Marketing: Is your business pitch on the money?

From the moment we are born and scream our first hungry cry, we are pitching for attention. As lawyers, our pitches are about persuading others to make decisions that let us do something we want - run that big case, get those instructions, or be introduced to new ideas or new people.

 

Pitching is a natural part of life.  Yet time and again lawyers wait for a client or a target client to invite them to pitch: big mistake. You need ‘to ask' by being out there proactively pitching in person, not waiting to be invited and then being compared with others in an evaluative way and often on paper. 

Forming relationships
Decision-makers, like most other people, find it easier to form a relationship with a person or group of people than with a document or even a low hourly rate. Like most other people, they are also more likely to want to work with people they like and trust.

Pitching is not something you leave to the times when you are not busy. Think of pitching like a healthy exercise regime for your client relationships. Spending a minimum of 30 minutes, three times a week is the way to maintain a healthy pipeline.

Just as health-conscious people make time for the gym, their personal trainer or walking their dog, lawyers who are conscious of business development book time, set goals and make pitching a daily habit. And by pitching, I mean getting in front of clients, targeting clients and referrers for the purpose of sharing an idea, exploring a ‘what if' situation or brainstorming ways to help each other. 

Pitching is about your client, not you, regardless of the longevity of the relationship.  Pitching, like networking, takes a mindset of thinking ‘how can I help that person'. It is amazing how that mindset creates positive results. Conversely, it is amazing how quickly not pitching can lead to clients sensing complacency or, worse, a sense of entitlement.

Speaking to clients
A starting point for proactive pitching is initiating conversations with your clients that go beyond the matters you are working on. Think about how much time you spend speaking with your clients about what is going on in their business, what challenges they are facing, what is happening in their industry, what their competitors are doing, what they are worried about. Is that something you do a lot of?

Show your clients you are interested, nay fascinated, by what is happening in their world.  If you give yourself time to do this you will become fascinated. Listen carefully, do not leap to solutions, and instead take away what you have heard, think about what it means and chew it over with your colleagues.

Do you have ideas that might help; do you know people with skills who might help? It is likely that you do and if you go back to your client with ideas, regardless of how exploratory they may be, you will remain relevant; you will show you care. You will also make it clear that you have a vested interest in your client's success at an organisational and personal level.

Prepare for success
Do your homework before every call and every meeting - do not waste those opportunities by asking questions for which the answers are in the public arena. Instead, use the meetings to delve deeper and explore what is happening so that some mutual discovery occurs about ideas, connections and possibilities. There may be no immediate work for you, but this ongoing dialogue will generate better quality relationships and enrich your knowledge, which may lead to opportunities down the track. It will also help cement a relevant relationship with the person who will be making or influencing decisions about who to engage as opportunities arise.

If real estate is about position, position, position, then pitching is about perseverance, persuasion, proactivity and working your prospects (existing clients, referrer channels and prospective clients). By building pitching into your practice you will reap the same rewards as those who build exercise into their lives. Yes, it will take discipline. Yes, there will be times when you feel distinctly uncomfortable and, of course, you will find excuses to put it off but do not because the results will make it worthwhile and noticeable if you keep at it.

 

Trish Carroll, principal of Galt Advisory, helps firms and individuals devise and implement practical and successful marketing and business development strategies.  Visit www.galtadvisory.com.au for more information.