3 Reasons To Stay In Touch (And Thus Generate Business)

I wrote last year that, to generate business, you should gin up “an authentic reason for staying in touch.“

That’s good advice, if I do say so myself.

But can I give some examples?  What’s an authentic reason for staying in touch?

As an in-house lawyer, I don’t care about the new lateral partner that your firm just hired.

(You care; I don’t.)

I don’t care about the new office that your firm just opened.

(You care; I don’t.)

I care about things that matter to (or might interest) me.

What are some examples?

For years, I worked at a large law firm.  One might think that I have a lingering interest in that place.  Maybe I care about the comings and goings of people at that firm and other events affecting it.  (Maybe I don’t care.  But I worked at the joint for 20 years; maybe I do.  It’s not a bad guess.)

Another lawyer used to work at my old firm and now works somewhere else.  Whenever he sees news about our former firm — someone at the firm did something great; or someone did something silly; or someone we both knew took a job in the new administration — he sends me a link to the article and a personal comment.

That’s clever.

This guy was actually a pretty good lawyer.  I would have forgotten about him years ago, but he doesn’t let me.  I hear from him once every few months, and I remember him.  If someone needs counsel in his jurisdiction, I might refer them there.  If I ever need counsel for the right kind of case in his jurisdiction, I’d consider retaining him.

From a business development perspective, that’s doing a whole lot better than sending me an announcement about your new partners.

Here’s another example:  As any reader of these words knows, I now write a silly online column at a fairly widely read legal website.  Two people (who I know and respect) send me occasional notes about stuff that I write.  They agree with me; they disagree with me; they raise a tangential issue; whatever.

That’s smart.

Maybe these people really care about what I write.  Maybe they legitimately like to correspond with me about my columns.  But maybe they don’t.  Maybe these people just don’t want me to forget that they exist, because they’re lawyers, and I’m a potential client, and they’re not stupid.  I really don’t know.

But they write to me, and I write back, and we stay gently in touch with each other.  On a subject that seemingly matters to me (because I keep writing these silly things).

(Please, please:  If I don’t know you, don’t start sending me emails every week about my columns.  If I don’t know you, then I have no reason to think you’re any good — and I presume you’re not.  So I won’t hire you.  Writing to a stranger simply to suck up is not good business development.  Writing to old friends about subjects of likely mutual interest is.)

Finally, here’s something that I did when I worked at a law firm (and I actually continue to do today, even though it no longer does me any good).  Back when I practiced at a firm, I worked primarily in the field of drug and device product liability defense.  I naturally knew in-house lawyers who cared about that field.  So, when there was a noteworthy development in that field, I dropped them a line:  “Did you see the jury verdict yesterday in the Smith case?  [Link]  It only came in for a couple of million, so it may not encourage the plaintiffs too much, but that’s a nasty way to start off your mass tort.”  Or whatever.

We had a mutual interest.  I cared about these things.  The in-house lawyers cared, too, and they might not have seen the news.  So I shared it.

(Eventually, I started writing a blog about the defense of drug and device cases, thinking that acquaintances could choose to visit me, rather than me inflicting myself on them.  But I’d still send out occasional notes, because I still cared about the subject and knew that others might be interested in certain events.  In fact, even though sending those notes can’t possibly do me any good in my in-house role, I still send notes to old friends about developments in drug and device cases — because I remain interested, and they’re interested, and that’s what friends do.)

Remember:  You’re not selling stuff.

You’re not pestering, or being rude, or taking up someone’s time.

You’re just doing what friends do — staying in touch about topics of mutual interest.

Can’t you think of five people (right now) as to whom you should start doing this?

For many people, this is the easiest route to developing business.

---

Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and is now responsible for litigation and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at [email protected].