Over the years, I have asked lawyers what their biggest marketing challenge is and over the years, the same issues have come up again and again. This article takes a peek at some of the most common challenges lawyers face in building their practices and my suggestions for how to overcome them. 

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Challenge: Getting clients or prospects to respond to your e-mails. "I invite clients to have lunch and I don't hear back from them. I guess this means they really aren't interested in getting together."

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Do you really think that's true -- that your clients and prospects don't want to talk to you? Don't you have an unanswered e-mail or two in your inbox? (I know I do!)

People are busy; their inboxes are filled with e-mails that range from urgent and important to annoying and unimportant. Given that reality, returning your e-mail may just not be as high a priority for them as getting aresponse to that e-mail is to you. 

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to increase the likelihood that you'll get more responses to your invitations:

* Ask again. One or two non-responses do not a rejection make.

* Call instead of e-mailing (and leave a voice mail if you don't reach them).

* Try a different time. Their schedule may be less frantic on Friday afternoon than on Monday morning; after hours may be a better time than the middle of the day.

* Issue a specific invitation. Don't write something like "Let's have lunch soon," but rather, "Are you available for lunch on Monday, January 10, or Wednesday, January 12?" Or give them a window of time -- the morning of the 20th or the afternoon of the 25th -- for a phone call. If they're not available on the dates you suggest, they may counter with dates or times they are available.

* Consider inviting them to something other than lunch (lots of lawyers, women lawyers with family obligations in particular, eat lunch at their desk). Suggest breakfast, dropping by their office for 15 minutes and bringing along their favorite Starbucks order, a phone meeting, or connecting at a conference you both plan to attend.

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Challenge: Finding the time to market. "I have two small children, and between work demands and family obligations, there's little time left for business development. It is very hard to go out to dinners with clients when it means I will miss putting my kids to bed."

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As a mother myself, I understand the issue completely (although my baby is almost 19 and lives 3,000 miles away now -- sigh).

To be sure, finding time for business development is a challenge most lawyers face (particularly women lawyers who have significant obligations at home). The fact is, you can't devote as much time to business development as people without young children can, so you need to make your marketing as efficient and effective as possible.

There are lots of tips for how to be efficient and effective in your marketing in the Articles and Resources section of our website (http://www.clientfocus.net/articles-resources.php) and in my book, Bringin' in the Rain, available on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Bringin-Rain-Lawyers-Business-Development/dp/0981814034/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320865106&sr=8-1.

With limited time, it's critical that you focus on a finite number of "high-potential" prospects and employ specific marketing activities that work for you.

But in addition to engaging in the right activities with the right people, I suggest you get crystal clear about why you want to be successful at business development. Will it provide you with a sense of security during the next round of lawyer layoffs or get you away from a difficult client? And what about the gains to your family -- will it mean you will make money that you can use to pay for your kid's private school education or to take that trip-of-a-lifetime safari together? Will it allow you to make a substantial donation to your favorite charity?

Keep your reasons for being successful at business development visible and refer to them often. If your reasons are compelling and personal, you're apt to find a way to carve out time in your busy schedule to market your practice.

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Challenge: Getting in front of the people with hiring authority. "I have trouble getting meetings with the people who have the ability to hire me -- the GC and Deputy GC. How do I get to know these people and how do I get them to know me?"

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Start with your personal network. Who do you already know that knows those GCs and Deputy GCs? Can you ask for introductions at the next conference you are both attending? Can you get one of your contacts to set up a lunch for the three of you? Can you ask for permission to use a friend's name when you contact the GC?

If there's no one in your network who knows the target prospect, figure out where they "hang out." Look for venues where clients, potential clients and referral sources for the type of work that you do tend to congregate. What organizations do they belong to? What conferences do they attend? (If you have trouble identifying these types of organizations, your librarian and marketing department may be able to help). Once you've identified these places, show up there.

But remember, building your book of business by attending networking events is a long-term strategy. It is highly unlikely to produce results in the short term, so plan on investing 3-5 years in the process. (That's why it's always best to start with people you already know!)

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Challenge: I feel like I shouldn't have to market. "I loathe marketing! I enjoy my relationships with clients and I love the legal work I do. I would prefer to spend my time producing high-quality work. I feel like the time I spend marketing takes me away from doing that."

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I'll be frank with you: Doing great work is necessary, but not sufficient to grow a significant book of business.The days of "do good work and the clients will follow" are gone. There are too many other lawyers out there doing good work while also engaging in business development activities.

Since you enjoy your relationships with your clients and the work you're doing, is it possible to reframe the way you look at marketing? Instead of viewing it as taking you away from client service, why not see it as a way to spend more time with your clients, understanding their goals and challenges? Then view your business development efforts as educating your clients about how you can help them achieve their goals and solve their problems.

Doing excellent legal work and providing excellent client service is certainly not inconsistent with business development. But you can't stop there. You need to deepen the relationship on both a professional and personal level, understand their needs and wants, and stay in touch on a regular basis.

Do you have a marketing challenge you would like to get my take on? Send it to [email protected] and you may see it addressed in an upcoming newsletter.