Jaimie Field – Enlightened Rainmaking

Simply put, marketing is communicating what you can do for prospective clients by creating awareness.

Rainmaking is converting those people into prospective clients by creating relationships.

Marketing educates your prospective clients and referrals sources about the services you can provide to them.

Rainmaking creates the relationships which allow your prospects and referrals to know that you can provide these services just for them.

Marketing uses a lot of reactive tactics to generate awareness of your services.  For example (this is not even close to an exhaustive list – there are more than 100 ways to get your services known):

• Advertising
• Blogging
• Websites
• Newsletters
• Articles

Rainmaking uses proactive tactics to get to know people personally which will allow them to make the decision to hire or refer you.  For example (Again, this is not even close to an exhaustive list – there are more than 100 ways to create relationships which will get you clients):

• Networking
• Referral Systems
• Entertaining for business (coffee/lunch appointments)
• Social Networking (yes, even online networking can be used for Rainmaking Purposes and will be covered in future blog posts)

So while Marketing will get you known, Rainmaking will get you clients.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie? Call or email for more information.

• If you are referable (Rainmaking Recommendation #41)
• And you know how to give referrals (Rainmaking Recommendation #42)
• And you know how to ask for referrals (Rainmaking Recommendation #43)

Why aren’t you getting referrals on a regular basis?

It’s probably because you don’t have a system for getting referrals in place.

One of the definitions of the word “System” is “an organized and coordinated method; a procedure.”[i] This is what you need to put in place in order to get referrals on a regular basis.

Most of the time we just hope people will refer business to us – it becomes sheer luck as to whether we get referrals.  However, if you put a system in place where you are connecting with your sources on a regular basis, giving referrals to others on a regular basis and asking them to help you by giving you referrals on a regular basis, you will avoid the “dumb luck” method of getting referrals.

If you don’t develop a method for consistently and constantly getting referrals then you will be doing it ad-hoc.

Develop a method that works best for you.  (If you have a “system” in mind and would like to run it by Jaimie B. Field, Esq. to see if it will work feel free to email her.)   The key is constancy and consistency.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie? Call or email for more information.

---

[i] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Rainmaking Recommendation #41 asked:  Are you Referable?

Rainmaking Recommendation #42 asked:  Do you know how to give referrals?

This third, but by no means final step, answers the question:  Do you know how to ask for referrals?

Being referable and giving referrals are wonderful ways to start the process.  However, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

You have to make sure that each of your clients and referral sources know that your business thrives on their referrals.  You must also teach your clients,  prospects and referral sources the types of clients who would make good referrals for you.

This requires you to understand exactly who your ideal client is and how to describe them to other people (and “someone who pays my bill” is not a good description).   Take the time to figure out what your perfect client looks like and what solutions you can specifically provide to them.  Be broad enough to allow inclusion by enough of a pool of people (or businesses) but specific enough to jog your referral source’s memory of someone who may meet this description.

Once you have this description, you must begin telling your referral sources about them. Remember your referral sources include current clients, past  clients, and other professionals – people with whom you have developed great trust based relationships.   They need to know you are seeking referrals.  So, ask them – ask them who they know that fits the description of the type of client you are seeking and the problems you can solve for them.  While they may not remember or have someone in mind the first time you ask, you have to keep inquiring of them on a regular basis.  This is where implementing a “system” to obtain referrals comes into play.

Don’t forget to thank your referral sources for any attempts to refer new clients.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie? Call or email for more information.

Rainmaking Recommendation #41 began the first of three steps on how to get referrals.

The first step answered the question:  Are you Referable?

The second step answers the question:  Do you know how to give referrals?

Why is giving referrals important?  You’ve heard the old adage: “Give to get”.  Nothing could be truer than that statement.    Lawyers, who know much about the law, sometimes fail to take advantage of a law known as “The Law of Reciprocity.”  This law states that people are inherently motivated to pay you back for the nice things you do for them.

However, there is an art to giving great referrals and it begins with these steps:

• Listen closely to what your prospects, clients, friends and family are saying.  Somewhere in that conversation they may need help with something.  You can then provide a referral that helps them with that problem or issue.  (Your referrals to others do not have to be just providing the other person with new clients.  You can refer doctors, restaurants, movies, a great piece of advice, etc.  The point is that you are listening intently and trying to provide a solution to others. )

• Discover exactly who the other person’s perfect client is by asking them for a detailed description and try to provide them with a referral that fits that description.

• Ask the person to whom you have made a referral to keep you in the loop after they have contacted the person you have referred to them.  This will help you to make better referrals in the future.

Start giving great referrals to people and referrals will be returned to you.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Lately I have been discussing referrals a lot with my clients.

Recently, I was invited to participate in a podcast with Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with MassLOMAP for Legal Talk Network Radio on The Power of Legal Referrals, and the one question I get asked the most is how to get more referrals.

There are three steps to getting referrals (the next two Rainmaking Recommendations will focus on the other steps).

The first step to getting more referrals is to be referable.

How do you become referable?

• Manage your clients’ expectations and keep your promises
• Under promise and over deliver
• Keep communicating with your clients
• Do the best work you possibly can

And finally,

• Thank those who do make referrals to you immediately

The last step is one of the most important. If you do not show gratitude to those who trust you with their contacts – friends, family and clients – you will find that referrals from that person will dry up immediately.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month. They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

You wouldn’t offer a monkey a slice of cheese when it wants a banana.

You wouldn’t give a hungry baby a steak when it wants a bottle of milk.

So why is it that we don’t figure out what our potential and current clients really want?  Instead, we tell them what we want for them.

Great Rainmakers take the time to figure out what their clients want when they work with them.  More often than not, it’s not only about a satisfactory resolution to their legal problems.  Clients want to be heard and understood.   They want someone to listen and respond to them on a timely basis.

Usually, if they are contacting you they are going through an issue which you can resolve.  However, it’s not usually the specific issue that causes them to contact you – it’s the pain that issue causes them.   Figure out what that specific pain is and find a way to resolve it.  You can find this “pain” by continually asking questions.

Put yourself in your clients’ place and try to understand what it is they truly want.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

(N.B:  This was not the original Rainmaking Recommendation that was to be sent out today, but due to an increasingly frustrating phone call with a major website last night in which those three little words were used over and over, it had to be sent).

When a client sends you an email or calls you on the phone with a question to which you do not know the answer, what is your typical response?

If it’s those three little words:  “I Don’t Know”, you’ve committed a major faux pas with your clients.

Your answer should always be:  “I don’t have the answer to that right this second, but I will find it for you.  Let me get back to you shortly.”

This is because they are relying on you to be their advisor.  They called you because they trust and like you; they know that you will help them find the answer to their questions.  If you don’t know the answer, take a moment and find it for them.  If you cannot find it, there is someone in your network of people (you are building your network of people – right?) who does know the answer.

This is when you either:

a)      Call your contact who does the answer and ask them to contact your client personally (a referral), or

b)      You could call your contact and get the answer for your client and then call your client to provide them with the answer.

Your client will appreciate the fact that you found this answer for them and this will endear you to your clients.   Happy clients give referrals.

While you will not know the answer to every question you are asked, you can try to find the answer. If, in the end, you still cannot find the answer, let the client know what you have tried to do to try obtain this answer.  They will still appreciate that you have gone above and beyond for them.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Okay – I’m not of the Catholic Faith, and I am not sure to whom I am really confessing this sin.  However,  as a person who coaches attorneys on Time Management, Organization, and Rainmaking Activities including using the internet to get new clients (blogs, social media, for example) I felt the need to write this post.

It’s been 26 days since I last posted to this blog and while I can provide all of the excuses – I’ve

• Been sick (unfortunately, this is true and I have been fighting something for a month or so),
• Been busy trying to get other things done in my personal life,
• Been using other rainmaking activities to obtain new clients,
• Been doing a lot of webcasts, podcasts and live seminars,
• Been working with my new clients (yes, new clients do take up a tremendous amount of time to be able to get them up to speed, however this is an excuse I don’t let my clients use so I am willing to have my feet held to the fire on this one),
• Been burned out and needed a break (only partially true because as any entrepreneur will tell you that owning your own business is a full time investment),
• Not had anything to say (which if you knew me personally, you would know that I am not at a loss for words ever),

the truth is this:  the biggest sin that a blogger can commit is not posting on a regular basis – particularly if you would like to use it as a method to grow your book of business.

The second truth is that there is no excuse not to post on a regular basis.

Some of the people who are reading this will think that I haven’t been gone all that long or uncommunicative.  This is true to those who are members of the Rainmaking Recommendation email list.  They have been continued to receive their legal marketing ideas on a regular basis*.

The reason that Rainmaking Recommendations are always sent is that I have made sure that there is an appointment on my calendar for each of these emails.   Even if I do not get to it until the last minute, I know that I have made a promise to the members of this email list that they will receive them on the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  It is these attorneys to whom I promised Rainmaking and Legal Marketing ideas who keep me accountable.

Part of the problem with blogging is that there is really no accountability.  Or is there?

The reasons why blogs die or become places for occasional posts is that we don’t get to hear from our readers all that often.  Commenting directly on blog posts has gone down since you have other locations in which you post your comments and thoughts – LinkedIn, FaceBook, Google+ and Twitter.

We can have the tendency to think that no one is reading so why bother writing at all.  However if you start looking at the analytics of your blog you will find out something wonderful:  someone is reading.   Sometimes it is many people.

These are the people to whom you should hold yourself accountable – the readers of your blog.  Whether it is one person or one million people, if you have decided to blog,  it is like making a promise to that person who has taken the time to open up your blog page – you must do so on a regular basis.  Your readers have come to expect new information from you.

Additionally, new Information, could lead to new clients.   88 billion searches are performed monthly on Google.  This does include searches on facebook, twitter, or any other search engine (Yahoo! Bing).  Every time you add content to your blog which is optimized for the key words your client is seeking, you have the opportunity to show up in these searches.

Mea Culpa:

To the readers of this blog in the past, I am sorry for not posting new information on a more regular basis.  I am holding myself accountable to you to get you the best Rainmaking and Legal Marketing information into your hands so that you can grow your books of business.

To those new readers who have just stumbled on this blog, I promise to blog on a more consistent and constant basis.

You can hold me to this if you wish here, on FaceBook, on Twitter, on LinkedIn or Google+ or even if you wish to send me an email.

*a backlog of Rainmaking Recommendations which, as of yet, have not been posted will be going up on the site shortly.

How many clients have you had over the years?

If each of these clients could refer just one good client to you, and then each of those new clients could refer one new client to you . . . . and so on and so on, how big would your book of business be?

Each time you finish a legal matter and say “goodbye” to a client, it only takes a short period of time before they begin to forget about the great work you have done.  “Out of sight, out of mind” is a truism.

Instead, find a way to say “Talk to you Soon.”

So how do you keep yourself in their minds at all times?  Keep in Touch.

There are so many methods Rainmakers use to keep in touch on a regular basis:

• Phone Calls
• Emails
• Newsletters
• Firm announcements
• Blog posts
• Holiday Cards

No, you should not become a pain in the butt and bombard them with spam, but you should find a method that works for you to keep in touch on at least a quarterly basis.

Let your clients know that you are still there even if they do not need you at that moment.  In fact, while they might not need you at that moment, they may know someone who does.

(Starting in April 2011, the attorneys who signed up to receive the Rainmaking Recommendation in their email will receive the current tip two weeks earlier than it is posted on this blog.  This is my way of thanking them for being a part of the group.  If you would like to see the current Rainmaking Recommendation before anyone else, please sign up to be a part of the list.)

Who was your very first client?

When was the last time you spoke with them?

The clients you have worked with in the past could be the best source of new business in the future.   Many attorneys assume that once a matter is concluded, the client has no more need for their services.   At that time they lose contact with this client.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Past clients hired you because they liked you, trusted you and knew you would do a wonderful job helping them with their situation.  They could be one of the best resources for new matters or referrals to new clients.  However, you must continue to nurture the relationship you have with these clients.

or example:  you negotiated the sale of business for a client.  This doesn’t have to be the end of the relationship with the client.  Do they need a new estate plan or and updated Will to reflect the sale?  Are there tax implications that need to be addressed?

You have the opportunity to not be the attorney who does a single legal transaction (case/trial) and then exits from the clients’ life, but a true advisor.  Even if you don’t engage in these practice areas, you can still become their trusted advisor as you refer them to others who can help them with this work (this is called cross-marketing).

What if you haven’t spoken to them in a long time?

So what!

Pick up the phone, write an email, send a letter – let them know that you were thinking about them and wanted to find out what has been happening in their life, their family and their business.

Renewing a relationship with a past client could just bring you a future of big business.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month via email to a list of amazing  attorneys who have signed up to receive them.    They are bite size tips that, when implemented will cause you to make rain.  Previously the subscribers of the tips and the readers of this blog got the information simultaneously. They are not longer being  posted immediately to this blog.  As stated above, those who are subscribed will have the Rainmaking Recommendation two weeks earlier than those who read this blog.  To get these tips sent to your email before the rest of the world reads them, please follow the instructions for subscribing.

To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie? Call or email for more information.