I had the distinct pleasure of presenting a program for the Massachusetts Women’s Bar Association with my esteemed colleague, Elizabeth Hailer.  The title of our presentation was Action-Based Marketing for Developing Business Opportunities: The 5 Steps You Need to Take.  (So, yes… you are right that the title of this post says 6 steps.  The back story: we promised 5 steps to our audience, but in the end, handed over a bonus 6th. We couldn’t help ourselves and it is so fun to give!)  Anyway, we had a lively discussion with the women attorneys from firms of all shapes and sizes. We talked about aligning legal services providers with today’s legal services buyer.  As you may guess, understanding how today’s buyer cycle works is key to making a connection that results in new business.  That process is not necessarily the same as it has always been.  In fact, the process may be different from firm to firm, or client to client.  Either way, once your buyer’s process is established, lawyers can initiate an action-based marketing program to their targeted audiences.  Below are the 6 steps we shared with the Women’s Bar Association:

• Build Relationships. At the end of the day, relationships determine hiring decisions. Don’t hesitate to use every way available to you to deepen your relationships, both in person and electronically.  Build your relationships how you would a friendship.  Exhibit trust, reliability, knowledge and availability.  Be real, be yourself… all the time.
• Create content. Understand what the individuals in your target market need to be successful. Give away your knowledge in easy to digest pieces that further the goals of your clients.
• Embrace technology. Don’t be afraid to use technology to further your business development goals. Create your networks, introduce people, use video and images to sell your brand.
• Share content across multiple platforms. Use social media to gain visibility for your hard-earned content. Repurpose your content across multiple platforms, positioning each post for the audience that uses the tool.
• Develop your action–based marketing plan. Create short, actionable marketing plans that you review and update quarterly or semi-annually. Don’t just pontificate and shelf it. Write everything down… your target audience, specific contacts, lunch/breakfast plans, articles you will write, presentations you will give. Choose only activities that will further your goal. Don’t get caught up in the weeds of trying to be all things to all people.

Marketing and business development take time. Plan your steps out and then execute upon them systematically using soft people skills in conjunction with the technological tools available to you. Whatever you do, understand who can buy your services and align yourself with those individuals. You will be far more successful in the long run.