Motivating lawyers to engage in business development.

• Author: Wasserman, Steven S.

Despite their bravado, good lawyers often lack confidence in their ability to generate business. Law schools do not require a legal marketing course, and a great attorney may not naturally have the skills needed to be a business generator. As such, legal marketing professionals (LMPs) often need litigator-like skills when assisting, developing and nudging lawyers to execute a successful business development plan.

You may face several hurdles when working with lawyers on marketing or business development planning. Above all, an LMP must have a strong backbone. Be persistent in your efforts, as lawyers can be a wily bunch who will go to great lengths to avoid you if they (or your firm) have not made each attorney's business development efforts a priority.

The task of marketing to potential clients is especially daunting to many young lawyers. If you are working with an attorney with no clients to call her own, encourage her to consider business development as her first and only client. Treat business development with the respect, dedication and determination it deserves, and your list of a single "client" will grow.

The following are common excuses I have heard from attorneys who have not committed to business development, as well as how to get around them so that you can accomplish successful strides toward client development.

I'm not good at it. I never know whether what I'm doing is the 'right' thing to do.

One of the primary challenges for LMPs is encouraging attorneys to take action when there is no clear indication that the action will result in business. With most marketing efforts, it is difficult to ascertain if the seeds you plant will become potential clients.

Fortunately, despite a lawyer's protests, she likely does have the skills to be a good marketer and successful business generator. Perhaps the attorney has simply never tried or made some uncoordinated (and unsuccessful) efforts in the past. Be confident, however, that both the lawyer and the LMP are trained and equipped with the skills to clear this hurdle. To be successful in both professions, set goals, determine the best way to accomplish those goals, execute a plan and assess the results.

To get started, the lawyer and the LMP must develop a relationship akin to the relationship-building one that is a necessary part of client development efforts. Scheduling regular and recurring meetings (at my firm, we call them Independent Marketing Sessions, or IMS) is an excellent...