"Women Attorneys: Address and Overcome the Obstacles to Business Development Success
Most attorneys reach a point in career when building a book of business becomes imperative to continued success. Women lawyers have some unique challenges when it comes to business development. Consider the following typical hurdles and the recommendations for overcoming each.
Challenge 1. Time and motivation
It’s difficult to find the motivation to do something you consider to be distasteful or that you believe you cannot learn to do successfully. Women lawyers often view business development as a waste of time because to date they may not have achieved good results from their efforts and/or because they view it as cutting into the time they have available for billable work.
How to Address this Challenge:
Change your attitude. View business development as a way to be helpful to others, to offer the value your talent and expertise represent to solve the prospects’ problems, rather than viewing it as asking for something to which you are not entitled. See yourself as being able to succeed at business development once you understand and begin to apply the best strategies to the process
Recognize that developing your own business gives you more control over your time and your career
Make the best possible use of time spent on business development. Integrate activities into day-to- day business, create a personal marketing plan and assess time spent on sales and marketing in light of your goals. Focus on the quality of time spent on business development versus the quantity
Challenge 2. Distinguishing between building relationships and building business
Women tend to focus on building relationships rather than on building business as a result of the relationships they form. They engage in social types of conversations in order to build relationships; however, this type of discussion is not conducive to creating the relationships needed to obtain business. Men tend to be more focused on and comfortable with developing mutually beneficial.
How to Address this Challenge:
Seek to develop rapport on a professional, not a personal level by asking questions about professional rather than personal matters
Don’t downplay your professional achievements
Have examples ready to share of how your work benefits your clients
Challenge 3. Developing visibility but not credibility
Involvement in a variety of community and professional activities tends to promote your visibility among potential business prospects, but may not support the development of the credibility needed to obtain business opportunities.Credibility requires a demonstration of substantive expertise as well as other professional qualities such as leadership, confidence and the ability to develop rapport with others.
How to Address this Challenge:
When you become involved in community and professional activities, seek a leadership role and make a full commitment to the endeavor. This will provide potential clients with the opportunity to observe and experience the capabilities you have to offer
Be thoughtful and deliberate about deciding which organizations to join. Especially if time is limited, get involved only in organizations that will provide you with the opportunity to shine up your professional credentials and connect with prospective clients of your practice (e.g., such as industry groups to which existing clients and their peers belong)
Remember that how you perform in community and professional organizations may be viewed as a “proxy” for your work performance
Challenge 4. Aversion to self-promotion
Women tend to be self-effacing and to some degree, self-deprecating. Our socialization causes us to be uncomfortable talking about our achievements, particularly when they are extraordinary. What men view as relaying helpful information about themselves, women tend to view as bragging or self-aggrandizement. It is important to remember that when prospects have many choices from which to select legal service providers, they need to know what is unique and beneficial about our ability and experience.
How to Address this Challenge:
Develop several “success stories” that describe how your services provided significant benefit to clients. Practice those stories until you are comfortable with the telling. If you are uncomfortable talking about your personal accomplishments and career successes, use the success stories to illustrate how your work benefits others
Create a personal commercial that will “hook” others’ interest
Begin to get comfortable asking for what you want. If you don’t ask, others may never know of your interest
Hire a personal coach to help you develop business development skills
Mary Carmel Kaczmarek is the founder and president of Skillful Means Marketing, LLC. She is a former practicing attorney with a passion for coaching professional service providers. Mary has a deep understanding of what is required to be a successful professional and she draws on her personal experience when working with clients. She has a passion for coaching professionals to higher levels of career satisfaction and success. For more information follow us on Linked In.
