Trevor Faure to Lawyers: Do Business Development in a Smarter Way
To survive and thrive in today’s legal marketplace, the most successful lawyers marry the practice of law with the business of law. That means learning the art of business development. And, this means knowing the client’s industry frictions enough to provide true business solution insights that are cost effective. If you’re a lawyer trying to…
Read MoreA Unique Point of View is HUGE for Building Online Reach and Social Spread
Standing at the Precipice is an example of a unique point of view: For over 100 years, the legal profession has existed virtually unchanged. Weighed down by decades of precedent and immune to innovation. Those days are over. The time for change has come for the business of law. This is our story:https://player.vimeo.com/video/61306901 I’d say that…
Read MoreThe Bottom Line Benefits of Blogging
If you’re a decision-maker inside a professional services firm concerned about growing your profits then this matters: Firms getting 40-60% of their leads online grow 4x faster than those generating no online leads. The greater the proportion of leads generated online, the greater the firm’s profitability. The #1 technique among the fastest growing and most profitable firms was blogging.…
Read MoreProfessionals: Blend Offline Reputation With Online Visibility To Drive Business Development
Blending your offline reputation with visibility online helps you drive your business development across your weaker social ties. Once you have built up a strong following, you should begin to see the networking opportunities expand, allowing you to help grow your business. —Erik Qualman For a professional, visibility online is about cultivating a presence that drives your niche narrative. I…
Read MoreTake a Dog’s Lead and Take a Pause
As I was putting the final touches on that last blog post, I noticed my dog leaning against my backpack penetrating me with this dreamy look. That “look” that says, “I’m exactly where I want to be — right here with you.” Kiai (key-eye) walks, smells and marks with me to work almost everyday. That roundtrip from…
Read MoreLeaders: Turn Negatives Into Positives
My leadership coach and I shared time and breakfast today. His name is Bob Burgess. As we left the restaurant, with a twinkle in his eye, Bob offered to send me a missive. A few minutes later, I found this passage from John O’Donohue’s Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom in my inbox: “If you try to avoid or…
Read MoreThe “No Urgency, Chaos or Drama” Zone
While proofing this post for Kevin, I was reminded of the first time I saw this sign: “No Urgency, Chaos or Drama” I was interviewing. This sign hangs outside Kevin’s office. I thought, okay, THIS is where I want to work. This was opposite of prior work places which, unfortunately, I became skilled at navigating.…
Read MoreBlogging: Most Definitive Medium For Demonstrating Expertise On The Web
Do you think for a living? Do you rely on your education and experience to problem-solve? Do you face issues requiring “convergent, divergent and creative thinking?” Is your capital your knowledge, ideas and access to information? Are you a lawyer, engineer, architect, doctor, scientist, financial analyst, software engineer, teacher or technical writer? If so, then you’ll appreciate Dorie Clark’s “rich and…
Read MoreThe Strength of Weak Ties in Social Networking: Seek to be Worth Knowing
According to The Pew Research Center, most Americans “networks contain a range of social ties that consist of friends, family, coworkers, and other acquaintances. This includes a handful of very close social ties and a much larger number of weaker ties.” In fact, the average Internet user has 669 social ties. That’s important research for generating word-of-mouth referrals. So how does my personal network operate?…
Read MoreThe Power of Online Word-of-Mouth in the Social Networking Era (Ignore at Your Peril)
I realize that the concept of word-of-mouth happening online in a digital 24×7 world may feel messy and confusing especially for professionals. Still, the immense commercial value of billions of people connecting, engaging and sharing across massive, fluid networks can’t be overlooked. Online word-of-mouth via a Blog, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, email, list services, chat rooms or instant messages…
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