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About Mark Maraia If you would like to receive complete copies of any of these testimonials, please call Mark at 303-791-1042 or send him an e-mail message at mark@markmaraia.com (simply click on this e-mail link). Coaching can transform your
lawyers
"I had an epiphany while working with Mark. Mark has changed the way I think about people and marketing. I now view networking as putting people together for their mutual benefit. I have generated work which is directly attributable to Mark's coaching." Amelia Koch, Locke Liddell & Sapp, New Orleans, Louisiana "As a former national board member of the Legal Marketing Association and after 11 years as marketing director for my firm, I have had an opportunity to hire and observe many trainers in the legal profession and can say Mark Maraia is second to none in delivering value. If you've tried training before, but you didn't see much changed behavior in your lawyers, consider Mark. His unique approach to teaching lawyers involves relentless follow up (and I do mean relentless!). As a result, if you hire Mark, you can expect behavioral changes in your attorneys. His coaching has had a transformational effect on lawyers in our firm." Linda O'Connell, Robinson & Cole LLP, Hartford, Connecticut "The most valuable thing you will get from working with Mark is a different way of thinking about client relationships." Rick Fay, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Charlotte, North Carolina "Few professionals providing services to law firms have the insight, skill and ability to bring about the behavioural change that is often required. Mark Maraia does, he is exceptional." Trish Carroll, Minter Ellison, Sydney, NSW, Australia "He has helped me undo my old ways of thinking he's opened my mind to a new way of doing things. I would love to have had Mark around earlier in my career. There would have been an added dimension to both my pocketbook and my career." Joseph (Chip) Galagaza, Seyfarth Shaw, Houston, Texas "Mark has pulled off the nearly impossible: he has gotten me to reframe my view of marketing. He always helps me define a clear purpose behind each client contact. I am calling my clients, both existing and past clients, more often. Each time we debrief on a client contact I come away with new insights about how to handle the situation the next time." Richard Lapp, Seyfarth Shaw, Chicago, Illinois "Mark's program was really great! Mark offers concrete suggestions on the 'hows' of marketing rather than platitudes. As a result of Mark's program my perspective has changed permanently for the better." Babbette Reynolds, Smith Helms Mulliss & Moore, L.L.P., Charlotte, North Carolina "Before working with Mark I was doing nothing in the marketing arena. The fact that he got me to willingly undertake anything that resembles marketing is a small miracle." Gwen Young, Wheeler Trigg & Kennedy, Denver, Colorado "I needed someone to lay out the proper structure for a marketing meeting and Mark's program does that extremely well. The real surprise came from learning how to focus on building relationships rather than worry about getting work. The whole approach that Mark advocates has a more comfortable feel to it. I am definitely more effective now than the way I approached it before." Jim, partner in the Denver office of an Arizona firm "Working with Mark has really changed my view of selling. I've realized that selling and marketing in the way which Mark suggests is very comfortable and natural. I also know better than to have 'Random Acts of Lunch.'" Don Anderson, McGuire Woods L.L.P., Jacksonville, Florida "Working with Mark to develop the questions and think of the possible advances was very useful because I was more focused and comfortable than I might have been otherwise." Mark Clouatre, Wheeler Trigg & Kennedy, Denver, Colorado "I started out highly skeptical about marketing training but, to my surprise, all of the suggestions Mark made for methods and approaches made good sense, were well within my comfort zone, and much easier to implement than I anticipated." Patricia H. Cullison, Seyfarth, Shaw, San Francisco, CA "Mark Maraia has shown me an approach to marketing that is painless and has even become enjoyable. I find talking with Mark to be educational and keeps me focused." Michael, associate in Salt Lake office of a large Arizona law firm "I have done a complete shift in my mindset about marketing since attending Mark Maraia's workshop. I have found that marketing is more fun and easier than I expected it to be." Paul Schuster, Locke, Liddell & Sapp LLP, Dallas, Texas "Mark has helped me achieve what I previously thought was impossible: have fun while marketing. I no longer remain content with having 'Random Acts of Lunch.' Working with Mark has enabled me to transition from knowing people solely at a social level to having business discussions that are both comfortable and natural. Mark's coaching is great. Anyone that works with him is in for a real treat." Chris Fenelon, Locke Liddell & Sapp, Houston, Texas "One of my personal breakthroughs during my lunch with [a prospective client] was that I didn't spend all of my time in social conversation. Rather than feeling reluctant about [my next lunch] I find myself looking forward to the next opportunity with a prospective client." R.D. Yant, Seyfarth, Shaw, Chicago, Illinois
"As a senior partner I have nothing but praise for Mark's insights and help. Mark's prompted me to meet with contacts I'd made with a major bank and got hired to help one of its customers. That led to $60,000 in work. I learn something from every phone conversation." Norman Kahn, Aird & Berlis, Toronto, Ontario, Canada "I'll never forget Mark's suggestion: 'if you want to become a partner, act like you are already a partner and they won't have any choice.' It worked for me and I have Mark to thank for it. I have secured tangible new business through Mark's coaching. My originations have more than doubled since I first began working with Mark." David Wilson, Robinson & Cole, Boston, Massachusetts
"Mark served as my marketing conscience during the period we worked together. His commitment to my success was palpable and helped me become more self motivated and committed. The classroom was valuable, but the energy and enthusiasm it generated would have dissipated without the coaching." Mark Van Brussell, Seyfarth Shaw, Sacramento, California "Mark never allowed me to forget about commitments I made to myself. Perhaps that was the most valuable part of the experience." Don Anderson, McGuire Woods L.L.P., Jacksonville, Florida "As an experienced trial lawyer who has attended half a dozen marketing programs I came into Mark's program with lots of skepticism. The real world experiences I had during the coaching period helped reinforce how the concepts apply. For the first time, I can say there is a program that actually helps me improve my skills. Mark is the best I've seen, by a large margin." Bruce McDermott, Garvey, Schubert & Barer, Seattle, Washington
"[Coaching] is a way to hold my feet to the fire when I am insanely busy. I now make a little time each day for marketing." Steve Connolly, Garvey, Schubert & Barer, Portland, Oregon "Initially I'd think, 'what Mark is advocating is straightforward.' Then in a debriefing with him after an actual client meeting a profound realization hit me: most of us never actually DO what he suggests. That's what makes his extraordinary follow up so valuable." Ken Youmans, Seyfarth Shaw, Los Angeles, California "Mark's program provides a sense of real accountability." Peter Flynn, Locke Liddell & Sapp, Dallas, Texas
"It's so easy in a busy practice to put off practice development activities. With Mark's reminders (and tips on how to remember to do it myself) I have gotten much better at making time for it. I would heartily endorse Mark for doing more training in our firm." Brad, partner in the Salt Lake office of a large southwestern firm "It is too easy during a busy day to place non-billable marketing time at the bottom of the priority list. Because I was accountable to Mark, marketing moved to a higher priority level." Ed Karlin, Seyfarth Shaw, Chicago, Illinois "Mark Maraia is one of the finest outside providers I've ever worked with. In fact, I have urged retaining Mark so that he can be available to the lawyers in our firm on a long-term basis. He has clearly affected how I think and act toward marketing. Marketing has gone from being 'a good idea' to something that is central to my daily practice." George Ferrell, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Seattle, Washington.
"Your coaching was very helpful because it held me accountable. It's very helpful to have someone nudging you along. Classroom training would never have prompted those 5-10 calls." Gerardo Barrios, Phelps Dunbar LLP, New Orleans, Louisiana "Training alone wouldn't have delivered the same kind of value without the follow-up. It's too easy to go back to practicing law and forget what was discussed in a seminar." Jim Matthews, Lindquist & Venum, Minneapolis, Minnesota "Mark's seminars are great! However his coaching is even more personalized. It helps to know that Mark will check in with me and it has certainly made me better at follow through." Roxanne, mid-level associate in large Arizona law firm
"What's great about Mark is that he's totally there for you and commits a level of attention and enthusiasm that even your own best friends and partners cannot give." Larry Benjamin, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, Chicago, Illinois "Mark has an incredible talent for helping me make the relationship building process feel comfortable and natural. Mark's enthusiasm is very contagious." Brenda Feis, Seyfarth, Shaw, Chicago, Illinois "Mark was the motivating force I needed to become more disciplined." David Pickle, Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP, Washington, DC
"Thanks to Mark's constant follow up and help I am thinking more frequently about marketing related issues and opportunities. I now look for ways to stay in touch with others and the more I discuss with Mark how to do this the more I realize there are many comfortable and natural ways to stay in touch with clients and prospective clients." Mike Dorman, Locke Liddell & Sapp, Houston, Texas "I particularly appreciated Mark's signature suggestion of 'avoid random acts of lunch.' It reflects Mark's fundamental attitude about marketing...know what you are trying to achieve at each encounter with a client or prospect." Ken Wylie, Sidley & Austin, Chicago, Illinois "Mark Maraia's coaching is practical and results-oriented. Mark is superb at following, his nuts-and-bolts advice on deepening existing client relationships and finding new business was right on the money." Larry Bodine, Webmaster of the LawMarketing Portal, www.LawMarketing.com, and former Director of Communications, Sidley & Austin, Chicago, Illinois
"Each time I presented him with an obstacle he offered great ideas to move beyond the impasse." Lou Strawn, Locke Liddell & Sapp, Dallas, Texas "Mark's coaching compels you to immediately put into practice the ideas he discusses with you. Every phone call with him yielded new insights and learning. Mark's energy is highly contagious. He offers up an incredible array of ideas which play very well in the real world." Paul C. Van Slyke, Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP, Houston, Texas "Mark Maraia was well chosen and even those of us who may have been cynical to start were won over by his ideas and practicality. The work [Mark] did in presenting challenging material to 60 lawyers from paralegal to senior partner level was inspirational. We look forward to seeing [Mark] in Australia again soon." Patrick George, Minter Ellison, Sydney, NSW, Australia
"Mark's visit helped me focus on major client relationships instead of getting out there to meet new people. I've learned that the more I'm in this client's office, the more work we get." Don Anderson, McGuire Woods L.L.P., Jacksonville, Florida "Mark Maraia's training has been invaluable for my practice and my professional growth. He changed my way of thinking about marketing----from 'getting a client' to 'building a relationship' with people whom I want as clients and friends." Linda L. Holstein, Senior Partner, Parsinen Kaplann Rosberg & Gotlieb, Minneapolis, Minnesota
"I have been a speaker at our firm's annual symposium for several years. Mark suggested a realistic way to maximize opportunities from this annual speaking event. I now better appreciate that follow up is a critical component of my speaking andwithout it I am much less likely to start a relationship with people in the audience. Mark's support and encouragement helped make these important activities a priority." Laura Shelby, Seyfarth Shaw, Los Angeles, California "Mark Maraia's coaching has had a very positive impact on my marketing efforts. Mark helped me improve my use of public speaking as a marketing tool. [M]y experiences with Mark were extremely favorable and I heartily recommend him to any firm." Mike Gamboli, Partridge Snow & Hahn, LLP, Providence, Rhode Island "I made several phone calls to dormant and prospective clients in advance of a speaking engagement. Those calls led to some immediate billable work from a dormant client who had been 'meaning to call me.' I can recommend Mark as a marketing coach without reservation." Christopher Weals, Seyfarth Shaw, Washington, D.C.
"Mark has a knack for getting you to think about marketing issues ahead of time which always leads to better meetings or phone calls." James Curtis, Seyfarth Shaw, Chicago, Illinois "What I've learned is how to naturally transition from purely social conversation into a business discussion. Mark's regular calls served as a great reminder to invest time building relationships. Mark's heavy emphasis on preparing helped me feel much more comfortable going into marketing meetings." Jennifer Bucher, Garvey, Schubert & Barer, Seattle, Washington "Mark acted as my marketing conscience. Mark's assistance in helping me prepare was valuable and his suggestions were very practical." Sara Farabow, Seyfarth Shaw, Washington, D.C. Maraia
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