I recently had the opportunity to discuss shy lawyers—yes, there are shy lawyers!—with ABA Journal podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward and Dalhi Myers, who practices law with Gaffney Lewis & Edwards. Previously, we considered ways to overcome the stigma of business development and finding the right people. Here we continue our conversation:
ABA Journal: The market is so tight out there right now. Are there some really clever ways to think of a really fertile market that everyone else isn’t trying to tap into?
Larry Kohn: As Dalhi said, you look at what you do to see where you have the best fit, so where you have real comfort. You also look to your existing clients to see what industries they’re in, and you also look to existing relationships who are well-connected to the target markets that you want to reach out to.
One of the most effective ways of meeting new people is meeting people through the people you already know, and in fact, many of my clients make huge amounts of money with just that philosophy, nothing else—just focusing on every time they meet a person in their target market, they are good at finding out who those other people know and they develop wonderful noninvasive ways of meeting those people.
Dalhi Myers: And just to piggyback, for a moment, on what Larry is saying, I think, in fact, it is still true that your best marketing tool is to do a really good job because your clients will sell you. Clients who are really pleased with their external counsel make it known to the world. They take you to conferences with them, they ask you to speak in their offices, they ask you to do workshops, and there is no better marketing tool than a satisfied customer because that customer, then, goes abroad and does a better job of selling you than you ever could.
For more tips, check out ABA Journal’s “Shy Lawyer’s Guide to Becoming a Rainmaker” podcast.
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