Page 6 - Dallas Vol 5 No 3

MOTIVATE YOUR LAWYERS TO DRIVE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
AND GENERATE PROSPERITY
BY KIMBERLY RICE
Why are some lawyers successful in generating a healthy client base and others struggle? Despite all the strategic planning CMOs may devote to in- dividual attorney coaching and training, it is o en not enough to support the lawyer client in connecting the dots of relationship build- ing, reputation enhancing and contact man- agement over the course of a career to make a remarkable di erence and boost their busi- ness development.
In my years of working with and for law rms, rst as an in-house CMO and since 2008 as a business owner of a legal market- ing advisory rm, I have searched for the pro- verbial carrot that will motivate and propel lawyer clients to “drink the kool aid” of taking consistent, persistent massive amounts of ac- tion over a prolonged period of time approach to building a prosperous business.
No matter how many ways I have sliced and diced the non-negotiable marketing tactics, which must be in play, I’ve returned to the same conclusion – the lawyer must be moti- vated to make this happen for himself or her-
self, for it is only then that they will prioritize and carve out the time that is required.
And, let’s not sugarcoat it, building a pros- perous business requires a substantial time commitment over many years, even decades, to truly realize the fruits of their labor.
With that thought in mind, I researched the concept of motivation. What I learned is instructive to help our lawyer clients address and more e ectively manage their business development commitments and, thus, their long-term success.
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · DALLAS· VOL. 5 NO. 3 6