What’s Wrong with Traditional Networking? Nothing! 

Currently, the trend in law office marketing is all geared towards social media platforms, website development, and search engine optimization. Such marketing strategies are critical to get your name out there, but never lose sight of the big picture. Traditional networking still works and young attorneys need to be trained in the art and disciplines required to be great networkers.

How Did That New Client Call Originate?

If you are buying add space, billboards, Google Ad Words, Facebook ads, or just part of the parent teacher organization at your children’s school, in the current environment, a potential client has looked you up on online before making the first call to your office. Therefore, a strong online presence is certainly required to compete in this marketplace. Whether it be Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or other social media platforms or your great looking website, a client is going to Google your name and see what has been written about you. They will look at online reviews and the unsolicited testimonials about you. However, and there is no mistake about it, there is a high probability that the first call to your office, and the internet intelligence they have obtained on you, started with your traditional networking, whether you know it or not.

Get Connected With People

You cannot network sitting behind your desk. Three networking organizations to join:

1. Bar associations;
   
2. A local Chamber of Commerce; and
   
3. An industry group.
   

Make your involvement impactful and do not sit idly back in the last row just attending monthly meetings. Become a leader and participate in events and volunteer your time. These organizations are looking for people to stand up and volunteer to take control or chair a fundraiser, food drive, coat drive or other civic events. Become active in your organizations. You will only get out what you put in.

The Marketing Mindset

Remember, there is no better “salesmanship” than being proud of what you do and proud of the profession you are in. With your education, you should be proud to go out and help people solve the problems they have that require a lawyer’s involvement. Whenever you meet someone at an event, subtly ask yourself “How can I help them?” Moreover, after talking to them for a while and if they describe a problem that has a solution that only a lawyer can bring, ask them overtly “How can I help?” or “What can I do to help?” Remember, everyone you meet may need your services, or they may know someone who needs your services.

The First Meeting

As in any mixer, party, year-end banquet, or social setting, you will meet people and that meeting starts with a handshake and general small talk about them personally or, depending on the venue, about your mutual attendance at a particular event. Very quickly after some niceties about the event you are attending, they will ask, “What do you do for a living?” When you answer that you are an attorney, the inevitable instantaneous next question will be “What type of law do you practice?” Here is your opportunity to deliver your very short, well-rehearsed elevator speech.

You might say, “I am an estate planning lawyer, I really do enjoy the challenges of planning for a person’s estate in a tax efficient manner saving them money, and keeping family discord to a minimum. You know, when people die and there is a fight for money and there is no set plan in a will or trust on how to divide that money, family relationships are ruined.” That small elevator speech tells your listener what you do, explains the value you add, and also subtly explains why you have passion for what you do.

The same goes for any practice of law whether you are criminal lawyer, business transaction lawyer or a personal injury lawyer. Convey to the listener in just a few short sentences your practice area, how you help people, and why it is passionate to you. Rehearse the speech, so you can deliver it in a clear and confident manner.

Then, stop talking about yourself and ask questions about the person you are speaking to. Let them talk about themselves. There is nothing a person likes more than to talk about themselves when being prompted with thoughtful questions from you. You will win a lot of friends under these circumstances.

At social events, remember do not get tied down to one person for too long. Usually ten minutes of small talk is plenty and then politely say, “I don’t want to monopolize your time tonight, can I have your card and I’ll promise to get back to you so we can get together again?” Exchanging business cards is an art form, but do not get hung up on the being uncomfortable exchanging cards. Simply ask the person “Do you have a card so if I need to contact you in the future I can reach you?” Or simply pull out your card and hand it to the person while shaking their hand with an appropriate “hello” or “goodbye” and that will trigger an automatic response from the other person to give you their card. Once you have had a ten-minute conversation and exchange cards, mission accomplished.

The Follow Up

If you are out at a networking event, and came away with about six new business cards, you are doing great. Remember, ten minutes per person budgeting in an hour to generate leads will give you about five to six new people for every event you attend. Then, you do need to follow up on your promise you made to them when you first met them. You need to follow up and meet with them for lunch, a coffee, or a breakfast meeting.

For the follow up meeting, you do need to do your research, and with their business card in hand, do a good job of researching their company, their history with the company, and anything else you can find out about them online. Remember, they will probably be doing the same to find out about you, if they are as well prepared as you.

That follow up meeting is the time to talk business. Ask hard questions, engage in what they do for a living, their company, and even if they are not working in a business, what they do to spend their time. If a person is a homemaker, he or she still may be very actively involved in their children’s school, community services, and other things that have him or her networked in the community.

Once you have had your first breakfast, coffee or lunch with your new potential client or referral source, mark your calendar six months in advance to make a follow up call or possibly even another meeting. Hopefully, it was a community-based event that you met this person at, and you will see him or her at other community events prior to your next planned meeting.

Lastly, categorize this person’s skill set, marketing ability as a referral source, in a group distribution list where you can email him or her timely news topics and law articles on topics that would interest him or her. For example, as you gather certified public accountants’ business cards and contacts, put together a distribution list on your software system where you can blind carbon copy to your group of accountants timely information relating to hot topics in tax, federal tax preparer liability issues, and other new changes in the laws affecting CPAs. As you build your book of contacts and referral sources, you need to constantly be adding value to them by providing them timely information for them and their profession. Remember, you want to become a significant resource for these people so that the first time a legal issue comes up, they will think of you. You want to create the perception that you are an industry leader.

Conclusion

Whether you realize it or not, you either are constantly networking or should be constantly networking. Again, have that working mindset and be proud of what you do that will help people. Be ready to add value to someone’s life whenever they need it.

For any further discussion on the art of networking, please reach out to Kerry Lavelle at klavelle@lavellelaw.com to schedule an appointment.

Kerry Lavelle is the author of The Business Guide to Law: Creating and Operating a Successful Law Firm and The Early Career Guide for Attorneys: Starting and Building a Successful Career in Law published by the American Bar Association. They can be found on the ABA website at: http://bit.ly/1J1p0Aa and https://bit.ly/2NQkYSU . He grew his solo practice to a 31-attorney firm, accumulating numerous awards and commendations along the way for his legal work and community service. He is a frequent speaker at bar association seminars and conferences on law office management, and has served as an adjunct professor for business, economics and law school classes, and has served on boards for the Northwest Suburban, Illinois and American Bar Association.