“On This Date” (SBA)

Now I really feel old. On this date in 1978 (one year after I graduated from High School) the “Susan B. Anthony” dollar coin went into circulation. I actually remember the great fanfare that went into its debut and the promise of how this new “dollar”  would revolutionize financial markets and save the US Mint tons of coin. Well, as you and I now know, it was a total failure. The coins were initially circulated to the Post Office (first bad marketing idea) and then circulated to us who then tried to pawn them off on unsuspecting vendors who obviously did not get the message and refused to accept them. (I remember getting one as change and promptly throwing in my closet as a memento where it remains less than worthless today). It was smaller than the Eisenhower dollar so it was often mistaken as a quarter despite the Post Office’s slogan “Carry Three for Susan B.” The slogan was later replaced with “B a pal and take these damn things off our hands”.  (kudos to Chris Regan for that one).  Any way, what the heck does any of this have to do with marketing? Well, I’ll tell you how! As lawyers, one of the ways we exhibit our higher intelligence and vast expertise is through speeches and other live events. We schedule conferences and lunches and put on exquisite legal presentations that typically impress no one except ourselves. Why? Because the “content” we choose is the “content” we choose, rather than (can you believe it?) the content the audience wants. What a frigging revelation? We wonder why we get 10 rsvp’s from 100 invites. The most basic consideration in any presentation is to find out what the audience/customer wants and needs to hear. While our clients and contacts love to hear us speak on topics that interest them and that give legal solutions to their business problems (essentially free legal advice), this advice is not really free if it is basically worthless. This BASIC principle applies to all businesses and professions. So, before going to the time and expense of organizing your next event, take about 5 minutes to shoot out an email to a few of your expected invitees and ask them what they want to hear. This simple act will virtually guarantee a successful event ( free food, booze  and CLE/CPE doesn’t hurt either)!

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Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: advice, Business, marketing, presentations, Sales