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 we've come up with over the years. Adopt one that resonates with you, and watch your marketing become more effective!

* Be yourself. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing. That means that the best way to market is the way that works for you. When you are "being yourself," you're more comfortable, more authentic and operating from your personal strengths.

* No random acts of lunch (or random speeches or random conference attending). To make the most of your marketing time, you need to focus on those people who are most likely to send you business. Focus your marketing activities on your "high potential marketing opportunities" (past and current clients or past or prospective referral sources).

* Less paper, more patter. Forget the "efficient" e-mail responses, and pick up the phone. Engage in a real-time conversation with clients and prospects -- you will learn so much more.

* Persistence and patience. Business development is a marathon, not a sprint. To be successful, you need to keep at it and look at the process as a long-term proposition. The lawyer who gets new business from a single marketing encounter is a rare bird indeed.

* Do what you love. To get the best results, do things you like with people you like -- whether that is attending sports events, giving speeches or hosting a spa day. Remember, the more fun you are having, the more likely you are to do it (again). The more often you do it, the more likely it is to be effective.

* Be green -- recycle! Look at each marketing activity you do, and think about how you can increase its impact by recycling or repurposing what you have already done. Can that presentation be turned into another presentation? Could you take your notes from that CLE you attended and turn them into a client-friendly checklist? Could you send that article you just published to clients, add it to your marketing materials or post it on your firm's website?

* You don't need to go it alone. Marketing doesn't need to be a solitary activity. Think about how your assistant, your marketing department, your librarian, your associates and even your partners can help you do it.

* Better to stay in touch than to try to get back in touch. It's tough to reach out to people you haven't been in touch with for a long time. Save yourself the trauma by creating a system that keeps you consistently in contact with your clients and top prospects.

* Better to be interested than interesting. If you want to learn what your clients' and prospects' needs are or you want to find out what makes them tick, ask questions and really listen to the answers. Most people find those conversations in which they did they majority of the talking to be "fascinating."

* Telling is not selling. Too often lawyers think that the way to land clients is to "pitch" them -- talking about the firm's experience and successes. Switch your perspective. Focus on discovering the client's needs first, and then, only after you understand those needs, suggest how you can help resolve the problems at hand.

* There are riches in niches. You may be reluctant to specialize because you think it will limit your opportunities, but actually, the opposite is true: Clients are much more likely to hire specialists, as opposed to generalists, and are more willing to pay a premium for a specialist's expertise.

* And, of course, my favorite -- Bringin' in the Rain. That's what you'll do if you adopt and implement these mantras!

This week, select one of these marketing mantras and see if it helps keep you focused on the business-building approach that works best for you.