Over the next few Rainmaking Recommendations, we will be discussing the end of this year and how to develop a successful Rainmaking Plan for 2013.
Want to hear a scary fact? There are only 54 days left to this year. 
We are coming down to the end of 2012. What did you do this year to grow your book of business?
You need to conduct your own review of your activities.
If you work in a firm, you may be required to have an “Attorney Review” to determine what you accomplished in 2012. If you are a solo practitioner, you should consider doing this exercise on your own.
Performing your own Attorney Review will help you determine:
- what you did this year that worked to bring in new clients;
- what didn’t work ; or most importantly,
- If you did ANY of the work necessary to build your book of business.
Most attorneys have a tendency to get caught up in the day-to –day practice of law: Writing briefs or contract, researching the law, litigating cases, etc.
This means they do not take the time to do the activities: blogging, social media, networking, public speaking, writing articles, meeting with referral sources, etc., that will lead to more business.
You need to be honest with yourself. Do not make judgments; just determine whether you actually did the tasks you would need to do to build a book of business on a consistent basis. Just blogging occasionally, or going to a networking event but not following up with the people you met, or using Social Media to meet the people you want to meet on a consistent basis, will not help you grow your client base. (Think of it this way: most people do not wake up good at a particular hobby – like golf, or playing an instrument. You have to practice consistently, possibly take lessons, and learn from your mistakes, in order to get better.)
Once you have figured out whether you did (or didn’t) do the work necessary and what worked (or didn’t) you can begin to plan for next year.
And the first part of your plan just may be committing to do the things you need to do.
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