Client development is a contact sport. Don’t just rely on email and social media to stay in touch. You actually have to get up from your computer and meet with your clients and referral sources. Here are some tips:

  1. businessman boxing.jpgBe purposeful about staying in touch with your contacts. You should not have random lunches with clients and referral sources when you can’t find anyone in your office with whom to dine.
  2. When you make contact do so in a way they will value. Put yourself in their shoes. If they think you are inviting them to lunch, or following up after lunch, to hustle their legal business you will never have the lunch.
  3. It is ok to ask a favor. For example, you might say: “I want to pick your brain on something…”
  4. Ask questions when you are with contacts and listen intently.
  5. Find a thoughtful way to follow up after you meet with them. I frequently send a copy of a favorite book on a topic I know interests them. If you can’t think of anything else, send a handwritten note.
  6. Seek out ways to help your clients and referral sources succeed in their business. Do you know anyone who would be a valuable prospect for your client?