Networking

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The obvious answer to the title question is of course, yes.

Last night, I had the opportunity to join William McLaughlin, the Business Development Manager for Southeast Asia at ZICO Law on a webinar for NEXL, a business development platform. We had a robust discussion around this topic which I’ll share when the recording is available (updating to share the recording here, but in the meantime, let’s delve into some of the questions that I’d considered in advance and where lawyers and law firms are today when it comes to business development.
Continue Reading Can Using Business Development Effectively Give you a Competitive Edge?

“I just can’t do one more online meeting. “

“You can’t get business that way.” 

“My clients need me more.” 

Have you ever said, or thought, any of these things about a virtual event or while involved in a conference organization during the pandemic? It’s not the first time I’ve heard them, which is why they merit a mention here.

When you say these things out loud or to yourself, it’s likely that your first reaction is that you’re fed up, the organization is faulty, or you’ll just hang on until things get back to “normal.” But consider for just a moment that maybe the networking barrier in these scenarios is actually you.
Continue Reading How Zoom Fatigue May Be Blocking Your Relationship Development Efforts (And How to Fix It)

If you’ve been following along here at Zen for any length of time (or even just the last few weeks), then you’ll know that I love September and the promise of a fresh start that it brings (also because the fall is my favorite season).

A LOT of us have been feeling bogged down lately – by the pandemic, endless Zoom calls, heat and humidity, worldwide unrest, the list goes on. There is a lot that we CAN’T control. But there are some things we can control – for one, our attitudes and our ability to reach out and help someone else.
Continue Reading Fresh New Ideas for September That We Love (And You Will Too!)

In just over a week, it will be September 1st. As I mentioned last week, I like to think of September as a brand new start, much like the school year used to be. It’s a chance to begin again and look at your goals and plans with a fresh set of eyes.

While business development is an ongoing effort and doesn’t wrap up simply because the calendar year comes to a close, I’ve found that when I have ongoing projects, giving myself firm deadlines to complete them motivates me far more than having some abstract end date.
Continue Reading 4 Weeks to Plan Your 4th Quarter Business Development Victory

There’s no quick fix for relationship development. But there ARE some quick things you can do today to advance either the first step in your relationship with someone or the next step. When you think of networking and relationship building as a series of smaller actions that you can take to help weave the fabric of stronger relationships, it stops feeling so overwhelming and starts feeling like something you can build into your everyday schedule. So whether you’ve got five minutes or an hour, you can strengthen your network today:
Continue Reading 5 Quick Tips to Build Better Business Relationships

This afternoon, I had a lovely chat with my friend, Brian Gorman, who is part of a mastermind group that I’ve been working with this year. Here’s what Brian, who is also a coach, says on his website about change, which is something I think we can agree we’ve all had more than enough of in the past year.
Continue Reading Lawyers: Two Networking Questions You May Be Missing

Unless you’re new here (and if you are, welcome!), you’ll know that I often say that networking happens everywhere. So what happens when your “everywhere” gets slimmed down during a pandemic, and even when you ARE out and about, your (hopefully) smiling, open and friendly face is hidden behind a mask?

We adapt!

I know how much lawyers love change, and how much change you’ve already embraced in 2020, but this is the year to throw out old systems, test new ideas and see what works and what you feel comfortable with. The GOOD news is that we’re not changing what has always been true about how you get new work – by doing good work in the first place, and then through word of mouth. For lawyers, we’re in a people business, and that’s not going to change no matter how much technology we add into the mix. What IS going to change is the how.
Continue Reading Networking Happens Everywhere – the Quarantine Edition

It’s true – running an organization that is built on in-person personal relationships has it’s challenges. But what doesn’t have its challenges in 2020, right?

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about how lawyers and law firms can leverage their referral networks to achieve more value, whether these networks are formal or informal (I happen to run a formal one). There’s no reason that this has to stop because in-person events have been put on pause; in fact, many of our members have said they’ve never felt their membership has been more valuable than it has been this year. In part, that’s due to the historical relationships that they’ve built over many years. But we’re welcoming new firms too. And it’s possible to forge new relationships and create new business – it simply takes a little creativity.
Continue Reading Leveraging Your Referral Network for More Value…During a Pandemic

Coronavirus.

The hot topic on everyone’s mind at the moment (unless you’re in the US and then it’s pretty evenly split between politics and germs). I almost hate to join the fray and discuss it, but with so many events being cancelled, and travel restrictions being enacted, I wanted to add some suggestions for how to continue networking during this time, so that you don’t lose momentum on your relationship building efforts.

For some of us, travel and events still move forward. Travel guidance varies – it depends on your destination and the size of the gathering. Common sense and good hygiene are essential, and for our group, we’ll be instituting what we’re fondly referring to as “Operation Fist Bump” at our upcoming Annual Conference (which may be further downgraded to “Operation Wave Hello.”
Continue Reading Lawyers: Networking During the Coronavirus Outbreak

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