February 11, 2025

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8 Simple Steps to Create a Referral Network of Other Attorneys

8 Simple Steps to Create a Referral Network of Other Attorneys At first posted on Feb. twenty, 2017 updated on Sept. 26, 2019.

A potent referral base is only crafted in excess of a period of time of time and is based mostly on cultivating terrific associations with referral sources. Acquiring those people associations is a two-way avenue, specifically when it comes to developing a referral community of other, noncompeting lawyers.

Reaching this goal is difficult if you are only asking your authorized peers for referrals when you see them.  It needs frequent call and you displaying as considerably concern for their business enterprise as you are asking them to demonstrate for yours.

Here are my eight simple techniques lawyers can use to make a referral community of other lawyers: 

Move 1:  Identify your best probable referral sources. These will be other lawyers you either really don’t contend with or those people who could also apply your form of law but could most likely refer their overflow to you. Keep in thoughts that you want to opt for those people that have the best relationship with your suitable client.

Move 2:  Create a database of 100-two hundred contacts in your nearby area. This should incorporate each and every attorney who has ever referred somebody to you as effectively as your identified best probable referral sources (research potential sources on Avvo.com and your nearby or condition bar association websites).

Move three:  Write up a letter of introduction to serve as a template. Here’s an example of a letter you would send to a noncompeting attorney:

REFERRAL LETTER TO NONCOMPETING Attorney

My title is __________of the law agency _____________ in (metropolis, condition).

I’m producing to see if you would be interested in getting collectively with me to find out about just about every other’s expert services and respective target markets. It is my hope that these kinds of a meeting can lead to the development of a referral partnership that would benefit the two of our companies.

We have been in business enterprise considering that ______, and we concentration our apply on (your area of apply). We are continuously wanting to increase our community of skilled advisors in the nearby area, from whom we can detect probable referrals for our consumers.

For much more facts about our agency, we invite you to stop by our web site at: ________________

In the subsequent week, you will obtain a contact from my assistant to see if you are interested in getting collectively in person.

I appear ahead to meeting you quickly, experience-to-experience.

Sincerely,

Move 4:  Have your assistant mail out ten-twenty letters for each week. Do not send a bunch of letters at when — pace oneself.

Move 5:  For just about every letter you send out, plan on obtaining your assistant make three-4 calls to try and reach the person you despatched the letter to. The intent of your contact is two-fold: to see if they are interested in getting collectively and to set an appointment if they are.  This is not a immediate solicitation or a gross sales pitch – it is simply just a comply with-up contact to see if they are interested in meeting with you experience-to-experience.

 Put together a simple cellphone script for your assistant that incorporates this facts:

  • How extended you have been in business enterprise
  • Your suitable client
  • Your place of work spot(s)
  • Your primary apply area
  • Your web site URL
  • How you identified the probable referral resource (they’ll talk to)

Be confident your assistant asks a handful of inquiries of your probable referral resource:

  • Who is your suitable client? What form of client do you delight in performing with the most?
  • Do you currently have a (your apply area) attorney you refer instances/consumers to?
  • Are you open up to speaking about creating a referral partnership with our law agency if there’s a very good relationship?
  • Do you request to make referrals to other non-competing experts?
  • How many consumers do you serve in a regular yr?
  • In which is your place of work found?

If they are interested, have your assistant program a lunch meeting.  Another alternative is to set up a transient meeting at 1st just to see if there’s a very good relationship. Offer you to fulfill them at their place of work for thirty minutes (decreased threat and quite handy for them). The 1st meeting or two wants to be experience-to-experience in buy to create rapport and make the partnership.

If they are not interested, tell them, “No problem. I’m sorry to have bothered you. We will straight away get rid of you from our record of referral sources.”

Here’s the truth…they will WELCOME the contact! We have created countless numbers of comply with-up calls for our consumers and scheduled hundreds of experience-to-experience conferences for them and only a handful has reported ‘No.’ Remember—this is NOT a gross sales pitch—it’s just lunch!

Your assistant will will need to contact just about every call three-4 moments just to get by way of. Really don’t get discouraged!

Move 6:  The goal is to set three to 6 experience-to-experience conferences for each month. At the experience-to-experience meeting, you want to devote 80% of the time getting to know them and their apply to establish if it is a very good in good shape.

Request Tons of inquiries:

  • How did you 1st get commenced in _____?
  • What do you like best/least about your operate?
  • What’s the biggest obstacle you are going through?
  • How do you discover most of your consumers?
  • What does your regular client appear like?

And the most critical referral concern of all: How would I know if somebody would be a terrific referral for you?

Move 7:  Invite them to a next meeting if the 1st meeting goes effectively. If your original meeting goes effectively, straight away invite them to a next a single the place you can go into much more element about your apply area and how the two of you could start out cross-referring some business enterprise.

Remember—you can’t guarantee them referrals, you can’t promise referrals nor can you shell out them a referral rate! Most of them really don’t want a referral rate and their skilled code of ethics does not let it either.

Exception: Some condition bar associations let for the payment of a referral rate to yet another attorney less than particular situations. Make sure you validate with your condition bar prior to providing any referral charges.

Move eight:  Follow up! When it comes to getting much more referrals from other lawyers, the fortune is in the comply with-up! Here are some guidelines:

  • Send an e mail straight away just after you fulfill with them. Send the identical working day when probable.
  • Send a handwritten thank you card or form letter about 2-three days just after your original meeting.
  • Soon after your meeting put a “to do” or task product on your calendar for about 6-eight months just after your original meeting.
  • Established up “lunch and learns” the place a number of experts informally get collectively in excess of lunch to trade potential customers, discuss business enterprise, and encourage just about every other.
  • Make your subsequent meeting much more about the partnership than business enterprise. Satisfy at the golfing class, in excess of beverages or at a casual place.
  • Send them a duplicate of your posted articles.
  • Develop and send out a separate month to month publication just for Referral Sources
  • Use social media to stay related – invite them to connect to you on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and so on.

At the Rainmaker Institute, we have taught this straightforward action-by-action procedure to countless numbers of lawyers and they have applied this correct procedure to promptly make networks of 50-60 new referral sources in 90 days.

Imagine what would happen to your law apply if you could have twenty, forty, or even 60 new referral sources each and every single yr that persistently send you new consumers. You can make it happen if you make a referral procedure that delivers serious – not random – final results.

Here’s much more on developing your referral community:

Further than developing a referral community of lawyers, you also will need to have a standardized referral procedure for consumers.  Master how to do that by reading through a recent write-up on my other site: eight Methods to Make a Referral Software for Your Law Company.