Amid the Noise and Haste

Pecha Kucha - "The Sound of Conversation"

You have a meeting, the conversation goes round and round, nothing is accomplished and worse yet people go off point, get distracted and you walk out wondering how to get that last hour of your life back.

Enter Pecha Kucha, Japanese for "the sound of conversation."

• 20 slides
• 20 seconds per slide
• Power point off!

That's it.  As Seth Godin so aptly states, "Tell me a problem that can't be outlined in six minutes and I'll show you a problem it's probably not worth having a meeting about."

Read more about Pecha Kucha in this month's Wired from Dan Pink. 

The Vibe at LSSO's RainDance Conference

I have been trying to find the right words to describe LSSO's RainDance Conference this year.  As it has been in the past, the conference is a meeting of the minds; a real community of law firm business development folks and vendors alike who gather once a year for thought provoking and real actionable information.

Well, as he always does, Seth Godin hit it right on the money.  He posted about the Vibe one feels at a gathering...

I think you know what I mean. A time and place where there was an overflow of positive energy. You felt surrounded by possibility, or people who believed in you, or just felt like buying (or eating, or talking) a lot.

That's what it is like at RainDance - there is "a vibe."  It was positive, creative, and energetic.  Somehow, amid the noise and haste, RainDance pinpoints the relevant topics, mixes the right people, and gets it right.  If you missed this year's conference, check out what people have been saying about past conferences on their site.

ALM's Aric Press talks about "What's Hot, What's Not" at LSSO's RainDance Conference

Aric Press,  editor of  ALM's American Lawyer Magazine opened LSSO's RainDance Conference on June 12th in Dallas.  His topic?  “What’s Hot, What’s Not: Law Firm & Industry Trends."  It was engrossing to say the least, and the audience was furiously scribbling notes.  Larry Bodine wrote a great recap in his recent LawMarketing Newsletter in an article entitled, "American Lawyer Editor Teaches the Dark Lessons of Law."

2007 LSSO RainDance Conference Wrap Up - Part 1 of ???

I wrote a while ago about the 2007 LSSO RainDance Conference.  This year's RainDance was the best ever and it can be summed up in one word:  LISTEN! 

Amid all the noise and haste of the law firm business development RFP, client pitches, client development, selling - but not "sales," what we all tend to do is forget to, as my co-panelist Charlie Miller from Patton Boggs put it, "shut up and listen."  Quite simply, how will you know what your client wants if you don't stop talking about your firm and let them tell you what they need...enough about me...what do you think of me? 

As John Klymshyn so daftly put it in his keynote address, Moving the Sale Forward, "YOU" are the center of YOUR universe.  But that applies to the client as well.  THEY are the center of THEIR universe.  If you don't step into their universe to get to know their needs, wants and issues, they won't care about your firm and all your great lawyers.  Listen to your clients.   

I moderated a panel entitled "Capturing the Voice of the Client" where Charlie Miller, Kyle Volluz from Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group, and Roberta Montafia discussed different ways to hear your client's voice.  So often these days we hear about client interviews and formal surveys, but sometimes just picking up the phone (off the clock) and checking in is just as, if not more, powerful than sitting down once a year to ask how things are going.

Remember, we were given two ears, but only one mouth so we could listen twice as much as we talk.

There were so many more great speakers and presentations that I will have to cover more in future posts, but to get a glimpse of what was covered, here is the schedule from the conference.

RainDance Conference Fast Approaching

This year at the Legal Sales and Services (LSSO) RainDance Conference I will be moderating a panel entitled, "Capturing the Voice of the Client - Best and Worst Practices."  On the panel will be Roberta Montafia, who most recently Roberta held the position of Chief Marketing Officer for Day, Berry & Howard LLP (now Day Pitney); Charles Miller, partner at the Dallas office of Patton Boggs LLP and head of the Business Department firm-wide and a member of the firm’s management committee; and one of his clients. We will be discussing the various ways law firms can obtain feedback from their clients, both formally and informally, and utilize it to strengthen their relationships and grow business.

The conference will also feature the following topics (see the full conference schedule):

• Moving Sales Conversations Forward
• Capturing the Voice of the Client - Best & Worst Practices
• Train for Rain: The Strategic Alliance Between Sales and Professional Development
• Client Teams Behind the Scenes: A Hands-On Workshop
• Are You Selling What Your Clients Are Buying?
• It's Never Too Soon! Effective Associate Development Programs Create Rainmakers
• Applying Six Sigma to Law Firms
• Strategic Account Management: Mining the Gold Clients

If you're responsible for business development and marketing at a law firm or sell services to law firms, come to Dallas June 12-14. Register for the conference.