...our tech tools are only as useful as the strategy behind their use
The planning committee for LMA Tech West 2019 has aptly defined the conference’s approach to legal technology as “a means to an end.”
In other words: our tech tools are only as useful as the strategy behind their use and their thoughtful deployment spearheaded by smart business professionals.
Inspired by this year’s LSSO Raindance Conference where the inimitable Beth Cuzzone of Goulston & Storrs moderated a phenomenal fishbowl conversation about the emerging legal sales role, we invite you to join us for our Tech West session, Stacking up for Sales: Optimizing MarTech to Support Emerging Client-Facing BD Roles, on Tuesday, October 22nd in San Francisco.
We will explore the intersection between cutting-edge, client-facing BD roles and their reliance on technology to operate efficiently and effectively within law firms to drive revenue.
1. What Does a Fishbowl Conversation Look Like?
The fishbowl conversation is a format in which the panelists are seated at a round table in the center of the room, with other tables or rows of chairs surrounding the center table.
...the entire room draws from the collective knowledge of the group.
The moderator explains the rules of the facilitated conversation at the beginning of the program, tees up the panelists to start a conversation, and leaves one empty chair with a microphone at the table.
Audience members are encouraged to take a turn in the empty seat, joining the conversation, posing questions, or adding fodder when they see fit. When someone wants to join, they simply tap the person in the rotating seat, and the new “panelist” sits down.
Audience members are encouraged to take a turn...
It’s that simple: audience members add to the conversation led by the panelists, and the entire room draws from the collective knowledge of the group.
2. Why the Fishbowl?
If you are tired of seeing the same talking heads on a dais, casually advancing through slides without giving you actionable items with which to return to the office and effect real change in your firms ... we were, too.
That’s why we designed this program, and we hope you’ll join us to make the discussion lively and full of smart and thoughtful conversation.
Research denotes that most adults learn better from interactive educational opportunities rather than by being lectured to; we bring to an educational opportunity prior knowledge and experiences, both gleaning and retaining information in a more cohesive way by participating in the process of learning.
In other words, most adults learn 40% more by being “active”, which is why we are always encouraged to include anecdotal evidence of successes and failures, case studies to illustrate value, and metrics to measure the effectiveness of new initiatives in our programs.
3. Why Legal Sales and Technology?
Combining this compelling, conversational format with a topic that has not been addressed yet seemed like a natural fit. The conundrum is as follows:
- Law firms of all sizes spend astronomical amounts of money on technology solutions, all of which are designed to make the practice of law and business development efforts more efficient and effective.
- The majority of law firms vet, engage with, and deploy these solutions, only to be met with utter displeasure from the end-users (the attorneys), who end up requesting that a member of the marketing or business development team utilize the tools on their behalf and disseminate the information back to them for consumption and utilization.
- This leaves the legal sales executive as an ideal user of smart legal marketing technology: these savvy business professionals understand the value that technology brings in adding efficiency to the sales process, and are actually interested in using it - uniquely propelling them to realize the greatest return on investment from these technologies.
Join us on Tuesday, October 22nd at LMA Tech West in San Francisco to learn more, and as importantly, lend your experiences, pain points, and success stories! Panelists include:
- Mike Mellor, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Pryor Cashman LLP and LMA 2019 CMO SIG Co-Chair
- Jenna Schiappacasse, Director of Client Development at Rosenberg Martin Greenberg LLP and LMA 2019 Mid-Atlantic Region President
- Dawn Sheiker, Director of Client Relations at Morris James LLP and LMA 2019 Northeast Region President-Elect
- John Witts, Senior Marketing Technology Manager at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP and LMA 2019 Technology SIG Co-Chair
Feel free to reach out to any of us with key questions, topics of interest, or perspectives using the links above in advance of the conference to help us shape our fishbowl conversation.
Stay tuned for our next post where we will answer questions about the connection between legal marketing technologies and existing legal sales roles, as well as the effect they have on in-house business development professionals who seek to steer their roles in a client-facing direction.
