And I try to remind all my professional coaching clients as well as my attendees that it is all about (STILL all about) what you know, what you want to know, and what you want. The work and the understanding of 'how to position' yourself CAN'T be done without first doing that big homework assignment of knowing all of your past successes.
Moreover, as I constantly remind folks, each individual and each firm must be able to look at each success from as many angles as possible. Was it just the result that was great for our client? How about our processes? How we staffed; how we reacted; our reaction time; our efficiency; our ability to network in expertise, etc., etc.
The answers to all of the above questions (and more) can help us understand and BELIEVE what makes our firm, our service, our value added, well, added value! But we can't start at "what our clients want to hear". We MUST begin with the truth: what we are, and what we aspire to be. There are ALWAYS enough clients---but you must FIRST: HAVE a message; and BE someone (be someTHING) before you can "sell" the firm.
And NO, you cannot be 'all things to all people'. Even large, full-service firms know that. They have to figure out what makes them unique, what makes them worthy of being entrusted with a case, and being paid cold hard cash for it.
Ask yourself those tough questions first, and the rest will fall in to place, believe me.
Well. This is why I love coaching individuals and teams---all the answers are really all there, it just takes some digging and some refining--and someone willing to take the time to ask the right questions.
