Marketing Mailbag : Bothwell Marketing, Inc.

Traveling the Business Development Highway

published in the Daily Journal

Dear Puzzled:
Instead of thinking of this as a document that you must produce, why not think of it as your road map to success.

For example, when deciding to take a road trip, you first decide on a destination. This decision is based on family member's personal desires, cost, weather, time, friends in the area, etc. Although trip negotiations can be arduous, everyone can have a great time with the proper advanced planning.

Like traveling, business development requires a map for a successful navigation to the desired finish line.

Lawyers, however, often have no marketing plan and may fail to consider business-development goals in tangible terms, such as revenue numbers, new offices, adding practice groups or increasing the overall number of lawyers.

The old adage "if you don't know where you're going, you won't recognize it when you get there" applies especially well to business development, where all roads do not lead directly to Rome – or to marketing success. When developing your marketing plan there are certain areas you should cover.

Setting realistic goals is the first step. Don't skip this step to jump into your action list. Although your ultimate plan may require you to conduct seminars, write articles, conduct receptions and entertain clients, setting your goals beforehand helps to prioritize activities and prevent wasted time.

Determining the right plan is creative work and requires time. Start with a clean slate and then ask yourself what kind of practice you want, how much money you want to make and how hard you want to work.

When planning business development for a whole firm, the process should be approached first from a cultural standpoint. A firm needs to determine its potential and desire for growth, and the form that the growth might take. It is also important to ascertain whether profitability or lifestyle is the more important factor to the firm's partnership.

Whether developing an individual marketing plan or a firm-wide plan, set realistic goals by balancing the ideal business development wish list against what you or your firm can or will do.

In developing a strategy you must decide how you will differentiate yourself. Competing with other lawyers by offering a lower price may seem to be the obvious solution, but it's not necessarily an effective one. Lawyers often lower rates, which limits long-term profitability and results in the perception that they are a low- rate firm.

Unlike other businesses, lawyers are often reluctant to focus marketing efforts in a certain practice area or industry. Lawyers and firms who see themselves as full service may view a niche as too limiting. "We can handle any kind of litigation for anyone," is a phrase I often hear. From the client's perspective, however, it does not establish you as an expert in anything.

Because clients want to hire experts - become one. Develop a list of target clients and develop a strategy for each that offers them different or better legal services than they are currently receiving.

Some marketing plans are implemented well. Most gather dust on window ledges and credenzas. Three areas are critical to implementation. First, you must develop leads. Put yourself in situations where you will meet, speak to, appear before or otherwise gain exposure to potential clients. Second, you must develop relationships with potential clients. Third, you must actually ask for the business.

Building these activities into your existing routine takes time and persistence. Formulating a plan and sticking to it will pay off in the end. Although your plan might be imperfect and your implementation may fall short of the mark, it is probably an improvement on what you were doing before.