Enthusiasm matters in rainmaking and in client service.

How enthusiastic are you about building your practice?  Not how motivated, how determined, or how skilled, but how enthusiastic?

Enthusiasm has a bad reputation in our society and in professional circles specifically.  It’s often knocked as naïve or overly eager.  But the truth is, we enjoy enthusiasm.  Don’t you want to work with and for people who are lit up about what they’re doing?

Your clients want to work with someone who’s enthusiastic about working with them.  Whether you’re representing individuals or the largest corporations in the world, your clients want to know that you’re invested and even proactive… In other words, that you aren’t just dialing it in.

When I was in law school, I had a professor who was so enthusiastic about tax law that he infected all of his students.  We did the reading and showed up to class engaged and looking forward to his lecture and our discussions.  About tax.  (The now-me shudders just a little at the thought, but I was drawn in like everyone else at the time.)  In contrast, I had a few professors who were smart and knowledgeable, but their lack of enthusiasm left me feeling eh about their classes.  And I suspect that was ok with them.

Enthusiasm engages audiences and motivates action.

And that carries through to rainmaking.  Sure, it’s easy to create a “paint by numbers” business development plan that you execute without any particular sense of relish.  But when you can find a way to get fired up – whether it’s because you really enjoy meeting new people, you love being on a stage or teaching, or because you are passionately interested in your work or your clients – that’s when you become invested and when things can shift on a dime.

So, how enthusiastic are you?  It isn’t an idle question.