Ask the coach

Q: Our internal newsletter is not well received or widely read. It contains recent wins and case developments, lawyer speaking engagements and articles, and other recent events of note. How can I make it more popular?
A: There are only four reasons that people don't read your newsletter: 1) they don't know about it; 2) they don't receive it; 3) the content doesn't interest them or is poorly written; 4) they don't care about the firm at all; they're just collecting a paycheck. You should be able to take care of the first two without too much difficulty; No. 4 can only be fixed by a good recruiter.
As for No. 3, you're trying to reach three different audiences ' partners, associates, staff ' each with different interests. Writing one publication for three audiences is always difficult unless it's clearly segmented in some way so that people don't have to wade through the stuff they don't want to get to the stuff they do want.
It sounds like your content doesn't reflect the tastes of your audiences. Who decided that the newsletter should contain 'recent wins and case developments, lawyer speaking engagements and articles, and other recent events of note'? Despite the apparent logic of including such topics, your readership problem suggests that very few people care about them. I'd suggest approaching a few acknowledged thought leaders within each constituency and soliciting feedback regarding their opinion about those topics' relevance and importance to them, what alternative or additional topics would be of greater importance or interest and, most importantly, why in each case.
It's Marketing 101: find out what your market will pay for (with time and attention, in this instance) and deliver that.

Q: Last year at a business event I ran into a good friend of many years with whom I had lost touch, but who is now general counsel of a Fortune 500 company. He congratulated me on my recent partnership and, not too long afterward, accepted my invitation to have lunch and catch up on the intervening years. However, he has not been available for subsequent lunch invitations, or, if he accepts, cancels at the last minute. What can I do to stay on his calendar so I can develop him as a client?
A: First, don't take it personally. He's likely not rejecting you or expressing unwillingness to see you. More likely, he sees your invitations as primarily social, since that's the historical basis for your relationship. In terms of the business day, that's not much of a priority. Too often, busy executives simply don't have time for social lunches despite their personal desire to indulge them. That's why the call it the workday. To shift your encounters with him from the 'socially indulgent' category to the 'important to my job' category you need a legitimate business reason to get together.
Invest some time understanding your friend's industry, and the issues that determine and shape the decisions he (and his direct reports) must make or implement effectively. Begin associating yourself with such issues by forwarding news items and other information of potential use or interest to your friend in his role as GC. When you do speak or meet, shift your emphasis by asking questions about those issues to understand their impact on his company and career. Your new role as advisor will not only help your appointments compete for scarce time in his day, but will create a discussion continuity that will lead to him seeing value in introducing you to his direct reports, too. As we all know, that's usually where the tactical legal assignments get dispensed.

Q: Our internal newsletter is not well received or widely read. It contains recent wins and case developments, lawyer speaking engagements and articles, and other recent events of note. How can I make it more popular?
A: There are only four reasons that people don't read your newsletter: 1) they don't know about it; 2) they don't receive it; 3) the content doesn't interest them or is poorly written; 4) they don't care about the firm at all; they're just collecting a paycheck. You should be able to take care of the first two without too much difficulty; No. 4 can only be fixed by a good recruiter.
As for No. 3, you're trying to reach three different audiences ' partners, associates, staff ' each with different interests. Writing one publication for three audiences is always difficult unless it's clearly segmented in some way so that people don't have to wade through the stuff they don't want to get to the stuff they do want.
It sounds like your content doesn't reflect the tastes of your audiences. Who decided that the newsletter should contain 'recent wins and case developments, lawyer speaking engagements and articles, and other recent events of note'? Despite the apparent logic of including such topics, your readership problem suggests that very few people care about them. I'd suggest approaching a few acknowledged thought leaders within each constituency and soliciting feedback regarding their opinion about those topics' relevance and importance to them, what alternative or additional topics would be of greater importance or interest and, most importantly, why in each case.
It's Marketing 101: find out what your market will pay for (with time and attention, in this instance) and deliver that.

Q: Last year at a business event I ran into a good friend of many years with whom I had lost touch, but who is now general counsel of a Fortune 500 company. He congratulated me on my recent partnership and, not too long afterward, accepted my invitation to have lunch and catch up on the intervening years. However, he has not been available for subsequent lunch invitations, or, if he accepts, cancels at the last minute. What can I do to stay on his calendar so I can develop him as a client?
A: First, don't take it personally. He's likely not rejecting you or expressing unwillingness to see you. More likely, he sees your invitations as primarily social, since that's the historical basis for your relationship. In terms of the business day, that's not much of a priority. Too often, busy executives simply don't have time for social lunches despite their personal desire to indulge them. That's why the call it the workday. To shift your encounters with him from the 'socially indulgent' category to the 'important to my job' category you need a legitimate business reason to get together.
Invest some time understanding your friend's industry, and the issues that determine and shape the decisions he (and his direct reports) must make or implement effectively. Begin associating yourself with such issues by forwarding news items and other information of potential use or interest to your friend in his role as GC. When you do speak or meet, shift your emphasis by asking questions about those issues to understand their impact on his company and career. Your new role as advisor will not only help your appointments compete for scarce time in his day, but will create a discussion continuity that will lead to him seeing value in introducing you to his direct reports, too. As we all know, that's usually where the tactical legal assignments get dispensed.