By Randi Rosenblatt
There’s a mix of myths and truths when it comes to women in business.
Myths:
- Women are bad negotiators
- Women lack the confidence to lead
- Women are less ambitious
Truths:
- Women were only 5% of C-suite positions in 2021 on the S&P/TSX composite index, up from just 16% in 2015
- The U.S. labor force lost 1.067 million women between February 2020 and September 2022
- About 22% of all law firm equity partners were female in 2020
So, while the battle may seem mostly uphill, women and business have the true potential to be the perfect match.
As women, it is often the case that many of our longtime friends have left the workforce leaving us with a smaller organic network; we feel less-than qualified for certain matters/cases; we struggle with the idea of how we’ll be viewed if we assert ourselves; and being the minority, we often feel as though we’re at a disadvantage.
But, women are better salespeople. And sales equal business. Full stop.
Women make others feel heard and understood and as a result buyers often believe that women can solve their problems. Women generally thrive in emphasizing connections, shaping solutions, collaborating, and actively listening. And, given all the myths and truths that work against us, we are incredibly determined to succeed.
So, how can you turn these natural behaviors into dollars in the door?
- Work to reframe your existing network. While you may feel like your nearest and dearest childhood, college and graduate school friends have left the workforce, they can still be helpful to you in achieving success. Make sure your friends know what you do and how they can help you. Ensure they know your practice area. Confirm that they understand who you would benefit from meeting. Equip them to serve as your sales representatives at appropriate times. Depending on your practice area, your friends who left the workforce may actually serve as better referral sources than they were before given the different networks to which they now have access.
- Get Involved. Given your strength in building and maintaining connections, strategically develop new ones. Look back to those you may have met briefly and re-connect. Spend time in the right rooms with the people you wish to get to meet and get to know better. Consider your practice area, your interests, volunteer opportunities and women’s groups, to start. Keep showing up!
- Schedule one-on-one meetings with new contacts. As you meet new people, schedule time to connect, one-on-one. Learn about your new contacts. What do they need and/or want that you can offer and/or provide? Understand how you can serve as a resource as you work to build the relationship. Consider invitations, introductions, and invitations – some of the most valuable things you can offer to your network.
- Be Organized & Strategic. Create an appropriate cadence (quarterly) for outreach/follow up. Whether you use a customer relationship manager (CRM), Excel, or your calendar, create a system to remain in touch with your network. Seek substance when structuring your outreach. While you may not have a top-of-mind reason to reach out, look for one. Was your contact’s company in the news? Did a law change that may impact his/her business? Is there an interesting event coming up that your contact should know about?
- Identify Solutions Rather Than Problems. As good listeners, women can often quickly identify problems and associated solutions in a given scenario. Utilize that skill to craft and share realistic and workable solutions. Create a feeling among your contacts, clients and prospects that you understand the issues and are here to help solve them. This, alone, makes you a trusted advisor. And, when you use that skill beyond legal problem solving, you are invaluable.
- Gift Thoughtfully. Don’t get lost in December holiday gifts. Instead, gift for any reason or no reason. Start of summer? Last day of winter? National Cookie Day? Instead of the expected wine or fruit baskets, gift something memorable and, if appropriate, targeted to the recipient. Specialized gifts demonstrate that you really know your contacts and that they are not simply a number on a spreadsheet.
- No Hard Pitches. Transform any sales mindset into a relationship building mindset. The goal is to become the obvious choice for your practice – that happens by way of showing up meaningfully, nurturing and personalizing relationships, and demonstrating your experience and knowledge. No hard pitch necessary.
Women have natural abilities that lend themselves to building business. Leveraging those abilities to their fullest potential make women and business the perfect match.
Randi Rosenblatt is the Founder & CEO of Upward Stride, a business development training, coaching and consulting firm that works with attorneys and law firms to bring their business to the next level. Prior to founding Upward Stride, Randi was the Vice President of Business Development at Bliss Lawyers, a secondment firm that placed high-caliber attorneys at companies and law firms. Randi was instrumental in successfully growing Bliss Lawyers’ business, resulting in its acquisition by the industry leader, Axiom. She was previously Senior Counsel, Director at Heineken USA in New York and also practiced law as a corporate attorney at the law firms of Schiff Hardin LLP and Watson Farley and Williams LLP. Randi earned her JD and MBA from Tulane and her BA from the University of Michigan. She can be reached at randi@upwardstride.com.