If you want to earn more, learn more

Blog by Julian Summerhayes. 579 words.

“From a practical perspective there may be two simple reasons why you don’t serve as many clients as you’d like to today. Either you don’t know how to attract and secure more clients or you know what to do but you are not actually doing it.”

Michael Port, Book Yourself Solid

A-levels.

Degree.

Possible conversion course.

LPC.

Training Contract.

Solicitor.

And the premise of promotion to Associateship and Partner is consistent billing.

Oh, and I forget, a small amount of CPD.

Sales?

Marketing?

Lead conversion?

Networking?

Communication skills?

Leadership?

It is a phrase as old as the hills but legal practice teaches LAW, and not SELLING.

In practice, it always amazed me the amount of meetings I attended where the conversation always turned to client wins, but seldom, if at all, did I hear the ‘S’ [sales] word mentioned.

How many of you have been on a sales training course, applied the methodology successfully and implemented the system amongst your team?

Law firms want a return on their investment – always – and that being so, I would focus on one core competency that could make the biggest difference right now: producing more revenue.

No one is born as a salesperson, although some people have a greater proclivity to make things happen in the field. The biggest problem is not lack of motivation, certainly in the early days, but rather an understanding of what selling entails.

If someone asked me the secret to success I would say: Belly to Belly. In other words the key to your success is to put yourself in front of more people than your competitors. That doesn’t just mean anybody (although in the private client arena, every client is a potential client), but it does mean putting yourself out there – on the edge – and making sure you have practised, drilled and rehearsed what it is that you want to say, and understanding what you have to offer that the other person will, over time, want to buy.

Q. Do you have a WOW, memorable, blow-their-socks-off service worth buying?

If selling is a priority, then make it so. Look at your diary over the last 6 months and ask yourself how many new or previous, but dormant clients, you have seen. The calendar never, ever lies, and if you have only spent 5% of your time on selling then, guess what, it is not a priority.

Learning doesn’t just mean attending course after course. Getting beat up in the field, eliciting meaningful feedback and acting on that cuts to the quick of ineffectiveness far better than another half-day seminar. In professional service selling where you are the salesperson and the deliverer of the service, it is sometimes difficult to make sense of where to draw the line when you feel you are overstepping the line of pushiness but don’t let that put you off. Keep pushing the envelope.

Sooner of later you will start to see the results.

Desire, passion and determination are key. Don’t give up at the first sign of a rejection. It may just be that the next person you see instructs you.

With confidence comes results. Without confidence your desk will become your biggest enemy.

But in truth you will not become good in this area, if you don’t start learning more about your craft, spending quality time honing your craft and providing leadership to others.

Next time you look for CPD don’t throw it away, think carefully if you really do need another legal update.