Business Development

It’s no secret that if you make it easier for people to reach you using their preferred method, you’re going to get more contacts — ones that could convert to clients. Today, this is especially true of your website. While phone calls have always ...

One of the most challenging things about new business development is keeping your focus — and perspective. Especially when your billable hours are down or your calendar is emptying, it is all too easy, as my dad used to say, to “jump on your ...

There was a time not that long ago when I counseled lawyers not to spend too much time writing and publishing articles. Back then, they were largely passive, short-lived marketing efforts. Today, however, as clients conduct their own internet ...

There is an old folk story that makes a fine metaphor for client development. In the tale, hungry strangers (read: the law firm client team) facilitate the people of a town (the team’s clients) giving them food (solving a problem and ...

If you still have 496 business cards in the original box of 500 you received when you began practicing, it’s time for a few pointers.

Until recently, law firms have had to rely on generic business software for managing customer relations, including intake. Salesforce is the longtime leader in that category. Starting with Avvo’s release of Ignite, however, law firm-specific ...

Regarding your self-promotion, I have good news and I have bad news. Good news: There are more opportunities to promote yourself than ever before. Bad news: The sprawl of marketing opportunities is so fractured and vast, you'll need multiple ...

I recall a lawyer friend of mine telling me with excitement that he had been successful in setting up lunch with an assistant general counsel of a target company. Afterward, when I asked what he had accomplished, he said, “We had lunch.” My next ...

This is something old-school lawyers say a lot: "Your best sources of referrals are your existing clients." And, for word-of-mouth, referral-based law firms, it’s probably true that referrals from other lawyers or from existing clients are 1-2. ...

Having your own clients and business has long been characterized as “critical” for lawyers in firms of any size. Now that’s elevated to the survival level. The days of paternalistic law firms maintaining client-less lawyers at their long-time ...