The 2024 Legal Marketing Association’s Annual Conference program has been announced! Keith N. Wewe’s session, “Ted Talk – Difficult Conversations: Saying No to Lawyers and Still Making Them Happy,” is part of the pre-conference, “Achieving Business Development Success by Thinking Big, Executing Effectively and Influencing Your Bosses.”
The LMA Annual Conference is being held April 3-5, 2024, in San Diego, CA. The business development pre-conference will take place on April 3.
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Difficult Conversations: Saying No to Lawyers—and Still Making Them Happy
Why is it so difficult to say the word “no”? It’s just a word, right? But, telling a lawyer no is awkward, especially in the structured hierarchy of law firms.
To achieve the well-defined goals that are demanded of business development teams, it’s more important than ever to stay focused on the end game amid the distraction of pop-up ideas, pet projects and even worthy opportunities that distract from the prize. But exactly how do you go about telling a lawyer no so that they hear the word “yes”?
Well, the answer to that question lies at the heart of our session. We’ll discuss topics such as:
- Shifting your perspective on the word no
- Assessing the opportunity cost of saying no
- The art of diplomacy
- How to offer alternatives
- And, lastly, how to get comfortable with saying no by practicing in low-risk situations.
Come prepared to learn the power of the word “no.”