We may have had a mild winter (most of us) so far, but let’s be honest, 2020 has been a bit of a slog so far, am I right?

I haven’t talked to anyone who isn’t feeling like we don’t already need a do-over for this year. So much for a fresh decade! (Yes, I know, technically, the new decade starts in 2021, so we’ll revisit this again next year).

But there’s no time like the present to feel like we’re starting over. Who’s to say that today ISN’T the day we start again?

How can we do that? By creating some “WOW” in our relationship development, using these two tips. Continue Reading Two Steps to Create the WOW Factor in Your Relationships

The ILN is proud to announce our latest firm of the month, UdinkSchepel Advocaten, the Netherlands!
UdinkSchepel Attorneys, extraordinary expertise in companies and corporate law.
They know about business—from suits to lawsuits. They use their expertise to assist clients with their matters and companies, the things they face daily, and as leaders of enterprising organisations and corporate legal departments.

Continue Reading ILN Firm of the Month – UdinkSchepel, the Netherlands!

This week’s rainmaking recommendation from trainer and coach, Jaimie Field, dovetails nicely with my second tip from this week’s post on “Fixing the Two Biggest Networking Blunders that Lawyers Make.”

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For almost 20 years as a Rainmaking Trainer and Coach, I have been saying the same thing:  It’s not about you.  It’s about them.  “Them” being the prospective, current and former clients.

It’s always been about them, but every year there is a proclamation about the fact that lawyers and law firms must become “client-centric,” and “put the clients first.”  You have been told that it is a buyers’ market (and it is). Continue Reading Rainmaking Recommendation from Jaimie Field: It’s About Them!

None of us are perfect networkers/relationship builders.

Yes, it seems to come more easily to some than to others, but it’s not an exact science. For the most part, it’s an ever-adapting process that we’re constantly refining based on our current goals and our target’s needs.

But there are a couple of areas that we tend to go astray with building relationships, and that’s where we’re going to focus today. Continue Reading Fixing the Two Biggest Networking Blunders that Lawyers Make

Continuing with the theme of International Networking Week is a post from rainmaking trainer and expert, Jaimie Field, who’s bringing you ten best networking practices for networking events.

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Apparently, according to my friend and colleague, Lindsay Griffiths, the Executive Director of the International Lawyers Network, it’s International Networking Week. I had no idea that there even was such a thing until last year.  It is to celebrate how networking helps business professionals grow their businesses.  Continue Reading Rainmaking Recommendation from Jaimie Field: 10 Best Networking Practices for Networking Events

It’s February 4th, and that means it’s International Networking Week (I know you all had it on your calendars already!)

Apparently, January is a prime time for networking burn out, and that makes sense. It follows on a long season of holidays and entertaining, when we’re trying to fit in the last of our CLE requirements, meet up with family and friends, and rush to finish all of our end of the year work. So as we kick off February, who is really feeling fresh enough to network again in a way that’s going to effectively develop business for you and your firm?

Let’s look at four tips that will ease you into some networking in a way that doesn’t feel too overbearing, but will still help you to accomplish your goals.  Continue Reading Four Tips to Recover from Networking Burn Out

In today’s rainmaking recommendation, trainer and coach Jaimie Field gives lawyers ten things that may be holding you back from rainmaking success. Do any of these sound familiar to you?

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For years, you’ve promised yourself that you were going to take control of your legal career.  You know that in order to do so, you need to have a book of business.  Continue Reading Rainmaking Recommendation from Jaimie Field: Do You “NO” Why You’re Not a Rainmaker?

Now that it’s 2020, I think (read: I hope) that we’ve all come to the conclusion that it’s important to develop a strong plan that identifies the goals that we have for business development, and the tactics and strategies that we’ll use to develop those goals, right? I have a sneaking suspicion that there are still a few people out there who are throwing various ideas up at the wall with the hope that some of them stick, and this is the year to stop doing that. Really, I mean it.

In my post today, I’m going to talk a lot about content marketing, and yes, I know I’m using both the dreaded words “content” and “marketing” together, but stick with me, because we’re also going to look at how these tips impact the message that you’re sending out regardless of the activities that you’re pursuing. Why is that? Because no matter what you do, you’re offering a message about yourself. Talking to someone in line for coffee about how you help clients? I hate to tell you, but you’re marketing yourself (and by the way, that’s a good thing).  Continue Reading Lawyers: Stop with the Noise & Promote Yourself Specifically & Thoughtfully with these Two Tips

Sometimes, you need a good wake-up call to help get your on your way to success. Rainmaking trainer and coach, Jaimie Field, addresses that concept in this week’s rainmaking recommendation.

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“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.”  – Robin Sharma  Continue Reading Rainmaking Recommendation from Jaimie Field: What’s Going to Change this Year?

For better or worse, we’re all uber-connected these days, between our desktops and our smart phones and our tablets. While many of us can and do (and probably should) take technological time outs for holidays and weekends and evenings, responsiveness is a key factor in keeping clients, potential clients, and yes, even referral sources happy when reaching out about business. And yet, it is STILL one of the most overlooked (and easiest to fix) complaints that I hear about relationship building.

It’s a rather HUGE pet peeve of mine when people don’t take the time to respond to emails, and I know I’m not alone. Let’s talk about the message that it sends, and why it’s an easy fix.

I know lawyers are busy. I know that their time, literally, is money. So I can be (somewhat) forgiving of the attorneys who may not read and answer all of the emails that I send them.

However.  Continue Reading It’s 2020. Responsiveness is Table Stakes for Good Relationships