By Reni Gertner
Staff writer
Sales may not be every lawyer's strongest suit, but with the new LegalBizDev Success Kit, perhaps it could be.
The kit - intended to help lawyers get new business - is being used by law firms big and small that want to learn how to get new business more efficiently and successfully.
"In any other profession, there are tools that people use when they are training people to sell, but lawyers didn't have something like this," said Jim Hassett, Ph.D., a sales trainer and consultant in Burlington, Mass., who created the kit. "I set out to do something about it."
The theory behind the kit is that lawyers have limited time to spend on selling and marketing their services - and lawyers are comfortable selling their services in different ways.
Roger Glovsky, an attorney in Lexington, Mass. who has worked with Hassett and used the kit, said the best part about it is the flexible approach, "allowing different lawyers to adapt it to their own type of practice and style."
Tom Kane, who writes a legal marketing blog, said the kit is different than other business development programs.
"It's not intimidating and it's simple to implement," said Kane, who is president of Kane Consulting, a legal marketing consulting firm in Sarasota, Fla.
The kit contains the following:
The LegalBizDev Desk Reference.
The main printed portion of the kit, the Desk Reference includes best practices for everything from elevator speeches to follow-up to networking. In each section, the book provides checklists, relevant samples - such as meeting agendas and tracking reports - and quick references that lawyers can adapt to their specific needs.
Legal Business Development: Basic Principles and Best Practices.
This is the audio portion of the kit, set up as a modular course on three CDs.
Legal Business Development: A Step by Step Guide.
This book, written by Hassett, helps lawyers think through the best business development methods for their firm.
The "Quick Start" Card.
The card is an easy entry point into the kit, sending an attorney to the relevant page of the desk reference.
Ways to use it
The beauty of the kit, according to lawyers who have tried it, is that it can be used in a variety of ways.
Glovsky, a partner in the two-lawyer firm Indigo Venture Law Offices, specializes in representing entrepreneurs.
"I am probably more naturally inclined to do networking than my partner is, but we sat down and listened to the audio course over lunch a few days, and it brought my partner into this mindset," he said.
The kit is flexible enough to allow a lawyer to put one goal on his or her schedule each day or each week, Glovsky said.
The program focuses on keys to improving business lawyers don't always realize, such as the importance of current clients, Hassett said.
"Too many lawyers are spending their limited marketing time on events to attract new clients, when they'd see more results if they devoted the same time to the clients they already have," he said.
In the "current clients" section, one focal point is a checklist of "best practices" that firms use to gain new business.
"Number one on that list is the free meeting," Hassett said.
If a lawyer then turns to the "meeting" page, he or she will learn the benefits of hosting a free meeting for current clients and how to do it.
Another unique idea in the kit that would be easy for a lawyer to implement is visiting a current client at their office "off-the-clock."
The kit suggests "talking to the client about their business or any problems they are having," Kane said. "Oftentimes that leads to more work almost immediately."
The kit also includes suggestions for attracting new clients, publishing articles, doing speaking engagements and networking, among many others.
The LegalBizDev Success Kit costs $995. To learn more or to order the kit, go to www.legalbizdev.com or call 800-49-TRAIN
Reprinted with permission from Lawyers USA. You can get a free trial subscription to Lawyers USA by visiting lawyersusaonline.com or calling 800-451-9998.
© 2008 Lawyers Weekly Inc., All Rights Reserved.
February 11, 2008
