Marsha Redmon Communications » Media Relations

Top 5 – Lawyers Using the Media to Get Clients

M.R. — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:55:06 +0000

Lawyers can use the media to get clients by providing business-oriented trend stories to reporters. Here is our Top-5 List to help get you noticed by the press:

1–Choose Your Audience: Narrow your focus so you can be specific and relevant to your core audience. Generalities are neither helpful nor memorable. Narrowing your audience will — counter-intuitively — broaden your appeal.

2–Identify Hot Topics: Knowing what is developing in an area of business, regulation, or industry is valuable information. Of course, no one KNOWS what will happen, they predict trends based upon educated guesses informed by facts. That’s all anyone expects. Go ahead — appoint yourself a “trend-spotter” in your area of practice!

3–Write Out Your Quotes Beforehand: The best way to get the quote you want is to literally write it down before the interview. Most interviews of lawyers are done by phone, so you can look at what you have written during the interview. Limit the other things you say – so other points you make don’t inadvertently become your “quote.”

4–What Makes a Lawyer Quotable? Quotes are short and pithy. Lawyers who get quoted speak in short sentences — not whole paragraphs! Use visual or descriptive language. Don’t get too detailed. By the way — legal jargon is NEVER quotable.

5–Tell Stories to Demonstrate Your Expertise: Some lawyers bore clients with “war” stories that put the focus on themselves rather than giving the client useful information. The key distinction is this — stories are relevant when you tell the client right up front WHY the story is similar to their situation or otherwise useful to them.

Business Development

M.R. — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:19:02 +0000

Let’s Do Lunch — Business Development Your Way

How many potential clients have you taken to lunch – and never gotten around to talking about business?

Have you tried and rejected the “hard sell” business development model because you just can’t see yourself that way?

Sustainable business development happens when you can be genuine and authentic – while stepping out of your comfort zone a little.

We teach a realistic approach to business development for busy lawyers. In this practical session, you’ll learn what you can do now for more effective, targeted business development that flows from your natural style. Using the example of a business lunch, find out what works and “what not to do” to get business.

Topics include:

Making the switch: shifting the conversation to business
Two crucial skills that make all the difference
Choosing the right targets
How to ask for the business
Staying in touch without being annoying
Fitting business development into your life

This workshop can be conducted with small or large groups, for partners or associates or both. We also do a women-only program.

Over lunch, naturally!

Raising Your Profile to Get Business

This interactive workshop looks at how lawyers can successfully use public speaking, writing and media interviews to get new business. This overview of business development through profile raising explores in depth how the three activities can act as a catalyst to raise a lawyer’s profile to become the “go to” lawyer for a particular business issue or specialty.

We use case studies, demonstrations, checklists and interactive exercises to understand how profile raising works most effectively and to brainstorm ideas for participants. (optional) Each participant will leave with a plan to start raising her/his profile.

After this workshop, participants will know how to:

Choose a topic/issue that is newsworthy and will attract business
Understand and choose their best audiences for developing business
Identify the best publications, events, and conferences to get in front of their target audiences
Get their audience to come up to meet them after their speeches
Create handouts audiences will keep (and why that matters)
Get the most mileage out of articles and media interviews
Create valuable media relationships
Avoid typical lawyer mistakes in speeches, interviews and articles
Understand the writing style best used for articles and white papers

Team Presenting – How to Win RFPs and Pitches

This workshop focuses on what makes a presentation (or pitch) team “look” like a team and how to wow the audience (or decision makers) from the start. During the workshop we explore how to develop metaphors and illustrative stories that will drive home the most important points in a team’s presentation or proposal — for example — the team’s experience with similar legal work.

Participants will engage in interactive exercises using realistic scenarios appropriate to the level of the lawyers participating. Checklists for messaging and “looking like a team” are provided. (optional) Can be done with actual presentation teams or “future” teams.

After this workshop, participants will understand how to:

Look and sound like a team
Explain complex issues in a concise and compelling way
Stay on message
Manage the time with multiple speakers
Handle tough questions and score points at the same time
Leave the decision makers with a clear, positive message
Start and end the presentation with power

LMA Media Relations Award

M.R. — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 05:24:38 +0000

Marsha Redmon on team that wins first place Your Honor Award for PR and Media Relations at 2007 Legal Marketing Association (LMA) National Conference.