Burch & Cracchiolo shareholder Susan Dana-Kobey is participating in the inaugural year of the “Ladder Down” program. Susan is one of twenty-four women attorneys selected for the year-long program emphasizing developing business contacts, individual marketing skills and developing tools for overcoming obstacles often facing women in law.
The program stems from empirical studies, which included interviews with decision makers, both women and men, focused on factors making women successful in the workplace. Participants will meet once a month for a three hour interactive training session. In addition to the monthly interactive training sessions, participants will be assigned to small groups that will also meet once a month for about an hour or longer to discuss goal setting, obstacles, successes, etc. centered on mentoring, rainmaking and core leadership skills. The small groups will be divided strategically so that participants are placed in groups with other women lawyers that compliment their area of practice.
Participants completed a personality profile that allowing facilitators to customize the program for each individual. The program will focus on:
• Learning the essentials of rainmaking by knowing how to use one’s strengths in developing business
• Maximizing contacts, internal relationships and cross-selling
• Strategies and tips on networking, self-promoting, effectively stating accomplishments, personal and/or firm elevator pitch
• Developing a business plan, overcoming rejection and effectively asking for the business
• Targeting decision makers, scheduling face-to-face meetings with effective follow-up