Selling Christmas

Every year in the weeks leading up to Christmas our office would see a flurry of activity with Christmas cards and gifts to various supporters of our business. One year we even had fresh citrus shipped in from Florida, delivered to various “senders”, and of course, the bank in whose good books we always wanted to stay. Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of pre-printed cards, signed off by all our lawyers and staff, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Agnostic.

And why? Perhaps a smidgin of seasonal good cheer, but mostly because all the other guys were doing it. It was just a seasonal component in our ongoing campaign to shore up existing clients and bring in new ones. Just like nearly every other professional firm does.

Christmas cheer and golf tournaments and “business luncheons”, and of course SEO optimized websites with stunningly gorgeous headshots of all your professionals… All the stuff we do to keep the funnel full of new prospects and new client intake.

Now, this is not to suggest for a moment that there is anything wrong with seasonal gifts or entertaining clients or senders. I was an artist at such things. A pretty website is a nice thing, but an effective website is better. The trick is in understanding why you go to all this effort.

The key is in remembering what kind of business you are running, and even more important, what kind of business you want.

If you’re in the commodity business, such as a personal injury law shop or McDonalds, financial success requires a steady torrent of paying clients, and you don’t need to be picky about them so long as they can give you money. But if you are a custom-work professional, distinguished by your narrow specialty, you neither need nor want a steady stream of whoever comes in the door. You want clients and customers who have a very specific need which will be fully satisfied by your very narrow Gifting. Neither model is better than the other, but it’s critical that you know your model.

If you’re in the commodity business, you will have billboards and magnetic websites and advertising on the bus and in hockey arenas, on radio, TV, and the internet. You are, in essence, in a dragnet fishing expedition, hauling in everything you can catch. If that’s your model, knock yourself out.

But if you are a professional who is exercising a very specific, narrow gifting for the benefit of a very specific, narrow clientele, advertising in all its forms is a waste of energy, money and time. What will bring you great clients is one thing and one thing only: reputation.

So, what does this have to do with Christmas? Everything and nothing. If you’re in the commodity business, Christmas provides a perfect opportunity to go for broke, seeking favor from far and wide. Go for it, spend like there’s no tomorrow, and hope that the recipients will feel grateful and obliged to send you clients. Any warm body will do.

If you’re in the reputation business, you don’t need or want to suck up to anyone. But at the same time, while your reputation is mostly about your Giftings, it’s also about who you are as a human, about your sense of decency and belonging and community. It’s about your reputation for giving back. This is why colleague Kim Whaley, one of Canada’s top estate litigation experts,rappels down Toronto skyscrapers to raise money for kids in need (https://myemail.constantcontact.com/WEL-Newsletter-September-2023-Volume-13–Number-6.html?soid=1105045552020&aid=omcdnPof-iw) . Almost every professional at the top of their game is a giver.

So if Christmas giving is part of your expression of love for those in your circuit, or even a sincere “thank you”, by all means, pour it on.

If you are struggling to live in your Giftings but still dragnet fishing, we need to talk.