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Articles & Resources
By Sara Holtz

The Right Way to Market
Wondering about the right way to market your practice? Read on for four steps you can take to discover your own best approach to business development.

What Should You Do When You Lose a Marketing Pitch?
Just lost a marketing pitch? Rather than thinking of it as a failure, read this article for a proactive approach to turn it into a marketing success.

When Good Things Happen to Good People
If your mother was the only person you told about your latest big win, you're missing out on the dividends to be reaped by taking a little time to disseminate your good news. Learn how to comfortably spread the word about your achievements in this article.

Get By With a Little Help From Your Friends
Your network is probably both larger and more valuable than you may realize? This article looks at how the people in your network can help with your business development efforts.

What Are Friends For, Anyway?
I am often told by clients that they just don't feel comfortable asking their friends for business. Here's an approach that can make it more palatable.

Are You Sticking to the Fundamentals?
If there's less work on your desk than you'd like right now, learn about the fundamentals of building your book of business in good times and in bad.

35 More Ways to Follow Up
In another article, I explored 25 ways to follow up. Here are 35 more ways to keep in touch with your clients prospects and referral sources.

Make 2010 Your Breakthrough Year
Are you a woman partner who is interested in growing her practice in 2010? Joining the Women Rainmakers Roundtable is a proven way to do it. The next Women Rainmakers Roundtable starts in March.

How to Build Relationships During the Holidays
December can be a great time to build relationships and keep in touch with your best clients. Read this article to learn how to take advantage of the holiday season to grow your practice.

Are You Stumped for Ways to Follow Up?
Consistent follow-up is essential in effective marketing. Here are 25 ideas on how to follow up.

The One Thing You Must Do
If you want your marketing efforts to turn into new business, there is one thing that you must do consistently: stay in touch with clients, prospects and referred sources.

Marketing in Less Than 90 Seconds
One of the myths about business development is that it needs to be time-consuming in order to be effective. Here are a number of effective marketing activities that take less than 90 seconds.

Do You Respond to RFPs Without Having All the Information You Need?
RFPs seem to be on the rise these days as clients search for ways to reduce their legal expenditures. Here's what to do before you respond to an RFP.

What's Your Marketing Mantra?
During my fifteen-year coaching career, my clients and I have developed a number of "marketing mantras" -- quick phrases that reinforce important concepts about how to approach business development. Here are some of the most popular ones.

Don't Hesitate to Pick Up the Phone
Though e-mail is a convenient way to communicate, it's not without its limitations. Let's look at when it makes sense to pick up the phone instead of dashing off an e-mail.

Are Your Business Development Efforts Failing Without Follow-Up?
If you're continuing to focus your business development efforts on meeting new people instead of on nurturing the contacts you've already made, read on to find out why you're not making the best use of your business development time.

Bragging Rights: Self-Evaluation Dos and Don'ts
By: Andrea S. Kramer ~ McDermott, Will & Emery
Most lawyers are expected to submit self evaluations as part of annual compensation review processes. Women lawyers
should approach their self-evaluations with the same planning, determination, and effort they put into their client projects.

How Can You Best Market in Volatile Times?
The economy may be volatile, but that doesn't make now a bad time to market. In fact, you can maintain (and even grow) your book of business in this present economic climate. Read on to learn how.

Are You Providing the Direction Your Clients Crave?
In law school, you spent a lot of time formulating "on the one hand" and "on the other hand" analyses, but if you're still using that approach, it's costing you business. Read on to find out how to assume the role of trusted advisor.

Can Clients Be Friends?
Recently, David Maister, a professional services marketing guru, asserted that clients shouldn't be friends. Read on to see why I disagree.

How Are You Doing?
Most lawyers are reluctant to solicit feedback from their clients. Learn why it's important to pick up the phone and how to handle what you hear.

It's Just Dinner
By: Sharla J. Frost
How to Handle the Marketing Dilemma of the Decade.

How Will You Market to Your B-List?
While you should spend the bulk of your marketing time on your A-list, don't neglect your B-list. Learn how to design an efficient system to market to your B-list to maximize your marketing results.

Do You Have a Holiday Business Development Strategy?
The time between Thanksgiving and the end of the year can be perfect for building client relationships. Read on for nine specific tips to make the most of your business development before the year ends.

The "Pebble in the Pond" Approach to Marketing
Clients often ask where they should start their marketing. Read this article to learn where to focus your efforts.

Are You Making the Most of the Conferences You Attend?
If you'd like to get the most out of the conferences you attend, follow this simple strategy for marketing success before, during and afterthe conference.

Are You Investing Your Marketing Time in All the Wrong Places?
Use this practical formula to determine whether investing your time in a specific marketing opportunity is the best use of your limited business development time.

What Could You Ask Your Network For?
Have you been letting your network languish while you try to blaze a trail all on your own? Learn how you can utilize your network to grow your book of business.

Are You Properly Preparing for Marketing Activities
Are you "winging" your way through business development meetings? You'll get much better results if you follow these four action steps.

Can You Really Afford to Avoid Business Development?
Are you prioritizing other tasks above business development? That's a sure sign you don't know the true value of a new client. Use this simple calculation to move business development up on your "to-do" list.

Is Marketing a Habit?
If your marketing is not a habit, you're spending more time than you need to thinking about it. Learn how to create marketing habits that make business development a natural part of your work day.

Treat Your Existing Clients Like Gold
When it comes to marketing your practice, are you focusing on the right people? In this article, explore how to devote your marketing time to the relationships that really matter.

Do You Have the Necessary Confidence for Business Development Success?
Women who are confident are more likely to do what's necessary to succeed at business development. If you aren't as confident as you'd like to be, read on for seven tips on how to build business development confidence.

Do You Know How to Say No?
Psychologists say women have a tough time saying no. This can be a problem when it comes to business development. This article presents five straightforward approaches to saying no without appearing to not be "a team player."

Are Your Marketing Efforts Focused on High-Potential Opportunities?
Landing a new client takes a lot of time and energy. Use these 11 questions to determine if you are focusing your efforts on "high-potential" opportunities.

Do You Have a Niche? Should You?
Just as no one trusts a general practitioner for brain surgery, clients are reluctant to trust a generalist with their important legal matters. Discover the five reasons to niche your practice and a strategic approach for determining what to specialize in.

Six Steps to Effective Cross-Selling
A six-step process to get your partners to promote you to their clients.

What's Your Answer to "What's New?"
When asked, "What's new?" you're being given a marketing opportunity--don't squander it! Read this article to find out how to answer this question.

Is it Time for a New Marketing Strategy?
Many lawyers have developed marketing approaches that served them well in the past. But, over time, a different set of marketing activities may be called for.

The Questions to Ask Before Asking for Business
Thirty-two questions to consider asking the next time you're sitting across the table from a potential client.

Ask, Don't Tell
Read about the importance of asking questions before making a pitch.

Are You Mistaking Activity for Effectiveness?
Answer these five questions to discover your most effective marketing activities.

What's Your Marketing Motivation?
Renew your marketing enthusiasm by creating your own compelling reason for why business development success is important to you.

What Should You Do When You Lose a Marketing Pitch?
Take these specific actions to turn your marketing "losses" into marketing "wins".

Are You Making the Most of Networking Events?
Use these nine suggestions to capitalize on opportunities at the next networking event you attend.

How Do You Plan to Grow Your Business?
Use these five questions to help you create a marketing plan for your practice.

Do You Need to Focus on Building Your Reputation with Your Partners?
Use these tactics to enhance your visibility and reputation within your firm.

Do You Know How to Ask for a Referral?
Ask for referrals in the right way and be rewarded with new business.

How Many People Should You Bring with You to Your Next Marketing Pitch?
The answer may surprise you.

Focus on Rainmaking

The following is a sample issue of my quarterly newsletter.

Are You Taking Advantage of Those “ Magic Marketing Moments”? Three situations you may not have considered that present a powerful opportunity to build your practice.

Recommended Books



Focusing Your Efforts

	Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It by Al Ries ClientFocus advocates that focus is a key ingredient in making your marketing effective and your practice successful. This book supports that point of view by making a strong argument that in order to stand for something in your clients' or prospects' minds, you must narrow the focus on your services and marketing. Without such focus, the book argues, you confuse your clients, squander marketing resources and ultimately produce poorer results. Although the examples all come from the business world, the point is equally applicable to the legal market.

Identifying Your Strengths

	Soar With Your Strengths by Donald O. Clifton and Paula Nelson. This "little" book articulates clearly one of the central themes of ClientFocus' work - focus on your strengths and manage around your weaknesses. Rather than trying to "fix" your weaknesses, Clifton and Nelson argue that you should be focusing instead on utilizing your strengths more. The book suggests steps to help you identify your strengths and provides strategies for managing your weaknesses.

	Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton. If you find that the premise of Soar with Your Strengths resonates with you (that high achievement stems from exercising your strengths, not trying to improve your weaknesses), then you will be interested in reading this book, which is based on extensive research which provides a much more detailed examination of how to identify and build on your strengths. It includes an on-line assessment tool which will help you identify your top five strengths.

Creating a business development plan

	Creating Your Future: Personal Strategic Planning for Professionals by George Morrisey With great exercises to help develop a personal and professional vision, this book also guides the reader to identify and focus on the specific steps needed to achieve that vision. Specifically written for professional service providers, the language and examples will resonate with lawyers' experience.

	The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals by Keith Ellis Despite the title, readers who really hate setting goals may want to look elsewhere. However, readers who are interested in a book that walks them through the process of setting and achieving goals will find this book provides solid techniques and motivation.

Business Development Strategies and Tactics

	Strategies for Getting and Keeping Clients by Sally Schmidt Written specifically for lawyers, Schmidt's book addresses many ways to develop business including writing, speaking, networking, involvement in professional organizations, responding to RFPs, seeking referrals and cross-selling. The variety Schmidt offers in no way means the book is a generic compilation of marketing tactics; rather, it is appropriately discriminating about the relative efficacy of various tactics. And it is realistic: As any good marketing book should, it encourages "client- focus" and emphasizes developing strong personal relationships. It highlights the importance of preparation and follow-up in all situations--from attendance at a conference to lunch with a client. Worth reading cover to cover (if you have the time and inclination) or having on your bookshelf as a reference tool to consult when you are engaged in a specific marketing activity.

	Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port This book provides practical advice about the seven strategies that service professionals (yes--that includes lawyers) can use to grow their businesses. The strategies are networking, direct outreach, referrals, website presence, speaking, writing and keeping in touch. Port advises selecting strategies that draw on your strengths and not overwhelming yourself by trying to use all the strategies at once. Sage advice! While the book may be a bit "new agey" for some, its central themes of identifying your ideal clients, discovering their needs and selling to those needs are solid advice for even the most conservative lawyer. The exercises throughout the book will help you identify effective, comfortable ways to promote yourself.

	Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Maister David Maister has worked with major law, accounting and consulting firms. A former Harvard Business School professor, he offers intelligent, clear, and practical advice. While the book focuses on law firm management issues, gems abound for the individual as well. Of particular interest are the chapters on "The Business Development Package,” “Marketing to Existing Clients,” and “The Under Delegation Problem.”

	Get Clients NOW! by C.J. Hayden The 30-day system outlined in this book for to getting more clients may not be a realistic timeframe for the complex marketing and sales process of a typical legal matter. However, Hayden's book offers an intelligent and strategic approach for getting on with the process of marketing.

Creating balance in your life

	Work Less, Make More by Jennifer White This book outlines ten steps to enable readers to work less and make more money and more of their lives. “Do What You Do Best” and “The Power of Focus” are particularly relevant and important chapters.

	Coming Up for Air by Beth Sawi Written by a former Executive Vice President from Schwab, this book is a great “how to” for leading a balanced life while having a demanding career. Sawi encourages readers to identify “Personal Priorities,” examine motivations for working so hard, and recognize “the relative value” of an extra hour of work vs. an hour devoted to priorities. Practical approaches for a priority-based life--including managing technology, using your commute productively, strategies, for especially busy times and saying no--abound.

	Turn it Off by Gil Gordon Technology--e-mail, BlackBerry, voicemail--has made it possible to work seamlessly away from the office. This accessibility has blurred the lines between work and personal time. This book offers informative exercises to help readers gauge the impact that this accessibility is having on their lives and encourages readers to realize they have choices in deciding when to “shut the office door.” While the book focuses on the impact that “mobile technology” is having on blurring the lines between home and work life, many of its observations are equally applicable to creating boundaries between work and personal time in general.

Overcoming Your Fear of Self-Promotion

	Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It by Peggy Klaus Klaus makes the case for overcoming your fear of self-promotion through a series of anecdotes. She encourages readers to talk about themselves and their accomplishments with “authenticity, pride and enthusiasm.” With “sample conversations,” self-evaluation surveys, advice on avoiding common bragging pitfalls, and other concrete tips, Klaus guides readers in the fine art of bragging. Chapter Two poses ten questions, the answers to which will help you develop your “bragologue.” Chapter Six, though titled “Performance Reviews” can help you put your best self forward in your compensation process.

relationship-building

	Nonstop Networking by Andrea Nierenberg Most books about networking are, as one of my clients said, "goofy," providing advice on such things as where to wear your nametag. This short book is an exception. Providing a systematic approach to networking that focuses on building long-term relationships, the author offers advice on followup and creating a system to keep track of contacts. The chapter on "Networking for Introverts" provides tactics for those who find networking events uncomfortable.

	She Wins, You Win by Gail Evans Evan's frankly feminist book argues women need to create and support women’s networks. Her premise is “any time any woman succeeds in business, your chances of succeeding in business increase and any time any woman fails in business, your chances of failing increase.” While readers may not agree with all of her recommendations (“Always try to send business to a woman,” “never speak ill of other women”), the book encourages creative thinking about how to build a business by building and using a women’s network. Each chapter ends with specific action steps that serve as good (albeit sometimes basic) reminders of how to make the most of a network.

Selling

	The Woman Lawyer's Rainmaking Game by Silvia Coulter Not for women lawyers only, this book is a good primer on how to sell legal services. The book emphasizes the importance of listening and discovering client needs, the need for following up and staying in touch, and building strong relationships with clients.