Even very successful rainmakers concede that
direct selling, "asking for business"
and actually converting the prospect to a client, can be extremely difficult. The good news is that many lawyers aspiring
to be rainmakers can and should be quite successful at this one-on-one
marketing strategy. The key to
successful face-to-face selling, is understanding that selling legal
services need not (and should not) resemble our
image of the tactics of the door-to-door salesman. In fact, successful rainmakers understand that "making the
sale" has nothing to do with an aggressive sales pitch.
Attorneys who fear the cold,
hard-sell should be greatly relieved by the fact that ethical regulations
prohibit lawyers from direct, in-person solicitation of business
from nonclients with whom they have no prior professional relationship. Successful selling in the legal services
market relies not on the an aggressive sales pitch, but rather on
laying the foundation, understanding the potential client’sbuyer's
purchasing needs from his or her the
prospective,
client's perspective and effective communication. (during
which, by the way, the prospect talks more than the lawyer!). The goal of selling, or
"one-to-one" marketing, is to develop a professional, continuing and
ongoing relationship with nonclients who eventually ask you to inquire
whether you might consider provideing legal
representation for theirhis/her
companiesy.
Lawyers
uncomfortable with selling, however, still
have several hurdles to overcome in order
to be effective at
in
landing new clients:
1. Initiating contact with prospects;.
2. Taking control of conversations,
including directing the questions, clarifying issues, gathering information,
etc.; and
3. Asking for business.
PROSPECTING FOR NEW CLIENTS: NETWORKING
Eighty percent of your new business is likely to
come from existing or former clients.
Most rainmakers indicate that their primary source of new business is
satisfied clients. For this reason, mosteighty
percent of your business development and
marketing efforts should focus firs on keeping existing clients
happy, keeping in touch with them between transactions, and marketing
to them routinely after their legal transaction is complete. WhenAssuming
you have done and
are doing all that you canneed to
in order to nurture existing clients
and promote yourself to themexisting clients,
then your
remaining
marketing efforts should focus on getting new clients.
Asking Existing Clients for Entree
The first step in engaging a new client is to
put yourself in the position of meeting prospective clients and meeting those
in a position to refer you clients. Again, Aassuming
you have solid, ongoing relationships with existing clients, these are the best
people to introduce you to new clients, either in person or through referrals.
There are alternatives to playing golf or other
traditional business development tactics which are proving to be more comfortable
and predictable outlets Ffor those
lawyers who are less uncomfortable with A”schmoozing”., there are
alternatives to playing golf and other traditional business-development
tactics.@
Ask your clients aboutwhat
associations they belong to and in whichbusiness
and civic organizations they are most
active in. Plan to attend several functions, meetings, or seminars
with your clients and ask them to introduce you to their peers. Doing this helps you accomplish three
important marketing objectives:. You will be able to:
1) To lLearn more
about your client, and his or /her
industry; (if
an association meeting);
2) To sSocialize
with your client in a professional but non-legal
context; and
3) To bBe
introduced and endorsed personally by your client to prospective clients.
Nonclient Referral Sources Can Help Too
Networking is absolutely essential—not only withIn
addition to current clients, but also you must network
with other referral sources and prospective clients. Remember that effective selling and business development occurs
most frequently with "warm contacts", not prospects you identify from on
a Dun and Bradstreet report without further introduction.
Ask your existing nonclient referral sources (e.g.,
other lawyers, accountants, bankers, financial brokers and
planners, insurance and real estate agents, trade association executives, etc.) which what
organizations they belong to and which areof those might be
open to non-members. Again, if you can,
go with your contacts to several functions or seminars. Do some follow-up research to inquire about
membership, and upcoming conferences or meetings. Plan to attend several eventsof
them. Over time, Yyour goal is want to be asked to speak at a
seminar, write an article for their newsletter and/or take on a leadership
role.
Business and civic groups can also be very
fruitful for potential client contacts.
Evaluate them and select them on the basis of your interests, and how they
dovetail with your area of legal expertise (and personal skills, where the goal isif a
civic or charitable group), as well as the level of seniority of other
members, (i.e., They should be it is preferable that
others in the group are decision-makers in their companies).
Qualify Your Leads
While meeting prospects and referral sources, try to
"qualify the lead" to determine whether this is a viable
prospect. Does he or /she
have needs my firm or I can satisfy?
Can he or /she
afford my fees? What role does this
individual play in his or /her
company?
Follow-up is Key to Successful Networking
The
key to effective networking occurs after, not during the event
at which you meet the individual. After
the meeting, you must follow-up.
Having exchanged business cards with each contact, make sure each name
and address is added to your personal marketing database, along with a notation
about when and where you met the individual.
Send particularly promising or interesting new contacts a note,
preferably with an
article
or some clipping of particular interest to that individual. Suggest meeting for breakfast, lunch or
dinner in the near future. Follow-up
with a phone call and schedule a time to get together.
Networking requires deliberate and ongoing
efforts to stay in touch and to find reasons to get together. In-person contact on a relatively regular
basis will greatly enhance your success.
Many lawyers admit that socializing and
networking with others -- for the primary purpose of generating business -- is
something they do not do frequently enough.
For some, tThis
is often due to either to real
or perceived time constraints (not wanting or not being able to spend two2
hours at lunch or
breakfast on something nonbillable), or a reluctance to low
comfort level with "makeing small
talk." For others, it is an
inherent discomfort with taking the initiative and the risking of
rejection.
When networking with peers, face-to-face in-person
meetings are the most productive in order to continue
to bonding
the relationship. At some early point,
however, you want to steer the conversation to a possible business
engagement. If you Aasking the right
questions, ou should stimulate the prospect's interest
to ask what you think or know about a particular subject.
One of the difficulties lawyers often have in
"closing the deal" is actually asking for business or bringing the
prospect to the point of inquiring about specific services. Lawyers seeking new clients must overcome
their fear of being rejected and theiror
reluctance to "do the asking."
EncouragingStimulating
a prospect's interest in either your services or the services of your firm need
not be uncomfortable.
FROM PROSPECT TO CLIENT: AN EFFECTIVE SALES
PROCESS
PHASE I - Setting the Stage: Fact Finding and
Rapport Building
After you have done your initial networking and
have begun to build your base of prospective clients and referral sources, you
must engage in actively follow-up
and to begin to develop some longer term,
more substantive relationships. You
want your prospect to become interested in your services (or those of other
partners). Whether you have initiated a
casual follow-up lunch that turns into a discussion
about a potential business engagement or have arranged a meeting specifically
to discuss the possibility of working together on certain matters, the procedures
you follow will be the same.
Step 1.: Given what you know about
your prospect, decidedetermine
whether or not it would be appropriate to
bring along a colleague of yours who has complementary skills or interpersonal
approach., is
female or male or has Agrey@ hair.
Step 2.: After a warm you
have greetinged your
contact, engage in some small talk (e.g., the weather, a
mutual acquaintance, vacation, or a news
item, etc.).
Step 3.: Remind the prospect why you
thought it would be helpful to get together and express your interest in the
possibility of working together at some point in the future. If you are not comfortable with a
particular prospect in implying that you eventually hope
shethey
becomes a
client, focus the discussion on your need to get a better understanding of her a
particular industry’s issues.
Step 4.: Spend 10ten
or 15fifteen
minutes asking open-ended questions such as about the individual
(e.g., hHow
and when she
joined the did you get started with ABC Company?),
his/her
areas of responsibility andhis/her
concerns, and
the company’s, its
competitive position and power infrastructure, i.e.,(including who
the key decision-makers are), etc. The goal here is to give the prospect ample
opportunity to talk about himself/herself, something thatwhich
most of us enjoy doing. Try to keep the
conversation geared toward business and professional issues, but don't hesitate
to make some personal connections if appropriate. Remember, the primary
objective of this part of the sales process is relationship building.
Step 5.: Use thise
information you garner from your questions to
probe a little more deeply into issues about the
company’s,
specific legal issues and experience with legal advisers. For what matters does
it use outside lawyers? Does
the company have
in-house counsel? For what
matters does it use outside lawyers? Does the company have any plans for
expansion, globalization? If possible
and appropriate, use this opportunity to suggest potential solutions or
approaches that
to
issues which reflect your expertise or that
of your partners.
Step 6.: Conclude the meeting by reiterating anything
you discussed as a summarizing the next course of action,
if
there is to be any (e.g., ("I will
send the article we discussedtalked about" or "I will be back in
touch to schedule a lunch with you and John Doe my partner who
has a good handle on the securities fraud issue you’re are concerned
about".)
Step 7.: Follow-up with
the meeting with a thank you note and restating whatever action wassteps
were promised as you concluded your meeting. Be sure to say directly or indirectly, intimate
that you hope the opportunity to work together arises soon.
PHASE II - The Sales Pitch:
Getting the Client
After several rapport-building, information-gathering
meetings with a particular prospect, like the type
of meeting described above, you should find yourself with an
actual invitation and opportunity to discuss real business, either alone or
with a team from your firm. You will by
now have been able to cull out the least promising contacts and focus on those
who appear more likely to need or are those in a
position to engage your services. In
addition to information you have gathered directly from your contact and any
materials he or /she
has shared with you, you should also conduct
your own secondary research on the individual's company.
If you have effectively collectedgathered
information and developed a good relationship, you have already established
trust and credibility, and crossed two major hurdles.
During a
"sales" meeting where with a prospect at
which you are proposing specific services for defined needs, you
can assume that objections will be raised (in sales language, this is often
called “buyer's
remorse”). Most often, objections appear to be based
focus
on costs or on highly sensitive issues,;
what
you may be told is the real objection may be in
fact be masking a more fundamental problem or concern. Acknowledging, discussing and overcoming
objections is the key to making a successful sale., i.e.,
to successfully engaging a new client. If this portion of the sales process is
done well, the "close," which is the part most lawyers say they
cannot do, is much easier and and more likely to be successful.
When objections are raised, acknowledge them
without displaying
any ego.
involved. Do not dismiss them as irrelevant or take
them as a personal insult or rejection.! Probe to make sure you understand the real
reasons behind the objections restate and clarify these
to the prospect to make sure you understand them, and do your best to address them. If possible, try to respond to the
objections during the meeting, on the spot.
Focus on the prospects concerns thatwhich
might be overcome with allayed by assurances
of your personal commitment, quality, value and pricing,
quality, dependability,
service value
and other benefits.
Just remember:. Engaging
in the selling process should not be aggressive or self-centered. You are not going to lunch with a prospect
with the primary intention of promoting your individual or firm expertise and
wisdom. The first several meetings are
spent getting to know the prospect, his/her the company and its business and
legal needs. It may be weeks or months before the prospect learns a great deal
about your expertise or your firm.
Developing a mutually beneficial and longer term relationship is the
essential factor in A”closing the sale”@
to acquire a
new clients.
12 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE ONE-ON-ONE SELLING
1.
Be confident and positive, not arrogant or patronizing.
3. Be empathetic - see things from your prospect's
perspective.
4. Leave your ego at home - don't react defensively
to objections or different points of view.
5. Encourage a prospect to be clear about
his or /her
questions and objections.
6. Use layperson's language.
7. Articulate clearly and confidently your
expertise, value and benefits.
8. Be prepared to discuss the cost of your
services, not just your hourly rate.
9. Know the prospect - do your research. in advance.
10. Remember that not every meeting will (or
should) result in a sale. It takes
time to build a relationship.
11. Press on beyond what feels comfortable --
you must take risks to ultimately be successful at selling.
12. Share your efforts, successes and failures
with your colleagues. Peer support
will help motivate you, and give you constructive feedback and well-
This article is reprinted with permission from the June 30, 1997 edition of Legal Times.
©