Today I had the pleasure to attend the “Ask the Marketing Experts” panel session at the Association of Legal Administrators’ annual Conference. The following presenters were there:

• Phyllis Weiss Haserot- On Business Development Coaching
• Norm Mullock- On Business Intelligence
• Iris Jones on Client Service Teams and Sales Training
• Charles Maddock on Branding
• Jeff Reade on CRM/Databases
• Sally Schmidt on Client Surveys
• Larry Bodine on Web sites, blogs and other technology

The format of the panel was unique in that each panelist was asked to present their most “frequently asked question” along with a 2-minute answer. After this portion, each presenter went to a table for a 10-minute Q&A. At the end of the ten minutes, the session leader whistled loudly, indicating the end of that 10-minute period. Attendees then rotated to other tables.

Well, I decided to stay at one table. It’s not as if there weren’t very interesting and informative tables: there were. I just decided that since I write about web sites, blogs, and other technology for law firms, it would make the most sense to stick around. In my next post, I’ll give the “transcript” (not verbatim, but you’ll get the idea) from Larry Bodine’s sessions. In this post (it’s getting long already, but bear with me), I’ll lay out the presenters FAQs and their answers.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot- Business Development Coaching
FAQ: How does coaching work, and what’s the difference between coaching and training?
Training is structured and has a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s something that is pre-formatted and fairly rigid. Coaching is quite different in that it is custom tailored to the individual attorney. They may be different in the execution, but both coaching and training have the same goals in mind. Ms. Haserot is of the opinion that the best results come from mixing training and coaching.

Jeff Reade- CRM/databases
FAQ: What does it take to have a successful CRM implementation?
1. Data has to be all in one place. He gave the example of having all attorneys in one room, with their Palm Pilots on. Think of your CRM as that….only possible.
2. Keep it simple: If you actually get buy-in at your firm, don’t overpromise. Don’t make the mistake of giving the impression that having a CRM will be the be-all end-all for you firm. It isn’t. Don’t oversell what it can do. Otherwise, having some success with the CRM could be perceived as a failure. Not good.
3. Plan, plan, plan. Implementing a customer relationship management system isn’t something you’ll do overnight, and that’s a good thing. It’s not flipping a switch. Instead, you should plan out exactly how you want to implement it, and give reasons why you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s a daunting task, so make sure it makes sense.

Norm Mullock on Business Intelligence
FAQ: What is BI and how can firms use it?
Business Intelligence is basically a way of leveraging data. BI is the framework around your firm’s data that makes sense of the information you have. More and more firms are hiring marketing professionals from outside the legal industry because they have one thing in mind: What is my ROI? Business Intelligence software is a tool that helps understand the return on investment and how to maximize the data the firm alredy posesses.

Iris Jones on Client Teams and Sales Training
FAQ: Why client teams?

Ms. Jones is a former attorney, so she claims to be long winded. Rather than winging it for two minutes, she instead used bullet points and offered more details later on. Unfortunately, she talked much faster than I could type, so here’s what I have:

• Client service teams can drive profits from key clients
• Client service teams result in greater efficiency and enhanced firm integration.
• Client service teams can ensure a consistent approach and message
• Client service teams can result in new practice groups not seen from a traditional standpoint.

Charles Maddock on Branding
FAQ: What is branding and why is it essential to law firms?
Branding is: what you’re known for, what you could be known for. It is why clients and recruits pick your firm. It makes the marketing message consistent and concise. Branding is not just a logo or a website…it’s the culture, beliefs, and what you stand for as an organization.
One huge difference to Mr. Maddock is that clientsare now selecting law firms on reputation rather than individual lawyers. It used to be that clients would pick a firm because they knew an individual attorney there. New studies show that is no longer the case. Clients are now picking firms…not just single attorneys.

Sally Schmidt on Client Surveys
FAQ: What is the best way to conduct a client survey?
There is no best way.
It all depends on
1. clients- size, sophistication, amount of work, location.
2. firm- what are resources, $, etc., commitment
3. objective- what are you trying to learn? If you’re looking at high end clients, do a personal interview. If you’re trying to find something from a large volum of clients, do it electronically

The idea is that there really is no cookie-cutter, stock client survey. It all depends on what you’re trying to get out of it, who you’re going to ask, and what works best to support those goals.

Larry Bodine on Web sites, blogs and other technology
FAQ: Are law firms really getting new business from web sites and blogs?

The answer: Yes.

Mr. Bodine cites new research that shows law firm web sites are the single best tool for corporate and transactional firms for getting new work. 82% of firms get work directly from their web sites.

Law firm web sites can generate business as long as they show your firm has:

• industry experience- you have to show that you know a client’s business. If you have the greatest web site and beautiful design, that doesn’t matter if you can’t do the client’s work.
• · representative clients- show you represent the right clients. List the kinds of clients you want more of.
• Success stories- have you ever won a case, closed a deal? Just name the client, the issue, and how you saved the day.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll post more on Larry Bodine’s session later tonight (or early tomorrow). It’s time for me to go out and get some air.

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