As
a
business
development
coach
and
trainer
exclusive
to
attorneys,
I
have
the
rare
privilege
of
speaking
with
thousands
of
lawyers
a
year
about
growing
their
law
practices.
Part
of
my
“Sales-Free
Selling”
strategy
is
to
ask
A
LOT
of
questions.
The
goal
of
this
is
to
understand
what
each
lawyers’
strengths
are
as
a
business
developer
and
even
more
importantly,
where
their
gaps
may
be.
In
many
instances
a
lawyer
may
be
investing
way
too
much
time
and
effort
in
the
wrong
places.
I
joke
sometimes
that
it’s
like
there’s
a
table
in
front
of
them
with
millions
of
dollars
stacked
up
high.
They
seem
to
be
walking
around
it
all
day,
and
not
into
it.
The
goal
of
working
with
any
BD
coach
isn’t
to
work
harder,
but
rather
smarter
to
bring
in
the
business.
So,
let’s
spend
some
time
today
talking
about
where
the
real
money
is
hiding
and
how
to
get
after
it.
Imagine
that
you’re
standing
in
front
of
an
apple
tree,
which
is
loaded
with
fresh
apples.
Some
of
these
apples
are
literally
right
in
front
of
your
face,
while
others
are
way
up
high
in
the
tree.
For
the
sake
of
efficiency,
where
do
you
select
the
apples?
The
lower
apples
may
seem
like
an
obvious
choice,
however
many
attorneys
are
still
working
entirely
too
hard
climbing
ladders
reaching
for
those
elevated
apples.
When
discussing
low-hanging
fruit
with
my
attorney
clients,
I
always
start
with
a
discussion
of
their
existing
clients.
Our
goal
is
to
uncover
opportunities,
which
will
produce
the
highest
possible
value
for
the
time
invested.
Before
you
can
begin
selecting
apples
you
must
plant
the
seeds
and
water
the
trees.
As
this
relates
to
leveraging
existing
clients,
a
myth
must
be
eradicated
first.
The
myth
is
simple:
if
you
service
your
client
properly,
they
will
be
loyal
to
you.
If
you
believe
this
for
even
a
moment,
you
are
in
for
a
rude
awakening.
Times
have
changed
and
so
must
you
in
the
way
you
manage
your
client
relationships.
Statistically,
it’s
six
times
more
work
and
energy
to
find
a
new
client
than
to
keep
an
existing
one.
That
being
said,
we
all
have
to
step
up
our
game
to
ensure
that
client
loyalty
is
developed
with
intent.
One
of
the
best
ways
to
accomplish
this
is
to
develop
a
client
retention
and
loyalty
plan.
Before
groaning
at
the
idea
of
writing
a
plan,
I
assure
you
this
shouldn’t
take
more
than
an
hour
to
accomplish
and
can
make
the
difference
between
success
and
failure
in
maintaining
and
building
your
law
practice.
Here
are
the
three
important
elements
of
a
client
retention
and
loyalty
plan:
Step
1.
Develop
a
list
of
your
key
clients
and
rank
them
as
an
“A,
B,
or
C”
client.
The
simple
truth
is
that
all
clients
are
not
created
equal.
Some
love
you
and
throw
a
ton
of
work
your
way,
while
others
may
be
more
distant,
and
the
work
is
hit
or
miss.
Whatever
the
case,
I
suggest
three
qualifiers
for
determining
what
makes
up
an
“A,
B,
or
C”
client.
Ask
yourself
questions
about
each
client
and
BE
HONEST.
-
How
good
is
my
relationship? -
Is
this
a
relationship
that
I
can
develop
and
expand? -
Are
we
friends
socially
or
is
our
relationship
more
transactional
in
nature? -
Do
they
call
me
for
general
business
advice
or
just
about
the
deals? -
Have
I
helped
my
client
in
ways
beyond
just
providing
legal
advice?
Next,
try
to
determine
how
much
opportunity
the
client
has
to
grow
or
how
connected
this
client
may
be.
-
Do
they
have
a
solid
network
of
decision
makers
to
introduce
me
to? -
Is
the
company
growing
and
expanding? -
Are
there
opportunities
to
cross-market
and
share
work
with
my
partners?
The
last
factor
in
determining
who
to
invest
the
most
time
with
relates
directly
to
the
amount
each
client
has
invested
with
you
and
your
like
or
dislike
of
this
client.
-
Does
this
client
invest
a
significant
amount
of
dollars
with
you,
or
did
they
invest
little
over
the
past
few
years? -
Was
this
client
a
complete
nightmare
to
deal
with? -
Did
the
client
cost
my
firm
money
due
to
poor
follow-through? -
Did
the
client
continually
question
and
argue
my
rate?
Based
on
these
three
factors
and
any
others
that
you
believe
to
be
important,
invest
20
minutes
to
create
a
master
list
of
your
top
A,
B,
and
C
clients
so
that
you
can
move
on
with
the
next
step
of
this
plan.
A
simple
excel
spreadsheet
works
well
for
this
task.
Step
2:
Develop
a
list
of
touch
points
to
help
ensure
that
you
are
investing
the
right
amount
of
time
with
the
right
clients.
Based
on
their
ranking,
you
are
going
to
do
more
for
the
high-ranked
clients
and
less
for
the
lower-ranked
clients.
To
be
clear,
if
you
have
a
“B”
that
you
want
to
make
an
“A”
then
be
sure
to
increase
the
amount
of
touch
points
with
that
specific
client.
Here
are
a
few
examples
of
different
touch
points
that
you
can
use
to
develop
stronger
and
stickier
relationships:
-
If
they
are
on
social
media,
comment
and
share
their
posts
(LinkedIn
being
the
go-to
here). -
Schedule
a
lunch
or
coffee
meeting
with
your
client. -
Go
out
for
drinks
and
get
to
know
one
another
better. -
Send
a
card
or
gift
on
their
birthdays
and
for
the
holidays. -
Take
your
client
to
a
game
or
concert.
(It’s
important
to
know
what
they
are
into.) -
Call
your
client
to
see
how
you
can
help
their
business. -
Email
or
call
your
client
to
congratulate
them
on
something
they’ve
accomplished
(business
or
personally). -
Email
your
client
with
an
article
that
is
relevant
to
their
business.
(You
can
use
RSS
feeds
for
this.
Look
it
up). -
Invite
your
client
to
a
high-level
networking
event
or
to
sit
on
a
panel. -
Be
a
resource
for
your
client.
Find
them
a
new
vendor,
strategic
partner,
or
an
actual
new
client.
To
make
this
super
easy,
take
out
a
sheet
of
paper.
Do
it
now,
I’ll
wait
…
.
Start
by
drawing
two
lines
down
the
page
so
you
have
three
equal
columns.
On
the
top
left,
write
the
letter
“A,”
for
the
middle
top,
“B,”
and
on
the
right
top,
“C.”
Then
begin
to
write
out
the
various
activities
or
follow
ups
that
you
want
to
engage
in
with
your
A’s,
B’s
and
C’s.
Again,
the
goal
is
to
invest
more
time
with
your
higher-profile
clients
then
with
your
lower-profile
ones.
For
example,
you
might
want
to
have
lunch
with
your
“A”
clients
four
times
a
year,
call
each
one
monthly,
email
each
one
monthly,
and
find
a
solid
contact
for
them
twice
a
year.
Again,
the
“B”
clients
would
get
less
of
your
attention
and
time,
unless
you
want
to
make
that
client
an
“A-lister.”
These
are
just
a
few
of
the
many
things
you
can
do
to
stay
in
constant
contact
and
help
ensure
longevity
with
your
clients.
The
side
effect
of
this
activity
will
be
to
open
up
more
doors
for
additional
business
and
much
needed
referrals.
The
stronger
the
relationship
becomes,
the
less
likely
that
the
client
will
leave
over
your
rates
or
being
charmed
away
by
another
lawyer.
Step
3.
Scheduling
time
to
execute
on
your
plan
is
paramount
to
your
success.
While
it’s
great
to
set
up
a
plan,
it’s
not
worth
the
paper
it’s
written
on
if
you
don’t
implement
it.
My
best
suggestion
here
is
to
find
30
to
60
minutes
a
week
and
schedule
time
as
“client
loyalty
and
development
time.”
Without
making
the
time
and
setting
it
aside,
this
plan
will
never
work
for
you.
There
will
always
be
work
and
distractions
keeping
you
from
this
important
task.
Look
at
your
calendar
and
find
a
spot
weekly
where
you
are
least
likely
to
be
distracted
or
busy.
You
can
even
do
some
of
this
work
on
the
train,
in
the
evenings,
or
on
the
weekends.
I
set
many
of
my
clients
up
with
accountability
buddy
groups
to
ensure
their
biz-dev
gets
done
rain
or
shine.
With
this
plan,
you
now
have
a
clear
choice
to
invest
more
time
with
client
relationships
that
already
exist,
or
you
could
go
off
attending
countless
networking
events
to
meet
total
strangers.
These
two
options
aren’t
even
close
with
regards
to
investing
quality
time
and
have
high
potential
for
growth.
While
there
may
be
value
in
both
activities,
investing
time
with
people
who
already
know,
like,
and
trust
you
will
typically
bear
fruit
much
more
quickly.
The
concept
of
having
your
client
names
in
front
of
you
and
rated,
isn’t
a
new
one,
but
95%
of
the
attorneys
I
meet
with
don’t
have
anything
like
this
in
place.
Between
the
names
in
front
of
you
and
the
actions
to
implement
to
keep
in
close
contact,
you
will
find
that
the
rewards
for
these
efforts
will
be
undeniable.
I
hope
you
reread
this
and
execute
on
it
right
away.
Like
I
always
say
to
my
clients,
“Procrastination
is
the
enemy
of
success.”
Steve
Fretzin
is
a
bestselling
author,
host
of
the
BE
THAT
LAWYER
Podcast,
and
business
development
coach
exclusively
for
attorneys.
Steve
has
committed
his
career
to
helping
lawyers
learn
key
growth
skills
not
currently
taught
in
law
school.
His
clients
soon
become
top
rainmakers
and
credit
Steve’s
program
and
coaching
for
their
success.
He
can
be
reached
directly
by
email
at [email protected].
Or
you
can
easily
find
him
on
his
website
at www.fretzin.com or
LinkedIn
at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin/.