The secret to more referral business is not a secret. It is more of a mindset.
When many young attorneys open their doors for business, they are like a puppy when the bowl hits the floor—hungry. They are hungry for business. They crave more leads. They are starved for cases. They gobble up the food before they even taste it.
What happens when a person is hungry? Really, really hungry? Like our puppy friend, they will eat anything in sight, and they are not thinking too much about making sure everyone else has enough to eat.
Getting back to our young attorney, let’s shift our thinking a little bit to what would happen if his goal became this: What can I do for YOU to help with YOUR business rather than how much can you feed ME today? When a person hears these words, an immediate change occurs in his brain. He no longer wonders what this lawyer is trying to get from him. Instead he begins to think, this is a great guy! He wants NOTHING from me, he wants to HELP me! He begins a trusted relationship with the shift of one simple question.
The entire conversation changes, and any walls that were erected have melted away. This person becomes immediately softened and wants to know more about the lawyer that wants to help him.
If you can be a connector for this person, make an introduction, share a tip about a great and inexpensive printer or add him to your referral list, you have started a relationship that could grow into a referral machine for you and your firm.
Gaining referrals on purpose is an art but it isn’t difficult. The law reciprocity does most of the work for you. We are built to offer help or a good turn when someone has offered help or a good turn for us. Becoming the firm that is there to help, truly help with an attitude of generosity can open the floodgates of referrals. When being genuinely interested in helping begins with the leader, the followers can’t help but fall in line too.
Building a better business, one act of kindness at a time.
