Legal Business Development: Are You the Tortoise or the Hare?

Let’s be honest, most lawyers want the business development process to be more like a sprint to the winners circle. But the reality is that the winner’s circle is reserved for the slow and steady. THAT is not what you wanted to hear, I’m sure!

The fact of the matter is that CONSISTENCY is a silver bullet. Yes, a slow silver bullet! You see, many are looking for the right tool… SEO, Google Ads, social media, blogs, You Tube channel, articles, networking, etc, etc, etc! But these are simply tools, just like your phone is a tool. Your phone, itself, isn’t going to get you clients. It is what you do to leverage all these tools. How regularly do you focus on the strategy you have put into place? (Oh, you don’t have a strategy? We’ll get to that later.)

Here are five things to keep in mind to achieve consistency…

First… Focus – make your business development activity a habit. Do something every single day! A 5-minute phone call, a 2-minute email, a 60-minute lunch, it builds on itself. Reach out and people will respond. Certainly not everyone, but there will be enough to encourage you to keep going. Create a habit; be accountable… even if it’s only to yourself!

Second… Be Present – if you are truly present, whether it’s a meeting with a client or a conversation with a stranger, you will see possibilities. These are the possibilities that you can only see when you are truly listening and present with the person on the phone or across the table from you.

Third… Learn to say NO – Not to others but to yourself. Today we are bombarded by people telling us the newest and greatest ideas to win new clients and you would like to try them all… but you don’t have the time or the money to invest in them all. Pick one to three, then say no to the rest. Put those that you say no to on a list to think about for next year’s strategic plan.

Fourth… Follow-Through – It’s easy to get sidetracked. Have a plan or system in place that will help you accomplish your daily and weekly goals.

Fifth… Celebrate Your Progress – Sometimes it may feel as though you aren’t making progress because the big goal is so far away. Celebrate the little things and the fact that you are one-step closer to your goal. To celebrate is to find energy that will propel you forward.

Now, if you don’t have a strategic plan… it’s time to create one! It’s September, what do you want to accomplish by the end of the year? What things would need to happen for you to feel great about your business development progress and how your personal life is in harmony with your work when 2015 rolls around? It need not be more than a few sentences to help you focus your efforts and keep you consistent. We are approaching the last quarter of the year… don’t let 2014 get by you!

I help lawyers figure out how to have a thriving practice, find what they love doing and how to have a life outside of work. If that’s what you’re looking for, let’s talk!