Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“You can’t discover new oceans, unless you have the courage to leave the shore.” Anonymous
Although I do not have the statistics to back it up, I would not be surprised if the number one reason people fail in sales is because of their fear of rejection. When you put yourself out there and people tell you “no” it feels like a personal rejection. So many people will avoid making sales calls, not so much because they are lazy or do not know what to say (which can certainly be a factor), but more so because there is a fear of how the other person will respond, or more pointedly, whether they will be rejected. But let’s face it, when you do not make the call, you almost certainly will not make the sale. While we
Continue reading It’s Not About Me
Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“The secret of man’s success resides in his insight into the moods of people, and his tact in dealing with them.”
J. G. Holland
I recently attended a conference on business development that included a panel of general counsel offering suggestions to attorneys seeking their business. The moderator asked whether they preferred “hard sale” or “soft sale” techniques. Not surprisingly, they all preferred a “soft sale.” Who likes being subjected to a “hard sale?” Certainly no attorneys I know.
But understanding the difference is a little more complicated and in reality more subjective than objective. It reminds me of that famous quote by former US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart when attempting to define what constitutes obscenity: “I shall not today further attempt to define [what constitutes obscene material]… But I’ll know it when
Continue reading Back Off! Taking the Boor Out of Selling
Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it.
It is what the client or customer gets out of it.” Peter Drucker
At the recent annual meeting of the Association of Corporate Counsel, general counsel from companies of all sizes discussed how they are selecting, evaluating and managing outside counsel. A recent article discussing the highlights was posted last week in The National Law Journal. The article focused on a few key areas, with the first being “flex time.” Once major retailer is looking for law firms that offer firm employees flex time. Now why would a retailer care if the law firms they retain offer flex time? What do they get out of that? I doubt it’s really because they want to make the world a better place for working moms.
Continue reading What Do General Counsel Want?
Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“It is only at the first encounter that a face makes its full impression on us.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Not long ago just having a website was enough for a lawyer to demonstrate being current with the times. At least it seems not long ago to me. Then again, nearly half of my career was before there was wide spread Internet use. Exactly when the “Internet” was created depends on how you define it. Some historians trace it back to the Soviet Union and the United States military in the 1950’s. But the Internet as we know it today was not a common household term until the mid-to-late 1990’s. Remember the “information highway” commercials? I remember watching them and wondering what the heck they were talking about. How things change.
Today most lawyers have some web presence. But is “presence” enough?
Continue reading Website Designer’s Oath: “First Do No Harm”
Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.” Marilyn vos Savant
In some of my earlier postings I discuss breaking client development into separate tasks and having participating attorneys only do those tasks they are most suited for. The idea is to capitalize on the individual’s natural talents and strengths in combination with others to contribute to a well rounded marketing program. While it makes sense, it’s not much help for the solo practitioner. So what can a soloist do to develop business on his own, with no one to share in the heavy lifting?
The ideal law firm marketing plan has several components. There will usually be some networking and expert positioning involved. A well designed, active website with good search engine optimization is also helpful, among other things.
Continue reading If You’re Pavarotti, Just Sing: Effective Business Development in a Solo Practice
