#213: Business Networking Framework for Lawyers

[00:00:58] Hello everybody. Welcome to Life & Law. This is your host, Heather Moulder. Today we are going to get into something that every lawyer knows they need to be doing, but not every lawyer does - at least nearly as much as they probably want to be doing or quote, unquote, think they should be doing.

Now, let me note this first. Networking is necessary if you want to build your own book of business, full stop.

You can't just market your way there. I mean, okay, maybe you can, maybe you can advertise your way there, depending on the type of practice. But for the vast majority of lawyers I know out there, you also need to network, and you're probably going to get your best clients through networking. By the way, that is not just true for B2B. So definitely that is 100% true for B2B. But even if you're B2C, you probably want and need to be networking for referrals because you will get much better referrals that way. So keep that in mind.

I get this question all the time. Well, I get that, Heather, but there's always the "but how do I know who to network with and how do I know where to go?" So let's get into that, shall we?

Where To Network (To Build Your Book)

[00:02:19] There are two main places to network. So the first place is internally.

#1: Internal Firm Networking

Now, this only works if you're in a big firm, right? You're not in a big firm. Internal networking is probably not going to be all that great for you and you may not have the opportunity for it. But if you are in a large firm, internal networking is incredibly impactful.

What Internal Networking Really Is

And what do I mean by internal networking? Well, I am talking about internal networking for your own personal and professional development, but then also for your own business development.

For Young Attorneys

[00:02:53] So even if you are a young lawyer who cannot yet grow your business. You want to get started with this immediately.

You want to have people within the firm who have your back now, at a young age. You are networking for a couple of reasons. Number one, for mentors.

Mentors are those people who will listen to your questions, who will guide you, who will give you advice. You always need those. So you want to network initially for some good mentors, but then you want to be on the lookout for people that I like to call sponsors. Sponsors are those people who have political power within your firm.

[00:03:34] And these are people, people that get listened to. They are people within leadership. They might be rainmakers. There are different types of sponsors within any given firm.

Figure out who those people are and which of those would be good for you to get to know. They can also be a mentor, but they go above and beyond that. They are sponsors. And what I mean by sponsors is they are those people who are going to speak up for you and get listened to when it is time for you to move up the proverbial career ladder, when it is time for you to, you know, get a raise, to be up for bonuses, that type of a thing. So you want mentors, you want sponsors. Those are the first places you're going.

At Any Stage of Your Legal Career: Be the Go-To & Cross-Selling

[00:04:19] But you also want to be aware, even in those young stages, that at some point you are going to need to internally network with other people, whether in your industry group or in other industry groups that are tertiary to what you do. What do I mean by that? Well, people who you could cross-sell to or who could cross-sell you.

People who would serve the kind of clients that you serve. People who have the kind of clients you serve. They don't serve them in that way, but you would, because the whole point is, at some poin,t to become the go-to in your industry for that person.

And you want both ways. You want to be the go-to, and you also want to know others who are go-tos for the things you do not do. It is never too early to start building those relationships. It becomes incredibly important and impactful by the time you are a senior counsel and are being looked at for partnership.

This Is Considered For Partnership

[00:05:21] By the way, guys, this is one of those things that most firms look at where when they are considering you for partnership, if they have two attorneys who have similar billables, who have similar levels of expertise, but one of them has gone above and beyond and has networked incredibly well internally, has a lot of sponsors, or at least a couple of them, and has a lot of extensive relationships such that they have become a go to in their area for more than one or two people, for a couple, at least, but throughout the firm.

And the other person doesn't really have that. Who do you think? If they can only. Or they are only considering one of those folks that year, they will choose. This is incredibly important for your professional development and moving upward, but it's also incredibly important for building your own book.

Why Do This If You Don't Plan To Make Partner?

So internal networking, everybody should be doing it. Every lawyer should be doing it. And by the way, even if you're like, yeah, Heather, but I don't ever want to be a partner, I'm going to spend a couple of years here and then move on.

[00:06:33] That's totally okay. You still want to network internally because you never know where those relationships can lead and the opportunities that could be provided to you based on those relationships.

The other thing I would say is the earlier you start, the better you're going to get at networking. And you want to get really good at networking because networking is great for your own personal and professional development in the long term.

Okay, so that is, number one, internal. Now, some of you don't have that opportunity, as I mentioned.

#2: External Networking

So the next place that everybody needs to be going, and I mean everybody, is the external networking. And this is where I get the biggest questions. This is where I'm like, okay, the world is vast. There are lots of people out there. Who on earth do I network with, how do I figure that out, where do I go, etc. So I get this question a lot.

And this is something that I help my clients with all the time. In fact, it's something that I break down a little bit as well in my client development blueprint. And if you do not have access to that, you can get it by joining my newsletter. Everybody who joins my newsletter gets access to all of my main resources, including that one.

[00:07:49] But we're going to go through this step by step.

Step 1: Identify Who You Already Know

Okay, so start with who you know. Well, networking is almost always the best return on your time, energy, and money. And that is especially the case if you start with who you know.

But don't do what most people do. I am not saying you're going to reach out to everybody you know, with no real strategy. I'm not even going to tell you to reach out to everybody. Okay?

The Relevancy Standard

[00:08:16] So you need to keep this in mind. BD is about building relationships. That takes time, and you do have a limited amount of time. So what you need to do is figure out who you even know in the first place that would be relevant to the business that you're trying to build. Now, let me be clear about something before I get into this framework.

You need to know what business you're trying to build in order to know who, who to network with. If you are still in the early stages, I would say start with what you're doing now and the people around you. Take a look at the partners who you work for the most, see what work you enjoy the most and start there.

It does not mean you have to stick with it. This is something that you're just going to want, start doing so that you can get good at it and start opening up some of those opportunities.

Know What You're Trying To Build

If you are senior counsel or a young partner and you are at that point where you are, are wanting to build your own book or you've grown a little bit and you need to just really grow it big time, or, you know, in the next year or two, you're going to be asked to start building your own book of business.

[00:09:27] You need to get clearer around what that business is going to be. So create the vision for the book of business you want to build. Not what other people are building, but the one you want to build. Okay, what's the type of law you practice? What kind of work are you going to be doing? Which clients? It is a big world out there, right? So you've got to start narrowing that down based on what it is you want to be doing on a day to day basis, who it is you want to be helping.

Get specific about that. Do not be afraid to get specific. Because here's the deal, y'. All, we all think we can serve anyone and everyone, and technically we probably could serve a whole lot of people in a whole lot of ways. But if you do not narrow it down, this is part of the problem. It's why we get so overwhelmed. Because you've got to narrow it down to something to be able to answer the question, where do I go? Who do I reach out to?

So this is your starting point. Get really clear on the practice that you're building.

[00:10:31] Then start by brainstorming, start writing it down. Make a list, basically, of the connections you already have that are relevant to the kind of practice you want to build.

And as you write these people down, you want to be thinking about who could be a client based on what their business is, what their role within that business is, what their needs are.

Identify those that are in the same industry as you or people who serve your ideal clients.

[00:11:06] And also think through, well, who could be a potential referral source. It doesn't have to just be those that would send you business directly, that would be a client. It could be somebody who's tertiary to someone who could be a client, who could then make an introduction or give you a referral.

So that's what you want to be thinking about. And you want to just make a list of these folks.

Now, some people have five people. That's okay. Some people have 25, some people have 50. Doesn't matter. We're going to narrow this down from there, and we're going to keep going.

Step 2: Narrow and Prioritize Based On Relevancy & Desire

[00:11:43] So once you have that basic brainstorming list, remember this is just a brainstorming, y'all, you're going to do something else. You're going to rank them based on two things.

The first is how relevant are they to the practice you're actually building? So I like to rank them from one to five. One is not at all. Five is incredibly relevant. Exactly what I want. Or they're right in front of the people that I want to be with as far as referrals go. So you rank them from a 1 to 5. Now, if you are not sure because you just don't know enough, there are three. A three is always my. I really don't know. It could go either way.

[00:12:21] And anytime you have somebody who's a three, your next step with them is to figure the answer out so that they become a 2 or a 4. 5. But you don't stop there. You then want to look at those who are the most relevant, and you're going to want to get a sense of whether they'd be open to helping you or sending work your way.

Again, rank them. This is the second ranking factor from a 1 to 5. 1. Not at all. 5. Absolutely. They want to help me. Now, you are going to notice that some people who are not as relevant are fives in this area.

And then some people who are incredibly relevant are either, I don't know, they're threes, or I don't think they're that capable, or they're not able to right now. So maybe they're a two or they're a three, because, yeah, they'd really love to, but they have no power. But this is why you do this.

[00:13:14] Based on that, you're going to rank your list. You're basically going to drop off people who are ones and twos. You're going to prioritize people who are fives and fours in both areas, and anybody who's a five or four in relevancy and a three for "I'm not sure whether they'd be able to help me", you're also going to keep on that list. Because again, they are people that at some point in the future you're going to want to try to figure out the answer to whether they can or will help, and then you'll be able to know what to do with them.

So this will give you a clear, prioritized list of people to start with.

Step 3: Identify Where Else To Find New Connections (Here's How)

[00:13:58] Now I get this question a lot. Where do I go to meet new people?

Figure out where the people on your list are. Figure out where they're hanging out online. Figure out what industry and professional organizations they are members of.

And by the way, sometimes you can figure it out by stalking them online, like looking them up on LinkedIn and seeing what they're members of. Other times you just need to ask. So when you're networking with these people, ask them, ask them what conferences they attend. Ask them what professional organizations they're members of that they're actually active in and why and what they get out of it.

[00:14:39] Start asking people these types of questions and you will figure out where to go.

So this is basically the answer for how to get started networking with people. When you have no clue where to go, start with who you know, rank them accordingly. Re-engage with them. If it's been a while, start chatting with them. And we're going to go through that framework in just a second. How to get re-engaged.

You know what to do when you're at a networking event. Ask good questions and figure out where are they hanging out. That will give you other ideas for where to go.

Simple Networking Framework for Lawyers

[00:15:17] Okay, so now let's get to a quick and easy framework for networking. And this is one of those things that works whether you are re-engaging with somebody via email or direct messaging online, because it's been a while. When you're at networking events and you're meeting new people. This works basically anywhere. And it's just three simple things to remember, kind of a three-step process.

Be Curious

Step one is to be curious. So you always want to go in really with a curiosity forward approach. Asking good questions, listening.

I think I've said, actually, I know I've said this before. Follow the 80/20 rule here. They should talk 80% of the time, you're talking only 20%. That helps you stick to being curious, asking good questions, really listening, and active listening.

The good news is that it also takes off the pressure to quote unquote, sell yourself when in networking events.

[00:16:22] And I would just say this, you know what, what should you ask about? What should your questions be oriented towards? Well it's obviously going to depend on your industry, your niche. But generally speaking, you want to ask about current industry trends, you want to ask about their goals that relate to the business, and the things that they do. You want to ask about recent achievements, you want to note those.

If you've noted that they've had a recent, say, achievement or a big deal closed or something big happened within their company, or that they have, you know, been a part of, ask questions around that.

You also want to ask questions designed around current challenges, things that they would be dealing with on a day-to-day basis. People love talking about what they're up to; they love talking about what's important to them. So this is going to give you really valuable intel, and it will open more doors for future opportunities.

So go in being curious and having questions ready. That's step one.

Lead With Value

[00:17:28] Step two, lead with value. Use that curiosity to find ways to help without jumping straight to a pitch, by the way. What do I mean by lead with value? What are you doing when you're giving value?

Well, you could be sharing an insight that's relevant to something they just talked about. You could be just asking about their challenges and listening. That's actually valuable, y'all. You could be connecting them with someone. You could be having a conversation and realize, oh my gosh, I've dealt with that too. I have a resource that might help. Would you like it?

And by the way, they don't always have to be oriented towards the business or the legal services that you provide. It can relate to other things, too. Just be a human being and lead with value. Serve them, help them.

Follow-Up

[00:18:22] And then step three, and this is the one that most lawyers forget to do, or at least don't do very well, because we get busy. Follow up.

Treat follow-up as a service because it is. It's not about pestering them, it's not about bugging them. What you're doing when you follow up, especially more than once, right? So you follow up the next day. Had a great time meeting you. Here's my information, here's the thing I promised. And then a couple of weeks later, you check in, ask how they're doing, maybe ask about something specific that you previously talked about with them.

That's the part of follow-up that a lot of lawyers are not very good at. Because we feel like we're bugging them. No, get away from that. It shows reliability, it builds trust. And if you are getting curious and having good conversations with people, you'll have more specifics at your fingertips to follow up. And people, by the way, like that because it shows you care. It shows you actually listened to them. It shows you remembered what you talked about, and it shows you cared.

Make the Offer (When Applicable)

[00:19:28] Now I'm going to leave you with a kind of a mini piece to this. So I had three steps to networking. There's a fourth thing in there. But it only comes into play if the moment is right. If the opportunity opens up itself and it's not too early. If and you get to decide when that is.

Don't beat around the bush. Make the offer when it makes sense. So if you see a fit, make a clear ask or offer. And that could sound like "I'd be happy to help with that. Would you like me to share how? I typically work with clients in that situation."

There are all kinds of opportunities where doors get opened. Make sure you actually open that door fully, and make the ask whenever it presents itself to you. Do not be shy.

[00:20:22] All right, so that is how I recommend number one, that you narrow down the who and figure out who to get started with when you are trying to network for business development and professional development purposes. And number two, my simple three-part framework for how to network.

How To Use The Framework To Reengage With Old Connections

And I did mention that the three-part framework works not just for in-person events but also for when you're re-engaging.

Be curious, lead with value, follow up. The same thing goes for when you're dming or you're re-engaging in an email.

[00:21:03] So I'm going to give you a quick example of that. Okay, so let's say you realize that you have a connection, it's been eight years since you've spoken. But back in the day, you guys were actually pretty close, and you've just grown apart. They moved. You both had kids, it's been a while, but you see that they are now GC at a company that you could represent. And you would love to re-engage with them.

So just be curious and reach out and get specific about something based on what you know from the past that they care about. Get in there and be curious and just re-engage.

The first step is to get them talking and start being curious. Maybe get on the phone or get on a simple Zoom coffee chat and go that route. Still you lead with the curiosity, still you have questions and then once the door gets opened as you're talking and you see relevant areas where you can lead with value, you do it, and then you follow up.

So just note this framework works even if you're re-engaging with someone, even if you're doing it via email, and then maybe phone or Zoom, even if they're not local.

[00:22:24] Figure out how to make it work for you, depending on who the person is, depending on where they are, and just go in with a curious mindset. That is probably the biggest piece here.

All right, so now you know the answer to the question of how do I figure out where to even go? Well, I've taught you how to figure out how to narrow down all the connections you already have to hone in on the right people.

I've taught you the questions to start asking them, to figure out where else you can go so that you can meet more of these types of people for future client development.

And I've taught you a very simple framework for how to network with people in a way where you're going to get great marketing intel, you're going to be fully present, you're going to lead with value, and you're going to open up more opportunities for making the offer.

All right, that is it for this week. We'll be back next week with another installment of Life in Law. Bye for now.