Develop the Marketing Mindset to Make Rain

Fact:

1. Lawyers receive no formal training nor education in law school to prepare them to be a business owner upon entering private practice.
2. Most law firms do a poor job mentoring and shadowing new lawyers to become effective business generators.
3. There is more competition and pressure than ever before to learn quickly how to build a quality book of business and contribute to firm in a meaningful way.
4. BONUS - - there are two types of lawyers: those who have business and those who work for those who have business. Which are you?

Working with law firms and lawyers for over 25 years, the question that I'm asked frequently is, "How do I find time to market?" Obviously, there are many pressures on lawyers, particularly younger lawyers, to bill their time. And, most lawyers strive to have a balance in their lives and find themselves on a constant hamster wheel of attempting to keep it all moving along. “Marketing” per se can be perceived as the activity that cuts into personal time.

One striking attribute I’ve observed from some of the most prosperous lawyers I’ve worked with over the years is how they seem to deliver extraordinary client service, generate new business AND have a life, all at the same time. When I asked them how they make this happen, I have always received a version of the same response, “When you truly care about your clients, they become your friends. When they become your friends, you no longer feel like you’re working. These relationships can go hand in hand.”

Interesting.

Further, successful rainmakers recognize the necessity to sharpen their attention to opportunities, in all aspects of their lives. Who is sitting next to you while you are waiting at your daughter’s dance class? Strike up a conversation. Who is standing nearby at your gym, yoga class, son’s little league game? Do you ever initiate a casual conversation with those nearby to learn more about them? I cannot count the number of times I have heard, anecdotally, from lawyer clients that some of their largest clients have emanated from a “by chance” encounter in an “outside work” situation. Lesson: pay attention to those around you in your life. Opportunities abound.

The best business generators find a way to incorporate marketing into their everyday lives. In fact, lawyers who see marketing as an "extracurricular activity" -- i.e., an additional drain on their practice-- will likely never reach the success they may desire.

How should lawyers integrate business development/marketing activities into their practices? It begins by recognizing opportunities around you.

Outlined below are a few simple tactics that illustrate how taking small steps every day can make the difference between building a solid book of business and remaining a service lawyer.

Before you go to a meeting, a luncheon, a CLE or a firm event, you:

• Review the list of registrants and decide whom you would like to talk to or sit by, and prepare some conversation starters.
• Call a client or potential referral source to invite he/her to accompany you.
• Make a commitment to arrive early and stay until the end of the function

Total additional time: Minutes

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