Professional Partnering The Key To Effective Growth For You and Your Clients

If you have been serving business owners for very long you have come to some important conclusions. You only know what you know, you can only see what you see, and there are other professionals with blind spots in different places than you.

Let's face it, if we all knew the same things - most of us would not be needed. And if we had productive relationships with other professionals - those our clients use who services compliment ours, our clients would receive our coordinated ideas and insights. Plus we would be in a position to refer business to these professionals - now that we know how they work, and they would tell their clients about us. This is a perfect scenario all the way around.

Partnering, on a case by case basis or in an ongoing relationship with consultants, financial planners, accountants, coaches, lawyers, and other professionals can be a very good idea indeed.

And of course there are many different workable business models for doing this. For many of us it works best when we to do it quid pro quo basis vs. referral fees. Here are a few quick suggestions that you should consider:

1. Always work with someone you trust. In over three decades working with business owners I have found that if there is any doubt in your mind about the person you are considering working with - no matter how casually or infrequently, do not do it. I am still reminded from time to time, in a nice way - about the time I partnered with the wrong person - years ago.

2. Be the one to give more than you think you have to, in time, money, energy, etc. The other professionals will appreciate it and the law of reciprocity will kick in. The one thing everyone will remember about you is whether or not you did what you said you'd do. If you always deliver more than they expect, and because of your example your project partners do the same - you will all be proud of the results.

3. There are lots of opportunities to work with other professionals these days. I would suggest that you not enter into long-term relationships until you have a lot of experience with each person. In fact you may find that your clients hold you in greater esteem when you become known as the person who can put the right people on the team - no matter the situation, and they may be different people almost every time. You are seen as the go-to person because you are the one with the connections, the one who fits the pieces of the planning team puzzle together.

4. Give, rather than look for, credit. It is as true today as it was the first time someone told me that there is nothing we can not achieve if we do not care who gets the credit. All relationships are give and take. Give more and you'll get more.

5. Think outside the box when choosing your partnering relationships. Naturally if you are in the life insurance business you think of partnering with an accountant and a lawyer, or if you are an engineer you work with architects and people in the construction industry.

If there is anyone you should consider putting on your team, in addition to the usual suspects, it is a workplace conflict resolution professional. Why, because where there is conflict - no matter how far they keep it under the radar, nothing gets done. Wills are not signed and we never know why, estate plans end up in the file cabinet when doing nothing is just dumb.

When nothing happens to your (team's) proposals it is either because of you or the client. If it is you - they don't trust you or your partner's recommendations, that's one thing. You may or may not be able to overcome that.

If it is them, it may be that there are unseen disagreements and conflicts going on that are keeping them from taking action. And you may not about them until later, long after the deal has gone sour and the proposals are taking up space on your hard drive.

When you are putting together your next planning team - add someone who sees what you can't see, both traditional number crunchers and workplace conflict professionals.

About the Author

Successful professionals are always on the lookout for ideas and resources to help them. They are also looking for creative ways of marketing their professional services. If you want to be even more successful in the future than you are today, learn more about marketing professional services and share your insights with others, visit us and join in the discussion.

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The Four Different Leaflet Distribution Flavours - Which One Are You?

For years the advertising and marketing industry have been selling their wares and getting their messages across through leaflet distribution.It's a simple and cost effective way of raising a profile and selling a product, but there is a lot more to it than a piece of paper with text and graphics printed on it.There are several other factors at play; location, amount, coverage and even what type of leaflet.

The type of leaflet used in a leaflet distribution campaign can say a lot about the product or service you are advertising.It can convey humour or seriousness, the quality of your product and the availability.The choice of what type of medium you choose in your leaflet distribution campaign should be one of the first decisions you make.Making the wrong decision could completely negate any positive effects that the rest of your campaign has.

The word leaflet is widely used to encompass all forms of printed material that can be used in leaflet distribution but also has a more specific meaning.There are in fact four different types of printed material that can be used in a campaign of which a leaflet is just one.

Leaflet - A leaflet is a single printed piece of paper which is usually folded.These leaflets are also known as flyers.They are the easiest to produce, both logistically and economically, and can be used to promote everything from businesses to products and services.They are commonly posted through letter boxes, handed out in the street or inserted into newspapers.Flyers come in many sizes and can be very plain or given a glossy finish to convey a certain image.

Their widespread use has been complimented by the increase in desktop publishing and the ability to combine text and images on home computers.The finished products can be printed at home or sent to a commercial printer.In both instances the images, the message is printed on just one side although this is not always so and leaflets with print on both sides are increasingly common.

Pamphlet - A pamphlet is an unbound series of printed sheets.For businesses or products that have more to advertise or say using a pamphlet in a leaflet distribution campaign is preferable to a leaflet in that it has more space and scope to explain sometimes complicated or list several products or services and any variations on those products or services as well.The fact that it is unbound also means that it is still an affordable option for most businesses.

Pamphlets are often used by businesses that offer a more bespoke service or to sell products that are more exclusive or high end.The look of a pamphlet conveys more of a degree of quality and that can be important depending on what is being advertised.

Poster - Posters can come in all sorts of sizes, usually from A4 onwards.Although posters are more suited to site specific campaigns and are associated with billboards they are becoming increasingly popular in leaflet distribution.They are not as disposable as pamphlets and leaflets and so the thought is that they will be kept longer and displayed in places that it is not easy to get a message displayed.They also convey added quality.

Brochure - A brochure is a step up from a pamphlet in that it is often bound and printed on higher quality material.A brochure is designed to be kept a lot longer than pamphlets and leaflets, often as long as a year.Brochures go into more detail and contain more information and are used in leaflet distribution to advertise top end services and products.

About the Author

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the leaflet distribution industry.

Find out more about leaflet distribution and marketing and advertising.

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5 Law Firm Marketing Tips to Turn Prospects into Clients

Attorneys are famous for wasting their time following up on bad leads. These are prospects who are not a good fit or who are not likely to hire your law firm. Another big mistake lawyers make is targeting the wrong market, usually too large of a market. What percentage of the people you follow up with come to your office for an official interview And of those, how many actually sign on as clients

Successful law firm marketing includes determining which people and businesses are not currently interested in your service and which are just not good prospects. Remove these dead ends from your contact lists and dont waste your time trying to win them over.

You probably have a very low percentage of prospects turned clients. And with the limited hours in your day to get everything done, you simply cant afford to waste this kind of time These 5 simple steps will help you turn more prospects into clients. Incorporate these into your law firm marketing strategy and watch your conversion rate grow.

1. Separate Your Contacts from Your Prospects

Learn to identify people who are genuinely interested versus those who simply are not saying "no" out of politeness. Listen for the signals that distinguish a real prospect from someone who is simply price shopping or worse using you to obtain a lower fee from another lawyer.

Create a list of questions to disqualify contacts focusing on the criteria of "need, want, afford." Remove those contacts who dont meet these qualifications, and focus your energy on solid prospects.

2. Interview Your Qualified Prospects Directly.

Are you consistently talking directly to your prospects versus their gatekeepers and time-wasters and pitching them your services Whats your closing ratio What percentage of people come to the interview versus become clients Make sure you are speaking to the real decision-maker.

3. Strengthen Your presentation Skills

Improving your presentation skills will go a long way toward winning over new clients. Strengthen your phone skills and develop better phone scripts. Learn to recognize "buy questions." Be prepared to ask for the sale at the end of the presentation. Take a presentation skills seminar and focus on benefits and results more than services and features. Work harder at identifying your targets points of pain and using them clearly and consistently to demonstrate the value of your services. Become more fluent at speaking their language. Develop a list of critical questions to ask prospects you present to. Dont talk as much: listen more.

4. Give Prospects a Call to Action

After an interview, do you actually ask your prospect to commit to the sale How soon do you follow up with people after the interview What do you send them to encourage them to buy from you versus the competitor and buy from you now versus waiting

Make sure each prospect receives one clear call to action. Make it easy for them to follow. Ask for their business

5. Follow Up After Your Presentation

Follow up with a thank you letter or e-mail within 24 hours of the interview. Be sure to end every interview with action steps e.g., what each party agrees to do as next steps and when they will do it by. If you agree to do something, be sure to do it before the deadline. This may be a way they are testing you to see if you will respond to their needs. If you are a business lawyer, have a process for writing successful proposals. Immediately set a reminder to yourself to contact the hot prospect in a timely manner.

Add these five simple steps into your law firm marketing plan now. Youll see


About the Author

Stephen Fairley is CEO of The Rainmaker Institute is the nations largest law firm marketing company that specializes in helping small law firms generate more and better referrals and create a 7 figure law practice. Over 6,000 attorneys have benefited from our proven Rainmaker Marketing System. Attorneys: claim your FREE legal marketing CD 7 Keys to a 7 Figure Law Practice at

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