Jaimie Field – Enlightened Rainmaking

Rainmaking Recommendation #26:   Schedule your Rainmaking

While you want to do the Rainmaking activities necessary to obtain new clients, do you find that by the end of the day you haven’t gotten to that particular task?

Put it on your calendar.

Schedule your Rainmaking Activities like they were an appointment.    Whether it is writing a blog post, calling a referral source, contacting an old client, following up with someone you met at a networking event, treat it like an appointment with the best client you have – you!

The “appointment” doesn’t have to be a lengthy period.  In fact, by just scheduling 30 minutes a day to perform one small rainmaking activity will amass you 2.5 hours per week that you have spent on rainmaking.   These little times add up.

If you can spend more time, great!  However, you should make a point to have 30 minutes per day, every day of the business week, devoted to making rain for your practice.

The amount of time you spend will be returned to you and then some!

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. If you would like to have these tips sent directly to your in box, please sign up here.

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.

Do you suffer from “Bright Shiny Object” Syndrome?  Does the newest Rainmaking Technique or technology call your name the minute you hear about it?

There is nothing wrong with trying a new technique, for example using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging, newsletters, etc. to try to reach out to new clients.  However, if you are constantly wandering from one Rainmaking method to another and then to another, you never have the opportunity to fully explore what that particular approach can bring.

Rainmaking requires patience.

It’s about creating relationships, whether online or in real life.  If you keep jumping from “bright shiny object” to “bright shiny object” you will never know which one is really going to work.  Pick a tactic or two and then make a promise to stick with it for at least a quarter of a year.  Make sure you learn all that you need to know about how to use this tactic for marketing and rainmaking purposes, and then execute on these tactics on a consistent and constant basis.

The bright shiny object you are currently using just may be worth millions.

So, is there a “bright shiny object” your itching to try?  Leave your comment below and let others know what it is.

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. If you would like to have these tips sent directly to your in box, please sign up here.

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 #24:  As the Year Comes To A Close. . .

Yes, this Rainmaking Recommendation is a week late (usually they are sent on the 1^st and 3^rd Wednesday of the month) but I didn’t want 3 weeks to pass without being able to wish you all the happiest holidays and an extremely prosperous new year and to provide an important Rainmaking Tip for you to ponder.

If you do what you have always done, what are you going to get?  The same thing you have always gotten.

What are you going to do differently in 2011?  Start by writing a great Rainmaking Plan.

A great Rainmaking Plan consists of only three things:

• Specific goals you want to achieve
• The methods you are going to use to achieve them.
• Commitment to yourself (and if necessary someone else) that you will reach your target.

What are your goals for 2011?  Write them down.   Studies show that when you write down your goals you are more likely to realize them.   This is because:

• An unwritten goal is really only a dream and as soon as something else comes into your head (like the brief you have to write) you will lose focus on what you are seeking to attain;
• It forces you to clearly define your goals; and
• It enables you to begin clearly thinking about the actions you need to take to achieve these goals

As the year comes to an end, take some time to write down the things you want to learn, have and earn in the New Year.

Happy Holidays to all.

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. If you would like to have these tips sent directly to your in box, please sign up here.

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 #23 – ‘Tis The Season

Right about now, many attorneys are thinking about their Rainmaking Planning for next year.  They are going to the internet, sitting down with their marketing departments, or hiring consultants to help them develop the magic bullet of plans which will cause clients to come flooding in the door.

However, instead of planning at this moment, how about reviewing?

Take some time in the next week or so to review your clients, business development and client service for the past year.

• How did your clients come to hire you?  In order to replicate this, you need to know exactly how a client came to you or your firm.  if you don’t already have one, develop a client intake form/sheet which allows you to track this.

• What business development activities did you do this past year?  Which ones worked and which ones didn’t?  Now is the time to weed out the activities such as random acts of lunch, networking with the wrong groups, and others which are not yielding the type of client development results you are seeking.

• How well did you service your clients?  Be honest here!  Did you respond in a timely manner?  Did you explain to your clients what was happening with their legal issues in a way they would understand?  How could you make this better?

These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself before planning for next year.

An honest review of the business development and rainmaking tactics you have done will allow you to plan more effectively for the coming year.

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 #22:  Giving Thanks

In one week (and one day) it will be Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was originally a holiday to express thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation for having been blessed with a bountiful harvest of material possessions, food and relationships. While it has morphed into a day off with tons of food and some good football games, maybe it’s time to get back to basics.

Why not take the time to thank those with whom you have worked over the past year – clients, associates and staff.  The fact is that we sometimes take these relationships for granted without even realizing it.

Take the opportunity over the next week to call or email your favorite clients and wish them a happy holiday.   Thank the people with whom you work on a daily basis.  Thank anyone who has ever helped you. When you say “thank you” it makes people feel appreciated.  Appreciated people go out of their way to try to help you some more, leading to more business and referrals.

(While you’re at it, don’t forget your family and friends.  Thank them for all of their support as well.)

Take time during this season to acknowledge others and it will come back to you.

Most importantly, I want to take this opportunity to thank YOU for your support.  I look forward to continuing to help you in any way I can. Please feel free to email or call me at any time.  Your comments are always welcome as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As attorneys, the most potent Rainmaking tactic is Word-of-Mouth marketing.  This is when clients tell others about the work you do and referrals are a result.  However, word-of- mouth marketing is also one of the ways that we lose clients as well.

The problem is that in most legal cases, at least in the clients’ mind, there will always be a winner and a loser.  While we would like to believe that we will always win our cases, someone will walk away with the judgment or the money; someone else will have to pay in one way or another.  Not only does this create negative feelings on the part of the “losing” party, but also negative word-of-mouth towards the attorney who was only doing their best to assist their client(s).

This is why you need to create realistic client expectations from the outset of your relationship.  This includes:

• How, how often, and when you will communicate with them;
• What you are realistically going to do for your client while handling their case;
• And, the various outcomes of a given matter – both good and bad.

If you create realistic expectations (and then attempt to exceed them) clients will be satisfied and be more likely to refer others to you.

What do you do to create realistic expectations for your clients?  Leave your comment below for other attorneys.

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 sign up to receive them in your in box visit Marketing Field.com for instructions. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Rainmaking Recommendation #20:  On My Mind

One of the challenges that attorneys face is our clients or prospects don’t always have a constant need for our services.  However, these people will often run into others that they can refer.   Since we are all busy people, they refer the person they have on their mind at that time.

“Top of Mind” is a marketing term used to describe the fact that you are the first person people recall when they experience a need for your services (whether for themselves or as a referral).

To keep you and your firm on their minds consistent contact is imperative.  Whether through

• phone calls,
• emails,
• blog posts,
• press releases,
• white pages,
• newsletters,
• networking,

each time you put your name in front of a prospect/client you create an awareness of you do; this makes it easier for them to either use your services when they have a need or refer you when they come across someone else who might.

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.  If you would like these delivered directly to your in-box please sign up by following the directions here.

This article, which originally appeared in the New Jersey Law Journal December 3, 2009, has been reproduced here. Although almost a year old, the article still resonates today.

The recession that began in 2008 caused mass devastation in the legal field.  We watched the annihilation of venerable law firms, like Heller Ehrman, Thelen Reid and Wolf Block.  Other law firms decimated their staffs by laying off thousands of attorneys, paralegals and support staff.    Small, Mid-size, Large – no law firm was immune to the financial issues and cutbacks that this recession caused.   We learned that the profession of law, which was once thought to be recession proof, is not immune to a downturn in the economy.

However, the attorneys who were able to bounce back immediately, or to whom the recession has had little effect are . . . The Rainmakers.

So what can YOU do to become a Rainmaker?

Believe it or not, becoming a Rainmaker is simple; there are only two steps to becoming an effective Rainmaker.  First, rainmaking is a function of relationship building; second, rainmaking is a function of great follow up.

Rainmaking can be taught; it is a matter of knowing the various business development tactics that exist, for example, networking events, online strategies, seminars and referrals.  Rainmakers understand how to use these tactics to promote themselves, their practice and their firm and develop relationships.  (The tactics are beyond the scope of this article, however, each is a method used to create relationships.)  Every attorney, regardless of personality can become a Rainmaker in his/her own right.

Thereafter, follow up is crucial.  The type and amount of follow up will determine whether prospective clients will actually work with you.  In fact, this also applies to current clients as well.  The main reason that clients state they leave their attorneys is because of a lack of response by their attorneys.

To be an effective Rainmaker, it is strongly suggested that you have a formal, written and personal Rainmaking plan consisting of the goals you want to achieve, the clients you wish to target and the strategies you are going to execute to do this.

While the steps in Rainmaking are simple, the process is not easy.  It takes a commitment on your part to bring clients into your practice on a regular basis and to keep them.  Solo practitioners who do not market their services consistently will find that they will be struggling for clients.  Mid-size and Large Law firm attorneys who don’t create books of business will find themselves as the people who grind out the work for those who do bring in new business.  This is not a position one should desire.  You limit the amount of control you have in your law firm:  control over the direction your individual career takes, or even control over the fact that you have a job (as we have seen in the recent past).

You can have the most brilliant rainmaking business development plan, designed and written for you by the greatest law firm marketing genius, but if you do not take the action necessary to implement the plan it is a worthless document.

How do you spell Rainmaker?   A . . . C . . . T . . . I . . . O . . . N!

A  = AM:  Wake up earlier. Waking up a half an hour earlier adds three and half hours per week which can be used for rainmaking.  Imagine an extra 182 hours per year to connect with former, current and prospective clients by writing a blog, submitting an article, follow-up calls, or attending one more networking event.

C  =  Cut Out Time Wasting: Determine how much time do you waste during the day?  If you are like most people, you are wasting time in a myriad of ways like reading (or deleting) emails you don’t need, chit-chatting ineffectively, and procrastinating on the one thing you could be doing to bring in more clients, or even doing more work for the current clients you have.   Then, learn to delegate, delete or downsize the task.

T = To-Do Lists: Write it down and prioritize:  Yes, a To-Do list.  Include everything!  If you don’t write it down, things fall through the cracks and the time it takes to fix the mistakes takes away from Rainmaking activities. Prioritize which activities are going to be the most helpful to you.  Cross out the tasks you have accomplished.  There is a sense of satisfaction from putting an X next to that item or running a line through it (even electronically).  Further, you have the opportunity to see how much you have accomplished.

I = Integrate your entire life: A true Rainmaker makes rain all of the time, even when they are doing things you wouldn’t consider to be “business development” activities.  For example, does your Dentist know what you do for a living?  He/She could be referring clients to you if they did.

O = Organize your plan: Take 15 minutes on Sunday Evening to plan your week.  Start by writing in all of the appointments you have.  Then plan the rest of your days in blocks of time.  For example: block out time to run errands,  to exercise, to have fun with family and friends, a chunk of time to perform one rainmaking activity per day, a chunk of time to work.  Realize that you don’t have to schedule yourself minute by minute as this will cause more stress if you exceed the time you thought it would take.  By planning in chunks, you can respond to “emergencies” which arise and you can fill in the activities in the blocks with what’s on your to-do list. But treat each “chunk” of time as a true appointment.  One that you cannot break.  If you have scheduled an hour to write a blog post as your Rainmaking Activity for that day and you finish in half that time then perform another task (following up with a prospective client, for example) or take a quick break.

N = Now, Take ACTION! : Once you have a schedule, keep it!   If you find yourself procrastinating for any reason, break the major task into its attendant pieces and perform one of the bite size pieces. There is an old adage:  How do you eat an Elephant?  One bite at a time.   When you do this, you find that the task get’s accomplished much faster than you realized.

Rainmaking is about creating relationships, which requires ACTION, and following up, which further necessitates ACTION.

How do you spell Rainmaker?  A . . . C . . . T . . . I . . . O . . . N.

It’s simple but certainly not easy.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking 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.

Whether it is by email or snail mail, whether it is an RFP, a thank you note, or a note to say hello, too many “I”, “Me” and “My Firm” statements in your correspondence will turn the reader off.

It’s not about YOU or your firm.  It’s about what you and your firm can do for the person who is reading the correspondence.

The solution:  after you write the document (whatever it may be) go back and change all of the “I” statements and “Me” Statements into “You”, “We” or “Us” statements.

When you focus on your reader, they will focus on what you have to say.

What do you think?   Please comment below.

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.

Make a list of ALL of your clients, both current and former.

Which one of these people have not heard from you in a month?  In a year?  In more than a year?

You are missing valuable new business sources if you have ever lost touch with a person you have met in the past, even if you have only lost touch for short periods of time.

There is an old adage – “Out of sight, out of mind.”

These are people who can refer business to you or provide new matters to you or your firm.

Make a list of these people and start getting back in contact with them regularly.

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.   Sign up to have these delivered right to your in-box.