A good contact database allows you to add new clients quickly and send mailings based on segmentation. For instance, you should be able to filter your list for prospects who haven’t yet become clients in the last three months so you can send mailings and marketing promotions to them. You will want to send a different marketing campaign to each type of contact.

There are essentially five steps to creating a contact strategy you can use to market your services to the people who matter most to your business. These include:

1. Decide which software to use. There are numerous software vendors out there, so find one you like such as Sage ACT! but if you are more comfortable using Microsoft Outlook or Excel – use that. The best software is one you will use.
2. Add your contacts. Go through your list of contacts, your stacks of business cards, your emails, and so forth to pull together all your business contacts. When you are finished, you should have several types of contacts: current clients, past clients, prospects, current referral partners, past referral partners, prospective referral partners, and media contacts. You will want to note which contacts have given you permission to follow up. Don’t send out a mass email newsletter to all your contacts if they haven’t requested to join your mailing list – that’s spam!
3. Follow up with contacts. If this is the first time you’ve put together your database, now is a good time to start reaching out to people one-by-one and reconnecting. Start with your past clients as well as current and past referral partners since they should be less intimidating than prospects or media contacts. Try to set up in-person meetings such as coffee, lunch, or golf so you can rebuild relationships. Then, you can casually ask them if they mind being added to your mailing list so you can keep them up-to-date on the latest happenings in your industry.
4. Create your prospecting strategy. Look over your list of potential clients. Which leads are the warmest? How will you follow up with them? If you are targeting consumers and generate leads consistently, you might put together a generic follow up sequence you send out to all leads. If you are targeting large corporations, your follow up strategy will need to be tailored to each prospect. Study the corporation and look for opportunities to get your foot in the door.
5. Create your referral partner acquisition strategy. How can you make contact with potential referral partners? Do you know them personally? Do you know someone who can give you an introduction? What can you offer them that will motivate them to send referrals your way?

Now, start working your database. Make sure to note when you contact each person, what was said, and when you will follow up next.

Yet, when done with the right mindset, networking can be one of the most effective and affordable ways to attract new business. People do business with those they know, like and trust, so the heart of networking is meeting new people and creating relationships that are mutually beneficial to both parties.

Networking is Relationship Building

Networking is the process of making specific contacts and building upon them by following up. Often, lawyers approach networking as a one-sided ordeal, where they must answer the question, “So what do you do?” and pitch their services a hundred times in exchange for someone else’s business card. Perhaps they meet one or two people who seem lukewarm about their services, but rarely do they meet a hot prospect, and lawyers often leave the event feeling as if they’ve wasted their time.

Instead of approaching networking as something you “should” be doing, approach it as a way to establish long-term relationships. Networking is not a hard sell. It’s about meeting new people and tapping into their vast network of resources. Each of us has a personal sphere of influence of roughly between 200-250 people. Most of these people aren’t close, personal contacts of yours. Rather, they are people you who would recognize you on the street, or who you might invite to your wedding or send college graduation announcements.

More importantly, everyone you know also has a sphere of influence of that size, so every new person you meet has the potential to add 200-250 more people to your own network. While many of them won’t be a good candidate for your services, chances are, someone in their network will be. If you’ve worked to build relationships and have a keep-in-touch strategy with the contacts you make, you will be a good candidate for any referrals if someone in their network does mention they need the type of legal service you provide.

7 Tips for Effective Networking

Here are seven tips on how to make your networking more effective.

1. Genuinely connect with others – Networking should be about making connections and sharing ideas, information, advice, recommendations and referrals with those in your personal network. Some of the bonds you form will be stronger than others, but you should genuinely care that those in your network succeed and be willing to help them if you can.
2. Network strategically – When you network to make business contacts, look for people who would be a good fit for your personal network and find ways to connect with them regularly. It’s important to define which types of people you want to meet and what you hope to get out of each interaction. Before you go into any networking interaction, be able to answer in a minute or less: who you are, what you do, and what you need from the group.
3. Be selective – Because you will actively refer business to those in your network, you must be selective with those you add to your personal network. Look for people who are well-regarded among their peers and who already demonstrate that they understand the value of networking. Focus on people who are good at what they do, have a large network they have cultivated, and who are able to actively refer you business.
4. Provide value first – Successful networking involves providing value to others. You must give before you receive. People won’t refer business to those they don’t know and can’t personally vouch for, so you must build rapport before you can expect anything in return. Things like a personal note, a referral, a thank you card, or an introduction go a long way towards establishing trust and credibility.
5. Recognize leads for others – The best way to build rapport with people in your network is to frequently provide leads and introductions to those within your network. To do this, you must understand your prospect’s business well enough to know who would make a good lead for them. Ask them “How would I know if someone would make a good client for you?” In addition, every lawyer will talk with a prospect who isn’t quite right for his services from time-to-time. Realize that if you turn down business, that person could be a good lead for someone else.
6. Don’t keep score – The best way to sabotage a relationship is to give something with the expectation of getting something in return. Building relationships takes time. If you provide a favor or referral to something and immediately expect something in return, there’s a good chance you’ll be disappointed. Focus on building good will and trust rather than that someone will immediately return the favor.
7. Develop trust – One of the biggest fears people have when referring business is that someone will embarrass them or let them down. Effective networkers have high ethical standards and are well respected among their peers. They are well-known for providing high-quality service and going the extra mile to clear up any client disagreements.

Networking isn’t something that just happens – you must actively pursue it and make relationship building a part of your marketing activities. Because you will likely meet far more people worth networking with than you have time for, be selective and focus your time on cultivating relationships where there is the greatest potential for mutual benefit.

Prospects

What types of clients do you want to attract? Given what you know about these clients, what is the best way to reach them? Do they read specific magazines, newspapers, or trade publications? If so, try advertising in those publications. Are they part of the same industry? If so, attend seminars, trade shows, and events where you have the greatest likelihood of meeting them. Do they search the web for information? If so, create an informative website with articles and free reports that address their top concerns.

Keep in mind that one contact is rarely enough to convince someone to hire you. How might you follow up with them to keep in touch? Can you add them to your newsletter, invite them to an educational seminar, or send them additional information?

Clients

Your current clients offer a wealth of opportunities for repeat business and referrals. Since they’re already doing business with you, they probably already know and like you. As their lawyer, it’s your fiduciary duty to provide the best service you can to your clients. That means getting to know who they are, what they do, and what motivates them. Often, as you learn more about your clients, you will see other potential legal risks and can offer additional services to further aid your client.

Also know that happy clients will sing your praises and refer others to you, especially if they believe you truly care about their well-being. In what ways can you educate your current client about the types of clients and cases you’d like more of? In what ways can you show your appreciation for referrals they give you?

Referral Partners

Many lawyers generate most of their business through referrals, yet this is often where they spend the least amount of their marketing budget. Look back over your firm’s history. Who is responsible for sending you referrals? How can you give back to them and show your appreciation?

The second part of this lawyer marketing strategy involves identifying possible sources of referrals and working to build relationships with others. When you get a new client, what other firms can also do business with them? When you get a prospect who needs a different type of legal services than you provide, to whom can you refer them? How can you cultivate relationships between non-competing firms that will benefit each of you?

The first step is to understand why might people refer others to you? It’s not because you have a slick brochure or a funny advertisement. It’s not because you send them Christmas cards every year.

People refer others because they find what you do to be valuable and believe your services can enhance the lives of others they know. In other words, people refer those that they know, like, and trust can do the task at hand.

With that in mind, here are some strategies to develop referral relationships.

1. Target specific people. Look at where your current referrals are coming from. Now, what characteristics do those people have in common? Maybe they’re all from the same industry or do a certain type of work. Those are the people you want to focus on.
2. Uncover why they refer you. Once you’ve uncovered a group of people with specific characteristics, ask them why they choose you as their preferred provider. What benefits do you offer them that are above and beyond what others are offering? This is important because you need to be able to differentiate yourself from other lawyers out there. Simply focusing on how long you’ve been doing it, where you went to law school or which firm you work for isn’t enough. You have to uncover a particular problem them have and why they choose to refer others to you rather than other lawyers.
3. Meet people. Yes, it’s obvious, but people refer those whom they’ve met and like. How many times have you given a referral to someone you’ve only heard about or received a letter from? Now, think about who you do give referrals to – you’ve probably met them, like them, and know they can get the job done. You’re reasonably comfortable that if you refer your clients to them, you won’t be embarrassed by the shoddy service your clients received because of you.

How To Meet People

1. Make a list of people you’d like to meet. Chances are that you already know of a few companies that you’d like to work with. Make a folder for each and start collecting any information you find about the person or company.
2. Ask colleagues to introduce you. Take note of any of your colleagues who may know people within the company and ask if they might introduce you. Keep your eyes open for anyone you might meet – do they have contacts you could use?
3. Go to industry and trade events. Choose conferences, trade events, and other outings where you are likely to meet people that have clients who could refer your services.
4. Hold seminars or speaking engagements. One of the best ways to demonstrate your credibility by speaking about a topic your target audience is concerned about. Invite the people you’d like to get to know to attend.
5. Hold office or charitable events. Hold an office holiday party and invite those you’d like to meet. If you hold similar charitable interests to those on your list, get involved in a charitable event or hold one yourself.

Advice for Getting Referrals

1. Don’t talk about yourself. When you finally are introduced to someone, talk about their business, not what you can do for them. Always keep the conversation focused on them and learn as much as you can about their interests, motivations, and concerns.
2. Make it worth their while. Just like you, other people are looking for referrals for their own business. Whenever you meet someone, ask them who would make a good referral for them. Then refer someone. The best way to demonstrate that you care about this person’s wellbeing is to help them first. Give first and without expectation and don’t keep score.
3. Offer something in return. If your state bar association allows lawyers to give referral fees, consider a joint venture with this person. If not, find other ways to show your appreciation. That might be as simple as a thank you note. Or a special offer to their clients only. Or even a gift certificate to their favorite coffee shop or restaurant.
4. Keep in touch regularly. Whenever you see an article about that person or their company in the local business paper, call or write them about the article. If you see an article they’d be interested in, send them a copy. It’s important to nurture the relationship even if they haven’t referred anyone to you just yet.

Like any successful marketing system, setting up a referral system will initially take time and effort on your part. But once you incorporate these basic practices on a regular basis, you’ll start reaping the benefits.

For a fantastic book on the subject, consider picking up Bob Burg’s Endless Referrals, which I’ve recently reviewed.

Many law firms thrive on referrals – they are the life blood of the firm and one of the main ways the firm picks up new business. So, how do you get more?

One attorney I spoke with was considering running a postcard campaign to gain more referrals from other attorneys. He had seen other attorneys do this and thought 1) postcards were cheap and he could do them himself and 2) other firms wouldn’t be doing it if it didn’t work. Besides, if they didn’t work, he wasn’t spending a lot of money, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Why Postcards Aren’t the Answer
Unfortunately, postcards aren’t the way to go when you’re asking people you don’t or barely know for business. They’re impersonal and don’t say much. Yes, they may be low risk, but you want results, not to throw a few hundred dollars out the window, right?

And just because another firm is using a particular marketing technique doesn’t mean 1) it works and 2) it would work for you. Perhaps the other firms were testing the waters, just like this attorney was. Maybe they saw someone else do it and decided to try it for themselves.

Marketing is highly specific to who you’re looking to target. Mass marketing just doesn’t work anymore. (See my previous post for some reasons why.) Who are your prospects and would they be receptive to receiving a postcard with a cute catch phrase on it? Would it motivate them to contact you? Or flip it – if you received a cute postcard from another attorney you didn’t know, would you suddenly shower him with referrals?

Think about what it takes for you to give someone a referral. You have to know and trust that person. You wouldn’t refer a valued client to someone you’ve never heard of – what if they did a poor job? Then you look bad in your client’s eyes.

Referrals Are Personal
Instead, think of all the attorneys you’ve met with and know fairly well – from networking or who you’ve worked with in the past. Those are the people to start with. Send them a personal letter asking them to keep you in mind for any client projects they might have. And be interested in them, personally – network with them. Invite them to lunch, coffee, golf, or however you get to know people on a more personal level.

Next, look at current and past clients, who already know you do an excellent job. Which ones might be able to provide referrals? Get to know them personally, and stay up to date on their businesses. Maybe they’ll have a future need you can help them with.

And don’t be afraid to give to get! There’s no better way to ask for law firm referrals than to refer a client, yourself. It shows you’re interested in their business, not just your own.