Earn Your "Om"

Oh yeah, legal marketing is always like this!

It's wonderful when your recommendation stands as the final word in a conversation with lawyers. Consider what it takes to earn that moment.

"Om" is my favorite part of yoga. It's the moment after shavasana when we sit up together, legs crossed, hands at our hearts, and chant. "Ommmmmm." 

Done right, om is resonant and full-bodied. On those days, my om starts from my diaphragm and emanates up, through, and out of my chest, throat, mouth, nose, and skull with what I can only describe as mindful bodily presence. 

Those are good days. 

Often enough, however, my om falls flat. It begins in my chest rather than diaphragm. I push it rather than release it. Some days I squeeze my om through a tight throat. Others I pinch it off somewhere in a maze of congested sinuses.

Set Up For Success 

My om can be fickle, to be sure. It's a little like making a marketing or BD recommendation to attorneys.

Certain activities set me up for greater success delivering my om effectively. I believe they can help deliver suggestions to lawyers.

1. Ask questions. 

To achieve the fulsome om I describe above, I must first work through difficult poses, push my body and mind, remain present, and clear space to acknowledge problems and allow solutions to present themselves. 

This also applies to marketing and BD advising. Much like working through pigeon, humble warrior, and half-moon, we can work through a series of questions. 

A lawyer should see that we've conducted earnest discovery, especially when our recommendation differs from their expectation.

"What have you tried already?" 

"What will success look like?" 

"How did you come to this idea?" 

And so on as circumstances require. 

Here's why asking exploratory questions matters: For us to earn our recommendation, a lawyer should be able to see that we've conducted earnest discovery, especially when our suggestion differs from their expectation. 

2. Be present. 

The greatest gift we can give a lawyer is to be present with them in the moment. 

After years of marketing and BD practice, we spot bad ideas from miles away. We know when conditions are right for an effort to succeed—and when they are not. And we can smell when a lawyer is looking for a quick-fix instead of updating inherited habits and beliefs. It's easy, in these moments, to race to our recommendation. 

For our recommendation to work, a lawyer must believe that we are on their side. They want to know that we actually want to help them, not simply get rid of them. (Oh, yeah—they can tell!) 

Lawyers notice, and we earn their trust.

Especially when challenging a lawyer's quick-fix mindset, it's incumbent on us to win them over. We can't just tell them the truth and expect them to take it. The truth is often inconvenient. Instead, we need to show that they can count on us to help them through the painful adoption and delivery of new thinking or skills. 

That starts with how we act during a meeting. We don't need to check our phones or look at our smart watch. We don't need to tell them all the other things on our to-do list—though we do need to manage expectations. We need to sit with them, engage earnestly and fully, and be present through even uncomfortable moments. Lawyers notice, and we earn their trust. 

3. Take a breath. 

So much of yoga starts or ends with breathing. Apply a page from yoga practice to important conversations: breathe before diving in, and breathe while working through. 

Pay attention to breathing as you interact with a lawyer, especially during disagreement or when you are justifying your approach to a challenge or opportunity. If you've rushed in breathlessly, pause. If you are listening and find yourself physically clenched, take a breath. Let it out. Come back to your strong center and work out from there. 

Taking a breath is as valuable over email as it is in person or by phone.

When you breathe and recenter yourself, you give a conversation, especially a disagreement, room to relax as well. Instead of fast-paced serve and volley—which lawyers manage extremely well—slow things down. This allows you to reconnect with your more companionable and supportive tone and lead lawyers through discussion. 

Like the sound of this? Here's a deep resource on mindful breathing from Positivity.org. 

Taking a breath is as valuable over email as it is in person or by phone. When you feel replies getting tense, reset. Let an email rest and come back to it when you are fresh and clear. Consider whether another email will help or hurt, and perhaps pick up the phone instead. However you proceed, remember to pause, breathe, and reconnect with that companionable and supportive tone. Use it to buy time, stay curious, and explore confidently. 

To earn your recommendations, ask questions, stay present, and breathe. Watch this

transform your interactions and earn you opportunities to have the final word. 

"Ommmmmm."