Two for Tuesdays

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The more I see of Taylor Swift, the more of a marketing genius I realize she is. And not just because I can’t get "Shake it Off" out of my head this week. There are a few things that Taylor does that create rabid loyalty among her fans – and I mean rabid. 

Before you start asking what Tay-tay and her music have to do with the law, first, ask yourself what it would feel like to have your clients feel the same way about you as Taylor’s fans feel about her? What if your clients trusted you so implicitly that they never took their business to anyone else? What if they called you first before making a business decision, because you’re their trusted adviser? What if your clients lined up every time you wrote or spoke, because they knew what you had to say was that valuable? 

While I don’t picture your clients lining the streets of your offices and swooning at the mere sight of you anytime soon (though the image of that does bring a smile to my face), there are a few things that Taylor does REALLY well that you can adapt to your own business to help drive client loyalty. Let’s look at two of those tips today. Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Tips from Taylor Swift

As I mentioned last week, I had the good fortune to attend the LMA’s 2014 Leadership Conference, which was a whirlwind of sessions and networking. I was able to meet some great people, and really get down to brass tacks for planning for next year (LOTS of exciting things to come!). 

But in among the planning and networking, we also had a couple of leadership sessions, which were incredibly valuable. I took away some great information, that I hope to be able to incorporate both in my work with the LMA as well as with my clients (ILN Specialty Groups, I’m looking at you). 

So today’s Two for Tuesday involves leadership lessons I gained from last week’s conference, and some tips on how to use them. 

Lesson One: Play to Your Strengths

Prior to the conference, we’d all taken a strengths assessment test called StrengthsFinder, which provided each of us with five themes and what makes us stand out within each of those themes (more on my results later).  On the first afternoon then, we welcomed Alycia Sutor of Akina Corporation, who walked us through how these strengths can lead to creating great teams. Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Leadership Lessons

As this publishes, I will be on a plane heading for the Windy City: Chicago.  As part of my involvement with the Legal Marketing Association, I’m fortunate to be able to meet with some of the leadership of the organization this week for a leadership conference, since I’ll be joining the LMA’s Technology Committee as Co-Chair for 2015! 

That got me thinking about professional development this morning – something that’s important for all of us, but something we can easily forget or push to the background in our busy day-to-day lives.  I mean, who has time to add one more thing, right? 

But it’s essential – U.S. News & World Report offered this great article three years ago, which is still relevant today. They say: 

It’s easy to get complacent about professional development when you’re employed. If you already have a job, why should you go above and beyond to improve your skills, especially if it’s not required by your company?

"But making an effort to help yourself grow professionally will help you succeed, both in the short term and in the long term. And if you don’t learn new skills and acquire new knowledge and experience, you’re likely to fall behind your peers, which could be detrimental when you look to change positions."

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Professional Development

We’ve been full of networking tips here at Zen lately with the ILN’s European Regional Meeting happening last week. It’s only fitting that I sum that up with some post-conference networking suggestions on this week’s Two for Tuesdays!

Tip One: Connect & Share

Any time you leave a conference, whether it’s an ILN conference or not, it’s hard to keep the momentum going as you face a mountain of work and personal responsibilities. It seems to get more and more difficult to step away from the office these days – I know I’m always trying to prepare to leave and spending time catching up when I return, even when I’m checking in and working the entire time I’m away!

But forgetting to do a few simple things after a conference can really take away from all of the headway you’ve made in networking. So add in these few things to your to-do list today (force yourself to do one each day, rather than trying to do them all at once!) and it will make a big difference in your efforts. Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Post-Conference Networking

This Two for Tuesdays finds me in Budapest! I am visiting with one of our member firms to meet their partners and have some one-on-one time to discuss the ILN and how they can make the most of their membership.  

Lucky for you, I set up my blog posts for this week prior to flying out of town.  For today’s Two for Tuesdays, I’m focused on content marketing – we know what it is and why we should be doing it (if you don’t, please see me after class).  But what are some ideas for what we can do for content marketing? 

Since this month has been focused on the idea of "refreshing" our marketing, today, I’m bringing you two tips for refreshing new ways to do content marketing! 

Thanks to Drew Hubbard on iMedia Connection, we have this brilliant list of suggestions to draw from. I’m going to take two of his ideas and look at how we in the legal industry can use them. Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Content Marketing Ideas

On this Two for Tuesdays, we’re gearing up for next week’s European Regional Meeting in Oslo! Our conferences always get me thinking about best practices for networking, so that my attorneys can make the most out of their conference attendance (and you can too!). 

It’s easy to think of networking as something that happens only AT a conference or event, but if you’ve been reading along here at Zen, you know that it’s something that really occurs before, during and after. Since we’ve still got over a week until the conference kicks off, let’s focus today on two tips for networking before a conference. 

Tip One: Review & Reach Out

While not all organizers do this, many of them will make an attendee list available prior to the conference or event taking place. If you really want to make the most out of your conference networking, study this list as soon as you get it.  

You’re looking for companies, firms, geographic locations, specialties and more that may have some strategic crossover for you.  For the sake of simplicity, we’ll use the ILN conferences as our example here for networking opportunities. Let’s say that your firm has done a few referrals with a firm in London, and that firm will have a representative at the conference. Put a star next to their name in your attendee list. Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Start Your Networking BEFORE a Conference

September and October are two of my favorite months, not the least of which is because it gives me motivation, motivation for a fresh start as if I’m starting a new school year again. 

As I’m thinking about fresh start today, I’m bringing you a Two for Tuesdays that focuses on a marketing refresh!

Tip One: Refresh Your Social Media Profiles

It happens quickly – once you’ve made the time investment to open and populate your social media profiles, you are apt to forget about them as you get busy. Even if you’re using them on a daily or weekly basis. 

Let this tip encourage you to take a quick look at them and do a refresh.

  • LinkedIn: First, make sure you’ve turned your profile notifications off, or your connections will suspect that you’re looking for a new job. Then, look through your profile. Is your photo up to date? Are your job title and headline as current (and descriptive) as they could be? Have you started working more in one practice area over another, and need to have your experience reflect that? Are your recommendations years old, and you need to reach out to some new clients? Take a look at anything that might look out of date or incorrect and use this time to correct it. 

    Check any LinkedIn groups and pages that you manage as well to ensure that all information is current, and that any discussions you’ve pinned to the top level are recent ones. 

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Marketing Refresh

It’s another Two for Tuesdays, and we’re finally into September! It doesn’t feel that way here in New Jersey, where it’s almost 90 degrees and very high humidity – this might not be so bad if I hadn’t lost my furnace in a flood almost four weeks ago, resulting in NO air conditioning. The new furnace is being installed tomorrow and Thursday, but in the meantime, we are melting over here!

So let’s try to stay cool by talking about Twitter. I saw two posts come through my RSS reader talking about new things on Twitter, so today’s Two for Tuesdays will be two new things to check out over there!

Tip One: Take a look at Twitter’s Analytics

Analytics may not interest you that much, but they should.  People often make the mistake of thinking that the number of followers or connections is the measure of how successful you are on social media – but that’s not the case. 

Engagement and interaction with those followers IS, as well as being able to amplify what you’re sharing. Analytics can help you to dig a little deeper, so that you can identify which of the platforms is working most successfully for you, and therefore, where you should be investing your time (and where it may make sense for you to invest a little less time). Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Twitter Edition!

For today’s Two for Tuesdays, I want to look at two tips for following up after a networking event.  Finding the right event, with the right audience, and then meeting the right people are all essential parts to successful networking.  But it doesn’t matter if you meet a handful of great people at an event if you never speak to them again – the key is in the follow up. 

Tip One: Ask a Question

This tip comes from a great post on Life Hacker that suggests just that – follow up meeting a new person by asking them a question (which you’ve jotted down on their business card).  The reason is two-fold: 

  • First, it shows that you were really concentrating on what they were saying – as long as the question is relevant to them. It sets you apart as a good listener, and shows that you value building the relationship, and not just the number of contacts you have. It’s important to make sure that the question is a genuine one, and not just an excuse to keep talking, or it will likely have the opposite impact on your new relationship. 
     
  • Secondly, it keeps the conversation going.  Even when you send up a follow up email, unless there is a reason for the person to respond, they probably won’t. But if you ask a thoughtful question, there’s a reason for them to keep speaking with you, and the conversation can go from there. It may even become substantial enough to warrant a follow up meeting. 

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Networking Follow-Up

This week’s Two for Tuesdays suggestion comes straight from my friend, Nancy Myrland of Myrland Marketing – Strategic Social Media, who has two tips for what we should avoid doing when speaking with clients – and these are excellent ones. These are bad habits that we’ve all gotten into (not just with clients, but in general), and I’m certainly guilty myself! 

Tip One: Don’t Interrupt – Let Them Finish Their Thoughts

Ah, interrupting. I’m terrible about this. I’m a bit like the word predictor on my iPhone, where I’m three steps ahead, thinking that I know what the other person is going to say, and I start answering them before they’re finished saying it. 

Not only is it terribly rude, but I’m not always right about where the conversation is going. And I’m making it about me – I’m in too much of a rush, and I’m thinking too many steps ahead to let them finish their thoughts. 

So although it’s difficult, let’s work on pausing. Wait until the person you’re speaking with has finished their thought…completely. I’ll work on it too. It will make us better listeners, which will in turn make us better advocates for our clients. How can we properly do our jobs if we don’t get all the facts, because we’re too busy butting in?Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: What NOT to do When Speaking with a Client