In Business Development — Who Knows What You Know — Is a Big Deal

This guest post is authored by an exceptional business development coach focused on helping lawyers. He’s also a friend and my client for which I’m grateful.His name is Cordell Parvin and his 36 years as a practicing attorney sets him apart from other lawyer coaches as his teachings are based on firsthand experience.Today’s post helps you understand the art of business development and why — WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU KNOW — matters most. This post also demonstrates the importance of incorporating social media into your business development efforts.  In Cordell’s words…Kevin wrote an excellent post on the “Strength of Weak Ties.” When I was busy practicing law I had never heard of Mark Granovetter or his study on the Strength of Weak Ties.

Yet, now looking back almost every new client came to me because a “weak tie” recommended me.

I could tell many stories, but I will simply tell how what turned out to be my most important client found me when I was an eleven-year lawyer practicing law in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1984, I received a call from a large construction company general counsel. He told me the company was building an interstate project in Atlanta and had a $30 million dispute based on an interpretation of a federal regulation. At the end of the call I asked how he had found me. He told me he had called the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and talked to a lawyer there. The lawyer said he could not help the company and recommended he call me because I was the expert on the regulation.

Even though I only spent four hours with that lawyer when we were both on a panel discussing the law and regulations with contractors, I still remember that FHWA lawyer’s name.

He is the ultimate example of a “weak tie” relationship.

Consider for a moment the luck involved in my most important client finding me and hiring me.  Just suppose my client’s general counsel had spoken to the FHWA lawyer in the next office who had not been on the panel with me.

I tell lawyers I am coaching that the Internet has taken a lot of the luck out of weak tie and dormant tie relationships and referrals.

Today, before calling the FHWA, the general counsel might have done a Google search on the regulation. Or, he might have found my Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (pictured above right) — I wrote as a handout — on my Slideshare. And, you can bet I would have written a blog post on that topic.

Several lawyers I coach are found by potential clients when those clients search for the legal matter and find that lawyer’s blog. Keith McMurdy is a Fox Rothschild Employee Benefits partner. He writes the Employee Benefits Legal Blog. His headlines are Google search-friendly and, as a result, he receives calls from potential clients who have an issue discussed in his blog. In Keith’s words,

I think the blog attracts clients in two ways: First, existing clients that subscribe are reminded of topical issues that they might need to address. So the blog generates new business from existing sources. Second, the ease of “blogging” puts your name and expertise on the Internet to potential clients who are searching for that particular expertise. For me, people searching for an understanding of some of the more esoteric areas of my practice can find this body of musings I have written which gives them some initial point of contact. They are not just calling “a lawyer” but a lawyer they know at least has some understanding of that particular concern. That is where the headline comes in. When I am writing my headline, I am thinking about how I can convey both the technical content, but also a bit of my personality to make me seem approachable. Lots of benefits attorneys write about tax notices, but not all of them try to be clever about it. So if someone does a search and sees a list of articles on the topic, the clever title might be the eye-catching component that gets mine read first.

It is also important to stay in touch with weak ties and dormant ties the old fashioned way. I have coached over 1,000 lawyers. I like to introduce those lawyers to each other. I hold roundtables with those lawyers in Dallas so they get to know each other. I also connect them book discussions they find valuable. Give and Take, written by Adam Grant, is just one example of a book which encourages engagement among my clients.

Recently, a lawyer I coach in Dallas and who participates in a Give and Take discussion group recommended Leila Rafi, a McCarthy Tétrault partner in Toronto to one of her partners whose client needed to hire a Toronto law firm. The Dallas lawyer met and came to know Leila through the Give and Take discussion group and they had chatted by telephone. This is another example of the ultimate “weak tie” relationship leading to a win-win referral.

Leila also writes on McCarthy Tétrault’s Canadian M&A Perspectives law blog. The act of blogging makes Leila’s passion and expertise easily sharable and gives Leila credibility with her weaker or dormant ties.

In 2013, it’s not what you know, it’s not who you know, it’s WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU KNOW. The idea is to increase the number of “weak tie” or “dormant tie” potential clients and referral sources who know what you know. Use your blog and social media to increase that number. But, don’t forget you to use the old fashioned tools — you want to blend your online persona with a handshake and a lunch… Thanks for this “teaching” post, Cordell. Please comment on Cordell’s post. Share your thoughts and perspectives. And, if you’re serious about business development then Cordell’s blog is a worthy resource. As Leila Rafi shared with me last night:

Cordell thinks outside of the box and makes everyone believe they can push themselves to achieve their potential – and in doing so makes people shed their limitations, excuses and unhelpful habits — and think in a bigger picture context. Cordell gives people power, and that is unique.

Thanks, Leila. And, Lauren Castaldi thank you for coordinating this post. Well done, KPM