What are your rainmaking priorities?
“All things being equal, people will do business with – and refer business to – those people they know, like and trust.” This quote, from Bob Burg’s excellent book Endless Referrals, sums up why it is that relationships serve as the basis for rainmaking. It also clarifies what your priorities should be for business development. […]
Book Review
The 29% Solution: 52 Weekly Networking Success Strategies by Ivan Misner by Greenleaf Book Group Press I heard a lot of response to last week’s suggestion that networking is the most important thing a lawyer can do to grow a practice. A few disagreed with my assessment, but most responded by asking how to network […]
The Reluctant Rainmaker video
I’ve received terrific feedback about my new book The Reluctant Rainmaker: A Guide for Lawyers Who Hate Selling, and people have asked what made me decide to write this book now. Here’s a short video with my personal story about why helping lawyers learn to excel in business development (especially helping the lawyers who think […]
What’s the best way to grow your practice?
One of the keys to success is efficient and effective action. We all know that’s true in billable work, and we study time management and time mastery to find ways to optimize daily activity. Nowhere is this principle truer than in business development. Most lawyers don’t get excited at the prospect of undertaking rainmaking activity, […]
Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt way
Over a year ago when I was visiting my very favorite bookstore (the Upstart Crow, in San Diego’s Seaport Village), I saw a book titled Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way. Because I am a fan of Mrs. Roosevelt, I knew I had to grab it, but then something happened and distracted me, and I left […]
Don’t underplay yourself
When a law firm hires me to work with a junior associate, very often one part of the engagement centers of the associate’s leadership presence and self-confidence – how he or she presents to others. (Of course, that focus is not by any means unique to junior associates.) Although reviewers may use a variety of […]
The large firm crisis
I was in Boston last week for the ABA midyear meeting, and the mood was grim. Conversation was centered on the economy, especially in light of the announcement that nearly 800 large firm employees were laid off on Thursday, a toll that climbed to over 1000 by the end of the day Friday, according to […]