Craig and Hawk engage attendees with business development techniques at WSSFC

Keith Hawk of LexisNexis and father of Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk, discusses obstacles attorneys face in client development – and the prospect of a Packers win on Sunday.

Judi Craig, a keynote speaker at the 2010 WSSFC, discusses how lawyers can keep marketing simple and effective.

Keith Hawk of LexisNexis (left) talks with a member of the audience during his speech, "'Get-Real Selling' Principles for Lawyers."

Judi Craig of Atticus discusses simple and effective techniques for lawyers seeking to better market their practice during her speech, "Make Rain, Not Mist."

By Joe Forward, Legal Writer, State Bar of Wisconsin

Oct. 29, 2010 – Judy Craig helps lawyers get clients in the door, and Keith Hawk helps lawyers use techniques to keep them coming back. Both were featured speakers today at the Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference in Wisconsin Dells, which is hosting 40 speakers in total.

Craig is a senior practice advisor with Atticus, a practice management consulting firm. Her presentation, “Make Rain, Not Mist,” empowers attorneys to market effectively. Hawk, father to A.J. Hawk of the Green Bay Packers, is the senior vice president of sales for U.S. Law Firm, Corporate Government and Markets at LexisNexis. Both speakers shared techniques for better business development.

“Attorneys are constantly asked to explain what they do,” said attorney Bridget Erwin of Nell & Associates in DePere. “I thought Judy Craig’s presentation was very useful, especially her ideas on using ‘Laser Talk’ to answer prospective clients’ questions. Keith Hawk reminded us to be better listeners, and I will definitely use his ideas on anticipating questions.”

The morning session featured Craig, a Master Certified Coach, who tells attorneys to “never stop marketing.” Craig says marketing is a learned behavior, and thus attorneys can learn effective marketing strategies through committing themselves to systematically build relationships. She reminded attendees that referrals are still the best way to get clients, and offered creative techniques to get more of them.

She recognizes 21 marketing tools that will help lawyers, even introverted ones, market better. One of those tools is the “Laser Talk,” a brief, powerful introductory statement that educates the listener about the attorney’s area of practice, the types of problems the attorney solves, and how the attorney solves those problems. She advises attorneys to develop an effective “Laser Talk” and use it regularly.

She also thinks forming good marketing habits is crucial to a better marketing strategy. Craig says attorneys should make at least three marketing contacts a week.

“A marketing contact is a conversation that lasts at least 15 minutes, it’s not just a quick call to somebody that you know,” said Craig, who reminds lawyers that the lunchtime conversation is still a great marketing opportunity.

Once the client is on the hook, Keith Hawk educates lawyers on how to reel them in. He bases business development on creating trust through credibility and empathy. He says overcoming the trust barrier is one of the first steps in engaging prospective clients.

By establishing commonality and intent, Hawk said lawyers can demonstrate credibility. That is, lawyers should point out the similarities that exist between the client and the lawyer, and remind the client that his or her success is only as good as the success of the client.

“When [lawyers] utilize something as simple as anticipating questions … attorneys say they have better interactions, are more crisp, and [the client] can truly see [they have] the client’s best interest at heart,” Hawk said.

Hawk talked about the “Ben Duffy” technique. Under this technique, the lawyer generates questions for the client by anticipating what the client might want to know. It shows the lawyer was thinking about the client before the client walked in the door, and demonstrates the client comes first.

Hawk, speaking in front of a large crowd, offered other tools to improve business development, tools that lawyers can use when they return to practice.

“I liked the client-centered aspect of [Hawk’s] presentation and his ideas on anticipating client questions,” said James Flory of the Wiley Law Office. “These are things I can use in my practice.”

The WSSFC continues tomorrow, with featured speaker Ken Matejka presenting “Getting Clients into Your Law Practice from Google.” Visit the State Bar’s Facebook page for more information. Twitter users can get information from the conference hash tag #wssfc10.