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 “rightâ€.
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.
