Rob’s original doggo Oliver – April 1 was his “gotcha day”
Eversheds Sutherland’s Dominic Ayres – as well as my precious mom Susie Sexton! – joined us to chat today about business development and client engagement in this new age.
We had a rich and robust conversation about the power of client teams, bringing humanity into your conversations with clients, anticipating their needs through empathy, being aware of social issues and expectations, the importance of diversity and inclusion in those conversations, and proper data and reporting being essential to the process.
Shout outs in the show to Brenda Pontiff, Timothy Corcoran, Mari Hutchinson, Don Sexton, Stefanie Marrone, Nancy Slome, Joe Biden, trains, Star Wars, beloved dogs, kids, Legal Marketing Association – LMA International, and Greatest Showman.
Enjoy!
Show description: This week our guest on Legal Marketing Coffee Talk is Dominic Ayres, the Senior Client Development Manager – Industrials Sector at Eversheds Sutherland. He and Roy Sexton will discuss the approaches Dominic and Eversheds have taken to supercharge client development in these quarantine days. Dominic will address Eversheds’ Global KAM with its greater focus on protecting and investing resources in a smaller set of clients.
Dominic and Roy will also talk about developing content with which clients actually want to engage, getting closer to the clients in ways meaningful to them, firms becoming more than just “external lawyers” but connected advisors, and the rapidly evolving value and roles of Business Development and Marketing professionals in those processes.
They may also talk about what it’s like to work from home with three little ones in England during this pandemic, Dominic’s love of Star Wars and superheroes, building a home gym in one’s garage, and playing Greatest Showman dress-up with one’s children.
Thank you to Krista Schafer Ewbank and Open Book Theatre Company for continuing to find innovative, fun, and provocative ways to deliver theatre to our community in these dark days. iPoppy is by turns riotous, satirical, poignant, incisive, but always engaging. A one-woman ten minute show delivered 1:1 to each audience member via the quarantine-ubiquitous #Zoom, iPoppy is a frothy yet searing indictment of our present “culture,” one that wallpapers over socioeconomic inequities, familial trauma, rampant materialism, and the corrosive intersection of racism and sexism with a relentless and soul-crushing press of social media self-promotion and digital deception. iPoppy packs a wallop in its brisk and breezy ten minute run-time. Give it a go, and support local theatre.
“Check out some clips from iPoppy, along with some quotes from audience members. Sign up for your own 10 minute, live performance of this original piece! Written by M.X. Sotero. Directed by Topher Payne. Featuring Marcela Gazaro.”
This year’s Legal Marketing Association annual conference was a virtual affair, and it was just as vibrant and engaging (if not more so) than our in-person meetings. I’m happily energized AND utterly exhausted. I’m one proud international board member tonight! Below are some highlights …
Enjoy this #lma20 chat with the ever-charming Ashraf Lakhani, Matt Parfitt, and Rob Kates! We discuss their conference sessions (general counsel interviews and email marketing trends respectively), the finer points of long-distance chess, the importance of family, quarantine basketball, and outback policemen!
Yes, there is singing. Dave Matthews, in fact. And a shiny gold jacket. ⭐️ Rob Kates, Meghan Frank from Lexis Nexis, and yours truly with fab host Michelle Friends talk #lma20 🥰
Enjoy this final “coffee talk” of #lma20 with yours truly, Rob Kates, Joe Przybyla, Amy Payton Verhulst! We talk about the amazing discoveries of this year’s conference, the wonders of Introhive, what makes a great Legal Marketing Association leader, children’s art, online car shopping, and frosty treat rewards.
Yes, one more song – that I barely make it through without crying. One of my mom Susie Sexton’s favorites from “On the Town” and a fitting tribute to this incredible week. Kudos to conference chairs Kristen Bateman and Jon Mattson and the conference committee and support team (including Kristy Perkins, Malaika Palmer, Christina Abes) as well as rock star president Jill Mason Huse for their truly remarkable work.
Thanks to the SmithBucklin team, including Danielle Holland , Holly Amatangelo , JenaShay Russell , Ashley Stenger , Kimberly McBride , Kat Seiffert , Kristin Frankiewicz, Alexia Malamis for all of the ongoing support.
Thanks to all of the guest hosts and guests this week who made this show such a special addition! Shout outs during the show to Carman Janenne Akins, Jim Jarrell, Megan McKeon, Vanessa Vines Petrea, Jessica Jaramillo, Tahisha Fugate, Andrew Laver, Jessica Aries, Brenda Plowman, Stefanie Marrone, Jennifer Petrone Dezso, Tanya Riggan, Nikki Girard Sherrill, Michelle Friends, Kelly MacKinnon, Christine Mitchell Harris, Patrick Fuller, Gina Rubel, and more!
5 days of crucial content 1 excellent keynote speaker named Baratunde Thurston 1 new hashtag #LMACitizen inspired by #HowToCitizen 140+ speakers 40+ interactive live sessions 3+ hours of 1:1 attendee networking sessions 5 engaging virtual social events 17 countries and 43 states represented 45+ sponsoring organizations 1200+ legal marketing professionals 10 costume changes (MY contribution 🤣) Too many “skills” to count
LMA20 tribute to the ever-delightful Patrick Fuller … this will only mean something to the people who watched the comedy night event with Last Comic Standing winner and celebrity comedian John Heffron. To the rest of you, I’m sorry … not sorry. 🤣 I generally hate inside jokes. But I can’t resist this one. #skills!Some final thoughts on #lma20A closing song – “Some Other Time” from the musical “On The Town”Smart sartorial choices of #lma20 … “The first but not the last.” Kamala Harris
Live from … YouTube? Rob Kates of Kates Media writes: “Today on Legal Marketing Coffee Talk, we enjoyed a heartwarming chat with Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing at Clark Hill, who talks about #StayHome and offers some words of wisdom for marketing a law firm in these challenging times. Join us daily for Legal Marketing Coffee Talk with Stefanie Marrone, 2pm EST daily on Facebook.” ❤️ Thank you, both.
Our producer Rob apparently is moonlighting politically … and forgot who he was dealing with today 😂
POSTSCRIPT… In less than 24 hours, I’ve become quite the quarantine streaming talk show raconteur. 😂 I feel like Richard Dawson or Bert Convey. #genxjoke – thank you, wonderful Brenda Zawacki Meller of Meller Marketing, for this (just received) invite! 🥧
Thank you to my dear friend Nancy Myrland for this – she is FAR too good to me. ❤️ Ain’t nobody wantin’ any MORE of ME runnin’ ‘round. 😂😂😂 #beNOTaRoySexton