Do you want to grow your book of business? Do you want to increase the profile of your practice? Do you want to build your community profile? If you answered yes to any of these questions applying simple strategies will increase your network and improve your business development activities to achieve outstanding results.
Learn five words – “how may I help you?”
These powerful five words, when used consistently, will help you grow your book of business, increase your community profile and increase your overall business development ability. Pro-Networking™ is not about what you can “get” from a relationship, it is about what you can give. When you actively ask this question of the people you meet and you listen intently to their answer, you will find you can always help or connect others and they will want to do the same for you.
Know Your Product – be very clear about who you are and what you can offer potential clients or referral sources that you meet. You are your product! You are the best representative of the firm and you are the best person to advise others of your area of expertise. Know how you are unique and how you can best serve the people in front of you.
Know Your Audience – who are the clients that you like to work with. Who are the referral sources? Who needs what you have to offer? Who can you share your message with? By clearly articulating your ideal client and being able to also tell others what your ideal client looks like, you will find others also make referrals to you and your firm.
Know Your Niche – where are you best suited? Understand how to articulate the types of cases you enjoy most and that are most profitable to you and your firm. Investigate where your audience networks, what publications they read and what their pain points are.
Know Your Movers & Shakers – every city has them, especially greater Philadelphia! Ask around. The most common question I asked of every new person I met when first relocated here from Sydney, Australia was, “who are the movers and shakers I need to meet?” Time after time the same five or six names came up – so I made sure I met them all. You know who the movers are in your sphere – get to know them and see how you can help them.
Know Your Influence – ask yourself what affect you have on people? Do you inspire them? Do you make them laugh? Do you scare them? Understand how your style, personality and depth of knowledge affect those around you. Understand that you also often attract people similar to yourself.
Know Your Schedule – determine what type of productivity profile you have. Are you a night owl or a morning bird? If you are a morning person, schedule your business development activities for breakfast and lunch events (night time networking attendees won’t see you at your best). If you are a night owl, don’t show up for breakfast events (at least not without multiple cups of coffee!). Business development is an essential part of every firm (large or small) and you need to schedule time to do it. It won’t happen by itself.
Know Your Follow Up – do you know that less than 1% of attorneys follow up with new connections? Be part of the 1% and create a follow up process for all new contacts you make at both business and social events. Stand out in the crowd by making a phone call, sending a hand written note, booking a coffee or lunch appointment or scheduling a tele-coffee. Schedule 15 minutes every day to conduct business development follow up.
Know Your Options – in every city there is an incredible list of potential networking opportunities for you. Once you know your ideal clients and referral sources, where they go and what they enjoy reading or doing, you can begin to target your own networking activities. Don’t go to every event; strategically choose the right events for you. Choose the ones that you think you’ll enjoy the most.
Know Your Tools – understand the tools you need for effective networking and maximize your productivity by effectively using those tools. You will need a business card, great suit, stationery and a plan. On top of that, you need to know how to articulate who you are and what you do in a way that stands out from all the other lawyers in the room. Leverage the everyday tools you use including email, LinkedIn and other online networking tools.
Know Your Community – one of the best ways to increase your business development is to become active in your local community. The more people who see you involved, the more you will be top of mind for them. Since legal services are needs based, those lawyers who are top of mind will usually get the first call.
Know Your Network – when you begin creating connections, have a clear understanding of what each person does so you can start introducing them to each other. Begin with your own network first and see how you can create strategic alliances within the people you already know. Once you have achieved that, begin looking for others where you think you are missing a resource.
When your personal philosophy is giving first, you will always seek to help others and the results will come back to you 100 fold. Apply these strategies and your client base and referral sources will grow. Try it out – five simple words, “how can I help you?”
Individual Attorney Pro-Networking™ Action Plan
Name: __________________________
Date: __________________________
I can connect the following three people this week?
Who are the movers and shakers I currently am connected with?
Who do I want to be connected with in the next 60 days?
Who do I know that can introduce me to these people? Who are my best three referral sources for business?
I will take the following three actions to connect with these referral sources?
I will complete the following three activities to build my book of business this week:
I will meet with the following three referral sources this month:
I will attend the following networking activities in the next 30 days:
I will take the following strategic networking action in the next 60 days:
I will measure my Pro-Networking™ success in 60 days by:
Individual Attorney Pro-Networking™ Guidelines First-Year Associates
- Spend 15 minutes per day leveraging online social media tools i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter.
- Send an annual newsletter to your existing database. (Or contribute to your firm’s newsletter 1 time per year)
- Attend 4 Bar Association events and serve on one committee. ?Attend 1 networking function outside your industry.
- Build 4 referral sources every 6 months with attorneys in different practice areas.
- Organize 4 lunch meetings per year.
- Create a list and connect with 4 strategic referral sources outside of your industry.
Second-Year Associates
- Spend 15 minutes per day leveraging online social media tools.
- Send a newsletter every six months to your existing database. (Or contribute to your firm’s newsletter 2 times per year)
- Attend 6 Bar Association events and serve on one committee.
- Attend 2 networking functions outside your industry.
- Build 6 referral sources every 6 months with attorneys and other professional service providers.
- Organize 6 lunch meetings per year.
- Create a list and connect with 6 strategic referral sources outside of your industry.
Third-Year Associates
- Spend 30 minutes per day leveraging online social media tools. Include making and requesting recommendations.
- Send a newsletter every six months to your existing database. (Or contribute to your firm’s newsletter 2 times per year)
- Attend 8 Bar Association or industry type events and serve on one committee.
- Attend 3 networking functions outside of your industry.
- Build 8 referral sources every 6 months with attorneys and other professional service providers.
- Organize 8 lunch meetings per year. ?Create a list and connect with 8 strategic referral sources outside of your industry.
Forth-Year Plus Associates
- Spend 30 minutes per day leveraging online social media tools. Include making and requesting recommendations.
- Send a newsletter every six months to your existing database. (Or contribute to your firm’s newsletter 2 times per year)
- Attend 10 Bar Association or industry events and lead one committee.
- Speak at 1 networking /industry event. ?Build 10 referral sources with attorneys in different practice areas.
- Organize 10 lunch meetings per year.
- Create a list and connect with 10 strategic referral sources outside your industry.
