Yesterday's blog discussed the idea of a "mantra," a 1-3 sentence "elevator pitch" about who you are, and how do you crisply and succinctly describe your expertise.  Something that is practiced, rehearsed, mastered. 

As a law firm partner, you are expected to grow the practice, to bring in more clients, to build business development routines.  To accomplish this, the firm must "know who it is," just like yesterday's mantra exercise was about you knowing who you are.  So here we broaden the mantra, to describe your practice or firm and how it is different from others.

Geoffrey Moore, in his seminal book "Crossing the Chasm," has an "elevator pitch framework" that I especially like.  I have used this framework to craft Round Table Group's vision for connecting lawyers with expert witnesses in all fields.  I also use this framework to teach expert witnesses and business students in my New Entrepreneurs' Program class at the University of Chicago's Graham School and in my Business Frameworks class at the IIT Institute of Design.  The framework looks like this:

For (target customers)

Who are dissatisfied with  (the current market alternative)

Our product/service is a (product category)

That provides (key problem-solving capability)

Unlike (product alternative)

We have assembled (key product features)

Round Table Group's idea statement might be as follows, as an example:

For litigators

Who are dissatisfied with the current alternatives to finding expert witnesses: doing it themselves (too time consuming and inefficient), and outsourcing (few truly professional firms who can be counted on to deliver quality experts)

Round Table Group is an expert witness referral firm...

... That connects litigators with expert witnesses in all fields

Unlike the traditional, old fashioned, and unreliable methods for finding expert witnesses

We have assembled a team of professionals who locate, assess, and deliver the right expert witness at the right time by using rigorous methodologies, relationships with numerous firms, and proprietary databases.

Give it a try, and write a 6-sentence elevator pitch at this deeper level to describe how your practice or firm differs from the others; why you are uniquely qualified, above all others, or serve the cause of justice by making your expertise available to clients.

Russ W. Rosenzweig

Categories
For Partners Only

0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this post: Defining Your Expertise

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.roundtablegroup.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/183