Quick Announce

With the economy still struggling, lawyers need to make sure that the marketing investments they make will pay off in hard results.

What will give them a payback and what won’t is the subject of this month’s lead article in Originate!, the premiere online newsletter on business development for attorneys. This article is available to the public at www.pbdi.org/originate and reflects the experience of Steve Barrett about the kind of ROI you can expect from the most common law marketing initiatives.

As Barrett puts it, “To find a worthwhile return on investment in marketing initiatives, we need to start focusing on doing things [to the good side of the] breakeven curve.  This has been true since the 1990s, and particularly, since September 2008 when the economy went off the cliff.”

Steve Barrett knows what he’s talking about. He was CMO at Drinker Biddle in Philadelphia, and held similar positions at Perkins Coie LLP; Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP; and Choate, Hall & Stewart.

The other articles in Originate! this month (available to subscribers only) follow his theme and give practical do-it-yourself advice on how to pursue the kinds of money making initiatives Barrett highlights.

Gail Huneryager details what to do when you get and decide to responding to a request for proposal.  Michael Cummings looks at the small group gathering, specifically the business roundtable, as a way to expand your network and get business.

When it comes to contact making, our best practice tip writers steer you away from the worst options and toward the best. Thom Singer shows how you can manage the online social network of Twitter as a local resource, a shift that can prove invaluable to your personal network. And Darryl Cross examines one of the best ways to use an association for the same purpose, the membership committee, though his rationale can guide you to an optimal choice in other types of organization as well. Meanwhile, Andy Havens uses the aim of raising the profile of a practice group within a firm to show why five loser initiatives are on Barrett’s list as well. What the do-it-yourselfer should not do.

As Editor-in-Chief Barry Schneider noted, “The aim is to learn to avoid hitting your thumb with a hammer, and to grow your practice with the right tools applied well.”

About ORIGINATE! – Now in it’s third year of publication, the online monthly ORIGINATE! offers a consistent, reliable resource for ambitious and serious-minded lawyers who seek advice on building their personal practice. The newsletter delivers practical real-world strategies and proven tactics, the best methods used by top attorneys now to land clients, sell work and strengthen relationships. With a set of contributors of unique depth and breadth, ORIGINATE! offers an unparalleled practice-building asset. Try us at www.pbdi.org/originate.