Most law schools do an excellent job of teaching you how to understand the law and apply it to your clients’ business and personal issues, but very few prepare you to become a rainmaker i.e., someone who consistently brings in new clients and valuable work to the firm. Whether you are an associate or partner in a large firm or small law firm or someone who is thinking about hanging up your own shingle, new business from existing and new clients is what pays the bills.

For many lawyers, the concept of “selling” or asking for business is uncomfortable, even intimidating. I have seen law students and seasoned partners alike freeze up like deer in the headlights when the conversation turns to marketing or business development.

The truth is, marketing and business development are learnable skills — just like trial advocacy, deal structuring, or statutory interpretation. You can develop these skills through training, practice, and discipline.

There are many paths to becoming a successful business developer:

• Learn from a mentor or a successful rainmaker at your firm. Watch how they interact with clients, referral sources, and prospects, build relationships, and identify opportunities.
• Develop good habits early and stick to them. Business development is the product of consistent action, not occasional effort.
• Build your network intentionally. If you do not have a network, it will be nearly impossible to generate business. Relationships are the foundation of business development.
• Be social and curious. Show genuine interest in others. Ask questions. Learn about their work, their challenges, and their goals.
• Be an active listener. Clients will often tell you exactly what they need, if you are paying attention.
• Be generous. Make introductions. Share resources. Do favors without expecting an immediate return.
• Start early. The sooner you begin developing relationships, the stronger your network will be when you need it.
• Be disciplined. Over time, for most people, business development becomes second nature, but only if you incorporate it into your professional life.

I know this from experience. I have served as the Head of Marketing and Business Development at global accounting and law firms, as the Chief Revenue Officer for a financial compliance firm, and as a leader at and advisor to regional, local, and boutique professional services firms. I have created curricula and taught hundreds of lawyers how to develop new business, from first-year associates to managing partners.

These building blocks are a distillation of those lessons. This step-by-step guide will provide you with a road map for rainmaking through personal marketing, business development, and strategic relationship-building. Complete with practical actions to take, pitfalls to avoid, and systems to put in place, FirmBuilders will help you make developing business a natural and rewarding part of your career.

If you follow the strategies, you will not only learn how to bring in new clients, you will build a sustainable, credible, and respected presence in your professional community.

I anticipate that this will be a monthly newsletter with specific tips provided on a weekly basis. If you cannot wait for the next installment, reach out to me at akstimmel@p2bfb.com.