Law Practice Today

If you are regularly reading law marketing articles, you probably already have a good idea of the types of things you should be doing to build your practice. The real challenge is making time and keeping focus over the long term on cultivating clients, prospects, and referrals.

From your current clients who bring you continuous work, choose 2 or 3 that you really want to focus on providing outstanding legal service. If it is a large company, you may have 2-3 contacts within that company with whom to stay in touch.

Then choose 2 or 3 referral sources. Every attorney here should be able to identify 2 or 3 referral sources, and remember - they don't have to be other attorneys. They may be clients. They may be relatives. They may be a third party: for example, a physician who works with personal injury clients, a banker who makes loans to small businesses, or a CPA.

Now choose 2-3 prospects (and I'm using the term "prospects" broadly). You may choose a company that you are not currently working for, but would like to have as a client. Your prospect may be a current client, but one that you only get a little work from, yet you know there is potential for more. You may choose a referral source you would like to cultivate as a prospect. The sky is the limit here.

By now, you should have 6-9 names. Here's where you create an action plan:

• Create a table. It can be as simple or as detailed as you would like. Leave some blank boxes to insert spontaneous or unplanned action items. Here is a sample to get you started:

Contact	Company	Date	Action Item	Completed
Joe Smith	Smith Law Firm	June 08	Invite to annual golf outing
		Dec. 08	Send holiday greeting
Mary Brown	ABC Manufacturing	Feb. 08	Lunch – introduce Jane from Estates	X
		April 08	Invite to award program

 

• Place your action plan somewhere you will see it, at least periodically: your bulletin board, your desk blotter, your calendar.
• When you run across it, don't just tuck it back away. Choose one person and call or email just to touch base.
• When you or your firm has tickets to give away, or a dinner table or golf outing to fill, choose someone from your list. Even if he or she cannot take you up on the offer, he or she will be flattered that you asked.
• Take each and every person on the list out at least once this year. It can be breakfast, lunch, coffee – whatever!

Stick with your action plan and you will begin to see results!