by: Stephen Fairley,
CEO, The Rainmaker Institute
The Holy Grail of business development
for law firms is referrals. Every
attorney seeks to have a referral- based
practice. However, many attorneys seem
to spend their entire professional
careers trying to create the perfect
practice with few results.
That's because the truth about how to
build a referral-based practice is
shrouded in misconceptions.
Specifically, there are four myths that
hamper attorneys' efforts; in this issue
we will uncover two of the four. Stay
tuned for the November issue for the
other two myths.
Myth 1: Clients
Are The Best Source Of Referrals
Over the last few years I've spoken
at more than a dozen of the largest
state and local bar associations.
Without fail, I hear more resistance to
this myth than perhaps any other. Here's
the truth behind the myth: for many
lawyers clients are simply the most obvious
source of referrals, not the
best
source.
There are many variables to take into
account when seeking more referrals from
your current and former clients are
large. Here are a few questions to
consider:
Is your law
firm primarily a B2C or B2B firm
(Business-to-Consumer or
Business-to-Business)?
For many B2C attorneys (family law,
personal injury, and criminal defense),
referrals from former clients occur
randomly. Either clients know someone
going through a divorce or they don't.
Many of our B2B clients (general
business law, corporate litigation, and
commercial real estate), have been able
to develop semi-structured client
referral programs because their clients
often interact with other executives and
companies who need similar services.
Have you
made clients aware of all the different
services you offer?
I'm convinced one of the biggest reasons
that attorneys don't receive more
referrals is because they don't take the
time to inform and remind their clients
of the various services they offer.
Most clients immediately put their
attorney in a box and believe the only
service the lawyer offers is the one
they used.
I was speaking today with an attorney
who practices business law. He was upset
because a former client, whom he'd
helped set up an LLC three months
earlier, referred a competing law firm
to a friend looking for representation
in a multi-million dollar business
transaction.
When the lawyer explained that this was
precisely his specialty, the client was
shocked and said, "I'm sorry, but you
really need to do a better job informing
me of what you do and what kind of cases
you want because I don't know."
How much business have you lost
because your clients simply aren't aware
of the various services your firm can
provide?
Can clients
accurately explain your ideal target
market?
Your ideal target market is the
person or company most likely to
hire you initially, repeatedly and
at the highest profit margin. With
so many attorneys struggling to
define their ideal client, it's no
wonder if your clients don't know
whom they should refer to you.
Here's a small challenge: this week,
ask three of your clients to
describe your ideal client and
listen to how accurately they
respond.
Do you
regularly and consistently stay
connected with clients in ways that add
value?
Every law firm needs a client education
plan that not only positions your law
firm, explains different services you
offer and keeps your current clients
informed as to what's going on in your
firm, but also acts as a resource and
guide for them.
Electronic newsletters are probably
the most cost-effective way of staying
in touch. If you don't have a
monthly newsletter, I strongly encourage
you to start one.
ConstantContact.com is a great place
to start.
Despite this myth,
there are
specific tools you can use to
significantly increase the number of
referrals you can obtain from
current and former clients. In an
upcoming article we will detail six of
these tools and show you how to put them
into action for your law firm.
Myth 2: Most Referrals Come From
Other Attorneys
In his comprehensive book,
How to
Start & Build a Law Practice, Jay
Foonberg states that around 25% of an
established attorney's practice comes
through referrals from other legal
professionals. Logically, about 75% of
your clients will come from other
sources (this may vary greatly by
practice area). Here are a couple tips
if you're looking to other attorneys for
new clients:
- Identify the specific practice
areas that target a similar client,
but with a different service.
- Create a list of 3-5 attorneys
you know in these practice areas and
interview them.
- Ask them the criteria they use
in making referrals and what they
would like in return.
- Set up a tracking system as part
of your client intake file and then
review where those leads came from
on a quarterly basis.
- Reward your referral sources
with a card, bottle of wine, or
tickets to a game.
