Turbocharging Your Business Development As A Lawyer

I’m sitting here sending follow up emails.

Actually, in some cases I’m sending follow-up emails to follow-up emails to follow-up emails.

Quite a few of them.

No replies galore, not even an acknowledgment in a lot of cases.

I am being ignored.

For the record, I’m talking about weeks, not days or even a week.

It could be me, I accept that.

The people around me tell me I have too high expectations of a reply, a quick one, or even one at all.

They say the world has changed, things have changed, it’s not the same as before.

I know that. I appreciate it is not all just about me.

That’s why I didn’t even bother to call them.

I accept all of this.

Ghosting is on the trend upwards. Noted.

Most of my emails are not urgent or life-threatening, but they are important to me so I can move forward with certain things.

The Importance Of Timely Communication As A Lawyer

An acknowledgment would be nice though - that’s my salient point here.

It would also just quietly, keep this grump old man happy (well……maybe!)

This ties into the title of this blog post, as well as a broader piece of advice for anyone in professional practice - one of the simplest ways to build strong, trusted relationships (which invariably leads to more business) is through timely communication.

When I first started out in my own law practice, I was given some excellent advice by an older lawyer - he said “over-service everyone!” (but don’t charge them for it).

Paul Ippolito

Be A Good Lawyer - Respond Someway Somehow, Sooner Rather Than Later

The simplest way to do that (and one of the best business development strategies at that!) was to respond to emails, phone calls and even letters then quickly. Especially when it comes to client communication.

I did. I could also, because I wasn’t busy.

I phoned everyone back who called me within an hour or two if it was new business, and within the same morning or afternoon for others. I didn’t go home until all phone calls were acknowledged. Same with my emails.

I even answered the office phone myself sometimes.

It all worked.

It was excellent at professional relationship building.

I still try to do this stuff, to this day.

The testimonials and word-of-mouth recommendations I received from the above practice alone were phenomenal, and led to a steady stream of referrals and opportunities.

I had become known as a lawyer who called you back quickly.

So, if you’re looking to build your professional reputation, deepen relationships as well as turbocharge your business development, I repeat my above advice - respond to emails and phone calls as quickly as you can - and especially if they are from me!

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