Digital White Papers

I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | K N O W L E D G E M A N A G E M E N T & M A R K E T I N G T E C H N O L O G Y 69 Spruce If you're like most of the attorneys I work with, you've had the words of your business development teams in your ears for what seems like an eternity. "You have to update your profile!" Before you begin any business development strategy, your profile needs to reflect who you are professionally and personally. 67% of your buyers are doing their research digitally before ever engaging with you; yes, even referrals. Need more motivation? Buyers, including counsel, are looking at attorney profiles 2.8 times more often than your law firm bio. Why? Because your buyers want to see your details, credentials and who-knows-who in a format with which they're already familiar. If I can only capture your attention for a few things to update, let it be these: • Headline – says what law your practice and the challenge you solve; it does not state, "Attorney/Partner @ Law Firm". • About section – in the first person, starts with a story, leads into your expertise, and ultimately shares a little about who you are outside of the office • Recommendations – these need to be compliant, but focus on the details of what it's like to work with you. Consider that your buyers are going to look at these three sections and think, "Can this person handle my matter, do they have a focus on my specific need and do people enjoy working with them?" Answer all three by updating those three sections correctly and you'll significantly increase your odds of bringing in new opportunities. Connect Odds are, your network could use some work. We won't get anywhere if we're not connected to the people we should be. So think through this list – college roommates, law school friends, those you clerked with, peers at your existing and previous firm(s), your in-laws, your neighbors, members of your local bar association, those you serve on school initiatives with, your clients, your old neighbors, your family's doctors, your prospective clients, your spouse or partner (this one always makes me laugh as it's the most commonly forgotten one…), maybe even the dog walker. Your network is out there, we simply need to connect with them. Also, what should you say when you notice you're not connected to a client you've had for a decade and now feel sheepish? Connect away and feel free to use this sample script, "Gary, I can't believe we aren't connected here. Thought I'd make it official." Easy as that. Discover Now that we built you a glowing profile and are connected to 1,000 of our closest friends, let's put all this data that LinkedIn has to work. LinkedIn has an additional platform called LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Wait, where are you going? Yes, it has "sales" in the title, but come back; it's safe, I promise. Navigator effectively takes all of the data and intelligence that LinkedIn has and curates that data to the specific clients and prospective clients you have, even surfacing the most ideal prospective clients for you, all with very little work. If you've ever wondered things like: • Who at my firm might know this key prospective client I want to meet? • I wonder if any of my clients have changed jobs and I've missed the updates?

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