Lawyer Business Advantage Alay Yajnik

In this episode, Alay and Janet discuss: 



Leveraging conferences as in-person events begin their return. 

Preparation before a conference. 

Scheduling meetings with other conference attendees or speakers. 

Standing out before, during, and after the event.   



 

Key Takeaways: 



Be proactive in your preparation and attendance at events and in the follow-up. 

Understand why you are attending the conference before you go and know what you want to accomplish while you’re there. 

Law firm growth happens outside your comfort zone. People are at conferences to connect – so take advantage and connect. 

Utilize your assistant or hire a virtual assistant to manage the business cards you are getting and follow up with them to ensure you don’t lose contact with those you meet.





Tweetable Moments:



* “Attorneys have to be prepared to make the most of these very expensive events. You’re spending billable time outside of the office, you may be traveling, you may be incurring hotel and meal expenses, you have to prepare in advance so that you can really monetize for future reference your activity at this conference.” —  Janet Falk

* “You want to meet people with whom you have a shared interest or with whom you have an aligned interest.” —  Janet Falk

* “It’s not always about finding clients or finding prospective clients. A lot of times, it’s about finding people you want to connect with from a networking perspective. Oftentimes, an attorney’s best referral source is their competition.” —  Alay Yajnik

* “Plant the seed by contacting those that you think would be interesting and valuable to you and your practice or to whom you might also be helpful. And then make sure that they know how they can get in touch with you and see if you can get their cell phone number.” —  Janet Falk

* “If you are waiting days or weeks to follow up with people after a conference, that is way too long.” —  Alay Yajnik



  

About Janet Falk:

Janet Falk, Ph.D., is a Communications professional with more than 30 years of experience in-house, as a consultant and at public relations agencies. As Chief Strategist at Falk Communications and Research (www.JanetLFalk.com), she advises attorneys at small law firms and with a solo practice on Media Relations and Marketing Communications to: attract new clients, remain top of mind with prior clients, keep in touch with referral sources, help recruit associates, generate a news story about litigation that puts pressure on opposing counsel and achieve business goals. Janet leads workshops on these topics and advises on media relations, website, LinkedIn profile, articles in non-legal industry trade publications and client newsletters, among other areas. She has published articles on Media Relations and Marketing in The New York Law Journal, The New Jersey Law Journal and Marketing the Law Firm and is a frequent speaker on webinars and podcasts about Public Relations, Networking and Legal Marketing. 

 

Connect with Janet Falk: 

Website: https://janetlfalk.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetlfalk 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/falkcomms/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanetLFalk 

 

Connect with Alay Yajnik: 

Podcast: http://lawyerbusinessadvantage.com/ 

One Page Strategic Plan: a href="https://www.

In this episode, Alay and Steve discuss: 



Harvesting low-hanging fruit to build your business. 

Overcoming the fears of rejection and damaging relationships. 

Balancing building relationships and billing hours. 

Helpful language for asking for the referral. 



 

Key Takeaways: 



What are you doing to deepen your relationships that make it easier for people to give you introductions when you ask? 

Be more specific than just “keep your eyes open if anything comes up” when asking for referrals. Learn how to coach your clients and networking partners through what you’re looking for and you’ll be amazed at how well it works. 

You only have a certain number of client relationships – make sure you are prepared to make the ask when the time is right and don’t miss the opportunity to capture the easy business opportunities. 



 

Tweetable Moments:



* “You have to have a little bit of courage to trust in your code or trust in a process and try it out. And when it works, then of course, that’s the promised land.” —  Steve Fretzin

* “If you’ve got that awesome relationship, it’s just super easy and supernatural to make that ask.” —  Alay Yajnik

* “They didn’t make the ask, they didn’t have an approach, that train has left the station, they may not get another chance for a year if that. And it’s a huge misstep in the business development lifecycle. Because that’s where the easy business is, all the other business is going to be harder than that.” —  Steve Fretzin



  

About Steve Fretzin:

Driven, focused, and passionate about helping attorneys to reach their full potential, Steve Fretzin is regarded as the premier coach, skills trainer, and keynote speaker on business development for attorneys.

Over the past 17 years, Steve Fretzin has devoted his career to helping lawyers master the art of business development to achieve their business goals and the peace of mind that comes with developing a successful law practice.

In addition to writing four books on legal marketing and business development, Steve has a highly-rated podcast BE THAT LAWYER and has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, and Entrepreneur.com. He has appeared on NBC News, WGN Radio and has written articles for Attorney at Law Magazine, the National Law Review, the American Bar Association, and the Illinois State Bar Association. You can also find his monthly column in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

 

Connect with Steve Fretzin: 

Website: https://fretzin.com/ 

Email: steve@fretzin.com 

Podcast: https://fretzin.com/podcast/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin/ 

Books: https://fretzin.com/about/books/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SalesResultsInc 



Connect with Alay Yajnik: 

Podcast: http://lawyerbusinessadvantage.com/ 

One Page Strategic Plan: LawFirmSuccessGroup.com

Email: Alay@YajnikGroup.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alayyajnik

In this episode, Alay and Steve discuss: 



Shaking up the negative connotations around networking. 

How to know when you’ve found your right networking partner. 

Creating your own networking group.

Tips to improve your networking. 



 

Key Takeaways: 



The ultimate goal is to spend 80% of your time with 20% of people – your strategic partner dream team. 

You can create your own group with the people that make the most sense for you to refer to each other and learn from each other. 

Have a plan when you go into any networking meeting or event. 

Be able to articulate those who would be a good fit for you to those who are not a good fit for you. 





Tweetable Moments:



* “The goal with networking is to go out, develop relationships that are meaningful, help a lot of people, and try to understand who you want to spend more time with, and maybe who you should be spending less time with.” —  Steve Fretzin

* “Step one is being in a position to and prepared to ask questions.” —  Steve Fretzin

* “Instead of going to networking groups exclusively as a participating member, there may be a really good reason to actually start your own networking group.” —  Alay Yajnik

* “Initially, you want to build your network wide. You need to know lots of people. And the reason that’s helpful is that when you start trying to build a deep, you have a wide network of professionals that you can mix and match and share.” —  Steve Fretzin



  

About Steve Fretzin:

Driven, focused, and passionate about helping attorneys to reach their full potential, Steve Fretzin is regarded as the premier coach, skills trainer, and keynote speaker on business development for attorneys.

Over the past 17 years, Steve Fretzin has devoted his career to helping lawyers master the art of business development to achieve their business goals and the peace of mind that comes with developing a successful law practice.

In addition to writing four books on legal marketing and business development, Steve has a highly-rated podcast BE THAT LAWYER and has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, and Entrepreneur.com. He has appeared on NBC News, WGN Radio and has written articles for Attorney at Law Magazine, the National Law Review, the American Bar Association, and the Illinois State Bar Association. You can also find his monthly column in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

 

Connect with Steve Fretzin: 

Website: https://fretzin.com/ 

Email: steve@fretzin.com 

Podcast: https://fretzin.com/podcast/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin/ 

Books: https://fretzin.com/about/books/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SalesResultsInc 

 

Connect with Alay Yajnik: 

Podcast: http://lawyerbusinessadvantage.com/ 

One Page Strategic Plan: LawFirmSuccessGroup.com

Email: Alay@YajnikGroup.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alayyajnik

In this episode, Alay and Steve discuss: 



Why lawyers usually call selling “business development.”

Having a business development system in place and not wasting time along the way. 

Working with a coach to build your book of business. 



 

Key Takeaways: 



Sales is a skill that can be learned and honed to your needs.

Qualify potential clients. You can’t work with everyone and not everyone is a right fit for you. 

Having your own book of business gives you power and control over your career, whether you’re a solo or at a large firm. 

Not all coaches are the right fit for you and you’re not the right fit for them. Find a coach that is solving the problems that you have. 



 

Tweetable Moments:



* “I don’t know a lawyer that doesn’t love helping and solving and that’s really what sales is.” —  Steve Fretzin

* “Without having a system in place there’s a real risk that you’re going to waste a lot of time or end up with clients who you don’t want.” —  Alay Yajnik

* “You can’t solve anything if you’re not meeting people.” —  Steve Fretzin



  

About Steve Fretzin:

Driven, focused, and passionate about helping attorneys reach their full potential, Steve Fretzin is regarded as the premier coach, skills trainer, and keynote speaker on business development for attorneys.

Over the past 17 years, Steve Fretzin has devoted his career to helping lawyers master the art of business development to achieve their business goals and the peace of mind that comes with developing a successful law practice.

In addition to writing four books on legal marketing and business development, Steve has a highly-rated podcast BE THAT LAWYER and has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, and Entrepreneur.com. He has appeared on NBC News, WGN Radio and has written articles for Attorney at Law Magazine, the National Law Review, the American Bar Association, and the Illinois State Bar Association. You can also find his monthly column in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

 

Connect with Steve Fretzin: 

Website: https://fretzin.com/ 

Email: steve@fretzin.com 

Podcast: https://fretzin.com/podcast/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin/ 

Books: https://fretzin.com/about/books/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SalesResultsInc 

 

Connect with Alay Yajnik: 

Podcast: http://lawyerbusinessadvantage.com/ 

One Page Strategic Plan: LawFirmSuccessGroup.com

Email: Alay@YajnikGroup.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alayyajnik

In this episode, Alay and Bruce discuss: 



Gaining an advantage with your clients by being clear and making decisions easy. 

Remaining the right choice by removing risk.

Positioning yourself to attract your ideal clients. 

Be specific about what you want. 



 

Key Takeaways: 



Billboards and awards do not demonstrate trust. Alignment with the client does form the basis for trust.

It’s not just your current best client that matters, it’s also a question of who is your best future client. 

Look at the one or two things you need to attract the clients you desire, not the laundry list of things that could be done. 

If you’re working with the right clients, your life will improve. Life is too short to work with clients that drain you. 





Tweetable Moments:



“Fit is really important, it’s not just about your skills.” —  Bruce La Fetra

* “When you say ‘I want these specific characteristics in a client.’ Now people have something to latch on to and focus on and engage in their mind and really help you.” —  Alay Yajnik

* “What people find is when they’re specific, all of a sudden there’s a lot more opportunity, they’re actually growing, and they’re growing significantly.” —  Bruce La Fetra

* “Communicate internally. Make sure everyone in your firm knows why your best clients select your firm. Then start to communicate that out to your referral partners, your networking contacts, and your past clients. Then that all matches up between what you think internally and say internally, what your clients and referral partners see and hear, and what your marketing is to the outside world.” —  Bruce La Fetra



  

About Bruce La Fetra:

Bruce La Fetra works with attorneys and law firms to fundamentally change how and who generates business. Focusing on their Best Clients creates a virtuous cycle where it gets easier to grow revenue, improve profitability, and shorten the sales cycle as the firm attracts more of its Best Clients.

Clients call Bruce “The Client Whisperer” because his Think Like Your Best Clients concept for positioning hands his clients a hard-to-match advantage. The Think Like Your Best Clients concept evolved from developing marketing strategies for dozens of firms and interviewing hundreds of their Best Clients over the past 20 years.

Bruce earned his BA in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and his MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is also a trained facilitator. Bruce isn’t an attorney, but he is married to one.

 

Connect with Bruce La Fetra: 

Website: https://theclientwhisperer.com/  

Website: https://eastwoodstrategy.com/ 

Email: bruce@eastwoodstrategy.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blafetra/ 

 

Connect with Alay Yajnik: 

Podcast: http://lawyerbusinessadvantage.com/ 

One Page Strategic Plan: LawFirmSuccessGroup.com

Email: Alay@YajnikGroup.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alayyajnik

In this episode, Alay and Bruce discuss: 



Bruce’s 40-40-20 rule. 

Minimizing challenges early in your sales process. 

Attracting your future best clients.  



 

Key Takeaways: 



Your bottom clients are somebody else’s best clients. It’s not about the work, it’s about the fit.  

Your offer is not what you do, it is what your client can do because of what you do.

The right audience is not who you can help, but who is a great fit for you.

When there’s clear alignment, there’s more trust, and clients see more impact value, which leads to faster and bigger sales. 





Tweetable Moments:



* “Fire bad prospects, they should never become clients.” —  Bruce La Fetra

* “40% of your success comes from having the right offer. 40% of your success is talking to the right audience. The last 20% is having the right content.” —  Bruce La Fetra

* “Content needs to reflect the offer and the audience.” —  Bruce La Fetra

* “If you work with clients that you love, and that love you back, and clients that you do great work for, and clients trust you and you enjoy working with them as well, you trust them as well to be great clients. It’s a great relationship. And if you’re good at what you do, that’s going to result in a fantastic outcome.” —  Alay Yajnik

* “My advice to you is don’t settle. If you’re not happy with all of your clients, you can make some changes, and you can have an amazing book of business filled with clients that you enjoy.” —  Alay Yajnik



  

About Bruce La Fetra:

Bruce La Fetra works with attorneys and law firms to fundamentally change how and who generates business. Focusing on their Best Clients creates a virtuous cycle where it gets easier to grow revenue, improve profitability, and shorten the sales cycle as the firm attracts more of its Best Clients.

Clients call Bruce “The Client Whisperer” because his Think Like Your Best Clients concept for positioning hands his clients a hard-to-match advantage. The Think Like Your Best Clients concept evolved from developing marketing strategies for dozens of firms and interviewing hundreds of their Best Clients over the past 20 years.

Bruce earned his BA in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and his MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is also a trained facilitator. Bruce isn’t an attorney, but he is married to one.

 

Connect with Bruce La Fetra: 

Website: https://theclientwhisperer.com/  

Website: https://eastwoodstrategy.com/ 

Email: bruce@eastwoodstrategy.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blafetra/ 



Connect with Alay Yajnik: 

Podcast: http://lawyerbusinessadvantage.com/ 

One Page Strategic Plan: LawFirmSuccessGroup.com

Email: Alay@YajnikGroup.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alayyajnik