About a million years ago, I was awarded my MBA from USC’s Marshall School of Business (I won’t say how many years ago it actually was—let’s just call it a million). The other day, I received a brochure from USC Marshall Executive Education, the business school’s extension program. I was paging through it when I came across what I thought was a fabulous idea. It’s called MBA Recharge, and it’s a recurring event for Marshall MBA alums and guest.  The two-hour event focuses on “hot topics” relating to current events and offers knowledge that can be immediately be applied to your career.

File this under “Wish I’d Thought of That!” For alums, MBA Recharge offers what looks like a nice ongoing opportunity to at least somewhat keep their MBA degree up to date.  There’s so much to keep up on, and while many of the fundamentals remain the same, you know that 10 minutes after you’ve obtained your diploma, much of it is out-of-date. Meanwhile, for Marshall, MBA Recharge is a smart marketing idea: Putting on a relevant, snappy event like this helps keep alumni bonded to the school (and alumni gifts coming in). Whether or not I actually make it to the event, it’s a terrific idea.  Maybe the next step is a webcast.

Our latest “refreshing” experience with new technology came when we received a phone call from a prospective client who found us through the Internet. I answered the call, and initially it went as expected for a typical prospect conversation: The person asked me about who we are, what services we offer, what types of clients we work with, and so on. Five minutes into the call, the prospective client asked if I would be willing to Skype with him.

At first, I was a little taken aback by this request, because I had never been asked to Skype with anyone except my out-of-state cousin and brother. On the other hand, I was impressed by the prospective client’s  knowledge of this kind of technology, as we frequently have to educate our clients on these types of programs. Although Skype has been around for years and is widely used, I had never used it professionally.

The prospective client and I had a one hour Skype conversation, discussing his firm’s needs and our services. I realized that on a Skype call, you have to pay attention to your posture, eye contact, etc.—all the things you would consider in an in-person meeting, but not on a conference call.

In the end, it was a very successful call.  I was able to get to know the prospective client on a more personal level than I would have on a usual conference call. For Berbay, the experience opened a whole new door to face time: Now getting face time with a client doesn’t have to mean sitting across from one another—it can be as simple as a free Skype account.

What do you think about the effectiveness of Skype calls with prospective clients?

The salon was offering to take 10 percent off whatever hair product they were promoting that day if you brought in an old hair product of your own. Ladies—you get why this is a clever ploy to increase hair-product sales. My medicine cabinet, for one, is absolutely littered with products I’ve bought—when my hair was somehow different, or somebody recommended a brand, or whatever—but used only once or twice, or never. There aren’t many people who this promotion wouldn’t cause to think of their medicine-cabinet graveyard and resolve to return, exhumed hair product in hand.

The problem is, I wasn’t interested in the products the salon was promoting—but I would have been interested in a discount on a salon service or another promotion.

Those who market professional services have a lesson to learn from this. The salon had a good idea, but it wasn’t executing the idea to its full extent. When you’ve got a good idea, really question yourself about whether you’re taking full advantage of it. Could it be implemented in a different area of your business? Could it be used to reach another market? Ask yourself: Am I giving my good marketing ideas the full treatment?

As attendees began asking questions about implementing these tactics, the panelists reminded the audience that it’s easy to get caught up in the “newest” way to market, but that it’s critical to look at your marketing tactics in the context of the bigger picture – how each one fits into an overall marketing plan, otherwise, you may get the phone to ring, but not with the kinds of clients you want.

Implementing any marketing tactics presumes that you’ve already created foundational items such as a database of current clients, prospective clients and referral sources. Without identifying your target market, who will you be reminding to read the blog you’ve created, or watch the videos posted on your website?

As 2012 gets underway, it’s a great time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t in the past year. But before you jump on the latest marketing bandwagon, avoid shooting from the hip and consider how to integrate these new methods into a strategic plan that will generate more business.

The barcodes, called QR (Quick Response) codes, work something like the barcodes found in supermarkets or other stores: When scanned, they provide information. A QR code can support up to nine different types of data including, contact info, URL link, calendar event, geographic location, etc.

In order to read the code, you will need to “scan” it by taking a photo with a smartphone camera (Keep in mind, you have to download an application to read the codes). Once read by a smartphone, QR codes direct potential clients to a “landing page” on the internet, where they will be able to access what they were sent for, whether it is information about trends in your practice area, event details, contact information, etc.

If you’re thinking about incorporating QR codes into your marketing efforts, there are a few points to consider:

• First, what will you provide using the code? A video about a recent court decision that impacts your clients? Contact information?  A discount?  How will your offer improve your potential clients’ lives? You need to provide something of value to keep them engaged.
• You should deploy a “call to action” with your QR code—just a few words near the code to entice people to scan it. For example, “Scan this code for a free gift,” yields a higher scan rate than, “Scan this code.”
• Think about design and usability. Color, for instance, makes a code look more approachable than the traditional black and white. A common mistake when it comes to QR codes is to direct people to your regular website. Aside from the fact that many websites don’t load very well on cell phones, your standard website doesn’t provide any added value to a potential client. He or she could have easily accessed your website without the code.
• Once you have your QR code marketing campaign in place, it is important to track the results. The most meaningful way to do this is to track not only the number of scans, but how much time visitors spent on the landing page. If the landing page is your Facebook page or Twitter account, you should record how many new fans/followers you received during your QR code campaign.

QR codes are here to stay, and will only be popping up in more places as time goes on. You can quickly and easily generate a code using sites such as Kaywa, Qurify and Delivr. QR code marketing can be quite successful—if, before embarking, you give thought to the factors involved in developing a high-quality campaign.

People forget that often site visitors no longer enter a website via the home page. For example, when they run a search, they enter the site from wherever that search leads, meaning they might be coming to the website via a practice area or a biography page. The latter is particularly significant because research shows that clients hire the professional as opposed to the firm, and each lawyer is selling him/herself. Therefore, you want to think in terms of creating your own website within the larger firm’s context; it’s no longer about just having a one-page biography. Instead, it’s about creating a microsite that provides page visitors with a deeper amount of information and expanded content. This transformation of the one-size-fits-all biography page into more of a personalized landing page is one reason microsites are becoming more common.

Another reason for this transformation is that no two lawyers want to be limited to marketing the same way. Whether there are 20 or 2,000 lawyers in a firm, each has a different background and is selling something different. There are also those lawyers who have a much better understanding of marketing and how to sell themselves, and you want to be able to work with those variables. Microsites provide individual attorneys the ability to use their landing page as a personal business development tool and control the amount of marketing they do while still incorporating the firm’s overall culture.

Ultimately, microsites are designed with the intent to convert a site visitor into a lead. If developed and maintained well, microsites can greatly benefit professionals and their firms.

With an eye toward helping Central District judges handle this increase in IP cases— which represents about 4 percent of their dockets—as intelligently and expeditiously as possible, the District launched this patent litigation pilot program on September 19, 2011. Now, within 30 days of a case filing, judges can reassign newly filed cases to this panel if they involve a patent issue.

During the discussion, the judges acknowledged that they are not patent experts and not Federal Circuit judges. So, they need lawyers’ time and expertise to get them to the level of the proficiency in the federal system as they address IP litigation.

The panelists also noted that 18 districts have adopted local patent rules, and that 12 have adopted them within the last three years. Citing a Law360 article, Judge Otero commented that there is a lot of forum shopping because of the way the rules are structured in different districts. Currently, the Central District does not have local patent rules. When asked how many attorneys in the audience would like local patent rules in the Central District, a majority of the group raised their hands.

Additionally, the panel addressed the issue of damages and how judges act as gatekeepers in this regard. Because more cases settle before going to trial, attorneys have fewer opportunities to hone their cross-examination skills. The judges acknowledged that if attorneys were better at cross-examination, they’d be making points about damages and their value during the cross-exam. However, because lawyers are not as skilled in this area, the onus is increasingly on judges to lead the discourse. For instance, it is less up to judges to say that the discount rate you’re using is really ridiculous. Whereas they’re really thinking that recognizing and making this point is what a skilled attorney would do.

Judge Guilford pondered who was the best expert with respect to damages — an economist or a CPA.  In his view, selecting the expert is outcome determinative — as soon as the judge approves the expert, the case is done. He wants an expert who will call it right down the middle.  An audience member who was both an economist and CPA commented that an attorney experienced in cross-examining witnesses should draw out the story well enough so that the jury can make a decision.

The kind of experts Judge Wright prefers are true experts who have devoted their lives to that particular subject and published on the subject.  For example, mention a treatise at trial and bring in the author as the expert — that’s heavy duty credibility in his eyes. He eschews “hired guns” who will testify to whatever their paying clients want.

The judges concluded the forum by offering practice pointers from their perspective:

• Be brief. Consider how you can best communicate with the judge and jury. Build themes and coalesce and simplify messages.

• Retain trust. One panelist sees many attorneys lose a judge’s trust by overreaching or making outrageous claims. He emphasized how critical it is to protect one’s credibility. Judge Wu added that full disclosure is also part of credibility. For instance, if you lack information, acknowledge it.

• Be transparent.  Judge Otero described an attorney who impressed him when he said, “Here’s a brief and here’s the law that supports it, but I really want you to be aware there’s this one decision that goes against this.” Judge Otero said he has never forgotten that attorney, who, through his honesty, built credibility and trust.

• Be courteous to court staff. Court staff is an extension of a judge and will tell him or her their impressions of attorneys; this, too, affects trust and credibility.

• Keep everything simple. Because these judges are not on the Federal Circuit, they don’t have that level of expertise. Therefore, simple is best.

It was clear that the audience found this seminar as engrossing as I did.  The panelists offered insights that many in the audience hadn’t considered before and information that will benefit them as they move forward in their work.

• Clothing – Right before posing for a photo, make sure that all ties and suit jackets are straight, and that dresses or pants are not wrinkled.  Even if you wear the type of clothing Berbay recommended in our previous post, a crooked tie or wrinkled pants can cancel out the positive effect.  Too, when it comes to group shots, discuss everyone’s clothing beforehand so that you harmonize appropriately.

• Positioning – How are you sitting or standing? Where are your hands? Positioning is a key element of a professional photo. This is especially true in group shots: If everyone’s hands or legs are placed differently, the picture will appear uncoordinated.  A professional photographer can help you arrange everyone so that they look natural.

• Hair – Knowing that you would be taking a professional photo, you probably spent more time than usual grooming your hair. But that was this morning. The camera easily picks up small flaws, so it’s important to take one last look at your hair just before the shoot begins and double-check that stray hairs aren’t sticking up, covering your face, etc. The photographer can clean up hair in the editing process, but you want to have your hair as close to picture-perfect as possible.

• Background – What’s behind you? Of course, you’re the focus of the picture, but your background affects your appearance. If you decide to use a solid color for your backdrop, you should choose a color that won’t wash out your skin tone and should also match or coordinate with the color of your outfit. If you opt for a backdrop that’s not a solid color, like a library or a staircase, check for distracting objects. For example, if you’ll be photographed in front of a bookcase, see that all the bookshelves are full; if they’re not, it skews the picture and draws the eye away from the focus – you. Also, you may love the colorful abstract picture in your conference room, but if it’s in your picture, it will capture the attention in the photo. Finally, as a rule of thumb, don’t use windows or mirrors as backgrounds because they cause glare.

• The Macro Perspective – To determine if a shot will be a quality photo, take a full step or two back and look at it as a whole. Also, look through the camera lens.  Oftentimes, when you’re looking too closely at the details, you miss something obvious. That’s why we recommend you step back and get the “macro perspective” on a shot to see if anything is missing or needs to be changed.

Remember these important factors during your photo shoot (and prepare thoroughly beforehand) and you’ll come out of the experience with high-quality professional photos that positively represent you.

Two decades later, lo and behold, the library has been restored, there’s a beautiful café and a lovely park next door. The city center is experiencing a dramatic revitalization and was immediately apparent when I recently took the 9^th Annual Fall Downtown Los Angeles Program and Tour, a fascinating survey of new and renovated downtown properties that was offered by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District. From the retro offices at the Spring Arts Building, the luxurious apartments at the Orsini, to the pioneering shops along Seventh Street, it’s clear downtown is becoming a real destination.

This got me thinking: It didn’t happen all at once. As a young professional at Arthur Andersen, I didn’t have the perspective necessary to see that progress can, and more often than not does happen gradually. This holds as true for urban development as for professional services marketing and business development.  Getting all your marketing pieces into place—your website, blog, newsletter—can seem as overwhelming at the outset as a blighted neighborhood. But one need only look at the property-by-property, block-by-block rejuvenation of downtown L.A. to see that if you take the process one step at a time, building upon what you’ve completed and remaining positive, the results can be pleasantly surprising.

Who is the last naked lady? Well, first, she’s not always a who; sometimes, she’s a what. Second, she takes many forms (sometimes even professional services marketing-related, I swear; bear with me). Most of all, the last naked lady is difficult to relinquish, though her relinquishment brings greater rewards than her possession.

OK, OK—enough riddles. The last naked lady is an idea. It came to me after a male friend of mine told me why, even after having dated his then-girlfriend, now-wife, for about five years, he feared the commitment of marriage: “I was afraid to commit to the fact that she could be the last naked lady.”

This friend now has been happily married for more than 20 years. In retrospect, he admits his fear was misguided. But, of course, he’s not alone in having felt that way. Man or woman, in our relationships and in our careers, we are often afraid to commit to being whom we want to be (or, sometimes, whom we already are) and bid adieu to the last naked lady—to our other options.

Among Berbay’s clients, this fear of commitment takes the form of professional services firms being scared to define what they do—to declare, “Our focus is representing entrepreneurs in the food industry,” instead of, “Our focus is representing entrepreneurs in general” (Ever tried to find those general entrepreneurs, much less, cost-effectively market to them?).

Why this fear? Why do our clients have such trepidation about targeting a defined market? It’s understandable, really. They’re concerned that if they promote themselves as focusing on one or two areas, prospective clients and referral sources won’t think of them for opportunities outside those fields. But, in reality, more often the opposite happens: A referral source thinks of a client because it has a specific, memorable focus. The referral source comes to the client and says, “I realize you specialize in food-industry entrepreneurs, but a widget entrepreneur I know has a need. Can you work with her?”

Of course you can. Let the last naked lady go, and you’ll find you never needed her after all.