Hanging Your Own Star. One Relationship at a Time.

Posted by dscaringi on April 4, 2013

I couldn’t begin to tell you what it means to me to have been recognized at the “Your Honor Awards” ceremony in Boston last week. My beloved trade association, the Legal Marketing Association’s New England Chapter, has always been a huge part of my professional life. I first joined in 1998 as a means to learn as much as possible about the industry I had just become a part of.  The educational component of LMA is a great asset.  Something that I have come to know intimately as I serve my third consecutive term as the programming chair.

But even more than the content I have encountered over the years, I find my connection to the LMANE membership has reached a much deeper level in the past 5 years or so.  I developed excellent friendships and business relationships.  People who know this industry and what it means to help others do what they fear most, sell their services.  There is a kinship that comes along with tackling a difficult job that connects you deeply.  This is why the LMA has always been important to me. My experience in this group has made me a firm believer in giving more than you take in order to be successful.

All I can say is thank you. Thank you for giving me more than public recognition.  Thank you for helping me build my knowledge, network and friendships.  I am incredibly honored and humbled to have been named an LMA New England Chapter Star for service to this chapter. I encourage everyone to find their ‘LMA’ and enjoy the experience!

Twitter: A Few Do’s and Don’ts

Posted by dscaringi on March 18, 2013

It’s hard to believe that Twitter was started in 2006! It has become a part of life for many of us. Whether you are a veteran tweeter or you are just getting started, here are a few Do’s and Don’ts to keep in mind.

DO:

• Create a handle that uses your name. Help people find you easily and build name recognition across platforms.
• Be yourself. Don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t. Honesty always shines through and supports your brand.
• Show your personality.  People want to surround themselves with ‘real’ people who are smart, fun and real.
• Build a following. There are many ways to build a following, but an easy place to start is by following people.
• Be conversational. Acknowledge tweets sent to you and thank people when they retweet (RT) you.
• Complete your profile. Include a picture, put meaningful information about yourself and select a location.
• Share information. Don’t hesitate to post original content, pose questions and respond to other people’s tweets.
• Retweet any content that you find interesting, validates your point of view or could be helpful to other people.
• Offer “shout outs” to your followers or other interesting people you know.

 DON’T

• Don’t get caught in the time-suck. Be mindful of how much time you are spending on Twitter and make it productive.
• Don’t hide your tweets from people or keep your profile private.  Remember, Twitter is built for open sharing.
• Don’t pretend to be something or someone you aren’t. It is best to be transparent and honest.
• Don’t retweet (RT) links that you haven’t read through. You need to be careful to know what you are tweeting because ultimately everything you post reflects upon you.
• Don’t follow everyone. Do make a habit of following people you think are interesting and offer value.
• Don’t be crass, use bad language or talk poorly about someone.  This is a very public forum.  Keep it clean!
• Don’t blatantly sell your services through every tweet.  Twitter is meant as an informational stream for building relationships.  By selling your goods at every tweet, you will turn people off.
• Don’t tweet about nothing. Sharing helpful information will build your reputation as a thought leader.

Twitter can be a very powerful tool for building relationships, confirming business contacts, supporting a brand and sharing information. If you take the time to use Twitter well, the benefits will be well worth it.

Take 10 to Begin

Posted by dscaringi on February 19, 2013

At a recent LMA New England chapter meeting, I listened intently to David Ackert discuss motivating attorneys to consistently use business development in their practices. It was a great program and I gained lots of ideas to implement. However, one thing David said really stuck with me.  It is very similar to something I often tell my clients. Marketing and business development is a learned behavior for many of us. It doesn’t just happen naturally without any effort.  People often declare that they will make a commitment to business development once or twice a year but never act upon it.  How about this:  instead of making an annual commitment to business development activities, let’s try starting with a daily 10 minute commitment each week?  Instead of starting to market your practice or business in January or September, don’t wait.  Start Now…. yup, on February 19th.  Nothing special about today.  But it’s a good day to begin taking small steps towards your success. So, what kind of marketing can you get done in 10 minutes?  Here is a starter list:

• Update your bio.  Make any edits that add interest, value or credibility.
• Call your best referral sources and thank them for sending you business.
• Connect two people you know who may benefit from knowing each other.
• Look up the next networking event at a bar association, trade group or other business organization and sign up for the next event.  Put it in your calendar and commit to attend it.
• Email a referral source and set up a lunch date.
• Set up a time to visit a client on their location.
• Use social media.  Follow clients, post status on Linked In or Facebook and Tweet a few times.
• Walk into one of your colleague’s offices and ask them what kind of work they are doing right now.
• Start a post/article to use on the firm’s blog or website or in your social media outlets.

Whatever activity you choose to undertake isn’t really the focus.  The idea is to make a 10 minute weekly investment in developing your relationships, building marketing communication tools and giving yourself visibility.  Once you have this habit in place, build on it.  Add 10 more minutes each week, either consecutively or on an other day. By doing something routinely, you will see the cumulative effects.  Good luck!