Is Your Social Media Authentic?

To be effective on social media, writes Alan Singles in Does Your Law Firm Social Media Strategy Put Humans First?, law firms need to be authentic. They need to be human:

To be real, social has to be run by people who will read and react to comments and concerns being posted on your social channels. ... Your social strategy has to be more than an afterthought in the marketing plan. It has to tell stories (good or bad), and it has to react and allow for that personal side.

Read the post. Take Singles' advice and add some authenticity to your digital strategy to connect with the people you're trying to reach. You'll be glad you did.

Gain Trust With A Positive First Impression

There's no avoiding it: people make snap judgments about your trustworthiness as soon as they meet you, writes Sue Shellenbarger in The Mistakes You Make in a Meeting’s First Milliseconds. And that could cost you. But it doesn't have to be that way.  With a little work and self-awareness, you can ensure a positive first impression.

People teamed in an investment game with online partners whose facial images appeared friendly and reliable entrusted their partners with 42% more money than those whose partners looked downbeat and threatening

Read the piece. Focus on the nuances of your expression and body language. Start gaining trust, without saying a word.

It's The Connections You Make For Others That Add Value

Could your clients benefit from connections you offer, asks Thames Schoenvogel in Connect Your Clients in 2018? Because that's the key to meeting their needs:

... helping to foster those connections is yet another way to strengthen client relationships and become an irreplaceable and trusted advisor.

Read the post. Think about people you know who can help your clients achieve success. Then make the introductions. They'll be glad you did.

No News Is Good News? Not For Your Clients...

Keeping your clients in the dark, writes Lindsay Griffiths in No News is Not Always Good News for Business Relationships, is a bad way to do business:

Where you might be assuming that “no news is good news,” your client or other business relationship may be left feeling anxious about the status of your last conversation and wondering whether it’s even still on your radar.

In today's hyper-connected world, there's no excuse for keeping your clients guessing (even if the report is 'nothing yet to report'). Read the post. Then check in with your clients - before they check in with you. You'll be glad you did.

Want to Add Meaning to Business Relationships? You'll Have to Work At It

Warm sentiments are nice, writes David Ackert in "How to Add Meaning to Business Relationships," but going out of your way to help others in need is the dynamic that builds meaningful relationships:

... among my business contacts, there are a few people to whom I feel particularly loyal. They are the ones who ... were willing to inconvenience themselves for me.

Read the post. Make a note of who might be in need of a helping hand or a kind gesture or a sympathetic ear. Then reach out, and keep checking in until their situation improves. You'll be glad you did. And so will your contacts.

Delivering Value is Smart Marketing

If you're not adding value to your relationships, writes Eric Fletcher in If Your BizDev Plan Doesn’t Specify Targets, Don’t Expect Great ROI, you're not doing it right:

"Delivering real value to your network is the most eloquent marketing message there is, creating visibility with staying power."

Read the post for useful ideas on how to make yourself consistently valuable to your network. Read the post for guidance with developing a meaningful target list. Read the post for insight into building a pipeline that will produce opportunities. Read the post.

Grow Your Practice By Helping Your Contacts

Your success comes from your relationships, writes Betsy Munnell in 25 Easy Ways to Help Your Network…and Grow your Law Practice. And if you’re not focusing on the wants and the needs and the goals and the objectives of the people you know, it's time to start:

“So if your marketing plan consists mainly of ‘random acts of lunch’ then you’ll want to make some changes. If you take a prospect to a baseball game, then never call her again because she doesn’t send you any work, you’ll want to push the reset button.”

Read the post. Be inspired by Munnell’s suggestions. Start focusing on relationships. And start growing your practice.

Make Managing Relationships Your BD Priority

The client is king, writes Shirley Anne Fortina in Business Development: Strategic Client Relationship Management, but that king can be fickle. That's why your number one BD activity should be managing those relationships:

The better you know your clients, the better the relationship – and therefore the less chance your clients will look elsewhere. 

Fortina goes on to provide you with a series of questions that can help you get to know your clients – and your relationship with them – a little better. Read the post. Then call your client.

Successful Networking Hinges on Follow-Up

Networking is not a race, writes Cari Twitchell in An Essential Networking Ingredient: Followup. Not even a marathon. It's an exercise in building relationships, and that takes time, and it takes effort, and most of all, it takes focused and methodical follow-up:  

One meeting is not enough to build a relationship. Invest your time reconnecting and building upon what you already know about your new lead. Send a follow-up email or handwritten note. Ask to schedule another meeting for a month or two out. Share emails, blog posts, and other items that you believe your contact will find interesting.

Read the post. And start following Twitchell's advice. To stop stumbling on the road to relationships.

Is the Lack of Cross-Selling at Your Firm Your Fault?

Ever wonder why there's not more cross-selling at your law firm? The answer might be staring at you in the mirror, writes Tom Kane in Is the Lack of Cross-Selling Your Fault?

"Are you to blame for the failure of your partners to cross-sell you to their client contacts? Not necessarily, but you could be part of the problem. Clients select lawyers they know, like and trust. Referral sources, including your partners, send you clients for the same reason. Since they know, like and trust you, they transfer those qualities by recommending you."

The good news is that even if you are a part of the problem, Kane points you at the solution. Read the post. Then get working on solving it. You - and your partners - will be glad you did.

Relationships, Not Screen Time, Are The Key To Business Development

You might think that Sam Glover is an anti-social media Luddite when you read the title of his latest post, 4 Things to Do Before You Spend a Dollar on Online Marketing. But he's not: his piece is less a critique of online marketing than a reminder to leverage your existing relationships - with friends, current and former clients, referral sources, and the like - before you plop down any hard-earned cash on the newest, coolest, shiniest digital tool. Because relationships, not screen time, will get you more work:

Stay in touch with your former clients. And no, adding them to your email list and sending a holiday care do not constitute staying in touch (although they are better than nothing, if only a little). Take some time to consider what you could do for former clients that would keep them connected to you and your firm. [...] Be familiar enough that when they need more legal work or when someone asks them for a referral, you are the first person they think of.

Read the post. Step away from the computer. And start spending your money wisely.

What Do You Call a 20-Year Relationship With Your Clients? A Good Start

When you're building your practice, stay away from the "fire and forget" work, writes Keith Lee, founder of Associate's Mind, in How To Build A 20 Year Relationship With Your Clients. Instead, focus on building a long-lasting relationship with your clients, providing customized, high-quality products and services that they'll brag about. Like apparel companies Gramicci and American Giant:

Gramicci built a relationship with me by providing a product that has lasted decades. American Giant wants to build that same sort of relationship. They’ve told me – everyone – that when you buy their products you buy them for life. These relationships are built on a high degree of quality that encourage me to place my trust in their products.

Read the post. Turn your clients into advocates and ambassadors for your work.