Keep It Simple, Stupid

The longer you've been following my newsletters, the more you’ll know that I like to make business development simple. One of my favourite phrases is ‘Keep It Simple, Stupid’. I think it’s a beautiful way to live and work.

When I was a junior lawyer, it was drummed into me that I had to show clients how smart I was by throwing lots of legal jargon at them. It’s funny because that wasn’t how my career started. My first head of department taught me the importance of explaining everything to clients in a way that made sense to them, not us. But as my career went on, it seemed that dazzling clients with jargon was how we justified our fees.

Looking back, it was a terrible way to work with clients - and even worse for developing strong relationships.

The same applies to business development, and I hope I have lived this philosophy in how I teach lawyers today.

All that said, in order to keep my newsletters interesting and valuable, I have to think of ways of helping you go on a learning journey. This means sometimes going deeper - which they should, that’s how you grow.

However, just as we should with clients, it's really important to check in and go back to basics. If you don't stick to the basics and do the simple things, anything that might be a bit more complex or detailed is simply going to fail. While failure isn't final, learning the lessons from it makes the difference between growth and development or making the same mistakes over and over again.

So for this newsletter, we're going to remind ourselves about the most simple business development activity that you can do: putting a set amount of time into your diary that is non-negotiable.

This goes back to what I write about in a lot of my newsletters: consistency.

Without consistency, you won’t get consistent results and you won’t get consistent growth. Without consistency, your BD activities will be hit-and-miss and you won’t be able to properly track where you are doing things well and where you are going wrong. Without consistency, opportunities you might have won might not come through because you weren’t there at the right time or didn’t follow up when the client was in a position to go ahead.

So BD starts by making it a part of your work - a non-negotiable part.

The only reason that you wouldn’t do it is if there is some kind of emergency. If you're putting something as simple as 30 minutes into your diary, it's very rare that an emergency comes up that cannot be put to one side for 30 minutes to do business development. This has to become a non-negotiable to get the consistency you need and results you want.

It is the ultimate first step from where everything else can go.

So, if you don’t already have set times in your day or week for business development, make this your priority. You don’t have to go big with two hours every day. Habits we stick to are those that are easy, so even 30 minutes once a week is a great start, and it’s the start of a habit that you can ingrain into your work and build from.

From there, all things are possible, but having a non-negotiable amount of time in your calendar every single week is what makes the biggest difference in business development.

---------

And if you aren’t sure what step 2 looks like or what to do with that set time in your calendar, then The BD Breakthrough Blueprint??digital education course is what you’ve been looking for.

With all the tools you’ll need for your journey to becoming a rainmaker and 21st-century trusted advisor, The BD Breakthrough Blueprint??keeps things simple and helps you make the most of the time you’ve set aside.

For more information and to get your copy, go to www.legalbalanceinstitute.com now.

That's it for now.

Here's to making it rain!

AI Corner is just around the... er, corner!

AI isn't coming, it's here.

We all know that, and we're trying to navigate what that means.

But things are moving so fast, and keeping up with everything when you have so much going on in your practice or business makes it nearly impossible.

I get that and I want to help.

So, from my next mailing list newsletter, I'll be adding 'AI Corner', where I'll bring you some simple and easy-to-understand information about AI and how you can learn a little bit more about it each time.

And I'll be starting with a 'Beginner's Guide to Generative AI and Large Language Models' - it's how I kicked off my journey with generative AI and helped me get to grips with what it is and how it could help us and our business. I want to do the same for you.

The 'Beginner's Guide...' is almost ready and, if you're a subscriber to my mailing list, you'll be the first to get it, so look out for it.

AI Corner will only be available to subscribers of my Legal Balance newsletter - it won't be available on here.

To join my mailing and get this exclusive content, just click here, fill out your details, and type 'Rainmaker' in the message box.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about AI or want to learn more, get in touch.

Turn Ghosting Into Growth With Our Brand New Digital Mini-Course

Picture this: you've put hours, maybe months, into building a relationship with that prospective client. They seemed enthusiastic, and everything looked set to move forward.

Then—silence. You've just been ghosted, and it's one of the most frustrating parts of business development.

But it doesn't have to stay that way.

Introducing our brand-new mini-course: ‘Ghosting & The Art of Re-Engagement’. This course is designed specifically for lawyers like you, to help you understand why ghosting happens, and more importantly, how to respond effectively and re-engage those silent prospects.

You'll learn:

• How to identify the key moments in the client journey where ghosting is most likely to occur.
• Proven strategies to limit ghosting and keep clients engaged.
• Powerful re-engagement techniques to reignite stalled opportunities.

The course is available now for just ￡95.

Take the first step towards turning ghosting into opportunity.

Get the Course Now.

Want to become a rainmaker? What are you waiting for!

The BD Breakthrough Blueprint? is available to buy NOW!

My digital education course gives you the tools you'll need to become a 21st century rainmaker and trusted advisor.

Here's what The BD Breakthrough Blueprint?? can help you achieve:

• Win more work from better clients;
• Become a more confident rainmaker;
• Develop a focused BD mindset;
• Build a larger pipeline of prospective clients;
• Change the narrative with referrers and intermediaries;
• Organic business growth as the foundation for the future;
• Fast-track your career to partnership or owning your own legal business;
• And so much more.

All this for only ￡495.

And it starts with you clicking the link and buying your copy: https://www.legalbalanceinstitute.com.

Start this exciting journey now and become the rainmaker you've always wanted to be.

Fancy a free e-book about lawyers?

What about a free e-book called ‘Bullsh*t & Bollo*ks Excuses’?

All those lawyer conversations I’ve posted about over the years.

All in one place.

You’ll laugh.

You’ll cry.

You’ll despair.

You’ll feel great that you’ve never said some of this… or have you?

Here it is, for your reading pleasure - just click this link.