If making partner is your goal, you’ll be aware of the need to one day turn your network into steady revenue. That might sound daunting today, but countless lawyers before you have done exactly this.
You might want to think of networking as a marketing problem (bear with us): How is your target market going to discover you? How do you get decision-makers to view you as a commodity worth investing in today and tomorrow? Drawing upon a few marketing principles, here are three steps to help you to network impactfully, and set you on the path to building that all-important book of business.
What is your offering to the market?
- When a partner pitches business to a client, they understand their worth, and they have an intimate knowledge of their capabilities and the value they can offer a client.
- Being able to enter any conversation with this level of gravitas takes years of proving your worth.
- So, early on it helps to focus. In the practices you’re building expertise in, which corner of the market will make you shine? What is it you want to be known for?
- In marketing terms, this is your value proposition: what value do you hope to offer the markets you work in?
- As you get to know yourself professionally, you’ll understand what combination of commercial awareness, analytical skills, courtroom panache or leadership skills make you a compelling proposition. Throwing yourself into your work will teach you what makes you a compelling person.
If you have a personal brand, what is your message?
- It might feel a little uncomfortable to think about yourself as a brand, but. in commercial terms, that is what you’ll become.
- You’re an expert on you – you find your work endlessly fascinating – but assume others will want the CliffsNotes.
- The goal is to be memorable for the right things. Busy people want a simple way to associate your name with something. So when talking about what you do best, keep it concise and simple to grasp, while remaining attuned to the person’s level of interest.
- For all this talk of personal brand, people are likely to recoil if someone is obviously trying to market themselves. A skilled person is all the more impressive if they carry themselves with humility.
- Whatever your personality type, the default setting should be empathetic, authentic, and interested in your companion.
What is your comms strategy?
- You have a compelling message about yourself; now time to make sure people discover you.
- You’ll know the market you work in and the opportunities you have to meet the right people. So seek those opportunities to build a network – don’t assume it will just appear.
- There is no set formula for whom to network with. Your allies are no less important than your future clients. Investing time in building relationships with your fellow associates will bear fruit when they go in-house or need to be called upon for an advocate.
- All those coffee meetings, water-cooler conversations, team-building exercises, client lunches, alumni reunions, and industry conferences will give you a great opportunity to build a support network and make an impact on future clients. So invest whatever time you can spare and make sure you connect on Linkedin.
- And then there’s online: developing a natural, authentic, friendly, modest yet expert persona online will serve you well. Linkedin is the obvious place to be, but consider other channels to make an impact, knowing how your community interacts.
- Creating podcasts or articles is an effective way to assert yourself as a thought leader within your community, and leaves something lasting where social interaction cannot.
- Being an active and positive online citizen works in your favor: where you can, engage in your network’s content and the same positive energy will come back to you when you post.
- Come away from every interaction with a purpose – a call-to-action, in marketing terms. So many good conversations can amount to nothing simply because people get distracted. So give them a reason to continue the discussion, suggest a follow-up.
Conclusion
Networking is a subtle art but can offer tangible outcomes for your career. To begin to master it, it may help to think in the three stages of marketing:
- Your value proposition: who are you and what can you offer this market?
- Your brand: learn to talk about yourself and what you do in a way that resonates well with people.
- Your comms channels: seize all the opportunities you can in person and online to build allies and make an impact on people with influence in your career.
And, finally, it’s worth remembering that people forget names very easily. Attorneys come away from a conversation remembering everything about the law school you went to, your taste in clothes, and the fact you’re a Red Sox fan who struggles to find the time to practice the trumpet. But they will forget your name. So never underestimate the importance of a follow-up to jog their memory.
Further reading: How to Become a Law Firm Partner
