Law Firm to B2B Sales Cycle Comparison

I went to a meeting of MENG this evening (see my previous post on why) and the presentation was incredibly interesting. The presenter was talking about how successful B2B product companies have completely separated the duties of lead development and prospecting away from the sales force. The presenter illustrated how no lead was turned over to the sales force until it had been verified as a valid, live, ready-to-buy prospect. What I hope to do is have the presenter post a guest article here to give you a deeper look at exactly what he had to teach.

Throughout the presentation I kept thinking though that successful law firms are already doing substantial pieces of what he was evangelizing. In my illustration from early 2005 I identified the three big picture processes that (for me) describe the professional services sales cycle. The part I believe he was describing was what we (legal marketers) call the business development process.

The best person I've ever known at this part of the cycle was Mark Prynn of Deloitte & Touche. Mark would work off of what marketing could provide in order to simmer it in the slow process of selling professional services. We could feed him leads (if he was not already developing them himself), and he would further qualify them, understand where they were or were not in a salable cycle, and create a relationship dependent on the level of buyer. Some where phone calls now and again. Others were visits, meals, etc. And some shot straight to the top of "hot now". Mark's job was to keep touching the prospect until they were ready to be sold... and then he brought in the sales team (the closers), which we all know in law firms, is the partner (the billing partner).

Gauging by what tonight's presenter revealed I believe law firms are definitely on the right path with the introduction of sales professionals in business development roles. I do think it is important for us to remember that the "sales force" is the partners. Not anyone that comes earlier in the process. Since what we sell (not the commodity) is relationships we need to be certain that our prospects bond with the product. Not the hope of a product.

My goal, get in touch with tonight's presenter and lure him into blogging what I saw so that you can see too.

Technorati Tags: Legal Marketing, Professional Services Marketing, Marketing, Business Development, Sales

Turn Legalize into an Easy Read

My understanding is that the average adult reader comprehends at a sixth grade level without regard for actual level of education. I am certain there are all sorts of variables in that bell curve but the center of the curve is what I worry about as a marketer. I would surmise that attorneys have a higher comprehension simply because their line of study and practice pushes them to the higher end of seeing inside the meaning and context of words. But my target audience is primarily not attorneys.

When an attorney writes an article meant for publication (blawg, advertorial, magazine or journal), at least in my firm, the words will be read by "not an attorney". Exactly the audience that will frustrate quickly if the words are over their head. If the average reader has to think too much about EVERY word to fit the sentence together their eyes glaze over and the page is turned. So what can a marketer do. Here are a few simple steps for helping an attorney written article become digestible to the average business/consumer reader:

1. In your word processing program alter one margin of the document to at least 2" wide and print it.
2. Read each paragraph and in the margin write a brief summary of what the paragraph stated. Try not to use any of the words already written though some must be used.
3. Redline any words or phrases written by the attorney if they (in your opinion) are totally over the top for an average reader.
   
4. Sit down with the attorney/author and read your summary. Discuss if you where on target in your summary, discuss changes, and find alternative ways of stating concepts in smaller words.
5. Following the discussion rewrite a few of the paragraphs for the attorney so that he/she has a style guide.
6. Markup the rest of the document where the attorney needs to simplify and pass the document back to him/her for revision.
7. After the rewrite it becomes a simple process of reading, suggesting changes, and discussing final versions.

Not every attorney will want to play along. Considering how much effort it takes to pay attention to client needs, billable hours, and have a life outside the firm, finding time to write is an incredibly tough task. But, people love a good story, and they hate being bored by things they think they should know. It is worth the effort, in spades, to the personal brand of any attorney who desires to be published; And to the firm who's name rides along in the byline.

Firm Sports Tickets

A few months back I read the post of a CMO who was elated that she no longer had to deal with managing the season seats owned by her firm. At my firm the tickets are definitely felt to be a business development tool so the task falls to me. I can certainly understand the CMO's elation... But I also see the tremendous benefit the tickets bring to the business development/retention process. So I am happy to have the task in my department; But the task can still be trying.

When seasons overlap (baseball, hockey and basketball) it almost seems that I have more inventory (seats) than attorneys in the firm. And our local hockey team is in the playoffs (Go Mighty Ducks!). We have seats for the Angels baseball team and the Ducks. Fortunately, not for the Lakers and Clippers (HEY! They're Los Angeles teams. That's a whole 'nuther country from here in Orange County). But I do get calls from partners hoping that I can hook them up (which I can sometimes do -- connections are cool).

With the Ducks in the playoffs the task gets harder because the schedule is always last minute. It's tough to invite key executives with last minute plans. Tonight's game proved so difficult that I raffled off four tickets to the staff which is something I really enjoy doing. I believe it's great for moral and is a much overlooked tool for increasing employee satisfaction.

All in all this is a pretty weak rant on the task of managing firm tickets. It's just part of the job and like any other part it sometimes goes good and sometimes less. If you manage tickets at your firm and have found ways to make the task easier I would live to hear from you.

An Addition to the New Matter Questionnaire

As I wrote earlier I query partners on new business that arrives at the firm to understand all of the reasons that we take on new clients. Today I added a new question to the mix. Of course, there are many questions that could be asked, but any questionnaire NEEDS to be brief enough to expect that anyone will take the time to answer the questions. My query to the partners is now:

• How did you get this work?
• What was the referral source (if there was one)?
• What is the business of the client?
• What is the scope of their operations within California?
• How comfortable are you to work with this client or on this matter?
• Do you feel comfortable that this client/matter fits into your overall practice?
• What is their potential for additional work? (NEW)
  
• Would you feel comfortable talking with partners in other practice groups about exploring additional business issues the client might be facing?
• Would you like to land more clients like this? Why?

Networking is for More than Developing Business

I was reminded this afternoon by a good friend and excellent relationship developer that networking has more use than building a business pipeline. She asked, "What groups (organizations) are you connecting with just in case you decide that legal marketing is no longer your path?" My first thought was that I cannot imagine that I would ever want to do anything but legal marketing. But her point was important. I spend so much time focused on the networks of others that I might be neglecting my own.

Personal professional networks are not just about finding jobs or developing business. They can also be about learning, growing professionally and enjoying the ambiance of peers. Being someone that works to mentor others in the benefits of networking I am not being as diligent with my own.

I do belong to the Legal Marketing Association (LMA)... but no other. I feel so shortsighted. She did suggest the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) so I will definitely check them out. And I am going to look for others. When I am not networking for the firm it will be nice to explore the minds of marketers not in the law firm sphere.

By the way. My friend is Kathy McConnell, a VP at McDermott & Bull and GM of their Executive Network. It is a good thing to listen to those that know what they are talking about.

Truth in Marketing is in the Pictures

I have no idea how I missed it (among the bazillion blog posts) but Mark Bixby (a graphic designer who blogs) has put into a few paragraphs a most eloquent opinion about using people that represent the true customer experience and expectation in his post, "We Don't Work Here".

In his words, "A gaggle of ethnically diverse "twenty-somethings"” with perfect skin and flawless fashion sensibility? Is that who's really administrating the Linux server your website lives on? I know it's not. You know it'’s not. And the companies who put these people on their home pages know it's not. So who do they think they're fooling? And why try to fool your customer ever?"

Many people have asked me why I have gone through the struggle of doing editorial photo sessions with my attorneys so that they could be featured in our advertising, on the Internet and thoughout our branding process. The answer for me was that the business of lawyering is very much a person-to-person experience, and the truth can only be spoken with reality.

In every part of the discovery phase of our branding program the very personal nature of attorney-client relationships were repeated over and over by the attorneys at my firm. To present (brand) our firm we wanted to acknowledge that truth. So the words we are using are only words that my attorneys might state, and the photos are only photos of the people that would say them.

Truth in advertising (including the pictures). It works.

Looking for Job When You're Not Looking for a Job

I am fortunate to meet with a lot of really great executives in the course of my job. Some with great companies and others looking for a great company. I was thinking about how my little technique of "Circle of Five" would work to help keep the "looking for a new company" at a minimum.

Try this. Find five people in other companies (maybe even competitors) that share your role. This is something you do while you are still working... Even if you don't think you will be going anywhere very soon. Put together a quarterly meeting (lunch, cocktails) to sit and talk for an hour or two about the challenges of your positions and career. Start sharing ideas, challenges, and business relationships (when it makes sense).

In any relationship group, as the members become closer the sharing and benefits will increase incrementally. And, you will come to know four other sets of ears that are hearing about the market and opportunities if you should find yourself looking for a new, great company.