Business clients expect their outside lawyers to know the law. If you represent business clients, you are not likely to differentiate yourself from other fine lawyers by your legal knowledge. You are more likely to differentiate yourself based on your knowledge of their business. What do you know about:
The company history
I love being around successful people. In 2009, I participated in a dinner and then full day program with the most successful lawyers in a 500-lawyer firm. During the day, several lawyers were asked to share: “What works for you?”
When I was a young lawyer, I learned about client relationship building by tagging along
A group of lawyers I coach recently asked me for a list of some of my favorite business/marketing blogs. Here are several business and marketing blogs I read regularly. They are not aimed at lawyers but many of the ideas apply to marketing by lawyers.
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/
http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/
http://www.churchofcustomer.com/
http://trustedadvisor.com/trustmatters
I recently wrote: Key Marketing Tip: You Have to Be Curious to Create Your Own Opportunities. That is the first step to building your opportunities. The second step is for your potential clients to know what you know.
My latest podcast interview is with Lizzette Zubey, a lawyer I coached who is now in-house.