For many lawyers, networking is a great source of new business. Referrals are given, ideas are exchanged, doors are opened.
Most attorneys network by default. The local Chamber of Commerce advertises a mixer, a friend invites them to a Rotary breakfast or their local bar association announces their annual meeting, and that's where they go. But these groups may not be the best choice.
When they don't get a lot of business from one networking group many attorneys join a second group. Before you know it, some attorneys attend so many networking events each month they have no time for anything else. And because they aren't networking with the right people, they still aren't getting good results.
The right people, the ones you want to meet and network with, are those who are likely to know and influence a significant number of your ideal clients. No matter what your networking skills might be, your odds of success are much better when you network with groups comprised of a high concentration of these individuals.
Where do you find these groups? First, define your "ideal referral source".
Start by looking at the referrals you received over the last twelve months. Who sent those referrals? What is their profession or background? What industry are they in? What other demographic factors stand out?
Look for patterns. If you see you got twenty-six referrals from real estate brokers last year, it probably makes sense to put real estate brokers on your list.
Then, put on your thinking cap and brainstorm other categories of prospective referral sources. Who sells to or advises your ideal clients? Who might have a big list of your ideal clients or influence in your target market?
Make a list of five to ten categories of promising referral sources. Depending on your practice area and local market, two or three categories may be enough (and all you can handle).
If you're a plaintiff's personal injury attorney, your list of categories may include obvious choices like insurance agents and brokers and physicians. It may include some less obvious choices, however, such as high school principals or pastors.
If you're a consumer bankruptcy attorney, obvious choices might be real estate and mortgage brokers, accountants, and hairdressers.
Consider also including categories of people who influence your ideal referral sources. For example, if you want to network with financial planners, networking with accountants or non-competitive attorneys who represent financial planners would make sense.
Once you have defined your ideal referral sources, the next step is to find out where they congregate.
There are directories and web sites that list countless associations, networking groups, and referral groups (groups that meet specifically for the purpose of exchanging referrals). An hour or two will allow you to make a list of "candidate" groups. Note where they meet and when, and other pertinent information, e.g., how many members, requirements to join, do they allow outside speakers, etc.
A simpler way is to ask your existing referral sources what groups they belong to. Not only can this shortcut your research time, your contact will probably invite you to attend a meeting as his or her guest.
Having a friend on the inside, someone who can introduce you to the right people and provide information about committees, speakers, and group dynamics is invaluable.
If you don't know people in the right categories, or the people you know don't do any networking, you can ask people you know for a referral to someone who does. Call and introduce yourself, mention your mutual friend, and tell them you're looking for a networking group you could attend. I'm sure they will have recommendations.
You'll still need to attend a few meetings to see if a group is a good fit. The good news is that once you find a group that is, you may not need to find a second.
When it comes to networking, most attorneys are "a mile wide and an inch deep". The most successful networkers focus their time and effort in a limited number of groups of "the right people".
Filed under Marketing legal services, Networking, Referral sources by 
There are two kinds of referral sources: those who can refer and those who will.
If you've done a good job for your clients, most are probably willing to give you referrals. That doesn't mean they will. If they don't know people who need your services, they can't refer them.
Others — professionals, business owners, centers of influence — who are able to refer you a lot of business, often don't.
Understanding why people do or do not give referrals can help you get more of them.
So why do people provide referrals? Your clients are willing to send referrals for several reasons:
First, your clients want to help their friends and colleagues to the benefit of your services. They can save their friends the time they might have spent looking for an attorney, and help them avoid the risk of getting an incompetent one or getting overcharged. Their friends appreciate this help; your client's status is elevated. Being able to help their friends makes them feel important.
Second, when their friend retains you and is also satisfied with your work, it validates your referring client's decision to hire you in the first place. Any doubts they may have had about their experience with you are removed.
The third reason your clients are willing to give you referrals is that they want to help you. However, clients don't always know that you want their referrals. You need to tell them. Or, they understand that you want referrals but they just don't think about it. You need to remind them.
If you're not getting referrals from your clients, or you're not getting as many as you would like, there are only two reasons: either you don't deserve them or you're not asking for them.
Now, how about non-clients, professionals, business owners, centers of influence–why might they give you referrals?
For some, it is the expectation of quid pro quo. They give you referrals and you give them referrals, or so they hope.
Others will refer their clients and contacts to you for the same reason your clients do: to help their clients avoid the risk and effort of finding an attorney on their own. In helping their clients this way, they add value to their relationships and their status is also elevated. And yes, some also feel good about helping you, too.
When a professional is able to refer business but is unwilling to do so, it may be because they don't yet know, like, and trust you. It takes time for your relationship to develop. Eventually, they may turn out to be a big source of new business.
Many prospective referral sources don't send you business because they don't have it to give. They have a relationship with another attorney to whom they refer and they don't have enough referrals for both of you. Unless their regular attorney has a conflict of interest, is unavailable, or doesn't handle a given matter, your prospective referral source may be willing to refer, but not able.
In time, that may change. When the other attorney retires, dies or screws up, you could be next in line.
If you're dealing with a prospective referral source who cannot reciprocate, there are other ways they can help you. By the same token, there are other ways you can help them when you can't reciprocate.
Some people who can give referrals simply won't. They may see it as risky–what if you screw up and make them look bad? Others just can't be bothered.
Don't dwell on the reasons why people won't refer. If some clients won't do it, it doesn't matter; most will. With non-client referral sources, the numbers are reversed. Most won't refer and this doesn't matter. You only need a few who do.
Filed under Client relations, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing by
[mc src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8" type="youtube"]The social media revolution[/mc]
Filed under List building, Networking, Online Marketing, Referral sources by
Q: How do I bring in quality clients fast? I think the best way to bring in a steady stream of [type of] clients is to find a good referral source. What should I do?
A: Referrals are the BEST source of quality clients, but they are usually not the FASTEST. It takes time to build relationships, earn trust, develop a reputation.
If you can compensate those sources (i.e., referral fees to other attorneys, if permissible), or work out other kinds of alliances (paid advertising, cross-promotions) where the source has a more immediate incentive for working with you, then you could get some quick business.
Of course your clients are the first place to look. They should be willing to refer, but they may not be able.
Generally speaking, nothing is faster than advertising (except publicity, but you have limited control with that). Cost is obviously an issue. You could try writing for targeted publications and speaking and networking at targeted events. You'll get access to the right markets, at no cost, plus the unspoken endorsement of the meeting holder or publication, and if you get your message in front of the right people, you will get clients.
Remember that you are always marketing to at least two separate markets: prospective clients and prospective referral sources. One is not necessarily better than another, nor faster.
Q: How do I know if I'm targeting the right market?
A: A market is only as good as your ability to communicate with it. Do prospects have an organization you can join? Meetings you can speak at? Publications you can write for or advertise in? Can you find centers of influence in that market with whom you can network?
Most lawyers look at their services first and then look for people who need those services. Better is to find a market with a need, then look for ways you can satisfy that need.
Start with professionals and business contacts you already know. What markets do they serve? What unresolved needs do those markets have? Find the market first, then work backwards.
You'll have greater success giving people what they WANT, which may or may not be what they NEED. Find out what people want and then look for ways to help them get it.
Filed under Advertising, Networking, Publicity, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing by
I received a letter from a probate lawyer who is seeking referrals from large PI/Med Mal firms who need guidance in wrongful death and minors' compromise cases. He and his partners had compiled a list of law firms and written a letter they intended to "mass mail". The letter introduced the probate firm, described their capabilities, and requested referrals. He asked for my opinion of this strategy and letter.
I liked the idea of targeting specific kinds of cases from specific firms, (assuming they had reason to believe those firms didn't have in-house capability to handle those matters), but I didn't think their plan to mass mail letters would be effective.
One-shot mailings like this are unlikely to generate any business. About the only chance you have is to reach someone at precisely the time when he or she has a case they need help with and they don't have anyone else to refer it to. While that could happen, it makes more sense to begin to build relationships with lawyers (anyone) who DON'T need your services at the moment and do what you can to be the one they think of when they do.
Marketing, especially referral marketing, is a process, not an event.
Here are some of my additional comments and suggestions:
** If you're going to contact a cold list, you need to do something to get a response so that you can continue to stay in touch with them and win their trust, over time. I'd recommend offering to send a "Free Report" that educates them on the issues they need to be aware of so that (a) they can do a better job for their clients and (b) be better able to avoid malpractice. This will be a benefit to them and position you as an expert. You can also offer a free phone review of their case. If the list is short enough, you could SEND the report and make a second offer to get them to respond (so you can stay in touch). The second offer could be a second report, a checklist, a form, or anything else.
** I'd suggest that you find people you already KNOW who can refer you to the people on your list, OR to people who may know them, OR to people who may know people who know them. Then, you can contact these lawyers with the name of a mutual contact. Much more effective.
** I'd also consider working towards having a colleague (in this case., another med mal lawyer) write (sign off on) a letter in which they endorse your services to their fellow practitioners. They've used you, they recommend you, they trust you, etc. This is the strongest kind of letter you can send.
** Letters do a have a place, but, I'd prefer to see you call. You want to build relationships with these potential referral sources, and to do that, you need to talk to them.
Find a reason, and call. The reason could be because you want to interview them for an article, you're doing a survey for your newsletter or blog, to invite them to your free seminar, to offer them a copy of your new report or a subscription to your newsletter. It could even be to simply introduce yourself and find out more about what they do.
You'll hit it off with some of them and follow up with coffee or lunch. You only need a few good ones to start, then you can leverage those relationships to gain introductions and endorsements to others.
Filed under Advertising, Communication, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing by
One of the best ways to get from where you are to where you want to go is getting help from someone who has done what you want to do. Make a list of areas you would like help with or areas where you would like to grow. Three key areas for lawyers in private practice would be
- Substantive practice areas
- Marketing
- Administration/management
Specific areas you might want to key on might be
- Technology/internet
- Employee relations
- Taxes/record keeping
- Risk management/insurance
- Retirement planning/investments
And so on.
Of course you can always hire experts to consult and advise you in these areas, and you might. But why not find lawyers (or other professionals) who have had success in these areas and ask them to be your mentor?
Mentors help you see what's possible by serving as a role model. They can keep you from going off course by providing feedback about your ideas. And they can open doors for you to opportunities, introductions to vendors, prospective clients and referral sources. The right mentors can spare you years of hardship and, literally, make you rich.
Once you have identified a list of areas you would like to be mentored in, start asking everyone you know for recommendations and referrals to experts in those areas. "Who do you know who is a great networker?" "Do you know any lawyers who know a lot about web sites?" "Who is the best construction litigation attorney you know?"
Next, make a list of specific points you'd like to cover in your first conversation, such as why you'd like them to mentor you and what kind of help you might be looking for.
Successful people like to share what they have learned. Properly approached, you'll find any number of individuals willing to share a few minutes of their time with you each month.
Here's an approach you can take:
"Hello, Mr. Jones, my name is Robert Lawyer. We haven't met and I know you're a busy man, so I'll be brief. I'm a sole practictioner in the area of estate planning. I know you've built a very successful estate practice over the last twenty-five years. I've been practicing for four years now and I'm ready to take things to a higher level and I would appreciate it if you would consider being my mentor. All that would mean is spending ten minutes with me on the phone once a month, so I could ask you a few questions. I'd really appreciate it. Would you be open to that?"
Be prepared to give your mentors something in return. At the very least, give them feedback on how their advice has worked out for you. Look for information and resources that can benefit them and share it with them.
Eventually, find others whom you can mentor. There's no better way to pay tribute to your mentors than to follow in their footsteps.
Filed under Law office management, Marketing legal services, Mentors & Coaches, Networking, Productivity, Referral sources by
To create a successful, referral-based law practice, you only need strong relationships with a few good referral sources — people who can and will provide you with a lifetime of referrals.
Most of the referral sources you will meet (and already know) are not the "right" ones. They may have the willingness, but not the ability to refer the volume and quality of clients you seek. Or, they might have the wherewithal but, for whatever reasons, hold back on referring them to you.
A small percentage of the prospective referral sources you meet will be the "right" ones. I don't know what the actual ratio will be, but let's say that only one in fifty will be "right." If your goal is to develop relationships with three good sources in the next two years, then you would need to prospect 150 to find those three.
When I say "prospect" I don't mean "talk to." You have to do much more than that speak to someone a couple of times before they start referring or before you will know if they are even a candidate. You have to spend time together, getting to know each other, building mutual trust, socializing, bonding, possibly having your spouses meet (and approve each other!)
It is a courtship; you spend quality time, face-to-face, belly-to-belly, getting to know people on a personal, intimate level. Without these "high-touch" activities, you will never be able to develop the kinds of strong relationships you want and need, even if you do meet someone who is otherwise "right".
Technology, or high-tech, will never replace high-touch. Building relationships takes time and effort and emotional involvement. But high-tech can help you in two important ways.
First, you can use high-tech to find candidates and initiate contact. The Internet is your database, email and telephone your reaching out methods. Networking online is not as effective as networking in person, but it sure is efficient. Use it to find people who appear to be good candidates by virture of their business and their openness to "meet" new people (you). Eventually, invite those candidates to meet in person or otherwise take the next step towards building a relationship.
Second, use high-tech to stay in touch with candidates who aren't ready to take the next step. Times change, people change, relationships change, and you want to be on their radar screen when they do become ready.
Never lose sight of your objective, that of finding a few of the "right" ones, but don't ignore the many others who can provide value to you and should be a part of your business network. They may send you just one referral in ten years, or they might never send you referrals, but, through their contacts, lead you to others who do.
And that's the biggest lesson for today: networking is not about who you know, it's about who they can lead you to.
Filed under Networking, Referral sources, Referrals by
I have an arrangement with my dry cleaner. I bring in clothing, he cleans them, I pay. The arrangement works for both of us. We each know what is expected of us, we do it, and we both benefit.
In contrast, I have a relationship with certain business associates. Like my arrangement with my dry cleaner, my business associates and I know (generally) what is expected of us and we all mutually benefit from our relationship.
But arrangements and relationships are different.
Arrangements are tidy and business-like. The parties know what to do, it's understood that they will do it, and it usually gets done without a hitch.
Relationships are untidy and time-consuming. There is an emotional element to them. The unexpected often happens, and the consequences can be seriously detrimental.
Relationships are deeper than arrangements, and stronger. Relationships are the foundation for building a strong professional practice. Arrangements come and go, but relationships can last a lifetime.
Do you have arrangements or relationships with your clients and professional contacts? Surely you have both. But unless you have a core group of relationships, your future success is on shaky ground.
If your clients hire you because you do good work and only because of that, your future business with them is as much "at will" as the business I give my dry cleaner. It would not take much to woo me away to another dry cleaner. One screw-up might be all it takes.
Who refers you business? Do you have arrangements or relationships with them?
Relationships are equity. If you work hard for 5-25 years and all you have to show for it are a multitude of arrangements, then every year you are starting over, and your income is as unpredictable as it was your first year.
You don't have to develop relationships with everyone. You couldn't even if you wanted to. Relationships are messy and emotional and require dedication and personal time to develop. You only have time to develop a few relationships, but a few is all you need.
Filed under Client relations, Referral sources, Relationship marketing by
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