LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE JULY 2010
The nature of the business – as opposed to the practice – of law is changing. Gordon Smith talks to practitioners and business consultants to check out their perspectives on this brave new world
Few business sectors have escaped the effects of the economic crisis, and legal firms are no exception. Companies have responded to the recession in various ways, from the reactive (for example, freezing pay, cutting unprofitable departments or making redundancies) to the proactive – focusing on customer satisfaction, investing in staff training, or beefing up the sales and marketing function.
There were 402 insolvencies in Ireland during the first quarter of this year alone, according to the website insolvencyjournal.ie, with services firms featuring prominently on the list. In the face of such unfavourable conditions, legal firms of all sizes must think differently to survive. That’s the view of strong>Declan TyrrellSome legal practices have turned to business groups like the Small Firms Association for advice. Assistant director Avine McNally says it is vital for all companies to analyse their business and to take action where needed. “Some areas that need consistent focus are just areas of good business practice, including credit management, cost control, revisiting business strategy, focusing on opportunities in the marketplace and aligning performance and rewards for staff,” she says.
McNally also advises firms to improve how efficiently they work. “Many firms are now using this time to fix the systems and procedures that may have been let slip during the period of growth,” she adds.
Historical business model
That gets to the nub of the problem, in Tyrrell’s view: “The historical business model of a legal firm – charging by the hour – means that any inefficiency in the process is automatically passed on to the client,” he says. The upside to this is that, by eliminating inefficiency in the business, firms can price their services competitively while still retaining sufficient profit margins. Tyrrell acknowledges that raising the issue of cost control may cause resistance, but stresses that this is very different to cost cutting. John Hogan, a partner with Leman Solicitors in Dublin, echoes Tyrrell’s observations about treating legal practices as commercial ventures and says that more should be done to educate the profession about running a Company. “Legal training puts very little focus on the business operations side, and that maybe deserves a little more attention. You’ve got to look at the bottom line and the top line,” he says. Lacking that expertise, some legal firms are looking to external consultants who can analyse the practice with a dispassionate eye and make recommendations about how it can be operated more effectively. A market research process with clients can be a useful way of getting valuable feedback that a firm can use to improve or change the service. “Sales-oriented organisations tend to instinctively find out what their customers want, and meet their needs. Legal firms don’t always have that mindset,” says Nicholas Martin, managing director of the business consultancy and mentoring firm Anchora Solutions. Two years ago, Rochford Gallagher & Co, a firm with three offices in Sligo, used Anchora to review its business processes. The firm’s partner, Eamonn Gallagher, says this was a useful process to undertake. “There isn’t a specific model that’s going to work for every single solicitor’s firm, but it is very good for a business to have someone from outside compare your business against a general model,” he says.
Marketing is critical ...
Legal firms differ from many businesses in one crucial aspect: they cannot simply create business out of nothing, but must wait for clients to need them. That is why marketing takes on a critical role, and one that many firms may not yet be fully exploiting. Howard Kent, marketing specialist with Anchora, says that some form of engaging with customers is essential. “One option could be to host seminars for new and prospective customers, imparting knowledge in an area of interest, so they will associate your brand with that.” Even where there is no business to be won, marketing can help to keep a firm in people’s thoughts, leading to more work in the future. “By maintaining contact with clients, you are reinforcing your company and reminding them that you exist. This contact could be in the form of a newsletter, e-zine or an update on a regular basis about legal issues,” Avine McNally suggests. Nicholas Martin has provided business improvement consultancy to more than 100 clients,
including many in the professional services sector. “Our experience has been exactly the same across
the board – there is a need for better organisational management.” He has found that many firms have not invested in technology to be able to exploit this capability. “You need systems and processes in place to do that, and you need a database developed in such a way to handle that. If the database is only set up for invoicing purposes, that’s no good at all,” he says.
And so is technology
Having access to the right data is essential in identifying where the profits are, but the manual work involved in compiling information from monthly reports means the information can take weeks to compile, and it could be out of date by then. “Firms are becoming leaner and meaner out of necessity. Efficiency is one of the main ways to ensure you make a profit. You need to be able to analyse matter profitability and client profitability,” says Declan Tyrrell. His time in the legal sector led him to set up his new company, Lucid Solutions, which provides a reporting tool that links in to a practice’s case management software and aims to provide some of that missing information.
Technology can also help to reduce costs in other ways, according to Robert Carty, business
development manager with the technology services provider Itomic. “A lot of law firms are looking to move to hosted email services,” he reports. Unlike traditional email, which requires a server computer located at the firm’s premises, a hosted version means that the email is provided over the internet. Carty says that this approach has several advantages: it reduces the cost and hassle of
maintaining IT systems in-house, and it allows legal firms to work in a more flexible way. “It gives the
facility to have email on the go. Whenever a solicitor opens their laptop, they have full functionality once they have an internet connection.” Hosted email services also typically include IT security features as standard, providing an additional cost saving. An extra feature is the ability to archive emails, which Carty says is especially attractive to the legal sector because of obligations around storing client data for seven years, which can add to a firm’s costs significantly. Online document management is one option to get around the problem of multiple versions of files. Programs such as Microsoft SharePoint can host a single version of each document, making it easier to audit at year-end, adds Carty. “A document that is sent in by post can be scanned and then stored and indexed in a shared folder,” he says. G
“The historical business model of a legal firm – charging by the hour – means that any inefficiency in the process is automatically passed on to the client”
When business started to slow down noticeably last year, Dermot McNamara & Co experimented by increasing investment in advertising and looking for new customers beyond its immediate surroundings of Rush, north county Dublin. “It wasn’t a disaster, but it didn’t justify the investment,” says McNamara. “We heavily advertised outside our locality, on the internet and in newsletters, and the returns weren’t great. We got responses, but the quality wasn’t there. People were pricing the market, but were going with whatever suited them. Some queries would come to nothing. What it made us realise is that it’s our own clients that we need to concentrate on – if we give them a good service, they will refer us to others.”
Like many firms, McNamara was forced to make redundancies in his property practice last year, and the company also reduced its overheads in several areas. “We try to insist that clients correspond with us by email, so we are trying to reduce the amount of paper we use,” he says.
In McNamara’s view, a practice such as his works by word of mouth, keeping a local focus and being highly
service driven – it has the ISO9000 Quality Mark. “It’s not that we’ve just discovered this, it’s something we’ve always done,” he adds.
CASE STUDY: embracing technology
Could Dublin-based Leman Solicitors be a pointer to what the future of the legal sector will look like? The firm has invested heavily in technology to make its business processes run efficiently, and it has a strong focus on marketing. In some respects, Leman had no choice but to be so
commercially focused, since the firm was founded just three years ago. “We had no alternative but to go out and look for work,” says partner John Hogan. “Every fee earner has a responsibility for marketing. It features in our annual plan and is reviewed at our monthly business meetings.”
Marketing in the legal sector is, by Hogan’s own admission, an “inexact science”, but he insists it is
vital. “If you’re not doing it, nothing is going to happen. You have to take the long-term view.” The firm regularly sends e-zines, writes articles for publication, meets regularly with clients and keeps up to date with their business sector.
The advantage of being a new firm means that it has been able to adopt technology without replacing a lot of legacy work or staff. “What we do as lawyers is charge for our time, and we have to make sure that it is valuable time for our clients. Any technology investment that increases that value is worthwhile; otherwise, by keeping both paper records and electronic information, all you’re doing is doubling the time unnecessarily,” says Hogan. “It means the quality of legal time that is spent is better. Rather than trying to file paperwork, everything is on-screen. We’ve been able to embrace technology without having baggage to get rid of. We were able to reduce certain expense overheads and passed that saving on to our clients.” While many firms may use case-management software, Hogan believes many are only using half of its capabilities and are not taking advantage of reporting features that can give real insight into a firm’s performance. “If you’re not up to date with your management information and your figures, you’re working blind and you can be a busy fool,” he says. “The technology should allow you to focus your marketing and development on the areas where you’re making money.”
Gordon Smith is a freelance journalist. July 2010 Law Society Gazette
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Trovus Signs Partnership with Lucid Solutions to deliver a first in web and business intelligence for the Legal and Professional Services Marketplace
Research in the Legal sector shows that with only one partner engaged with a client, that client is four times more likely to churn. The new Trovus-Lucid partnership will deliver innovative technology and solutions to substantially decrease client churn and impact the bottom line.
14 September 2010 - London, UK - Trovus, a leading specialist in developing actionable intelligence based on the profiles of organisations visiting your website, today announced a Business Partnership with Lucid Solutions, providers of Business Intelligence analysis and measurement solutions to Legal and Professional Services sectors. The Partnership has been formed to deliver a new innovative solution to Legal and Professional Services organisations enabling them to easily identify valued clients, while significantly decreasing client churn and increasing profitability. The solution will include monitoring and statistical capabilities to measure success rates.
Declan Tyrrell, Managing Director of Lucid Solutions, said: “It is common industry knowledge that client churn is a major problem for law firms, with partners across the firm often unaware of each others clients and profiles. Evidence shows that the more partner contacts clients have in a firm the more likely they are to become long term clients, whether the firm is small, medium or large. In other words, with multiple partner relationships, clients are more likely to stay with a law firm. Statistically, the research shows that without intelligent insights into client profiles, up to 80% of a firm’s client workload may be susceptible to attrition, a situation that can be greatly improved if clients have more than one partner relationship.*
Having identified the problem, the Lucid and Trovus Partnership is set to provide an innovative solution. This will enable the Business Development and Marketing functions of Legal and Professional Services firms to identify business opportunities, such as cross-selling services to existing clients, and actively targeting business from their current client base.
Trovus already has a strong presence in the Legal sector, with organisations using its managed services supported by technology to gather web intelligence to build commercial profiles of website visitors, and acting on this intelligence to drive sales, grow revenue, target their marketing and tailor services accordingly. Lucid’s strong capabilities in providing business intelligence insights for organisations, combined with Trovus’s ability to offer web intelligence insights, means that the Partnership will be able to bring highly innovative solutions and consultancy to the Legal sector.
“I believe the functionality of the Trovus software is richer than most in the marketplace today and their managed services are a real differentiator,” said Lucid’s Declan Tyrrell. “Their growing customer base and experience in the Legal sector, coupled with Lucid’s business intelligence tools and services, gives us the ability to offer a unique and strong proposition. It will enable our customers to discover what their clients are looking at on the website, while providing substantial opportunities and creative ideas for exploring intelligence and engaging with clients and prospects going forward.”
Today, there is a strong business relationship between the two companies, based on shared values and a common approach to solving business issues facing the Legal sector. Co-founder and Director of Trovus, Ed Charvet said: “The match between the two companies is an extremely strong one. We are combining complementary strengths that will give Legal and Professional Services customers performance capabilities unavailable elsewhere in the business intelligence and web intelligence marketplace.”
- ends -
About Lucid Solutions
Lucid Solutions provide Business Intelligence analysis and measurement solutions within the Legal, Professional Services and Accountancy sectors. The company undertakes projects at all levels, covering strategic development, business analysis and profitability analysis, as well as the tactical and operational challenges faced by businesses. Lucid's Business Intelligence solutions help organisations achieve their goals of improved performance, business growth and increased profitability/value by turning data into insight, enhancing and supporting decision making capabilities and optimising business models, operational processes and work practices. Tools and services include data extraction and enhancement, improved budgeting and forecasting, cash-flow maximisation, better business development information, business process and work practice re-engineering, project management and more.
About Trovus
Founded in 2006, Trovus is a leading specialist in developing actionable intelligence based on profiles of website visitors. Through an innovative approach, Trovus combines web intelligence technology such as its Dashboard with Consultancy Services, working closely with customers to generate increasing value from online intelligence and to maximize ROI on sales and marketing investments. With partners such as OneSource, InterAction, Microsoft Dynamics and dhc, Trovus specialises in helping B2B organisations who sell higher value products and services, ranging from SMEs to corporates. Customers include UK and overseas companies across a wide range of industries, such as technology, legal, telecommunications, marketing services, financial services and training, as well as professional services, property, digital agencies, media and publishing. A privately held company, Trovus is based in Vauxhall, London, UK. For more information, see www.trovus.co.uk. Trovus is a trading name of White Label Intelligence Limited.
*Research
Research into Client Attrition Analytics conducted by the Redwood Think Tank between 2005 - 2008. The research came to two conclusions: (1) Firms ought to be aware of their client attrition rates, and have a plan in place to keep the work they consider crucial. (2) Firms with substantial or growing litigation practices should recognize the susceptibility for attrition and plan accordingly.
Research by Lucid Solutions shows that customers are four times more likely to churn where only one partner engaged with a client.
Press Contacts
Trovus
Press Office
Susan Morgan
Tel: +44 (0)118 946 3177
Mob: +44 (0)7710 246248
Email: susan.morgan@smm.clara.net
Caspar Craven
Co-Founder, White Label Intelligence Limited
Tel: + 44 (0)845 450 6864
Email: caspar.craven@trovus.co.uk
Lucid Solutions
Declan Tyrrell
Managing Director
Mob: +44 (0) 203 411 8361
Email: Declan.tyrrell@lucidsolutions.ie
14 September 2010 - London, UK - Trovus, a leading specialist in developing actionable intelligence based on the profiles of organisations visiting your website, today announced a Business Partnership with Lucid Solutions, providers of Business Intelligence analysis and measurement solutions to Legal and Professional Services sectors. The Partnership has been formed to deliver a new innovative solution to Legal and Professional Services organisations enabling them to easily identify valued clients, while significantly decreasing client churn and increasing profitability. The solution will include monitoring and statistical capabilities to measure success rates.
Declan Tyrrell, Managing Director of Lucid Solutions, said: “It is common industry knowledge that client churn is a major problem for law firms, with partners across the firm often unaware of each others clients and profiles. Evidence shows that the more partner contacts clients have in a firm the more likely they are to become long term clients, whether the firm is small, medium or large. In other words, with multiple partner relationships, clients are more likely to stay with a law firm. Statistically, the research shows that without intelligent insights into client profiles, up to 80% of a firm’s client workload may be susceptible to attrition, a situation that can be greatly improved if clients have more than one partner relationship.*
Having identified the problem, the Lucid and Trovus Partnership is set to provide an innovative solution. This will enable the Business Development and Marketing functions of Legal and Professional Services firms to identify business opportunities, such as cross-selling services to existing clients, and actively targeting business from their current client base.
Trovus already has a strong presence in the Legal sector, with organisations using its managed services supported by technology to gather web intelligence to build commercial profiles of website visitors, and acting on this intelligence to drive sales, grow revenue, target their marketing and tailor services accordingly. Lucid’s strong capabilities in providing business intelligence insights for organisations, combined with Trovus’s ability to offer web intelligence insights, means that the Partnership will be able to bring highly innovative solutions and consultancy to the Legal sector.
“I believe the functionality of the Trovus software is richer than most in the marketplace today and their managed services are a real differentiator,” said Lucid’s Declan Tyrrell. “Their growing customer base and experience in the Legal sector, coupled with Lucid’s business intelligence tools and services, gives us the ability to offer a unique and strong proposition. It will enable our customers to discover what their clients are looking at on the website, while providing substantial opportunities and creative ideas for exploring intelligence and engaging with clients and prospects going forward.”
Today, there is a strong business relationship between the two companies, based on shared values and a common approach to solving business issues facing the Legal sector. Co-founder and Director of Trovus, Ed Charvet said: “The match between the two companies is an extremely strong one. We are combining complementary strengths that will give Legal and Professional Services customers performance capabilities unavailable elsewhere in the business intelligence and web intelligence marketplace.”
- ends -
About Lucid Solutions
Lucid Solutions provide Business Intelligence analysis and measurement solutions within the Legal, Professional Services and Accountancy sectors. The company undertakes projects at all levels, covering strategic development, business analysis and profitability analysis, as well as the tactical and operational challenges faced by businesses. Lucid's Business Intelligence solutions help organisations achieve their goals of improved performance, business growth and increased profitability/value by turning data into insight, enhancing and supporting decision making capabilities and optimising business models, operational processes and work practices. Tools and services include data extraction and enhancement, improved budgeting and forecasting, cash-flow maximisation, better business development information, business process and work practice re-engineering, project management and more.
About Trovus
Founded in 2006, Trovus is a leading specialist in developing actionable intelligence based on profiles of website visitors. Through an innovative approach, Trovus combines web intelligence technology such as its Dashboard with Consultancy Services, working closely with customers to generate increasing value from online intelligence and to maximize ROI on sales and marketing investments. With partners such as OneSource, InterAction, Microsoft Dynamics and dhc, Trovus specialises in helping B2B organisations who sell higher value products and services, ranging from SMEs to corporates. Customers include UK and overseas companies across a wide range of industries, such as technology, legal, telecommunications, marketing services, financial services and training, as well as professional services, property, digital agencies, media and publishing. A privately held company, Trovus is based in Vauxhall, London, UK. For more information, see www.trovus.co.uk. Trovus is a trading name of White Label Intelligence Limited.
*Research
Research into Client Attrition Analytics conducted by the Redwood Think Tank between 2005 - 2008. The research came to two conclusions: (1) Firms ought to be aware of their client attrition rates, and have a plan in place to keep the work they consider crucial. (2) Firms with substantial or growing litigation practices should recognize the susceptibility for attrition and plan accordingly.
Research by Lucid Solutions shows that customers are four times more likely to churn where only one partner engaged with a client.
Press Contacts
Trovus
Press Office
Susan Morgan
Tel: +44 (0)118 946 3177
Mob: +44 (0)7710 246248
Email: susan.morgan@smm.clara.net
Caspar Craven
Co-Founder, White Label Intelligence Limited
Tel: + 44 (0)845 450 6864
Email: caspar.craven@trovus.co.uk
Lucid Solutions
Declan Tyrrell
Managing Director
Mob: +44 (0) 203 411 8361
Email: Declan.tyrrell@lucidsolutions.ie
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
10 Ways to Use LinkedIn by Guy Kawasaki
How can I use LinkedIn to my advantage?The following text is a blog article titled '10 Ways to use LinkedIn' by Guy Kawasaki. Numbers have been modified to reflect more current membership.
Most people use LinkedIn to 'get to someone' in order to make a sale, form a partnership, or get a job. It works well for this because it is an online network of more than 40 million experienced professionals from around the world representing 170 industries. However, it is a tool that is under-utilized, so I've compiled a top-ten list of ways to increase the value of LinkedIn.
1. Increase your visibility.
By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they're searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you're one of the 67,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.
2. Improve your connectability.
Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it's an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.
You can also inlude a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials, which would be awkward if not downright strange, as an attachment.
3. Improve your Google PageRank.
LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you. To do this, create a public profile and select 'Full View.' Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile's URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web. For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.
4. Enhance your search engine results.
In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like 'My Website', 'My Company,' etc. If you select 'Other', you can modify the name of the link. If you're linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! instant search-engine optimization for your site. To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to 'Full View.'
5. Perform blind, 'reverse,' and company reference checks.
LinkedIn's reference check tool to input a company name and the years the person worked at the company to search for references. Your search will find the people who worked at the company during the same time period. Since references provided by a candidate will generally be glowing, this is a good way to get more balanced data. Companies will typically check your references before hiring you, but have you ever thought of checking your prospective manager's references? Most interviewees don't have the audacity to ask a potential boss for references, but with LinkedIn you have a way to scope her out.
You can also check up on the company itself by finding the person who used to have the job that you're interviewing for. Do this by searching for job title and company, but be sure to uncheck 'Current titles only.' By contacting people who used to hold the position, you can get the inside scoop on the job, manager and growth potential. By the way, if using LinkedIn in these ways becomes a common practice, we're apt to see more truthful resumes. There's nothing more amusing than to find out that the candidate who claims to have caused some huge success was a total bozo who was just along for the ride.
6. Increase the relevancy of your job search.
Use LinkedIn's advanced search to find people with educational and work experience like yours to see where they work. For example, a programmer would use search keywords such as 'Ruby on Rails,' 'C++,' 'Python,' 'Java,' and 'evangelist' to find out where other programmers with these skills work.
7. Make your interview go smoother.
You can use LinkedIn to find the people that you're meeting. Knowing that you went to the same school, plays hockey, or shares acquaintances is a lot better than an awkward silence after, 'I'm doing fine, thank you.'
8. Gauge the health of a company.
Perform an advanced search for company name and uncheck the 'Current Companies Only' box. This will enable you to scrutinize the rate of turnover and whether key people are abandoning ship. Former employees usually give more candid opinions about a company's prospects than someone who's still on board.
9. Gauge the health of an industry.
If you're thinking of investing or working in a sector, use LinkedIn to find people who worked for competitors-or even better, companies who failed. For example, suppose you wanted to build a next generation online pet store, you'd probably learn a lot from speaking with former Pets.com or WebVan employees.
10. Track startups.
You can see people in your network who are initiating new startups by doing an advanced search for a range of keywords such as 'stealth' or 'new startup.' Apply the 'Sort By' filter to 'Relationship' in order to see the people closest to you first.
11. Ask for advice.
LinkedIn's product, LinkedIn Answers, aims to enable this online. The product allows you to broadcast your business-related questions to both your network and the greater LinkedIn network. The premise is that you will get more high-value responses from the people in your network than more open forums. For example, here are some questions an entrepreneur might ask when the associates of a venture capital firm come up blank:
1. 'Who's a good, fast, and cheap patent lawyer?'
2. 'What should we pay a vp of biz dev?'
3. 'Is going to Demo worth it?'
4. 'How much traffic does a TechCrunch plug generate?'
Most people use LinkedIn to 'get to someone' in order to make a sale, form a partnership, or get a job. It works well for this because it is an online network of more than 40 million experienced professionals from around the world representing 170 industries. However, it is a tool that is under-utilized, so I've compiled a top-ten list of ways to increase the value of LinkedIn.
1. Increase your visibility.
By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they're searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you're one of the 67,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.
2. Improve your connectability.
Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it's an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.
You can also inlude a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials, which would be awkward if not downright strange, as an attachment.
3. Improve your Google PageRank.
LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you. To do this, create a public profile and select 'Full View.' Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile's URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web. For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.
4. Enhance your search engine results.
In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like 'My Website', 'My Company,' etc. If you select 'Other', you can modify the name of the link. If you're linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! instant search-engine optimization for your site. To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to 'Full View.'
5. Perform blind, 'reverse,' and company reference checks.
LinkedIn's reference check tool to input a company name and the years the person worked at the company to search for references. Your search will find the people who worked at the company during the same time period. Since references provided by a candidate will generally be glowing, this is a good way to get more balanced data. Companies will typically check your references before hiring you, but have you ever thought of checking your prospective manager's references? Most interviewees don't have the audacity to ask a potential boss for references, but with LinkedIn you have a way to scope her out.
You can also check up on the company itself by finding the person who used to have the job that you're interviewing for. Do this by searching for job title and company, but be sure to uncheck 'Current titles only.' By contacting people who used to hold the position, you can get the inside scoop on the job, manager and growth potential. By the way, if using LinkedIn in these ways becomes a common practice, we're apt to see more truthful resumes. There's nothing more amusing than to find out that the candidate who claims to have caused some huge success was a total bozo who was just along for the ride.
6. Increase the relevancy of your job search.
Use LinkedIn's advanced search to find people with educational and work experience like yours to see where they work. For example, a programmer would use search keywords such as 'Ruby on Rails,' 'C++,' 'Python,' 'Java,' and 'evangelist' to find out where other programmers with these skills work.
7. Make your interview go smoother.
You can use LinkedIn to find the people that you're meeting. Knowing that you went to the same school, plays hockey, or shares acquaintances is a lot better than an awkward silence after, 'I'm doing fine, thank you.'
8. Gauge the health of a company.
Perform an advanced search for company name and uncheck the 'Current Companies Only' box. This will enable you to scrutinize the rate of turnover and whether key people are abandoning ship. Former employees usually give more candid opinions about a company's prospects than someone who's still on board.
9. Gauge the health of an industry.
If you're thinking of investing or working in a sector, use LinkedIn to find people who worked for competitors-or even better, companies who failed. For example, suppose you wanted to build a next generation online pet store, you'd probably learn a lot from speaking with former Pets.com or WebVan employees.
10. Track startups.
You can see people in your network who are initiating new startups by doing an advanced search for a range of keywords such as 'stealth' or 'new startup.' Apply the 'Sort By' filter to 'Relationship' in order to see the people closest to you first.
11. Ask for advice.
LinkedIn's product, LinkedIn Answers, aims to enable this online. The product allows you to broadcast your business-related questions to both your network and the greater LinkedIn network. The premise is that you will get more high-value responses from the people in your network than more open forums. For example, here are some questions an entrepreneur might ask when the associates of a venture capital firm come up blank:
1. 'Who's a good, fast, and cheap patent lawyer?'
2. 'What should we pay a vp of biz dev?'
3. 'Is going to Demo worth it?'
4. 'How much traffic does a TechCrunch plug generate?'
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Blogging – is it a conversation or preaching pulpit?
Commenting on blogs is a great way to extend your presence online, meet other bloggers, business owners, and potential customers, and ultimately drive more traffic to your own blog and website.
“A blog without comments enabled is not a blog. It’s more like a church pulpit. You preach the word, and the audience passively receives your evangelical message.”
Only 1 out of every 100 Readers Comment on a Blog
Regardless of all the valid reasons to contribute, there remains a tiny percentage of readers who actually add comments. This provides a unique opportunity! Even if you don’t have a blog, you can (and should) participate in the conversations that are happening. You will become part of the select few who actually speak up and actively connect to a select community. Consider some of these statistics:
90% of online community users are lurkers (read or observe without contributing)
Only 9% of users contribute ‘a little’
1% actively contribute
Pay it forward: be a great commenter
Commenting on other blogs is a great way to build your online social capital, get traffic to your own blog or website, participate in a community and target a niche audience. Before you post, keep a few simple guidelines in mind:
Stay professional, on topic and grammatically correct. This seems obvious, but I have witnessed many rude and offensive comments on posts. Even if you violently disagree with the message or opinion of the blogger, be courteous.
Find your people. Seek out a number of different sites that might relate to your work, related to your customers, your partners or your vendors. Visit these blogs frequently and contribute thoughtful remarks to these conversations.
Contribute new information. Make sure your response is unique and has not already been covered. Avoid leaving comments just for the sake of leaving a comment. While everybody likes to be agreed with, try to go beyond a simple “I agree” in your comments. However, do not try to sell anything or provide any gratuitous self-promotion to your own site. Instead contribute your knowledge and expertise on the subject which will go a lot further in supporting your reputation.
Own your comment and consider your tone. Do not post anonymously – it is seen as cowardly and negates the whole point of community-building. As in email, recognize that your tone is easily misunderstood. Ensure that you do not sound like a know it all or disrespectful to the author.
Build it and they will come: increase comments on your blog
You might have the greatest blog and most amazing articles, but if you are unable to get comments on your posts you are missing out making your site more “sticky” and enjoying a more regular flow of repeat traffic. Once the comments begin to flow it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and easier to get additional comments. Keep these ideas in mind to get the ball rolling:
Invite comments, ask questions and be open ended.
Interact with and reward comments.
Be humble and gracious.
Make it easy to comment.
Now it is your turn – if you have never commented on a post, start now! Why do you think commenting is such a rare sport? What other ways have you tried to increase comments? Do you maintain a regular schedule of commenting on other sites?
“A blog without comments enabled is not a blog. It’s more like a church pulpit. You preach the word, and the audience passively receives your evangelical message.”
Only 1 out of every 100 Readers Comment on a Blog
Regardless of all the valid reasons to contribute, there remains a tiny percentage of readers who actually add comments. This provides a unique opportunity! Even if you don’t have a blog, you can (and should) participate in the conversations that are happening. You will become part of the select few who actually speak up and actively connect to a select community. Consider some of these statistics:
90% of online community users are lurkers (read or observe without contributing)
Only 9% of users contribute ‘a little’
1% actively contribute
Pay it forward: be a great commenter
Commenting on other blogs is a great way to build your online social capital, get traffic to your own blog or website, participate in a community and target a niche audience. Before you post, keep a few simple guidelines in mind:
Stay professional, on topic and grammatically correct. This seems obvious, but I have witnessed many rude and offensive comments on posts. Even if you violently disagree with the message or opinion of the blogger, be courteous.
Find your people. Seek out a number of different sites that might relate to your work, related to your customers, your partners or your vendors. Visit these blogs frequently and contribute thoughtful remarks to these conversations.
Contribute new information. Make sure your response is unique and has not already been covered. Avoid leaving comments just for the sake of leaving a comment. While everybody likes to be agreed with, try to go beyond a simple “I agree” in your comments. However, do not try to sell anything or provide any gratuitous self-promotion to your own site. Instead contribute your knowledge and expertise on the subject which will go a lot further in supporting your reputation.
Own your comment and consider your tone. Do not post anonymously – it is seen as cowardly and negates the whole point of community-building. As in email, recognize that your tone is easily misunderstood. Ensure that you do not sound like a know it all or disrespectful to the author.
Build it and they will come: increase comments on your blog
You might have the greatest blog and most amazing articles, but if you are unable to get comments on your posts you are missing out making your site more “sticky” and enjoying a more regular flow of repeat traffic. Once the comments begin to flow it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and easier to get additional comments. Keep these ideas in mind to get the ball rolling:
Invite comments, ask questions and be open ended.
Interact with and reward comments.
Be humble and gracious.
Make it easy to comment.
Now it is your turn – if you have never commented on a post, start now! Why do you think commenting is such a rare sport? What other ways have you tried to increase comments? Do you maintain a regular schedule of commenting on other sites?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Using LinkedIn to find a route into a target Company
I think one of the great benefits of using LinkedIn is the Companies profile that is held on LinkedIn.
You can search for a company from your Home page by changing the "People" to "Companies" and entering the company name in the search box.
If the company has a LinkedIn profile up there the results are excellent.
You will get a summary company profile as well as link to website etc. (this is not the great bit)
You will also get a list of current employees (who are on LinkedIn) and who if any of these are connected to your network, be it a direct connection, connection of your connections or of their connections.
You can then use your network connections to get an introduction to someone in that company.
As well as current employees you can also see
New Employees
Former Employees
Recent promotions and changes
Popular profiles
10 Tips to Blogging
If you don’t have a blog for your business you are leaving a lot of money on the table. You also need to have a self hosted blog because the only blogs that work effectively are the ones that are updated regularly. You don’t want to put a lot of work into one only to have it taken away. If you don’t have a Wordpress blog you need to get one because Google loves them and you make your own rules.
These tips will help you with your blog but they are really mistakes you need to avoid in the development of your blog.
1. Content is king: Don’t put up a few posts and stop. You need to post regularly because when someone starts following your blog they will expect to see new content and without it they will stop visiting. There are many different ways to come up with new content and all of your posts don’t have to be articles, some of them can be reviews of other people’s articles or blog posts.
2. All dressed up and no place to go: Putting up a killer blog with great content deserves kudos but you have to drive traffic to it to be or it does you no good. Use Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to drive traffic to it.
3. Be a friend to get a friend: You need t build a group of followers. The best way to do that is to follow other people. Visit their blog and leave a comment, Tweet their content, share it on Facebook and post a link to their blog on your blog. It won’t be long before they start commenting on your blog posts.
4. Fine Print squint: Make sure your opt-in box is easy to read. You should test the look of your blog in different browsers and make sure your sign up form doesn’t look like a legal document. If people can’t read it they will never sign up on it. This is important because some people will even be looking at your site on a cell phone.
5. Double naught spy: If you have a great gift to give those who opt-in to your list you need to tell them about it. Some people don’t mention a valuable gift until after the sign up happens and that is a good way to cut down on your numbers.
6. Penny Pincher: Some people pay for a template for their blog and that is a good idea but don’t stop there. Get a professionally designed banner for your blog so you will look like a leader. It isn’t that expensive and will boost your credibility.
7. GPS: Make it easy to get around on your site. Your posts can be made easy to find by using pages as categories like recruiting, copywriting, traffic generation, etc… This is called Silo Pages and really boosts your SEO as well as making it easier for visitors to find your content.
8. Shout-Outs: Everyone could spend a little more time writing their headlines. You should always write several headlines and never settle on the first one that comes out.
9. Lost Label chance: Putting pictures that are relevant is a very good idea but you should always label them with your main keyword. If you leave the label or caption blank you are missing a perfect opportunity to boost your SEO.
10. Gangsta Photo: It is great to put a photo of yourself on your blog but make it one with a friendly smile and not one that may scare someone away. Its one thing to show your personality but you could show yourself having some fun and wearing something better than a T-shirt and tattoos.
Of course these are just a few mistakes some people make and there are plenty of people who are doing just fine with their blogs even though they may have some of these mistakes on their site. However, it is never too late or a bad idea to fix your mistakes and even to laugh about them. You could even write an article telling how you fixed them.
These tips will help you with your blog but they are really mistakes you need to avoid in the development of your blog.
1. Content is king: Don’t put up a few posts and stop. You need to post regularly because when someone starts following your blog they will expect to see new content and without it they will stop visiting. There are many different ways to come up with new content and all of your posts don’t have to be articles, some of them can be reviews of other people’s articles or blog posts.
2. All dressed up and no place to go: Putting up a killer blog with great content deserves kudos but you have to drive traffic to it to be or it does you no good. Use Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to drive traffic to it.
3. Be a friend to get a friend: You need t build a group of followers. The best way to do that is to follow other people. Visit their blog and leave a comment, Tweet their content, share it on Facebook and post a link to their blog on your blog. It won’t be long before they start commenting on your blog posts.
4. Fine Print squint: Make sure your opt-in box is easy to read. You should test the look of your blog in different browsers and make sure your sign up form doesn’t look like a legal document. If people can’t read it they will never sign up on it. This is important because some people will even be looking at your site on a cell phone.
5. Double naught spy: If you have a great gift to give those who opt-in to your list you need to tell them about it. Some people don’t mention a valuable gift until after the sign up happens and that is a good way to cut down on your numbers.
6. Penny Pincher: Some people pay for a template for their blog and that is a good idea but don’t stop there. Get a professionally designed banner for your blog so you will look like a leader. It isn’t that expensive and will boost your credibility.
7. GPS: Make it easy to get around on your site. Your posts can be made easy to find by using pages as categories like recruiting, copywriting, traffic generation, etc… This is called Silo Pages and really boosts your SEO as well as making it easier for visitors to find your content.
8. Shout-Outs: Everyone could spend a little more time writing their headlines. You should always write several headlines and never settle on the first one that comes out.
9. Lost Label chance: Putting pictures that are relevant is a very good idea but you should always label them with your main keyword. If you leave the label or caption blank you are missing a perfect opportunity to boost your SEO.
10. Gangsta Photo: It is great to put a photo of yourself on your blog but make it one with a friendly smile and not one that may scare someone away. Its one thing to show your personality but you could show yourself having some fun and wearing something better than a T-shirt and tattoos.
Of course these are just a few mistakes some people make and there are plenty of people who are doing just fine with their blogs even though they may have some of these mistakes on their site. However, it is never too late or a bad idea to fix your mistakes and even to laugh about them. You could even write an article telling how you fixed them.
A quick guide to getting started on LinkedIn
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 65 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.
Why Join LinkedIn?
There are a number of reasons to Join LinkedIn
Establish your professional profile
LinkedIn gives you the keys to controlling your online identity. Have you Googled yourself lately? You never know what may come up. LinkedIn profiles rise to the top of search results, letting you control the first impression people get when searching for you online.
Stay in touch with colleagues and friends
In today’s professional world, people change jobs and locations constantly. By connecting on LinkedIn, your address book will never go out of date. Your contacts update their profiles, keeping you current with their latest jobs, projects and contact info. You’ll stay in closer contact with great tools to communicate and collaborate.
Find experts and ideas
Sometimes your immediate circle can’t resolve a unique business challenge. Tools like Answers and Groups let you locate and interact with experts through trusted introductions. LinkedIn Search lets you explore the broader network by name, title, company, location, and other keywords that will help you find the knowledge you’re looking for.
Explore opportunities
Whether you’re looking for a career opportunity, winning new clients or building your professional reputation, LinkedIn connects you to jobs, sales leads and ideal business partners. With our powerful search engine, company research tools and a jobs board that shows who you know at listed companies, LinkedIn is the place to turn for new opportunities.
Groups
LinkedIn Groups is your destination to find and join communities of professionals based on common interest, experience, affiliation, and goals. Stay in touch with organizations, schools, and companies that you are and were a part of, network with professionals with similar interests and goals, and collaborate in a professional community online.
LinkedIn Groups allows group organizations to extend their brand’s reach and strengthen the brand with existing users by providing additional value through LinkedIn’s features.
How to get started
Go to www.LinkedIn.com and follow the 6 easy steps.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
No Business from LinkedIn? Here’s What May Be Wrong
I came accross this on LinkedIn and thought it was very useful.
So you’ve been on LI for months and you haven’t gotten one shred of business…except maybe a few inquiries here and there that didn’t pan out; a couple nibbles from companies that were wrong for you; and those endless MLM offers you won’t even consider.
That leaves you wondering what all the fuss is about. Who are all these people who claim they have gotten new, profitable business on LinkedIn?
Bad news: It’s not LinkedIn. It’s you.
To drive business on LinkedIn, you need an action plan and a system, just like any other business strategy. You’re only going to get back what you put in. Without a plan, you’ll waste a lot of time being sociable, with no real business to show for it.
This is the biggest complaint I hear about social media marketing…it takes a lot of time and results never seem to materialize.
I agree, it is time-consuming. But when done correctly (which means planning SMM into your day, maximizing that time, and maintaining a narrow focus), the results can be astounding.
It’s kind of like cleaning your house. You start out enthusiastically enough. Two hours later, though, you haven’t moved from the bedroom. You end up sidetracked, going through closets and drawers and…“ooohhh! What’s this? My high school love letters!”
Before you know it, you’ve walked so far down Memory Lane you’ll need to catch the bus back to the corner of Main & Reality.
8 Steps to Optimizing Your LI Connections
1. See the future: How much new business can you comfortably handle? Be realistic. One new client a month is 12 for the year. Not bad.
2. Choose a target market and do not stray from this focus
3. Join groups for those markets and actively participate in a meaningful way
4. Educate yourself on effective LI search…there are ways to search and findspecific information about specific people
5. Stand out: Be active! Be proactive! Be visible! Get out there and get involved. Create a highly compelling profile; not a resume rehash.
6. Answer questions to highlight your subject expertise
7. Accept connections and request connections. People want to connect with you!
8. Talk to people. I mean, really talk. Show an interest, look for ways to help each other…seeking connections isn’t only about having lots of connections!
Remember…this is social media marketing. You wouldn’t walk into your neighbor’s BBQ, announce your arrival, then sit in your neighbor’s favorite chair and start dominating the conversation, would you? The beauty of social media marketing is the opportunity to use natural, social strategies of communicating, connecting and collaborating to build your online visibility and attract the attention of companies you really want to work with.
So you’ve been on LI for months and you haven’t gotten one shred of business…except maybe a few inquiries here and there that didn’t pan out; a couple nibbles from companies that were wrong for you; and those endless MLM offers you won’t even consider.
That leaves you wondering what all the fuss is about. Who are all these people who claim they have gotten new, profitable business on LinkedIn?
Bad news: It’s not LinkedIn. It’s you.
To drive business on LinkedIn, you need an action plan and a system, just like any other business strategy. You’re only going to get back what you put in. Without a plan, you’ll waste a lot of time being sociable, with no real business to show for it.
This is the biggest complaint I hear about social media marketing…it takes a lot of time and results never seem to materialize.
I agree, it is time-consuming. But when done correctly (which means planning SMM into your day, maximizing that time, and maintaining a narrow focus), the results can be astounding.
It’s kind of like cleaning your house. You start out enthusiastically enough. Two hours later, though, you haven’t moved from the bedroom. You end up sidetracked, going through closets and drawers and…“ooohhh! What’s this? My high school love letters!”
Before you know it, you’ve walked so far down Memory Lane you’ll need to catch the bus back to the corner of Main & Reality.
8 Steps to Optimizing Your LI Connections
1. See the future: How much new business can you comfortably handle? Be realistic. One new client a month is 12 for the year. Not bad.
2. Choose a target market and do not stray from this focus
3. Join groups for those markets and actively participate in a meaningful way
4. Educate yourself on effective LI search…there are ways to search and findspecific information about specific people
5. Stand out: Be active! Be proactive! Be visible! Get out there and get involved. Create a highly compelling profile; not a resume rehash.
6. Answer questions to highlight your subject expertise
7. Accept connections and request connections. People want to connect with you!
8. Talk to people. I mean, really talk. Show an interest, look for ways to help each other…seeking connections isn’t only about having lots of connections!
Remember…this is social media marketing. You wouldn’t walk into your neighbor’s BBQ, announce your arrival, then sit in your neighbor’s favorite chair and start dominating the conversation, would you? The beauty of social media marketing is the opportunity to use natural, social strategies of communicating, connecting and collaborating to build your online visibility and attract the attention of companies you really want to work with.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Report Manager Product launch
We are delighted to announce the launch of our Report Manager product
Report-Manager talks to your different systems and offers one central place where all reporting requirements are satisfied.
►It reduces time and money spent on Report production and distribution allowing you to control what reports are produced, for whom, when and in which format.
Benefits Include:
►Reduce time spent on Report Generation and Distribution by up to 90%
►Control your Reporting environment.
►Empower staff by delivering key information without having to go through busy Finance and IT departments.
Key Features:
►Works with Reports from multiple systems.
►Scheduler - Schedule time and frequency for reports to run automatically.
►Batch manager – set a number of reports to run as part of one process.
►Distribution of reports automatically.
►Security – access to reports restricted to authority levels.
►Preferences – set report format preferences of partners/fee earners.
►On-demand reporting allows users to run reports themselves.
►Report writer – allows ad-hoc reports to be created from you existing databases.
Why LUCID?
►We’ve been there and done it, our experts are ex senior professionals from the Legal sector.
►LUCID have designed tools and techniques that deal with the specific circumstances the Legal sector.
►We’re cost effective; the time we save alone will cover our costs.
►We are passionate about helping firms become smarter businesses.
What now?
Contact us now for a demonstration.
Phone UK: +44 (0) 203 411 8361 Ireland: +353 (0) 1685 2555 email: info@lucidsolutions.ie
Report-Manager talks to your different systems and offers one central place where all reporting requirements are satisfied.
►It reduces time and money spent on Report production and distribution allowing you to control what reports are produced, for whom, when and in which format.
Benefits Include:
►Reduce time spent on Report Generation and Distribution by up to 90%
►Control your Reporting environment.
►Empower staff by delivering key information without having to go through busy Finance and IT departments.
Key Features:
►Works with Reports from multiple systems.
►Scheduler - Schedule time and frequency for reports to run automatically.
►Batch manager – set a number of reports to run as part of one process.
►Distribution of reports automatically.
►Security – access to reports restricted to authority levels.
►Preferences – set report format preferences of partners/fee earners.
►On-demand reporting allows users to run reports themselves.
►Report writer – allows ad-hoc reports to be created from you existing databases.
Why LUCID?
►We’ve been there and done it, our experts are ex senior professionals from the Legal sector.
►LUCID have designed tools and techniques that deal with the specific circumstances the Legal sector.
►We’re cost effective; the time we save alone will cover our costs.
►We are passionate about helping firms become smarter businesses.
What now?
Contact us now for a demonstration.
Phone UK: +44 (0) 203 411 8361 Ireland: +353 (0) 1685 2555 email: info@lucidsolutions.ie
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