One size never fits all.

There’s no secret about which activities may be helpful for business development, right? Pick up any law practice management magazine, flip to one of the zillion practice-related website and blogs, or read marketing suggestions for other professions, and you’ll find all kinds of activities that work for landing new business.

The challenge can be finding which activities work for you. There’s no one-size-fits-all template for business development. When it comes to finding your best process, you must start with self-understanding. What are your skills and opportunities for attaining credible visibility? How do you best interact with people?

It is possible to enhance and even change your natural tendencies—if, for example, there are good indications that speaking would be a productive activity but you’re not a skilled speaker. However, you’re unlikely to succeed unless you first believe you can succeed. Here’s why:

How do you see yourself when it comes to business development? To get a clear view, download and complete my RainMaster Business Development Plan Template (you’ll also be subscribed to my weekly email newsletter, which offers strategies and insights to strengthen your business development activity.) Part one is all about identifying attributes of yourself as well as your practice and your target clients, and part two helps you to use that information to build a plan that actually fits you.

Don’t fall for a paint-by-numbers template that fits everyone and therefore fits no one. It takes work to design your unique strategy, but that’s the only way to succeed. (Need help? Let’s talk.)