Category: Client Retention

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

  • You will discover over 65 different marketing techniques that are proven to work in the real world environment of a fast moving law firm. Only practical  techniques will be discussed here. We leave the theory for the classroom.
  • You will know the 5 critical numbers you need to be tracking in your law firm and how to measure your Return On Investment (ROI) for all your marketing efforts.
  • You will understand the core concepts of search engine optimization (SEO) and internet marketing for attorneys and how to create a dominant position on the internet.
  • You will study specific tools to automate your marketing system and “fix your follow up” to increase your conversion rates from prospects to paying clients.
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.
  • You will learn from dozens of real world case studies of how attorneys have gone from a good 6 figure practice to a great “7 figure lifestyle law firm.”
  • You will learn how to focus your money on the most effective marketing strategies based on your specific practice area.
  • You will learn how to better select, train and motivate your partners and staff to do Rainmaking activities
  • You will learn where you can ‘cut the fat’ and reduce your costs by eliminating ineffective marketing strategies
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will have a realistic idea of how much money it will take to effectively market your law firm
  • You will start building a network of other attorneys across the country who are dedicated to building a 7 figure lifestyle law firm
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

  • You will discover over 30 low cost (starting at $20/mo)and no cost marketing strategies to help you stretch your budget
  • You will learn software tools that will help you automate your marketing system
  • You will learn an easy to use system for tracking all your incoming leads
  • You will be introduced to specific tools to help you and your staff convert more prospects into paying clients.
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will see how other solo attorneys have leveraged internet marketing and social media networks to beat much bigger firms
  • You will hear about best practices in legal marketing and gain new insight into what has and has not worked for other solo attorneys all across the country
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.
  • You will learn what the most profitable practice areas are in this economy.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will walk out with a specific, step-by-step, written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that your internal marketing team can implement in the next 30 days.
  • You will learn how to quickly evaluate potential legal marketing strategies to determine if they are a “good fit” for your attorney’s practice areas.
  • You will know how to integrate your offline legal marketing strategies, like referral development and cross selling the firm’s other services,with your online and internet marketing strategies.
  • You will have a simple guide for when it’s more beneficial and cost effective to outsource specific attorney marketing projects versus keeping it in house.
  • You will know the questions to ask when evaluating internet marketing and legal website development companies so you can make wise decisions.
  • You will grasp fundamental search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and understand how to evaluate potential providers of SEO services.
  • You will understand the “metrics of legal marketing”—how to track and measure the results and ROI of your law firm’s marketing campaigns using low cost tools.
  • You will discover a proven system for fixing the follow up of your attorneys and how to start tracking every lead, every prospect, and every referral source and automatically follow up with them frequently and consistently.
  • You will discover over a dozen low cost legal marketing strategies you can launch in 30 days or less.
  • You will have a paint-by-the-numbers approach to developing more referral sources for your law firm.
  • You will understand the basics of how to put together a reasonable law firm marketing budget.
  • You will know how to work better with the Managing Partner and law firm Partners to provide them with the data, the metrics and results they are looking for.

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

  • You will learn how other Of Counsel Attorneys build their book of business.
  • You will understand how to walk the line between promoting your firm and promoting yourself.
  • You will learn low cost strategies to develop a stronger referral base.
  • You will realize how to apply a step-by-step approach to increasing your credibility in the marketplace.
  • You will recognize how to find more clients even without the support of your firm.
  • You will apply several specific strategies designed to improve your visibility.
  • You will leave with a game plan for finding more clients and building a sustainable book of business.

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will learn the importance of building your own book of business now instead of just relying on senior attorneys to build it for you.
  • You will learn low cost techniques to find more clients with your limited time.
  • You will obtain a practical understanding of what it really takes to become a “Rainmaker.”

WHAT MAKES THIS SO DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER LEGAL MARKETING SEMINAR?

1. Specifically Designed for Owners and Managing Partners at Small Law Firms and Solo Practitioners.While Associates, Of Counsel, and Partners at large firms (50+ attorneys) are welcome to attend and will receive benefit from attending, the Rainmaker Retreat is specifically designed to meet the needs, challenges, and financial budgets of solo practitioners and small law firms.

You won’t find any strategies that cost tens of thousands of dollars in this seminar. In fact, many of our strategies have little to no cost and with many of them we will tell you how to trade more of your time instead of spending your money if you’re marketing your practice on a shoe-string budget. Nor will you hear about generic marketing ideas that only work if you have a large staff or a separate marketing department.

2. This is an Advanced Legal Marketing Workshop. We work very hard to make the material easy to understand and simple to apply, but please understand this is an advanced, in-depth, hard-hitting law firm marketing course!

If you are just starting out or have never done legal marketing or business development before you will likely find the volume and depth of our strategies to be a little overwhelming at times.

A common remark we hear from experienced attorneys is that attending the Rainmaker Retreat is like “trying to drink from a fire hydrant” because we will provide you will dozens of time tested legal marketing strategies each day of the workshop.

At the Rainmaker Retreat, you will not hear any generic marketing advice like “just buy more Yellow Page ads” or “try to get more referrals from clients.” The Rainmaker Retreat focuses on in-depth discussions of cutting-edge strategies and revealing secrets of highly successful attorneys used by only an elite group of lawyers.

3. You will be taught How to Track and Measure Every Legal Marketing Effort! You will find a big emphasis on tracking the results of your attorney marketing efforts so if you are a numbers kind of person you will LOVE the Rainmaker Retreat!

There are 3 major areas you need to analyze and every one of your current challenges is directly related to problems in one or more of these 3 areas. We will teach you what the 3 areas are and how to use this tool to diagnose your problems and what “marketing treatment” you need to prescribe.

4. You will learn a Proven Lead Conversion System. The biggest area attorneys overlook in their legal marketing efforts is how to convert more prospects into paying clients. You will learn the 5 numbers you need to track in your law firm.

We will give you the tools and teach you how to use them so you can start tracking: (1) where every incoming lead is coming from, (2) how many of those leads turn into appointments, (3) how many appointments show up, (4) how many of those appointments retain at the initial consult, and (5) how many retain at a later date. We will introduce you to our Rainmaker Follow Up System that can be used to determine your Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Client (CPC).

5. It is a Working Retreat. This means that several times each day you will be given specific marketing tasks to complete with step-by-step instructions. You not only come to listen, learn and discover, but also to practice and apply.

By the end of the Rainmaker Retreat you will:

  • Create a written 90-day Marketing Action Plan (MAP) for your law firm
  • Discover your firm’s Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA)
  • Identify a profile of your Ideal Target Market (ITM)
  • Have written strategies for improving your internet presence and search engine optimization
  • Develop your own plan for leveraging the power of blogging and social media following the Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint
  • Create a letter of introduction to potential Strategic Referral Partners (SRPs)

6. There is a Strong Focus on Return on Investment (ROI)! Everything about this workshop is focused on one goal—helping you achieve the best possible results by finding more and better clients in the least amount of time using the least amount of money possible!

For most attorneys,landing just 1 new client as a result of this workshop will more than pay for your attendance. But that’s not our goal! Our goal is to teach you how to gain dozens of new clients in the next 60-90 days.

Please note, ethically we cannot guarantee those kinds of results, but we work hard to provide you with all of the tools you will need to find more and better clients on a consistent basis. With that kind of Return on Investment, can you afford not to attend?

7. 100% Money Back Guarantee! We are so confident you will benefit from the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied at the end of the first day, just let us know, turn your materials in and we will refund your money.

We guarantee you will come out of these 2 days with a step-by-step Marketing Action Plan (MAP) to make very specific changes to your marketing and how you go about building your legal practice.

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

  • You will discover over 65 different marketing techniques that are proven to work in the real world environment of a fast moving law firm. Only practical  techniques will be discussed here. We leave the theory for the classroom.
  • You will know the 5 critical numbers you need to be tracking in your law firm and how to measure your Return On Investment (ROI) for all your marketing efforts.
  • You will understand the core concepts of search engine optimization (SEO) and internet marketing for attorneys and how to create a dominant position on the internet.
  • You will study specific tools to automate your marketing system and “fix your follow up” to increase your conversion rates from prospects to paying clients.
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.
  • You will learn from dozens of real world case studies of how attorneys have gone from a good 6 figure practice to a great “7 figure lifestyle law firm.”
  • You will learn how to focus your money on the most effective marketing strategies based on your specific practice area.
  • You will learn how to better select, train and motivate your partners and staff to do Rainmaking activities
  • You will learn where you can ‘cut the fat’ and reduce your costs by eliminating ineffective marketing strategies
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will have a realistic idea of how much money it will take to effectively market your law firm
  • You will start building a network of other attorneys across the country who are dedicated to building a 7 figure lifestyle law firm
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

  • You will discover over 30 low cost (starting at $20/mo)and no cost marketing strategies to help you stretch your budget
  • You will learn software tools that will help you automate your marketing system
  • You will learn an easy to use system for tracking all your incoming leads
  • You will be introduced to specific tools to help you and your staff convert more prospects into paying clients.
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will see how other solo attorneys have leveraged internet marketing and social media networks to beat much bigger firms
  • You will hear about best practices in legal marketing and gain new insight into what has and has not worked for other solo attorneys all across the country
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.
  • You will learn what the most profitable practice areas are in this economy.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will walk out with a specific, step-by-step, written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that your internal marketing team can implement in the next 30 days.
  • You will learn how to quickly evaluate potential legal marketing strategies to determine if they are a “good fit” for your attorney’s practice areas.
  • You will know how to integrate your offline legal marketing strategies, like referral development and cross selling the firm’s other services,with your online and internet marketing strategies.
  • You will have a simple guide for when it’s more beneficial and cost effective to outsource specific attorney marketing projects versus keeping it in house.
  • You will know the questions to ask when evaluating internet marketing and legal website development companies so you can make wise decisions.
  • You will grasp fundamental search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and understand how to evaluate potential providers of SEO services.
  • You will understand the “metrics of legal marketing”—how to track and measure the results and ROI of your law firm’s marketing campaigns using low cost tools.
  • You will discover a proven system for fixing the follow up of your attorneys and how to start tracking every lead, every prospect, and every referral source and automatically follow up with them frequently and consistently.
  • You will discover over a dozen low cost legal marketing strategies you can launch in 30 days or less.
  • You will have a paint-by-the-numbers approach to developing more referral sources for your law firm.
  • You will understand the basics of how to put together a reasonable law firm marketing budget.
  • You will know how to work better with the Managing Partner and law firm Partners to provide them with the data, the metrics and results they are looking for.

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

  • You will learn how other Of Counsel Attorneys build their book of business.
  • You will understand how to walk the line between promoting your firm and promoting yourself.
  • You will learn low cost strategies to develop a stronger referral base.
  • You will realize how to apply a step-by-step approach to increasing your credibility in the marketplace.
  • You will recognize how to find more clients even without the support of your firm.
  • You will apply several specific strategies designed to improve your visibility.
  • You will leave with a game plan for finding more clients and building a sustainable book of business.

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will learn the importance of building your own book of business now instead of just relying on senior attorneys to build it for you.
  • You will learn low cost techniques to find more clients with your limited time.
  • You will obtain a practical understanding of what it really takes to become a “Rainmaker.”

WHAT MAKES THIS SO DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER LEGAL MARKETING SEMINAR?

1. Specifically Designed for Owners and Managing Partners at Small Law Firms and Solo Practitioners.While Associates, Of Counsel, and Partners at large firms (50+ attorneys) are welcome to attend and will receive benefit from attending, the Rainmaker Retreat is specifically designed to meet the needs, challenges, and financial budgets of solo practitioners and small law firms.

You won’t find any strategies that cost tens of thousands of dollars in this seminar. In fact, many of our strategies have little to no cost and with many of them we will tell you how to trade more of your time instead of spending your money if you’re marketing your practice on a shoe-string budget. Nor will you hear about generic marketing ideas that only work if you have a large staff or a separate marketing department.

2. This is an Advanced Legal Marketing Workshop. We work very hard to make the material easy to understand and simple to apply, but please understand this is an advanced, in-depth, hard-hitting law firm marketing course!

If you are just starting out or have never done legal marketing or business development before you will likely find the volume and depth of our strategies to be a little overwhelming at times.

A common remark we hear from experienced attorneys is that attending the Rainmaker Retreat is like “trying to drink from a fire hydrant” because we will provide you will dozens of time tested legal marketing strategies each day of the workshop.

At the Rainmaker Retreat, you will not hear any generic marketing advice like “just buy more Yellow Page ads” or “try to get more referrals from clients.” The Rainmaker Retreat focuses on in-depth discussions of cutting-edge strategies and revealing secrets of highly successful attorneys used by only an elite group of lawyers.

3. You will be taught How to Track and Measure Every Legal Marketing Effort! You will find a big emphasis on tracking the results of your attorney marketing efforts so if you are a numbers kind of person you will LOVE the Rainmaker Retreat!

There are 3 major areas you need to analyze and every one of your current challenges is directly related to problems in one or more of these 3 areas. We will teach you what the 3 areas are and how to use this tool to diagnose your problems and what “marketing treatment” you need to prescribe.

4. You will learn a Proven Lead Conversion System. The biggest area attorneys overlook in their legal marketing efforts is how to convert more prospects into paying clients. You will learn the 5 numbers you need to track in your law firm.

We will give you the tools and teach you how to use them so you can start tracking: (1) where every incoming lead is coming from, (2) how many of those leads turn into appointments, (3) how many appointments show up, (4) how many of those appointments retain at the initial consult, and (5) how many retain at a later date. We will introduce you to our Rainmaker Follow Up System that can be used to determine your Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Client (CPC).

5. It is a Working Retreat. This means that several times each day you will be given specific marketing tasks to complete with step-by-step instructions. You not only come to listen, learn and discover, but also to practice and apply.

By the end of the Rainmaker Retreat you will:

  • Create a written 90-day Marketing Action Plan (MAP) for your law firm
  • Discover your firm’s Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA)
  • Identify a profile of your Ideal Target Market (ITM)
  • Have written strategies for improving your internet presence and search engine optimization
  • Develop your own plan for leveraging the power of blogging and social media following the Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint
  • Create a letter of introduction to potential Strategic Referral Partners (SRPs)

6. There is a Strong Focus on Return on Investment (ROI)! Everything about this workshop is focused on one goal—helping you achieve the best possible results by finding more and better clients in the least amount of time using the least amount of money possible!

For most attorneys,landing just 1 new client as a result of this workshop will more than pay for your attendance. But that’s not our goal! Our goal is to teach you how to gain dozens of new clients in the next 60-90 days.

Please note, ethically we cannot guarantee those kinds of results, but we work hard to provide you with all of the tools you will need to find more and better clients on a consistent basis. With that kind of Return on Investment, can you afford not to attend?

7. 100% Money Back Guarantee! We are so confident you will benefit from the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied at the end of the first day, just let us know, turn your materials in and we will refund your money.

We guarantee you will come out of these 2 days with a step-by-step Marketing Action Plan (MAP) to make very specific changes to your marketing and how you go about building your legal practice.

Rainmaker Retreat: Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp:

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

Have you ever gone to a seminar that left you feeling motivated, but you walked out with little more than a good feeling? Or taken a workshop that was great on style, but short on substance?

Ever been to an event that was nothing more than a “pitch fest” that left a bad taste in your mouth? We know exactly how you feel. We have all been to those kinds of events and we hate all those things too. Let me tell you right up front this is not a “pitch fest” where speaker after speaker gets up only trying to sell you something.

We have designed this 2 day intensive workshop to be content rich, loaded with practical content.

We are so confident you will love the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee! At the end of the first day of the Rainmaker Retreat if you don’t believe you have already received your money’s worth, simply tell one of the staff, return your 70-page workbook and the CD set you received and we will issue you a 100% refund.

We understand making the decision to attend an intensive 2-day workshop is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Partners at Small Law Firms (less than 25 attorneys) Solo Practitioners and Of Counsel attorneys who are committed to growing their firm. Benefits you will receive:

  • You will discover over 65 different marketing techniques that are proven to work in the real world environment of a fast moving law firm. Only practical  techniques will be discussed here. We leave the theory for the classroom.
  • You will know the 5 critical numbers you need to be tracking in your law firm and how to measure your Return On Investment (ROI) for all your marketing efforts.
  • You will understand the core concepts of search engine optimization (SEO) and internet marketing for attorneys and how to create a dominant position on the internet.
  • You will study specific tools to automate your marketing system and “fix your follow up” to increase your conversion rates from prospects to paying clients.
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.
  • You will learn from dozens of real world case studies of how attorneys have gone from a good 6 figure practice to a great “7 figure lifestyle law firm.”
  • You will learn how to focus your money on the most effective marketing strategies based on your specific practice area.
  • You will learn how to better select, train and motivate your partners and staff to do Rainmaking activities
  • You will learn where you can ‘cut the fat’ and reduce your costs by eliminating ineffective marketing strategies
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will have a realistic idea of how much money it will take to effectively market your law firm
  • You will start building a network of other attorneys across the country who are dedicated to building a 7 figure lifestyle law firm
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.

Solo practitioners who need to find more clients fast on a shoe-string budget. In addition to all the above benefits, solo attorneys will receive these massive benefits:

  • You will discover over 30 low cost (starting at $20/mo)and no cost marketing strategies to help you stretch your budget
  • You will learn software tools that will help you automate your marketing system
  • You will learn an easy to use system for tracking all your incoming leads
  • You will be introduced to specific tools to help you and your staff convert more prospects into paying clients.
  • You will create a written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that will guide your law firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 months
  • You will see how other solo attorneys have leveraged internet marketing and social media networks to beat much bigger firms
  • You will hear about best practices in legal marketing and gain new insight into what has and has not worked for other solo attorneys all across the country
  • You will be introduced to several advanced internet marketing strategies for lawyers.
  • You will understand how to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.
  • You will learn what the most profitable practice areas are in this economy.
  • You will leave with a Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint to help you fully leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.

Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff who are either responsible for marketing the law firm or manage the team who handles the law firm’s marketing. In addition to all the above benefits, Law Firm Business Managers and Internal Legal Marketing Staff will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will walk out with a specific, step-by-step, written Marketing Action Plan (MAP) that your internal marketing team can implement in the next 30 days.
  • You will learn how to quickly evaluate potential legal marketing strategies to determine if they are a “good fit” for your attorney’s practice areas.
  • You will know how to integrate your offline legal marketing strategies, like referral development and cross selling the firm’s other services,with your online and internet marketing strategies.
  • You will have a simple guide for when it’s more beneficial and cost effective to outsource specific attorney marketing projects versus keeping it in house.
  • You will know the questions to ask when evaluating internet marketing and legal website development companies so you can make wise decisions.
  • You will grasp fundamental search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and understand how to evaluate potential providers of SEO services.
  • You will understand the “metrics of legal marketing”—how to track and measure the results and ROI of your law firm’s marketing campaigns using low cost tools.
  • You will discover a proven system for fixing the follow up of your attorneys and how to start tracking every lead, every prospect, and every referral source and automatically follow up with them frequently and consistently.
  • You will discover over a dozen low cost legal marketing strategies you can launch in 30 days or less.
  • You will have a paint-by-the-numbers approach to developing more referral sources for your law firm.
  • You will understand the basics of how to put together a reasonable law firm marketing budget.
  • You will know how to work better with the Managing Partner and law firm Partners to provide them with the data, the metrics and results they are looking for.

Of Counsel Attorneys who are paid on an “eat what you kill” basis. In addition to all the above benefits, Of Counsel attorneys will also receive these benefits:

  • You will learn how other Of Counsel Attorneys build their book of business.
  • You will understand how to walk the line between promoting your firm and promoting yourself.
  • You will learn low cost strategies to develop a stronger referral base.
  • You will realize how to apply a step-by-step approach to increasing your credibility in the marketplace.
  • You will recognize how to find more clients even without the support of your firm.
  • You will apply several specific strategies designed to improve your visibility.
  • You will leave with a game plan for finding more clients and building a sustainable book of business.

Associates who are either looking to grow their book of new clients in the next 6-12 months or want to launch their own private practice. In addition to all the above benefits, Associates will also receive these benefits:

  • You will understand what it takes to start marketing a practice from scratch.
  • You will learn the importance of building your own book of business now instead of just relying on senior attorneys to build it for you.
  • You will learn low cost techniques to find more clients with your limited time.
  • You will obtain a practical understanding of what it really takes to become a “Rainmaker.”

WHAT MAKES THIS SO DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER LEGAL MARKETING SEMINAR?

1. Specifically Designed for Owners and Managing Partners at Small Law Firms and Solo Practitioners.While Associates, Of Counsel, and Partners at large firms (50+ attorneys) are welcome to attend and will receive benefit from attending, the Rainmaker Retreat is specifically designed to meet the needs, challenges, and financial budgets of solo practitioners and small law firms.

You won’t find any strategies that cost tens of thousands of dollars in this seminar. In fact, many of our strategies have little to no cost and with many of them we will tell you how to trade more of your time instead of spending your money if you’re marketing your practice on a shoe-string budget. Nor will you hear about generic marketing ideas that only work if you have a large staff or a separate marketing department.

2. This is an Advanced Legal Marketing Workshop. We work very hard to make the material easy to understand and simple to apply, but please understand this is an advanced, in-depth, hard-hitting law firm marketing course!

If you are just starting out or have never done legal marketing or business development before you will likely find the volume and depth of our strategies to be a little overwhelming at times.

A common remark we hear from experienced attorneys is that attending the Rainmaker Retreat is like “trying to drink from a fire hydrant” because we will provide you will dozens of time tested legal marketing strategies each day of the workshop.

At the Rainmaker Retreat, you will not hear any generic marketing advice like “just buy more Yellow Page ads” or “try to get more referrals from clients.” The Rainmaker Retreat focuses on in-depth discussions of cutting-edge strategies and revealing secrets of highly successful attorneys used by only an elite group of lawyers.

3. You will be taught How to Track and Measure Every Legal Marketing Effort! You will find a big emphasis on tracking the results of your attorney marketing efforts so if you are a numbers kind of person you will LOVE the Rainmaker Retreat!

There are 3 major areas you need to analyze and every one of your current challenges is directly related to problems in one or more of these 3 areas. We will teach you what the 3 areas are and how to use this tool to diagnose your problems and what “marketing treatment” you need to prescribe.

4. You will learn a Proven Lead Conversion System. The biggest area attorneys overlook in their legal marketing efforts is how to convert more prospects into paying clients. You will learn the 5 numbers you need to track in your law firm.

We will give you the tools and teach you how to use them so you can start tracking: (1) where every incoming lead is coming from, (2) how many of those leads turn into appointments, (3) how many appointments show up, (4) how many of those appointments retain at the initial consult, and (5) how many retain at a later date. We will introduce you to our Rainmaker Follow Up System that can be used to determine your Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Client (CPC).

5. It is a Working Retreat. This means that several times each day you will be given specific marketing tasks to complete with step-by-step instructions. You not only come to listen, learn and discover, but also to practice and apply.

By the end of the Rainmaker Retreat you will:

  • Create a written 90-day Marketing Action Plan (MAP) for your law firm
  • Discover your firm’s Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA)
  • Identify a profile of your Ideal Target Market (ITM)
  • Have written strategies for improving your internet presence and search engine optimization
  • Develop your own plan for leveraging the power of blogging and social media following the Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint
  • Create a letter of introduction to potential Strategic Referral Partners (SRPs)

6. There is a Strong Focus on Return on Investment (ROI)! Everything about this workshop is focused on one goal—helping you achieve the best possible results by finding more and better clients in the least amount of time using the least amount of money possible!

For most attorneys,landing just 1 new client as a result of this workshop will more than pay for your attendance. But that’s not our goal! Our goal is to teach you how to gain dozens of new clients in the next 60-90 days.

Please note, ethically we cannot guarantee those kinds of results, but we work hard to provide you with all of the tools you will need to find more and better clients on a consistent basis. With that kind of Return on Investment, can you afford not to attend?

7. 100% Money Back Guarantee! We are so confident you will benefit from the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied at the end of the first day, just let us know, turn your materials in and we will refund your money.

We guarantee you will come out of these 2 days with a step-by-step Marketing Action Plan (MAP) to make very specific changes to your marketing and how you go about building your legal practice.

Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices to Win in 2010 – Part 3

In the final installment of her three-part Business of Law guest blog posting at the National Law Review, Deborah Knupp of Akina Corporation details the final four steps to help focus and streamline legal business development.  

This week’s posts are identifying the Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices, that when focused on with discipline and intention, distinguish you and your firm and help you gain a competitive sales advantage.  Our previous posts Part 1 and Part 2 focused on the first six Rainmaker Best Practices.  Today’s article focuses on the last set of four Best Practices and discusses WHAT works in any market and HOW to implement the best practices to impact your business with increased revenue, increased leverage of time and resources and improved accuracy and predictability in your sales pipeline.

7) Networking and Working a Room

Networking effectiveness has less to do with personality and more to do with readiness.  Simple answers to questions like, “What is my goal or objective for the event?”  “How many people do I want to meet at the event?”  “How might I follow-up after the event if I make a connection?” turn networking situations into productive treasure hunts.  Networking basics include having your Quick Pitch ready, having business cards accessible and managing your time to meet your objectives.  When possible, ask for the attendee list in advance and peruse the day’s headlines (news, sports, current events) to have small talk ready to break the ice.

8) Campaign Thinking

The ethos of Campaign Thinking is any single act of marketing or business development should be leveraged minimally for a 3:1 payback.   3:1 leverage could be turning an article into a speech and a webinar.  3:1 leverage could be turning a single event into a 3-part communication plan: pre-event communication, during the event conversation and post event follow-up communication. 3:1 leverage can also be geography based by utilizing travel as the authentic reason to connect, i.e. one meeting in NYC turns into three meetings in the Northeast Corridor.

9) The 6 Silver Bullets for Closing and Managing the Red Zone

Unfortunately, there is no magic phrase or silver bullet to close business.  There are however, six qualifiers that can be like silver bullets to understand when business should close.  Business will generally close if there is:

1)     A legitimate problem

2)     A good fit solution

3)     A sense of urgency attached to the timeline to make decisions.

4)     Access to the decision makers and their decision-making criteria

5)     Expectations that are in alignment regarding the level of effort it will take to initiate a relationship and work successfully with you

6)     Budget that fits with your fee structure

When your prospect’s interests align with your six qualifiers, business has a way of closing itself.  If you aren’t sure if your prospect’s interests align against a specific qualifier, asking additional Discovery Questions will provide clarity and a sense of what the appropriate next steps might be.

When business does close, it is understandable that when a prospective client gives you a verbal “yes,” it is tempting to celebrate and step back from your selling efforts.  However, managing the Red Zone means that you recognize that when you get the “yes”, the incumbent has gotten the “no,” which can often lead to desperate decisions and measures to retain the client.  Business is not truly closed until work has started.  Therefore, when you receive word that you have been hired you are on the 20-yard line.  You will want to continue to stay connected, step-up communication and set clear definitive next steps as you ready for the actual work.

10) Create SuperFans through Client Experience

Many professionals assume that if they do good work, clients will continue to hire them for more work. However, reality tells us that just doing good work is not enough.  The competitive market tells us that we need to continuously manage the client relationship to inspire client loyalty while simultaneously looking for additional problems to solve for the client. Recognizing that loyalty is usually a result of an accumulation of good experiences rather than one outstanding moment, we can create SuperFans by finding ways to deepen value within the client experience in seven areas of innovation:

1)     Client feedback

2)     Client intake process

3)     Communication and expectation management

4)     Client appreciation

5)     Knowing a client’s business

6)     Non-legal client project participation and facilitation

7)     Alternative fee arrangements

Summary

Whether you are new to business development or a seasoned veteran, the Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices are designed to give you greater focus, greater control and greater results with more predictability.  When you remember to focus first on building authentic relationships and solving the problems that should be solved, you will have greater joy during the journey and greater impact in the communities in which you serve.

To see Part I of Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices to Win in 2010 click here.

To see Part II of Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices to Win in 2010 click here.

COPYRIGHT © 2010 AKINA CORPORATION

About the Author:

Deborah Knupp has worked globally with CEOs, executives, managing partners and attorneys as a coach and business executive for over 20 years. She has helped these leaders align their people systems and business objectives to create cultures based on the principles of accountability, integrity and authentic relationship building. Her work has focused on making the work environment a place where employees “want” to be; where clients “want” to buy; and, where leaders “want” to serve a bigger purpose in their communities and families.www.akina.biz /312-235-0144

Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices to Win in 2010 – Part I

This week’s National Law Review Business of Law Guest Blogger is Deborah Knupp of  Akina Corporation . Deb authored a very helpful three part series on specific steps that attorney’s can take to increase business!  Read On: 

This week’s posts will identify the Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices, that when focused on with discipline and intention, distinguish you and your firm and help you gain a competitive sales advantage.  They focus on WHAT works in any market and HOW to implement the best practices to impact your business with increased revenue, increased leverage of time and resources and improved accuracy and predictability in your sales pipeline.

The Rainmakers Framework

Many people think that successful selling is all about “hard closing” the business.  The perception that you have to morph your personality into a pushy salesperson and pressure people to buy will often evoke fear, discomfort (and nausea).  Consider that the real truth about closing business happens long before the end of the deal.  Closing business is the natural outcome of an authentic relationship and providing a solution to a problem that should be solved… even if you must temporarily suspend self-interest in the short term.

Closing starts with targeting the right relationships in the right situations that might have the right problems for which you have the right solution.  When an authentic relationship exists and all conditions are present to close, business will often close itself.

The First Three Rainmaker Best Practices

So how do you focus with intentionality and discipline in ways that are likely to give you a better return on effort (ROE) and return on investment (ROI) as you pursue new business?

1) Targeting through the Top 40

Consider focusing your attention on your Top 40 Contacts – these include Prospects (people who can buy now or at some point in the future) and Connectors (people who can refer you to prospects – which may also include your clients.)  As you think about your top connectors, peruse your entire network.  Often many of our best connectors get overlooked because our relationships are rooted in personal contexts (i.e., family, neighbors, personal service providers, etc.)  Realize that targeting is about determining “who is most likely to have a problem I can solve through my legal skills” and “who do I know that knows people who have problems that can be solved by legal skills”.

Be intentional, be selective and be aware of how all your networks may be beneficial.

2) Getting in the Door with the Authentic Reason

If you don’t have a good reason to pick up the phone and call, don’t.  Having authentic reasons to connect is one of the keys to creating genuine relationships over time.  Authentic reasons require you to look for ways to connect that are relevant and authentic from the other person’s perspective, not just your own.

Ask yourself – “If I was the person I’m about to call, why would I be interested in hearing from me?”

If you are struggling for an authentic reason, brainstorm against your three “IN’s”:

  • Invitations:  what events do you have access to that your contact would appreciate or value attending?
  • Introductions:  who do you know that your contact may find beneficial to know?
  • Information:  what do you know that your contact would benefit from knowing?

3) Memorable Messaging

If you want to make yourself memorable, you need to be message ready with a “Quick Pitch” and a “What’s New? Message.” A Quick Pitch answers the question, “what do you do?” with a response to the question “what problem do I solve for whom”.  By answering this way you increase the odds of sounding more interesting and compelling yet remain conversationally appropriate.  When you communicate what problems you solve and for whom, you are able to draw people into further conversation and provoke genuine curiosity and interest.  To that end, “quick” is the operative word in “quick pitch”.  You will want to be relatively brief and create interest.  Instead of saying “I am a <noun>” try responding with “I <verb> <target market> <problem solved>”.  People care about what you can do for them or others more than your job title.

The Quick Pitch is useful when meeting people for the first time, however, there are messaging opportunities that happen every day with people we already know.  How you respond to the question, “What’s new?” or “What have you been working on lately?” is rife with opportunity if you can respond strategically and appropriately.  Rather than mumbling the usual, “nothing” or “same old, same old,” consider filling the void with something you are genuinely spending time doing or thinking about.  For example, you might reply, “I’ve just picked up a new employment case that is really interesting” or “I’m preparing to speak on employment updates at a conference in LA next week.”   Either response may spark additional queries and conversation, and they definitely help reinforce the kinds of problems you solve and for whom.  To that end, if a more personal “what’s new?” is a better fit for the situation, share a recent story about your family, an upcoming vacation or your golf game.  Effective messaging invites people to know you, care about you and want to develop a deeper relationship with you.

To see part II of Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices to Win in 2010 – Click Here

COPYRIGHT © 2010 AKINA CORPORATION

About the Author:

Deborah Knupp has worked globally with CEOs, executives, managing partners and attorneys as a coach and business executive for over 20 years. She has helped these leaders align their people systems and business objectives to create cultures based on the principles of accountability, integrity and authentic relationship building. Her work has focused on making the work environment a place where employees “want” to be; where clients “want” to buy; and, where leaders “want” to serve a bigger purpose in their communities and families. www.akina.biz /312-235-0144

Three Keys to Increased Client Retention

Business of Law Guest Blogger Sarah Johnson of PDI Global discusses Three Keys to Increased Client Retention

Client retention is one of the top issues facing law firms today. Yet, for many firms, client retention is an uncoordinated and inconsistent effort. As a result, they lose both clients and revenue.

But smart firms know that retaining clients is critically important, especially in today’s highly competitive environment. Smart firms are placing a high priority on the three key elements of client retention: providing exceptional client service, adding value and being proactive.

Providing exceptional client service

Clients hire a firm because they expect great service. But clients remain with a firm because they receive exceptional client service. (Hint: This goes way beyond just providing the project deliverable on time or returning client calls and e-mails.)

To provide exceptional service, you need to fully understand client expectations. Because these are subjective, they will be different for every client. So start by directly asking clients what they expect in terms of deadlines, service quality, project outcomes, progress reports, communication and other factors. Then continually evaluate how well you’re meeting those expectations. 

Exceptional client service doesn’t stop with the partners. Firm leaders should communicate client expectations down throughout the firm so everyone involved with the client knows what’s expected and works to deliver that.

Adding value

Your clients need to feel they receive the maximum amount of value for the money they spend with your firm. But as professionals who live by the billable hour, we often start and stop the clock every time we pick up the phone or respond to an e-mail. This can lead us to equate the level of service we provide with the amount of time we spend on a client.

But clients define service not by how much time you spend on them but by how much you show that you’re invested in advancing their long-term success. Depending on the individual or company, this can mean different things. Some ways to show value might include:

  • Introducing them to other professionals who can help them solve a business problem or challenge,
  • Spending an hour to educate them on how to do their job better, or [gasp]
  • Giving them a free assessment or advice. 

Remember that the client is ultimately the one that defines the value, so start by asking them what that means to them and then make sure you follow through.

Being proactive

Clients don’t know what they don’t know. They’re looking to you as their trusted advisor to tell them what they need to know about matters that affect them and what steps they might take to achieve their objectives.

Oftentimes we expend a lot of time and energy when we are courting a potential client to show them what we will do for them, only to forget about our promises once they have signed with us. Proactively bringing ideas to your clients will not only help you retain them and add value to the relationship, but it may also help you generate additional opportunities for business. So what are ways you can be proactive?

  • Share articles, blogs, videos or podcasts of interest that will expand their knowledge.
  • Schedule regular meetings to discuss their business (not your services) to better understand what they might need in the coming year and then help them achieve that.
  • Bring them ideas that will help them succeed, even if it’s not one of your services.
  • Do you have a new or innovative approach to a common issue they might face? Share it with them.
  • Have you completed an industry survey recently? Schedule a meeting to share it with them.

If you aren’t doing this but your competitors are, clients may begin to question their relationship with you. Therefore, whether it’s through one-on-one conversations, a newsletter, a blog or some other media or forum, make sure you’re proactively providing ideas and information to your clients.

Building a loyal client base

Practicing exceptional client service won’t just help you retain your clients. It will also help you uncover new opportunities to generate revenue from them. By giving clients what they want and working to advance their success, you’ll secure your client relationships, win client loyalty and boost your success, too.

© 2010 PDI Global Inc. All rights reserved.

Sarah Johnson is the Director of Marketing Consulting Services for PDI Global and a marketing consultant to law firms. A highly accomplished marketing professional with a passion for success, Sarah excels in advising CPA, law and other professional service firms on ways to realize more of their profit potential. She is especially adept at identifying growth opportunities, formulating business development strategies, maximizing human capital and working with clients to meet the challenges involved in implementing change.  www.pdiglobal.com