Law Marketing Bibliography

Reviews of books on client development
for lawyers and law marketing professionals

The Rainmaking Machine: Marketing, Planning, Strategies, and Management for Law Firms
By Phyllis Weiss Haserot
Thomson-West, Eagan, Minnesota, 1989 (with supplements published 1990-2004)
Hardcover volume plus ring-bound supplements
Approximately 1,400 pages, $147
Reviewed by David M. Freedman

This work is very broad in scope, covering nearly the entire range of topics that concern a law firm managing partner, inside marketing director, or outside marketing consultant – from strategic planning and client service to referral networking, public relations, websites, and selling. Haserot does not state who her intended audience is, but the content seems to be aimed at mid-size and large firms that serve corporate clients – although some of the content applies as well to small firms, general practices, and “small-town” lawyers.

The Rainmaking Machine is an encyclopedic reference, rather than a how-to manual.

The work consists of one hardcover volume (published in 1989) and a series of supplements (issued between 1990 and 2004). Any time you need a concise explanation of a particular marketing concept, you can look it up in this work, using the indexes and/or detailed tables of contents. Like most classic encyclopedias, the extremely broad scope yields fairly superficial coverage.

The supplements are not updates. They comprise 30 additional chapters, most of them covering new topics that were not addressed in the original 1989 volume (which comprises 19 chapters), and they are presented in random sequence.

Shortcomings
There are two major problems with this work. First, the author uses hardly any examples, anecdotes, case studies, success stories, or hypothetical examples to illustrate the principles she writes about. If you’re looking for general ideas, that’s fine. If you’re looking for ways to implement the ideas, you’re out of luck. There are no step-by-step instructions for carrying out the strategies she recommends. Here are some examples:

• In the section on market research (page 3-14), she talks about defining and identifying your target market. She provides a list of useful questions to ask yourself about your clients, prospects, community, competitors, and other market characteristics. But she gives no clue how to go about finding the answers, or how to use the answers to define your market.

• Haserot says, “’New matters’ memos are distributed in most firms. In many cases, they are slapped together in a lifeless style.” I’d like to see one of those lifeless memos and also one that is well written. How about some exemplary memos? What does lifeless style mean? (Ironically, Haserot’s style is not so full of life.)

• “Receptionists and secretaries must be trained to field incoming calls, to tell the serious ones – those than [sic] can mean business – from those that will be a waste of time.” No clues or tips on how to train them.

• Chapter 16 offers a list of compensation “schemes” that can motivate lawyers to market the firm’s services. But there is no advice on how to determine which scheme is right for your firm. Flip a coin?

• Amazingly, the chapter on advertising does not feature one single ad, or even an excerpt from an ad.

How authoritative?
The second major shortcoming is that the author assumes the role of an expert on almost all topics that she covers. She does not, by and large, attribute information to other marketing professionals. How reliable can the information be? Surely one person does not have such vast experience required to become knowledgeable and authoritative on all the topics that this author covers. (The author’s credentials are nowhere to be found. Her website says she has been a marketing consultant since 1982.) The reader would be well advised to seek other viewpoints. Here is one example of Haserot’s questionable advice:

“Those lawyers who do not come by it naturally will have to develop – if for marketing purposes alone – an outwardly caring attitude [toward clients].”

Contrast that advice with the advice in Henry Ewalt’s book, Through the Client’s Eyes (ABA, Chicago, 1994), in which he makes the case against feigned interest in the client – only sincere interest will do – and it’s not all that difficult to cultivate sincere interest if you’re motivated. Another source of good advice on the subject of a “caring attitude” is Stop Telling and Start Selling, by Linda Richardson (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1998).

Those are the major shortcomings, in my opinion. There are several minor problems too:

• The index is poorly laid out and difficult to use. Considering most people will use the work as a reference, seeking information via the index first, it’s a serious drawback. In fact, the index for the 1989 volume and the index to the supplements are separate, so you have to use both.

• The information contained in the 1989 volume of 19 chapters has never been updated. The market would be better served if the publisher would integrate all 51 chapters into one volume, organized in a logical sequence, with one master table of contents and one comprehensive index. And update all chapters.

• The writing style is bone dry, sterile, impersonal, and passive. There are hardly any people in the book, just ideas and things. This is not the kind of book you want to read from beginning to end – only when you need information on a certain topic, as you use an encyclopedia.

• Haserot never does explain what a "rainmaking machine" is. I didn’t notice the phrase used even once inside the covers of the book.

Law marketers should compare Haserot's work with another encyclopedic reference, Sally J. Schmidt's Marketing the Law Firm (Law Journal Press, NY, 2004).

About the author
Phyllis Weiss Haserot is the president of Practice Development Counsel in New York City. Since 1982 she has worked with firms on strategic marketing planning, training and coaching, retention and integration, client relationship management, implementing flexibility, collaborative culture, and workplace conflict resolution. For a variety of firms she has planned and presented conferences, seminars, and workshops. Haserot is a co-founder and director of the New York Metropolitan Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association. Visit her website: www.pdcounsel.com.

About the reviewer
David M. Freedman is a Chicago-based writer and media relations consultant specializing in the fields of law and finance. He won a Your Honor Award in 2001 from the Legal Marketing Association for excellence in public relations. Dave is also a coauthor of the GET GOOD PRESS Series for Lawyers (www.getgoodpress.com).

© 2004-2008 Freedman