Most lawyers and indeed any other professional people are not born to sell or to market. One of the reasons we go into profession be it accountancy, law or medicine is because we tend to enjoy numbers or have a sense of justice or want to heal patients.
This means learning a very complex set of professional skills over a long period of training in academic institutions and as a junior lawyer or doctor.
Then as you get to associate level and are doing well a partner takes you aside one day and says you have the raw material to join the partnership and be an owner of the business BUT you must learn to develop and keep and bring in clients. Nobody told you about this before and you immediately think about how to change from practicing the professional skill you spent so long learning to becoming a super salesman and a rainmaker over night.
In fact as I learnt at the partners conference of a large US law firm in Las Vegas a few years ago sales and marketing (two very different topics) do not need a professional to change his or her character. Instead work out a way clients will recognise and respect you for what you are - be authentic.
And yes that might be exploiting all those great contacts you have at the golf or tennis or other club and taking client out to lavish dinners and all the things you imaging a successful salesman does. But that does not suit or work for everyone. It could equally be demonstrating that you consistently provide the best quality advice or have in depth knowledge of a specialist subject. Some of the top law firms in the world did not market at all at least until relatively recently, but relied on their impeccable reputation for great and innovative legal advice.
We can all I learnt find our own way to market and to sell our services without detracting from our sense of professionalism. The best way is to literally "be yourself" and find a way to sell your skills to clients who will recognise you for what you are and respect that authenticity.
This means learning a very complex set of professional skills over a long period of training in academic institutions and as a junior lawyer or doctor.
Then as you get to associate level and are doing well a partner takes you aside one day and says you have the raw material to join the partnership and be an owner of the business BUT you must learn to develop and keep and bring in clients. Nobody told you about this before and you immediately think about how to change from practicing the professional skill you spent so long learning to becoming a super salesman and a rainmaker over night.
In fact as I learnt at the partners conference of a large US law firm in Las Vegas a few years ago sales and marketing (two very different topics) do not need a professional to change his or her character. Instead work out a way clients will recognise and respect you for what you are - be authentic.
And yes that might be exploiting all those great contacts you have at the golf or tennis or other club and taking client out to lavish dinners and all the things you imaging a successful salesman does. But that does not suit or work for everyone. It could equally be demonstrating that you consistently provide the best quality advice or have in depth knowledge of a specialist subject. Some of the top law firms in the world did not market at all at least until relatively recently, but relied on their impeccable reputation for great and innovative legal advice.
We can all I learnt find our own way to market and to sell our services without detracting from our sense of professionalism. The best way is to literally "be yourself" and find a way to sell your skills to clients who will recognise you for what you are and respect that authenticity.
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