As the associates at her firm agreed, when her name showed up on their phone, their heart skipped a few beats and they immediately thought, “This will not be easy.”
I also shared that arrhythmia feeling when her name showed up on my phone, but this time was different. She called to ask if I could come by her office to talk with her about new business.
As she stared out the window without looking at me, she said, “I am terrified. The partners who feed me business are leaving and I’ve never had to build a practice on my own. What do I do?”
It dawned on me then, and I am reminded today, that there are lots of experienced partners that are worried because they’ve never had to develop a practice or create a book of business. They may have hard shells on the outside, but inside, they may be frightened about what the future holds.
I am providing a free, yes free, packet of materials (actually two of them, one on strategy and the other on developing your own practice, particularly geared toward women) that I hope helps lawyers, develop their practices. Please feel free to download these here.
Some quick tips for experienced partners just starting out on business development.
Look and see where you’ve developed business in the past. That may give you clues as to how to repeat your successes.
Start with your clients. Know as much as you can about them. What are their greatest concerns? Who do they report to and what does their organizational structure say about their needs? How is their performance measured?
Let’s keep the conversation going, so that the fear on both sides is a thing of the past.
You’re an experienced lawyer, so what is holding you back as a rainmaker?
Earlier in my career, I worked with a particularly very tough, but brilliant female corporate partner.