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Many of the nation's leading law firm marketing pros -- including Laura Meherg (not pictured!) -- gathered in Chicago in May 2011 for their annual RainDance conference, produced by the Legal Sales and Service Organization.

Laura Meherg has a pretty good handle on the relationships between lawyers and their clients. After all, she has conducted hundreds of top-level law firm client feedback interviews over the past few years.

This week, Laura and one of her associates at Wicker Park Group, Nat Slavin, offered their insights into what businesses want when they hire a lawyer or a law firm.  When she has asked them, according to Laura, most clients tell her they’re looking for three qualities in their lawyers above all others: (more…)

If you write for a living (or think you might want to try), do yourself a favor.  Watch this movie:

What the 50 screenwriters in Tales from the Script (2009) tell me is important for any writer, especially one with a client.  However you define that.

Here are four of the many lessons they offer:

1. Get used to chaos. No matter how sincere the time line and approval commitments, life has a way of showing up.  Things slide,  and before you know it, you’re part of a train wreck.
2. Develop a thick skin. There’s never any way to predict how your work will be received.  Clients are human, and it’s impossible to know who might have a bad day or when.  Plus, people can disagree.  Your take on something might not be their take on something.  Even if it’s personal, don’t take it personally.
3. Great writing alone isn’t good enough. Writing for hire is a team sport.  If you’re not good with people, find something else to do.
4. Don’t quit. It can be discouraging to go through draft after draft after draft…even when you’re getting paid to do it.  Nothing ever gets created, however, without the risk of failure.  Be brave.

The sooner you accept the legitimacy of these things, the happier and more serene your writing life will seem.

When I build a bio page for an attorney, I remind them that getting picked is an emotional process, at least in part. That’s why it’s important to let visitors to your page know they’re dealing with someone who’s more than a list of impeccable credentials.

Carl Aveni, a litigator based in Columbus, Ohio, agrees. Take a look at this recent clip:

Making your bio like a personal story will also make it more readable and set you apart.

PS:  Thanks to Larry Bodine for sharing this clip with me.  Plus, there’s a related post at http://doug-stern.com/blog/2010/11/19/people-buy-from-people/.

Dans ses écrits, un sàge Italien Dit que le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. Or, "In his writings, a wise Italian says that the best is the enemy of the good."

Seth reminded me this morning of Voltaire’s awesome aphorism:

The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Blasted perfectionism!

Here’s the second in a series of practical how-to writing clips from Doug.  It’s a companion to a blog post.

Here's an example what happens when I remember that people buy from people. Personalized content is engaging content. So are images that help convey a sense that there's another person at the other end. CLICK ON THIS IMAGE FOR A BETTER LOOK.

When clients ask me to write or edit their business development and marketing materials, one of my objectives is to produce content that engages the reader.  After all, what’s the use of offering high-quality content if it’s not getting read? (more…)

Bill Clinton WAS president in 1996.

Mr. Kett admonished me one day not to get hung-up on grammar.  Of course, he was right.

He was right about the importance of putting my reader at ease…even if that means relaxing the *rules* that govern punctuation, usage, syntax and the like.

I’m better at putting first things first.  Yet, I still catch myself correcting word errors (mine as well as those of others).  Even if it’s just a mental edit.

For example. (more…)

Recipes reduce risk.  Since cooking depends on a lot of chemistry with a very low tolerance for error, we learn that recipes help ensure predictable results.

Same with writing.  If we care about being understood, it’s important to follow conventions of punctuation, syntax, usage and the like.

Once in a while, however, a new dish is created.  Someone takes a chance and adjusts a recipe.  Or, just makes up something as they go along, relying on their intuition and a family pet to which failures can be fed.

Same with writing.  With American English, we’re blessed with a wonderfully dynamic language.  It’s liveliness and utility reflect our willingness to bend the rules and adapt.

So, learn the recipe for good writing.  Use it.  Then throw it away.

Aristotle and other classical Greeks got it. They understood how making what we write more real made it more believable.

Every writer wants to be read…and remembered.  So, when you’re about to go down the same old boring, forgettable rabbit hole, think about Aristotle.

It was Aristotle, Plato and other ancient Greeks who began to understand that readers need to sense the reality of a thing in order to better believe it.  Medieval poets and dramatists  picked up on this literary device and eventually named it — verisimilitude…or, literally from the Latin, likeness to truth.

Example?  (more…)

Want more client-facing marketing materials, including your newsletters?

The Hollywood-based BIRD branding agency recently celebrated 20 years of terrific work in the entertainment and lifestyle sectors. They excel at theatrical promotions (including this 2005 poster), logo design and branding for some of the biggest names in the business. AND, they're fun to work with! The kind of client I love.

Looking for ways to make your biz dev more about the other person?

Then consider…

• Invite a client or referral source to contribute a guest column.
• Showcase a client, recent in-the-news mention or something.  Write about something they have accomplished, not about something you’ve done for them.
• Fix your ego-centric copy.

Remember:  250 to 300 words is plenty long and engage your reader with a picture…a mugshot, product, corporate logo, etc.

Plus, whatever I’ve suggested for newsletters also works for Web sites, presentations and probably anything else of which we can think.  In fact, leverage something client-centric you’ve created for one platform by recycling it somewhere else.