Client Development Tip Try To Be First To Market

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Client Development Tip: Try to be first to market When I was building my practice, one key strategy I used was to be first to market. When I used the phrase, I included first to identify a client need and first to use the latest tools to reach clients. I am sure I was one of the first construction lawyers to write monthly newsletters, to write a monthly column in an industry publication, to conduct workshops for construction contractors and to create videos when VHS players first became available. Now that I am coaching lawyers on client development I frequently hear that senior lawyers are suggesting the same strategies and tools that worked for the senior lawyers many years before. I can understand the younger lawyer’s frustration. While the principles of client development have not changed, the tools to reach clients, potential clients and referral sources change every day. I wonder just how many lawyers are blogging? I am sure there are several thousand law blogs out there, but how many are really reaching the intended readers. Years ago, Seth Godin wrote:  The number one secret of the great blogs. He disclosed the secret in the first sentence: Every one of them leads a tribe. I like the way Seth Godin explained his point: In each case, the function of the blog is to be a standard bearer, the north star that tribe members can point to as a place to meet or for ideas to circle around. The blog isn’t about the writer, it’s about the readers. Who, among the lawyers blogging has created a blog for his or her readers? How does a legal blog written for the readers differ from one that is about the writer? The truly successful rainmakers are never afraid to be first and they strive to be the best. To get the idea, read: The Truth About Marketing (Online or Off) That No One Wants to Admit. If blogging and webinars by lawyers have become common ways to reach out to clients, what is the next tool and how can you become the first to use it? What can lawyers blogging do to lead a tribe with their blogs? Speaking of trying to be first to market, Joyce is helping me create books using iBooks Author. If you have an iPad  (if you do not have one, you should get one) and use iTunes, you might find my new iBook Blogging and Social Media valuable.     I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.