8 PROVEN STEPS TO
DOUBLE YOUR REFERRALS
By Stephen Fairley
CEO, The Rainmaker Institute
Two-time international bestselling author,
Stephen Fairley is CEO of The Rainmaker
Institute, LLC, the nation’s largest law
firm marketing company specializing in
marketing and lead conversion for small to
medium law firms. Over 18,000 attorneys
nationwide have benefited from learning
and implementing the proven Rainmaker
Marketing System. Over the last 16 years,
he has become a nationally recognized legal
marketing expert and been named, “America’s
Top Marketing Coach.” He has spoken
numerous times for over 35 of the nation’s
largest state and local bar associations and
has a large virtual footprint with his highly
successful Rainmaker legal marketing blog
and has over 200,000 followers on Facebook,
Twitter and LinkedIn. For more information,
please visit www.TheRainmakerInstitute.
com or call 888.588.5891.
F
or many bankruptcy law firms,
referrals are the gold standard
when it comes to obtaining new
clients. However, too many lawyers
rely on random referrals, which is just
what the term implies...referrals that
may or may not come. A strong referral
base is only built over a period of time
and is based on cultivating long-term,
meaningful relationships with referral
sources. Most referral sources will only
send you referrals if they know you will
make referrals back to them.
There are five fundamental keys to
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increasing referrals:
1. Do not try to be a generalist.
The fastest way to lose referrals from
other professionals is by practicing
several different kinds of law. In fact,
every practice area you add over your
primary one will cost you many, many
referrals over time. For example, if
most of your practice is bankruptcy and
occasionally you take on a family law
matter for an existing client, but you
introduce yourself at networking events
and on your website as someone who
does bankruptcy and family law, every
divorce attorney will now see you as
a competitor, not a potential referral
source.
2. Actively build relationships with at
least five to ten new referral sources
each year. I know, it’s easier said than
done, but the best way to have your
practice “crash and burn” is to totally
rely on a handful of referral sources. As
the saying goes, “it’s not a matter of if,
but when” one or more of your referral
sources will dry up. Make it your goal
to meet and develop at least one new
referral source per month then cultivate
that relationship by staying connected
every month. Remember, referrals are
a numbers game. Not every referral
source will be in a position to send you
a referral every month, so if you are
relying on three to five people to send
Winter 2016
you a bulk of your business you can
rest assured that you will have some
really slow months. The most vibrant
practices have a constant influx of new
referral sources on a regular basis.
3. Keep in touch with them on a
consistent basis, at least five to
ten times per year. This can be a
combination of a “reconnecting” email,
commenting on their LinkedIn or
Facebook post, sending out a monthly
newsletter, making a phone call, going
to lunch, sending small thank you gifts,
and quarterly visits to their office twice
per year. If you want to build a thriving
network of attorney referral sources
you must be prepared to go out of your
way to generate referrals for them as
well.
Developing a relationship is a two-way
process. It can’t just be you asking
your legal peers for referrals when you
see them. It requires regular contact
and you showing as much concern for
their business as you are asking them
to show for yours.
4. Send a thank you card/gift for
every single referral they make. I
recently sent a referral to a new Google
pay per click company I just met here
in the Valley. Within a week I had
received a thank you note and a box of
brownies…and so did my assistant. It
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys