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FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – Following a recent engagement as a marketing keynote speaker for the Beverly Hills Bar Association, an attendee asked me a question about the importance of first impressions in making sales. For anyone engaged in legal sales or who provides business development presentations, it's hard to deny that the role fo first impressions is the foundation for an excellent question.One of the best answers can be based on Malcolm Gladwell's “Blink.” The book's subtitle – “The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” – is critical to understanding the value of first impressions as you prepare for first contacts with a new prospect.Whether meeting someone at a conference during a coffee break, sending an email inquiry, responding to an RFP, or engaging with a prospect on anylevel, snap decisions are made within 2 seconds. That's right: the first two seconds can be all it takes for a potential client to make a snap decision about a lawyer, a law firm, or a legal consulting proposal. if the impression is positive, the door will be open and there will be plenty of opportunity to expand on what you have to offer. Overcoming a neutral or negative resonse, however, requires a great deal of energy and a much stronger legal selling skill set.From our side of the table, it can be difficult to determine what the “blink” factor is. Therefore, if you're looking for business development training, be sure to focus on training that emmphasizes presenting your understanding of a prospect's business within the first moments of any discussion. Identifying from the start that you want to align interests with your prospect – focusing on asking questions about the prospect's needs and responsibilities to stakeholders – enables you to highlight your (and your firm's) ability to set the right tone for developing business. For more details, go to www.closersgroup.com/blog
FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – Following a recent engagement as a marketing keynote speaker for the Beverly Hills Bar Association, an attendee asked me a question about the importance of first impressions in making sales. For anyone engaged in legal sales or who provides business development presentations, it's hard to deny that the role fo first impressions is the foundation for an excellent question.One of the best answers can be based on Malcolm Gladwell's “Blink.” The book's subtitle – “The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” – is critical to understanding the value of first impressions as you prepare for first contacts with a new prospect.Whether meeting someone at a conference during a coffee break, sending an email inquiry, responding to an RFP, or engaging with a prospect on anylevel, snap decisions are made within 2 seconds. That's right: the first two seconds can be all it takes for a potential client to make a snap decision about a lawyer, a law firm, or a legal consulting proposal. if the impression is positive, the door will be open and there will be plenty of opportunity to expand on what you have to offer. Overcoming a neutral or negative resonse, however, requires a great deal of energy and a much stronger legal selling skill set.From our side of the table, it can be difficult to determine what the “blink” factor is. Therefore, if you're looking for business development training, be sure to focus on training that emmphasizes presenting your understanding of a prospect's business within the first moments of any discussion. Identifying from the start that you want to align interests with your prospect – focusing on asking questions about the prospect's needs and responsibilities to stakeholders – enables you to highlight your (and your firm's) ability to set the right tone for developing business. For more details, go to www.closersgroup.com/blog
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Compliance Officers: Recent Regulatory Guidance and Enforcement Actions and Mitigating the Risk of Personal Liability
This article explores legal developments over the past year that may impact compliance officer personal liability.