy is the fact that we based the new brand on the strengths of the entire firm... YES... the ENTIRE firm! I had the entire firm (from receptionist to managing partner) take the Strength Finders test and we built the new brand using the results of the tests as our filter. The results are amazing. It is a commitment to who they are... not marketing language as to their unique capabilities. And as we revealed the package I could see how it was resonating with the entire team. It is not a positioning statement they have to embrace... it is a positioning statement that represents who they really are... very different!

After the reveal... I had the pleasure to introduce Cindy Pladziewicz. I invited her to join me on this assignment because she is a lawyer and a clinical psychologist that is an expert in strength psychology. What an incredible session we had... everyone was able to gain more clarity on the unique strengths they bring to the team and the combination of everyone's strengths revealed a truly unique law firm. 

The next few days I worked with each lawyer and their assistant to solidify their business development plan for 2012. The great advantage was having their assistant part of the plan... and we explored ideas to make sure their lawyer had the support they needed to accomplish their 2012 goals.

This process was great and a natural for this very unique law firm... but let's make sure we recognize just how unique...

EVERYONE in the firm participated in the Strength Finders research we did to capture the true essence of the firm. Typically firms focus on  business development in a silo fashion with only select groups participating in any given initiative.

A TEAM APPROACH... each lawyer AND assistant brainstormed together in order to come up with their 2012 plan. Usually it is the lawyer alone.

As I said in the opening... Imagine working to your strengths... while your team is working to THEIR strengths. NOW... you can see it is possible for this unique law firm and it will be a pleasure coaching them every month to ensure they reach the business development goals they envision... I will keep you posted.

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Plan for the inevitable... what are you going to do when you hit a wall? No matter what your business development efforts entail, you will hit a wall. Everyone does. Me included. Over the years I have found my little tricks that get me back on track. When I'm stressed I crank up the music! I love music... it's mood altering for me.

What could help you when you hit a wall? Make a plan for all of the following situations...

1. When you come face to face with rejection

2. When you hear too much negativity

3. When you become overwhelmed

4. When you become exhausted

5. When you become stressed

If you have a plan... your GO TO source to recharge and rejuvenate, you won't stay off track as long... and you will have a sense of satisfaction having gotten to the other side so quickly. Believe me... it works!