We are finding that more and more law firms are interested in recruiting talented lawyers who have been able to introduce new clients and build a client base, and it is for most law firms, an essential part of any application process for Partnership.
Building a client base does not happen overnight, you need to invest time in networking and building relationships to be able to do that, and that involves doing things outside of hours and sometimes outside of your comfort zone.
TIP 1: Meet 1 new potential client per week and enjoy the process
A simple tip to remember is that you have 52 weeks in a year, and if you aim to meet one person per week who may benefit from your services, you will have met 52 new people per year that could potentially be new clients for you, and if you multiply that over a couple of years you would have created a solid client base for yourself.
Of course simply meeting people once and not touching in with them again and doing the follow up work is not going to create a solid client base, you need to invest the time in building deep relationships with the people you have met.
You also need to be thinking long term because a client you meet today may refer you work 6 or 12 months into the future, or they may even refer other clients to you.
Remember to enjoy the process of meeting new people and making new friends along the way.
TIP 2: Tell people what you do
The key is to get out there, get out from behind that desk and meet new people that fall within your targeted networking plan, and tell them what you do, don’t be embarrassed, because if you are not promoting yourself then who will?
You can’t just rely on your firm to be promoting your personal brand, and please don’t think of it as “salesy”, because the reality is that everyone is selling something, whether that be a product, service or idea, so start telling people what you do and how you help people.
TIP 3: Network with other Lawyers
You should also be networking with other lawyers because other lawyers could actually end up referring work to you one day.
We know of a very successful family lawyer who invests a lot of time networking with other lawyers, and what happens is that when clients go to see them with family law matters those lawyers refer their family law clients to him, and essentially he has built a very successful family law practice by letting other lawyers know that he is a specialist family lawyer.
Your network and relationships will be very valuable to you as you go through your legal career, so make the investment of time and start building it today!
This article was written by John Castello. Connect with John here.