Extending Your Reach: Growing Relationships and Getting Referrals
Miriam Bamberger, CPCC, and Heather Bradley, CPCC, are the co-founders of The Flourishing Company, which helps emerging professionals sharpen their leadership skills to generate immediate and lasting changes in their ability to successfully manage complex work relationships. For additional information, visit: www.TheFlourishingCompany.com.
When thinking about business development, we often focus on getting new clients. So much time and energy is invested in cultivating new relationships, it is tempting to think that once we've landed a client, the job is done. Yet successful rainmakers know they must delicately balance finding new clients and tending to existing ones. Lawyers who focus all of their energy on acquiring new business may find themselves with no business at all.
"Market leadership is not an infinite annuity declaring dividends forever," wrote marketing consultant Larry Light in Advertising Age. "Marketing is like nurturing a marriage; it is not a series of one-night stands. Worrying about the relationship you don't have, rather than strengthening the relationship you do have, is mismarketing."
We cannot stress this enough: People do business with people they like. The more you cultivate relationships with your clients, the more likely they are to want to continue doing business with you. Fostering relationships with current clients is one of the best ways to generate new revenues. The American Management Association found that 65 percent of an average company's business comes from current satisfied customers.
Being friendly with your clients is not sufficient to advance additional business. While they might be very happy with your work, clients are not thinking about you. They are probably not looking for ways to give you additional business — at least not without some prompting. Use the Flourishing Process to increase your chances of influencing your clients' behavior – only this time, since you are looking to influence someone else's behavior, we reversed the process (See Figure 1).
| Action | What is it that you would like your client to do? What would you like to be different after the client takes action? |
Example: Desired Action – The client gives your firm more business. Sounds straightforward, right?
Be honest: If you were the client, and were asked to give your firm more business, would you know exactly what to do? Help your client by being as specific as possible. The more specific you can make your request, the more likely you are to get a positive response.
Start the conversation by learning about what needs the client has that your firm is not handling but which your firm has the expertise to handle. You cannot solve someone else's problem without understanding what they perceive as their problem, so start by asking your client lots of questions.
- What else are you working on?
- What keeps you up at night?
- What do you want to be different?
- What has worked?
- What hasn't worked?
| FIGURE 1: THE FLOURISHING PROCESS REVERSED | ||
| Action | Choice | Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| What action do you want your client to take? | What choices does your client need to make in order to take the action you want? | What clarity does your client need in order to make the desired choices? |
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
- Be Your Own Mentor by Sheila Wellington and Catalyst
- How to Become a Rainmaker by Jeffrey J. Fox
- The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy
- "Rainmaking Strategies: It's All in the Asking," Diversity & the Bar®, Jan./Feb. 2004
- "The Subtle Art of Business Development," Diversity & the Bar®, May/June 2003
Use powerful questions to elicit broad responses. You never know what their current or future needs might be. Through listening you may also be able to identify needs that they have yet to focus on – for example, how a new law might require them to revise company-wide policies or practices.
GETTING REFERRALS
Another dividend of growing your relationship with existing clients is the possibility of referrals. Many clients are happy to give referrals. However, as we said, marketing your firm is not your clients' job. To increase your chances of getting a referral:
- Ask for it. If you're pleased with the work we have done, would you serve as a reference for us?
- Make it easy for the client to say "yes" by providing a draft of what you'd like the client to say. Be sure to tell the client who your ideal prospect is, so the client knows whom to refer.
- Watch your phrasing. Do you know anyone who could use our services? This question is likely to lead to a yes/no answer, which won't help you find new prospects. Who do you know who could use our services? This question will prompt your client to think of a few possibilities before answering.
| Choice | For each action, what choices does the client need to make? What does the client need to say "yes" or "no" to in deciding whether or not to take action? |
Example: Necessary Choices to support the desired action:
- The client needs to say "yes" to using external support to handle the matter.
- The client needs to say "yes" to allocating the necessary funds.
- The client needs to say "yes" to having confidence your firm can handle the work.
- The client needs to say "no" to working with a different firm.
- The client may need to say "no" to the way the matter is being handled now.
| Clarity | What does the client need to know or understand before the desired choices can be made? |
Example: Necessary Clarity to support client's choices:
- Your firm has the ability and expertise to handle the matters.
- Your firm has the desire to do additional work for the client.
- Your firm's prices provide the best value proposition for the client.
- Your firm's staffing meets the client's needs and expectations.
Now that you understand what your client might need in order to take the action you want, what do you need to do? What is your role in moving the action forward? Have you educated your client that your firm offers this kind of service or has a particular expertise in this area? Have you shown your client the value of using your firm rather than internal resources or another firm? Consult with your marketing department to craft a message that features your firm's benefits. Practice the conversation with your marketing team or a trusted colleague until your business development "gremlins" are put to rest.
Business development can be a full-time job in and of itself. Make this part of your job easier by extending the relationships you already have.
Miriam Bamberger, CPCC, and Heather Bradley, CPCC, are the co-founders of The Flourishing Company, which helps emerging professionals sharpen their leadership skills to generate immediate and lasting changes in their ability to successfully manage complex work relationships. For additional information, visit: www.TheFlourishingCompany.com.
| SIGN UP D&B Brief — Free Teleclass In 2003, MCCA® initiated an integrated strategy to assist members in taking responsibility for their professional development. The series addresses a collection of specific skills to assist members in proactively managing their own careers. Each article is supported by a companion teleclass known as The Diversity & the Bar® Brief. The free teleclass for this article is scheduled for Wednesday, August 25, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. (eastern daylight savings time). Click here to register! MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Upcoming Topics and Teleclass dates:
|
From the July/August 2004 issue of Diversity & The Bar®