It's Not Too Late To Be A Rainmaker

It’s April. How close are you to hitting your goals?

Are you ready to take ownership of your practice and be the rainmaker you have always wanted to be? Rainmakers work effectively to build and foster meaningful relationships, identify top contacts, and use technology to aid in research, branding, tracking, and touch points.

So how do you do it? Last year, I interviewed rainmakers from big and small law firms across the country and here are the themes I discovered that make them successful.

Secrets to rainmaker success

1. Love what you do.
2. Work hard.
3. Do something that matters – every day.
4. Set rainmaker habits.
5. Keep a positive attitude.
6. Write it down.
7. Don’t be afraid to fail.

Being great at something does not just happen. You have to want it to happen and then you have to set your intentions and make it happen.

Being a rainmaker is a perspective. There is no one right way to do it. Here are three things you can do to develop rainmaker habits.

1. Set your goals and write them down. I meet a lot of people who tell me they have goals and contact lists in their heads. That may work but I find that it usually doesn’t. Write it down. Keep it where you can see it every day.
2. Do one thing every day that matters. Set action items in advance and put them on your calendar. Make them part of your daily habit and reward yourself when you complete them. For example, if your daily action is to call one prospect every morning, then going to lunch could be your reward. Every day you make it a habit to call a prospect before you go to lunch. When you make the call, you could focus on inviting that person to lunch so your schedule is always full with in-person meetings.
3. Identify the people who can help you. There are 7.3 billion people in the world. You don’t need to and couldn’t expect to resonate with all of them. Identify your top contacts – referral sources, prospects, clients, friends and family, fans and allies. Make a list, write them down, and then identify how you will develop relationships with each person on the list. Some things to consider:

• offer to lead a CLE program
• meet in person for lunch, coffee, etc.
• ask somone to speak on a panel
• offer to help – make a referral
• contribute to an online community
• send an article of interest

What do you do that contributes to your success? Start today with one thing that will make the most difference in helping you reach your goals. If you would like to brainstorm ideas or learn more about what it would be like to work with a coach, call me! I look forward to hearing from you.

Originally published on the blog of the Bar Association of San Francisco. Read More at blog.sfbar.org/2015/04/01/its-not-too-late-to-be-a-rainmaker/