TRP 243: Image-Building for Rainmakers with Lee Heyward

[00:00:10] You're listening to The Rainmaking Podcast, hosted by high-stakes headhunter, author, and professional speaker, Scott Love. You're listening to The Rainmaking Podcast, and this is Scott Love. Thank you for joining me on the show once again. As you know, this is a large library of information that helps you do one thing. It helps you to get more business. How do you do that? You've got to build trust. You also have to have the right type of image.

[00:00:39] Let me ask you this question. Do you have the right type of image when people think of somebody who's successful in your field in terms of a rainmaker? We're going to talk about that and more with our special guest today. Her name is Lee Heyward. Now, she is a brand consultant and the founder of The Prosperous Image, a consulting firm that gives clients an edge in the moments that matter.

[00:01:03] She works closely with law firm founders and other high-achieving leaders to help them reach unlimited growth, personal freedom, and unparalleled brand loyalty. As always, this show is sponsored by Leopard Solutions' legal intelligence suite of products, Firmscape, and Leopard BI. Push out of the pack with the power of Leopard. And one more thing. If you have time, I'd like to invite you to scroll through some of our past episodes and listen to our past guests on our shows.

[00:01:33] All of them revolve around one topic, which is client development. If there's any resource that can help you get more business, this is the resource that I hope you turn to. And best of all, it's absolutely free. Please share this show with friends of yours, people that can benefit from it. And if you have a minute, go to Apple Podcasts, formerly known as iTunes, and give us a nice five-star review. And if there's a guest that you listened to before that made a difference, please mention that guest by name in your review.

[00:02:01] Thanks for listening. I hope you get some great ideas from my conversation with Leigh Hayward today. Hey, this is Scott Love with the Rainmaking Podcast. Our guest today is Leigh Hayward, and our topic is image building for rainmakers. Leigh, thank you for joining me on the show. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to have you here, too. And I'm really interested to learn about what we're going to talk about. And I wanted to kind of get a definition. When you say image, what does that mean exactly?

[00:02:30] What's a good working definition for that, Leigh? Yeah, and that's a great question because I think there's a lot of confusion around the word image because people interchangeably use the word brand versus image. So your image is literally, very simply, what you are putting out into the world. So it is all the visual clues that you're putting out into the world, whether you're doing it yourself from your own sort of personal brand standpoint,

[00:02:56] or the pieces that your business is putting out from an image perspective. And brand is how people perceive that image. I see. So image is going out, and brand is the perception that people are having. And what are the components of that image? Is it all social media? Is it emails? I mean, what are the building blocks of that that you've seen?

[00:03:19] So we work in what we call the image mastery system, which I created because I found that people would up-level one piece of their image within their brand that was having a problem. And then you would do one thing, and it would help, but it would get negated because all the other pieces weren't working. And so we actually use what I think are like the five most strategic pieces of image, and it always starts with a personal brand.

[00:03:46] So if you are the founder of a firm, your personal brand is actually the most important piece of your own leadership. Every result that you're getting is actually coming from how you show up. So number one is personal brand. Right. Number two is online persona. You know, to your point about social media and like, you know, how you are perceived from your webpage. When somebody Googles you, there is a persona that is created for both you and your business that they are perceiving, and that's how they are making judgments about your brand.

[00:04:16] Mm-hmm. Number three is your team. So you have this team that is representing who you are and the brand that you are, and it's whether or not they are cohesive, and they actually make sense for what you say you're selling and then the experience that you have with them. And then what we call the money-making space, which is just all about the environment. Like, I'm sure you've been in places before where you're like,

[00:04:40] I can't believe this is the way they are selling something, or I can't believe somebody showed up on Zoom in this way. The environment is a huge piece of your image. And that's the fourth one. Is that right? That's the fourth one. And the last one is how the client experiences you. So what is the experience like as they go through each touchpoint of your brand? That's interesting. And I like the way you've laid this out. This is fantastic.

[00:05:06] Personal brand, online persona, your team, the environment, and how the client experiences you. Where do you think most people struggle on these five different components? Well, the truth of the matter is where you think you're struggling is usually not the catalyst of the problem. I think one of the main struggles that I see that brings people to me to help them sort of, you know, revamp their brand and image, it usually starts with the team.

[00:05:36] And they've got a team who is showing up, looking away that doesn't feel on brand. Or they've got a team that, you know, just isn't putting the best effort into understanding, you know, what they're all about. So one of the things that I do is come in as a third party so that it is an opportunity for, instead of being frustrated because blubbity-bluff shows up with wet hair or flip-flops. I've been brought in for that before, just having that noise annoying people in the office.

[00:06:04] And how can we create a team that looks on brand, feels on brand, but at the end of the day, the team is showing up based on how you, the founder, are showing up? That's interesting. Do you find a lot of them are surprised by how you lay this out to them? The founder of the company, you mean? Right, right. Yes. I mean, the hard truth is that the day that you came in, you know, we all have days where we are not on our best game.

[00:06:34] Things happen, traffic, kids, all the things. But the day that you came in, a bit disheveled, a bit more casual than normal, like just kind of whatever, it's just one day. That was the permission slip for the rest of the organization to be like, okay, I can dress like that too. And because they're the boss, you're the boss, then they come in one step below that. That's interesting. So let me kind of dig into the first one, the personal brand.

[00:07:00] Let's say you have a new client, a firm founder, 60 to 150 attorneys. And what are the things that you're advising that firm founder on with his or her personal brand? Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing comes down to clarity, which sounds like, you know, maybe a buzzword. But a lot of times, you know, when you think back to let's just take it as simple as like getting dressed, when we think about like how we began dressing in a professional manner,

[00:07:29] there was never some like, here's a strategic manual on how to do so. You're doing it from this melting pot of places of what somebody told you you should do, or what somebody told you you shouldn't do, or how you feel in your body. And so it's created from this like mishmash and wishy-washiness within yourself of what you think is kind of like, I guess this is what I should be doing.

[00:07:52] And so the number one step is that we literally just sit down and figure out what is your why? What is your vision for the business? And from there, we figure out how do you show up? How do you get dressed in a way that helps you push that vision forward and is aligned with that why? And that's very different from most definitions of like, let's say, personal styling,

[00:08:21] or sometimes even personal brand, where it's more about outer packaging. And it is about outer packaging, but I truly believe it's kind of pointless work unless you do it from the inside out. Yeah, that's right. Where do you find you get most pushback from in your clients when you start working with them on their personal brand? I don't know if it's pushback or if it's just being in a new space of having someone who truly believes in you and truly sees you.

[00:08:51] I don't work with people in a way that is, you know, superficial, like it's a very intimate process. So I really want to be one of those people on your team, you know, your virtual team that truly sees your potential and what you're here for. And I just hope you hold that space in order to get there. And so the pushback comes from sometimes it's challenging to step into what you're meant for just like, oh, overnight. Okay, great. This is what I do.

[00:09:19] You have to have, you know, the belief and the confidence to get there. And so it's really a process of me transferring that full belief and confidence to the client. I see. And what do you think are some of the common areas where most founders of firms or leaders of firms, what's kind of the most common issue that you've had to help them with in their personal brand? I think the biggest thing is, and I sort of alluded to this earlier, but I'm going to use the word should. People dress the way they think they should.

[00:09:49] And typically, you just don't have to. So I think people can have a lot more fun than they are. They can tell their personality a lot more than they are. And we have to remember that in a service-based business, like a law firm, no matter how big you are, people, you know, they can get a family law attorney. There's 10 versions within three miles of you typically, right? Like they are buying what makes you guys different.

[00:10:16] And so I think that's usually the biggest surprise to people is that I am really encouraging you to step into that, what makes you different, and show up like that. And it's interesting, this sort of trickle-down effect it has, right? Because now you've got clients that are more interested in your firm because it's very clear why you are different and who you are. And then you've got staff that is more sticky because they are really clear on what they're doing there.

[00:10:46] It's not just a job. It's a mission. You know, and you become a firm that people actually want to work for when you've really dialed into that clarity and are starting to use it to your advantage. Yeah, right. So tell me an example of someone that you work with. You don't have to mention the name of them, of course. But what was, and it might not have been the biggest change, but maybe it was a little bit of a tweak that had a big result. Give me an example of that. Well, I mean, this is a very specific one for dressing.

[00:11:13] But I can think of a woman who, very, very powerful attorney, super successful, but had not been able to take her confidence to sort of that next level where she really could just stand in her own body. And the problem was that she was dressing too cute. Like, she looked a little bit like a little girl.

[00:11:34] And even though, like, her talent was through the roof, you did not really want to be against her in a courtroom, the perception of her was not that. You had to sort of get to know her to figure that out. And so it was really as simple as sort of changing the silhouettes in terms of how she was dressing so that that power was instantly seen instead of the cuteness seen.

[00:11:59] And the coolest part about that is, once you know these little tricks about yourself, you use them to your advantage. You show up in your little cute outfit and let somebody, like, think, oh, this is going to be easy. And then you, you know, shock them. Or, you know, so, like, it's a fun way to be able to use the different gifts that you have. That's interesting. And I found, especially in legal, optics mean everything.

[00:12:24] The way you talk to someone, the inflection in your voice can shut somebody down or open their mind up. And I've known that I think law firms especially are hypersensitive to delicate nuance. And I think that what you're talking about is delicately nuancing what their external presence is. So I think that's really insightful, Lee. Tell me about somebody that you think they didn't make those changes and then finally they saw that they had to.

[00:12:52] Has there been anybody that you've worked with where they're kind of reluctant to do this? Okay, okay, finally I'll do it. Have you seen people that have been just reluctant to change and then finally they did after time? I mean, clients that typically come through the process with me are ready for that change. But there are lots of people who I've had a conversation with. You know, I'm just one of these people that people would say, oh, you, you know, like to dress people. You just walk around judging what people wear. And I really don't.

[00:13:20] What I see is, man, they are missing the mark on their potential. That's what I see. And so there are people who I have had conversations with that sort of hurt my heartstrings from the perspective of like, I wish they were ready to see what I can see within themselves. But, you know, back to your point of, you know, everything being very optic. It's interesting because I thought I wanted to be an attorney and that's what I went to school to do.

[00:13:48] And then I got to the point of actually going to law school and I was like, I don't think I actually want to do this. But in that process, which, thank goodness, like I wasn't meant to do that and I was meant to work in law in a different way. But, you know, so in that process, I worked for a lot of law firms. And what I thought was so fascinating, it didn't occur to me sort of at the time, but on the flip side was, you know, I was a receptionist in three different firms.

[00:14:13] And not one time was any part of the onboarding or the job training or anything, nobody said to me, listen, you are the first person. This is pre-COVID, literally the first person that anybody interacts with, whether it's on the phone or when they walk in the door. The way you present yourself, the way you speak, what you say, these things matter. We are a blah, blah, blah kind of firm.

[00:14:41] And in order to have people feel X, Y, Z way, we want you to be able to, you know, have this type of image. Like nobody said that to me. And I think it's very interesting. They got lucky because I cared about how I showed up. And so I showed up, you know, presenting myself well. But it always is interesting because it seems like such a missed opportunity. And so there's little things like that where tiny tweaks and shifts can make such a big difference. You're absolutely right.

[00:15:07] I've met with over 70 firms, MLaw 100 and 200 firms in their offices, in person, not just Zoom meetings, but in their offices. And you're absolutely right. That's the director of first impressions and the final memory maker when you leave that office. And how they present themselves, it ties in with their brand. And that kind of brings me to the team in kind of going over the five points. Personal brand, online persona, your team, environment, and how the client experiences you.

[00:15:33] What have you seen in terms of pitfalls that most law firm founders have to stumble through in getting the team on board? What are the biggest challenges in that regard, Lee? I mean, I think it's such a frustrating matter, right? Because your heart and soul and money and time that you, you know, would rather be spending with your children is in this firm.

[00:15:57] And then you've got people showing up who just aren't taking it seriously or, you know, are showing up with wet hair. That's a big one that I end up dealing with. Like these little things that honestly to the person are probably not really a big deal. And it drives people crazy. It drives you as the founder crazy. And rightfully so. And so one of the biggest things I remind everybody is a lot of times, especially in some of these more entry-level positions of the firm,

[00:16:27] you have to remember and you cannot assume that people actually know the way that you want them to show up and the way you want them to appear. And then the other thing that is the biggest pitfall that everybody falls into is everyone's dress codes are pretty much terrible. They're like, you know, nobody knows what to write. It's so tricky in the Me Too era.

[00:16:52] Like, it's just not an easy place to be in terms of like figuring out how to tell people what to wear. And so dress codes are very minimal. And so people genuinely don't know what to do. And so on the dress code speech, I say, think of it as a dress culture. A culture is clear about what it is they're trying to do and what it is that they're trying to change.

[00:17:19] And from that perspective, you can now say, okay, and because this is what we're doing, this is our mission here at Blah Blah Blah Firm, we want to be dressed in a manner that makes other people feel confident, at ease, peace with us, know that they're in the right place.

[00:17:40] And so we're able to switch the focus from you aren't dressing right to here's how we are trying to make impact in the world. How can you step up and help us do that? Well, go ahead. No, I was going to say, how have you seen that made a difference? What have you seen when the team's on board? What's the result? It's engagement is the result with clients.

[00:18:04] Number one, the team feels more confident engaging with a client, even if it's a simple interaction as a receptionist leading somebody to the conference room. They understand how their role that may feel like a, you know, pipsqueak moment, that tiny little thing actually tells the client they are in the right place.

[00:18:25] They understand that the way you say, listen, we have water and snacks here, please take, you know, take one, take it home with you. The way that they say that is making the difference in how somebody is referring them ultimately. And it's kind of just showing people examples and having them kind of experience it on their own of like, oh, what that sounds like.

[00:18:49] One of the things that we've done a couple of times in some of the firms that I've worked with is at meetings, we ask people to bring a share of an experience, like an experience share of something that they experienced out in the world. Doesn't need to be legal wise. That made them feel, wow, this is an amazing place. I belong here. So Lee, this is fantastic info. And I think everybody listening is going to see that this is an impact.

[00:19:15] If we could summarize what we've talked about in three action steps that people can take to get started making these changes, what would those three action steps be? Number one, I would say pull your core values and figure out, number one, if you don't know your values, like you can't just say them, they're not your values. But what I want you to really do is let's say they really are your values and you're looking at that list.

[00:19:42] I want you to really look at that list and see what is actually reflected. If someone was to walk into your firm, what of those values are actually reflected? And, you know, the action step number one, a, or we can call it two if you want, that I have found very, very helpful is have somebody you trust secret shop your firm.

[00:20:08] Give them the values and say, does any of this show up when you called us, when you look us up online, when you see our team photograph? And have somebody be able to show you like, well, the gap is kind of here. And then you figure out, all right, this is what I need to do to close it. And then the third thing I'll say is remembering that as the founder, every result in your brand is coming from you.

[00:20:37] And so before you kind of go on a bandwagon of really changing anything, I encourage you to take five days and take a photo of yourself, just like a little mirror selfie, and try and judge it without like, oh, I look fat today or, oh, I had a bad hair day. All you're looking for is, am I showing up aligned with these values that we are saying we have? Yeah, that's insightful. That takes a lot of self-awareness, doesn't it? It does.

[00:21:05] And, you know, and that's kind of why my job exists to bring in a third party. But there are people in your life. I mean, you know, that's one of my favorite parts about being a business owner, right? Is other business owners and entrepreneurs who are friends going through this journey with us. You know, and if you have that person in your life that can help you look at that from a different perspective, you know, that's one way to do it. Yeah, that's great. Well, Lee, thank you for being on the show today. And before we go, tell our listeners, what do you do? What do you have? What would you like for them to know about your services?

[00:21:35] Yeah, well, thank you again for having me. I think what I would love listeners to have, if this spoke to you, I think the first place to start is, again, with that personal brand piece. And my greatest suggestion is actually to go to Amazon. And my book, Strategically Suited, is there in both Audible and regular hard copy. And start there. It is a super short read, literally.

[00:22:02] And it just gives you a new perspective to think about how to use your image as a tool. And I tell you to start there because I truly believe that as a founder, your personal brand is getting the result in every one of those five pieces of your image. And so if you start there and sort of start to do the double checks, it can be a very powerful tool. That's great, Lee. We're going to put those links for everybody listening on the show notes. So just go there and you'll be able to order Lee's book directly.

[00:22:30] And Lee will also put your LinkedIn link on the show notes and your company's web page as well. And Lee, thank you for being a great guest on the show. I'd love to have you back on in the future. Thanks for having me. This was fun. Thank you for listening to The Rainmaking Podcast. For more information about our recruiting services for international law firms, visit our website at attorneysearchgroup.com.

[00:22:58] To inquire about having Scott speak at your next convention, conference, sales meeting, or executive retreat, visit therainmakingpodcast.com.