I had to chuckle at the following e-mail exchange captured by Scott Greenfield over at Simple Justice because I am always on time and would never think so highly of myself as to walk into a room an hour late under any circumstance. Time management (or lack thereof) is a huge pet peeve of mine.
Maximize that speaking opportunity!
Next month I’ll be speaking at the Legal Marketing Association’s annual conference on … drum roll, please … Social Media Strategies for Small to Mid-Sized Law Firms (along with the esteemed Jayne Navarre and Russ Lawson).In addition, I have partners speaking or attending conferences across the country on issues that impact their client base. So, I really appreciated Jaffe PR‘s latest newsletter post: The Event Isn’t Over Once You’ve Finished Speaking.
The best way is to create a follow-up plan prior to attending and implement it immediately following the event. Prior to attending the event, ask the conference organizer what kind of information can be shared with you. Sometimes speakers are given full contact information and allowed a one-time use; other times this information is only available to sponsors. If that’s the case, you and your firm may decide a small sponsorship is worth it.
- If you are able to reach out to attendees prior to the event, have a plan for when you follow up and decide what information you will give them to continue the conversation.
- Network — as much as you can. Talk to the people who attended your presentation, get business cards, connect with them on LinkedIn. You never know what might lead to new business.
- Draft a brief summary of the event and post it to your LinkedIn profile.
- Use Twitter to reference your presentation and post a link to it.
- Send a summary of the event, with a presentation link to clients that you think might be interested.
- Participate in any post-event activities that the conference has planned and stay in touch with the conference organizer for future engagements.
I’m going to add a few more bullets to this list:
Continue Reading Maximize that speaking opportunity!
Why you can’t afford to ignore social media & social networking
A lot of lawyers, and I’m sorry to say, legal marketers, continue to ignore or poo-poo social media and social networking. Take in mind that many of these people also resisted e-mail, websites, Blackberries, bright white letterhead and colored logos.
Well, the numbers have been rolling in this month, and I don’t see how anyone
Use the Press to Your Advantage
I was chatting recently with an attorney who is preparing for a hearing on an issue that could have industry-wide implications. The issues have already received media attention, so the question was “what should he do?” Here’s the advice I gave to the attorney — Get out in front of the story:
- Identify the reporters
Will Lay Off Staff & Attorneys for Increased PPEP
Yesterday I wrote how some BigLaw firms are showing flat/down revenue, but an increase in profits. I don’t begrudge anyone making a profit, but let’s show some transparency about it all.Today I came across JD Journal‘s reporting on my new #1 Favorite! Blank Rome Posts Across-the-Board Increases:
Blank Rome reports having a
NOT SO CLASSY … Law firm revenue down, but profits up
Oh, it’s gonna be a good AmLaw 100 issue this year if these new numbers are an indication of what we’ll be seeing across the board.Before I jump into my rant, I have to clarify that I’m a capitalist pig. I believe that one of the things that makes our country so great is
Social Media Strategies for Small & Mid-sized Law Firms: IDEAS WANTED
I will be co-presenting at the Legal Marketing Association‘s annual conference (March 10-12 | Denver, CO), along with the esteemed Jayne Navarre and Russell Lawson on Social Media Strategies for Small to Mid-sized Law Firms (Thursday, 4:00 – 4:45). Each of us jumped into social media and social networking with both feet and we
Too Busy to Market? We Don’t Think So
As an in-house legal marketer I am always challenged by the partner who is “too busy to market.” Her plate might be too full (at the moment). He has family obligations outside the office (always my personal excuse). However, one day they’re going to wake up and wonder “where have all my clients gone?”I learned early on in my career that marketing and business development are not about today, they are about tomorrow. It’s about keeping that pipeline filled. It’s about knowing that when your big class-action, that you’ve been billing 95% of your time to for the past three years, suddenly settles, you’re not left in the lurch. Ask yourself, what would you do if you #1 client is acquired, or your key-client contact is promoted or retires?
Yes, you’re too busy to market. I’m too busy to market. We’re all too busy to market. But, we need to do it EVERY DAY nonetheless.
I’ve asked some of my colleagues to offer their suggestions as to how they encourage their “too busy to market” partners to market.And, SHOCK, I’m not even going to bring up social networking. We’re going Old Skool today!
Here are a few suggestions from me to kick things off:
Offer to collaborate with your key contacts.
If you are writing an article, presenting at a conference, get your key clients’ input and advice on your outlines, themes, etc. This automatically elevates your client into your inner-circle. This blog post is a prime example of this.
Continue Reading Too Busy to Market? We Don’t Think So
Managing your reputation during a crisis
There have been a lot of stories out “there” recently, you know, in corporate America and beyond, that can be reflected upon by lawyers and legal marketers as to their applicability for our legal marketing, advertising, reputation management and PR efforts.There’s Apple‘s apparent lack of women (diversity) when naming and rolling out the
What is all the Hoopla over Avvo reviews?
In 2007 John Henry Browne, a criminal defense attorney, claimed that his Avvo.com rating of 3.7 was damaging his practice. He filed a lawsuit against Avvo, but it was dismissed on pre-trial motion.In 2008 attorney Charles Krugel wanted to cancel his membership and un-claim his Avvo profile, on the grounds that Avvo