Archive for September, 2009

How do you get more clients? Use the Narrow Focused Request

Monday, September 28th, 2009

When I was a young teenager, I made money selling holiday cards door to door. In those days you got a catalog of cards and order forms from a card company then went around the neighborhood and among your extended family taking orders. Once the cards arrived you delivered them, collected the money and paid the bill from the card company. The left over cash was yours to keep.  Holiday cards are a very non-threatening item to sell so you could always get people to look. But if you wanted to make a sale, you had to ask them for the order. Getting people to fill out that order form was my first exposure to the Narrow Focused Request. 

What is the Narrow Focused Request?

“Ask, and ye shall receive” is a biblical principal that best illustrates the concept. Client development is the process of finding a match between lawyer, matter, and client. To be successful a lawyer needs to take the next natural step in the progression of matching their skills with the needs of the potential client. This is certainly not about arm twisting or hard ball coercion. The lawyer’s purpose is simply to help the client get what they need or want. It is a win-win scenario for both. The logical conclusion of any client focused presentation has to be, “Ask for the business, or the answer will always be no”.

How do other lawyers get their clients?  

 When asked this question directly many lawyers offer a variety of answers, including marketing, networking, public service and referrals. Legal marketing includes all these methods to build personal brand awareness. As Eric Hoffer observed, “At the core of true talent is the confidence that by persistence and patience something worthwhile will be realized.” However effective lawyers know success is not an accident. Success is a choice. Successful lawyers make the choice to position themselves with potential clients and make the Narrow Focused Request. They get their business.

I didn’t go to law school to be a salesperson

When I was in law school no one discussed how the lawyers who sued the Long Island Railroad on behalf of Mrs. Palsgraf actually got her as a client. We were trained to be legal professionals, not sales professionals. My first job at a small firm quickly illustrated the reality that there is little benefit to legal marketing without a sale. All the networking in the world is worth nothing if no clients come through the doors. Selling legal services is especially challenging. Broad approaches like seminars or publications usually must lead to individualized face-to-face dialogue to produce results. Marketing legal services is about attracting potential clients who want to take the next step with you personally. A lawyer must make a potential client feel comfortable in exposing their problems to the lawyer. Then the lawyer can narrowly identify how their knowledge would benefit the potential client.   

Is it unethical to “ask for the business”?

The Rules of Professional Responsibility in most states require that the lawyer should not solicit “professional employment from a prospective client when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain.” The rules usually contain the friend, relative, prior professional relationship and lawyer exceptions or something very similar. There is some debate as to whether there is a “sophisticated person” exception or that the rules only apply in hospital emergency rooms, but generally the rules do not contain any such qualifying language. However simply listening to the potential client’s concerns and offering feedback often leads naturally into a request for future help. Be sure that you don’t give legal advice without sufficient knowledge of the facts. You can suggest potential avenues or approaches for consideration, though, and offer to help if the potential client would like to explore them.

The way you ask is just as important as asking. 

Once you have direct contact with a potential client, empathy is the key. Listen to what is being said. What is the potential client’s problem? How might you help? As a legal recruiter my initial meeting with a potential lateral is always a listening session about their current situation. Engaging in a discussion designed to reveal a potential client’s needs and to determine whether you or your firm might be a good match for those needs is not selling to the client. It is a conversation, a mutual exploration, an offer to guide that client through a specific legal situation. Helping the potential client define their most critical issue greatly increases your likelihood of success. People resist what others try to make them do, not what they themselves choose to do. Help the potential client choose to solve their problem by hiring you.

Overcome Your Fear

A common fear shared by all of us is having to ask for the business, even if we know we can meet a prospective client’s need. Often, it’s just a simple matter of the appropriate wording. Be courageous, confident and bold with potential clients. Don’t be arrogant, but also don’t be afraid of being rejected or failing. Be proactive because clients prefer lawyers with initiative. Why would they hire a lawyer or law firm not direct enough to adequately protect their interests? Do your best and then let go of the outcome. Trust the process. You’ll either get the client’s work or you won’t.

Life is full of risk and uncertainty. The making of successful lawyers is that they don’t let fear of failure stop them. It is human to have fear, just don’t let it keep you out of the game To paraphrase the heart of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem In Memoriam:

“Tis better to have (asked) and lost, than never to have (asked) at all.”

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Aligning our stars on the path from good to great.

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

The recent economic downturn has many legal administrators asking, “How do we retain our best people when raises and promotions are not available?” Further complicating the issue is the unique environment of a law firm. Most corporate human resource solutions are not relevant. The lawyers are usually the owners and many have specialized relationships with their staff. There is seldom a predictable hierarchy for staff and usually limited or no opportunities for promotion. In many firms pay freezes, elimination of overtime and reductions in positions have become common. However there are options available.

Retention strategies

Why do people stay at organizations? Compensation must be market competitive but when used alone is not a critical factor for retention. In Robert Half International’s latest study 61% of employees rated praise and recognition above compensation as the top two reasons they were satisfied in their present positions. The Bridgegate Company polled 660 people who had left their previous employer for another job and 43.2% did not name compensation as the reason for leaving. The Center for Stress Solutions found that 51% of employees interviewed said they would work for slightly less money if other conditions were present.

People stay at law firms because they have confidence in the firm’s leadership, their plans and their ability to successfully execute these plans. People like to feel they make a contribution, their opinions are heard and valued and there is recognition of their efforts. They want consistency and fairness in day to day operations. They want a firm with cultural values and principles and they need to know that visible deviation from these is seldom allowed and never rewarded.

Get the right people on the bus

Getting the right people inside your law firm is the first step toward effective retention. In the  book, “Good to Great” Jim Collins identified eleven companies in the Fortune 500 that had sustained exceptional financial results for at least fifteen years. Collins and his team found that the first step was “to get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus.” Effective hiring for culture fit is absolutely critical. Your hiring process should define the questions:  “What does it mean to be a member of our law firm?” “What are our cultural values and what activities demonstrate these?”  Be sure you test candidates against these answers for culture fit.

If you are going to get the right people on the bus you must also get the wrong people off. There is no room for baggage on this bus. As noted law firm expert David Maister observed in his book ”Strategy and the Fat Smoker”, “You’ll never be good enough as a firm if participation in excellence is optional. Everyone in the organization has to decide if they want to sacrifice some of the present to achieve a better tomorrow. This requires more active leadership than many law firms are willing to accept.” Your firm’s leaders must be role models of the cultural values and mentors to other lawyers and staff. They must support you and your efforts to “get the right people on the bus.”

The Myth of Zero Turnover

Dr. John Sullivan, professor of management at San Francisco State University, a well-known thought leader in human resources and business advisor observed that lack of turnover frequently stifles culture development. Dr. Sullivan suggests the first step in understanding turnover is to classify it. Positive turnover occurs when a poor performer leaves on their own. Better yet when they leave and go to work for the competition. This can be an opportunity to leverage better talent into your law firm. Neutral turnover is when temporary or contract workers complete assignments and leave as expected. Negative turnover occurs when a high performer leaves or worse, goes to the competition. To be prepared take an inventory of critical skills and critical client relationships. These carry a high cost of replacement. When your need for cost reductions translates into staff reductions it can be the administrator’s opportunity for making necessary changes Don’t be afraid of turnover. Manage it.

The “Fun Factor”

A recent US Dept of Labor study found 48% of lateral employees left organizations because they felt unappreciated. Rewards illustrate a firm’s values. Child care and health benefits say you value family. Throwing a party at the end of a big project says you appreciate it when people go the extra mile. Alternative rewards are especially relevant in tough economic times but should be part of any retention strategy on an ongoing basis. Additional time off is a common alternative reward. If cost is an issue, make the time unpaid. Allowing flexibility in schedules is always appreciated as is making accommodation for child care, elder care, and other special needs. Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Distribute gift certificates, thank you notes, and event tickets. Involve your firm leaders whenever possible. If it comes from the top, the message will mean even more.

Your ability to retain your best performers will directly impact the future success of your law firm. Create a culture where people are valued. Use a hiring process that tests for culture fit. Manage turnover effectively. Remember the advice of David Oglivy, retired CEO of one of the largest ad agencies in the world. “If we manage people to be lesser than ourselves we will have a company of dwarves but if we inspire people to be greater than ourselves we will have a company of giants.”

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