The Troika as a Marketing Tool
For too many lawyers the idea of marketing is daunting because there are so many potential clients, so little time to reach them and so many options for pursuing them. Marketing can only be approached practically with a narrow focus on the clients you target, not everyone.
Clients Hire Lawyers They Know
When clients seek out a lawyer, they typically will use someone who, so to speak, is right in front of them. They may do some research on the Internet or within their personal networks, but basically they go with whom they know. That means, as a lawyer, you should continue to go out and meet people, even people you know already, to keep your name, your face, your image, your message in front of them. Even if your referrals come not from the original source but from an intermediate source, you've got to stay top-of-mind with those intermediate sources. That means that you have to continue to have coffee, breakfast, lunch, whatever, with these various people.
Join the ProVisors Group for Referrals
That obviously takes time and effort. But you don't have to go it alone. A group called ProVisors (www.provisors.com), which has chapters established in several California cities and as far away as Boston, has been established among thousands of professional service provider members who join as a means to provide and receive mutual referrals. The chapters meet monthly and have approximately 30 to 35 members each; you don't need to know a lot of those members to start picking up significant referral volume.
Participate in a Troika
But the beauty of the ProVisors group is that it encourages an active troika – a three person dynamic between you, and two other persons from the group. A troika means you have to set up a coffee, lunch, breakfast, whatever you want to do, with you and two other people who can be referral sources or people actually referred. You soon learn even more about the people in your group. The more intense time spent with these folks creates both friendships and trusted adviser relationships.
Do Regular Monthly Networking
If you can do this once every three weeks or four weeks, pretty soon you have an incredible network, you are meeting people at a much deeper level - and you're right there in front of them. There is mutual benefit in the arrangement. That is the greatest inducement to continue and expand it. Mutual networking forces each person to think of one another and send business between each other because of the initial dynamic of making and maintaining the mutual, trusted connection.
Keep It Going!
The vital part of this effort is to keep it going. Over a relatively short period of time, people are going to look at you as a connector - of people, of talent, of skill. They will begin to think of you when the time comes. That's when connections become clients.
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