The art of storytelling, empowering goals and strategic visions – buzzwords tossed around by marketing professionals, motivational speakers, life coaches and the like. But while they can raise questions among the cynical of “what new age bs is this now?” there is a great deal of benefit to investing time to master the art of storytelling.
Here’s why: Clients want to see not just that you can do the work but what inspires you and drives you; that you will be there when they need you and for the long haul; that you care about their industry and where it is going; and that you share their corporate and personal values. In short: relationships.
Being good technically is nice. Being understood is profound.
As such, many law firms still believe it is about THEIR story. Don’t get me wrong – how you started, grew and developed isimportant, but SHOW that you understand the opportunities and challenges faced by your clients. Although it feels counterintuitive to do so, telling your narrative and focusing on your expertise and services should come second.
So, what can we do?
1) Do you read the same news sources as your clients regarding their industry? Do you keep track of the news in a centralized database that ensures that everyone within the firm and outside is up-to-speed?
2) Have you taken time to read what your clients’ mission statements? Do they care about the environment? Diversity? Pro Bono work? Giving back to the community? To educational causes? Have you discussed it with them and among yourselves or have just gone straight into a specific objective for a transaction?
3) Do you collate the insights collected from hosting, attending or speaking at conferences into bite-sized or larger insights and trend pieces? Identify what are the common themes in relation to the opportunities and challenges that clients in a given industry face? What holds their businesses back? Write regular content for LinkedIn Groups, industry publications, to showcase your commitment to their industry and keep them up to speed.
4) An extensive network of professional connections is a hugely valuable selling point but how often do you go through industry and business connections, monitoring where the synergies may be and where deals could be created by your initiative
Understand and tell THEIR story, and through it, yours can become a page-turner.
Written by Lee Saunders, Chief Editor at Nishlis Legal Marketing.
