When my son was growing up, he had a habit that probably sounds familiar to any parent.
He would have a snack and leave the cabinet open. Socks would land on the floor instead of the hamper. Something would get started, but the last step never seemed to happen.
My wife and I eventually came up with a simple phrase: “Finish the story.”
If you ate the snack, finish the story by putting everything away. If you took off your socks, finish the story by getting them into the hamper. It became a quick verbal cue that something had been started but not completed.
Did it work 100% of the time? Absolutely not. He was a kid.
Today, however, he is 19 and away at college, and I am happy to report that he seems to be finishing the stories he needs to finish.
The funny thing is that I now use essentially the same concept with lawyers.
I regularly see attorneys doing 70%, 80%, or even 90% of what is necessary to develop business, only to stop before completing the final step. That unfinished business can cost them relationships, referrals, opportunities, and ultimately a significant amount of revenue.
Here are three of the most common places where lawyers need to finish the story.
1. Follow Up While The Opportunity Is Still Warm
You attend a conference. You speak to an association. You go to a networking event. You meet five people who could potentially become clients, referral sources, or valuable professional relationships.
Then you get back to the office.
Your inbox is overflowing. A client needs something immediately. Someone puts a meeting on your calendar. Two weeks later, the business card is still sitting on your desk, and you can barely remember the conversation.
That is an unfinished story.
Every meaningful business development activity should have a next step attached to it.
If you speak at a program, consider using a survey or another mechanism to capture attendee information and identify people who would like to continue the conversation. If you attend a conference, leave with a short list of people you intend to contact. If you meet someone at a networking event and there is a legitimate reason to reconnect, schedule the follow-up before the relationship goes cold.
The value of networking is rarely in the event itself. The value comes from what happens afterward.
Time matters. A thoughtful email sent the next morning is very different from a vague “great meeting you” message sent three months later because you finally found their card.
You already invested the time. Finish the story.
2. Stop Waiting For Great Clients To Read Your Mind
Another unfinished story happens after lawyers have already done exceptional work.
You have a client who trusts you, respects you, likes working with you, and thinks you are one of the smartest lawyers they know. Maybe you have even developed a personal friendship over the years.
And then you wait.
You hope that someday the client will magically think of three other people who need exactly what you do and send them your way.
Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t.
Strong relationships often contain opportunities that are never explored because lawyers are uncomfortable being proactive. They do not know what to ask for, when to ask, or how to ask without sounding salesy.
So, they sit in the middle of the story.
Finishing the story does not mean aggressively asking every client, “Who do you know who needs a lawyer?”
It means learning how to have appropriate conversations about introductions, cross-marketing opportunities, expanded work, or other ways you can help people within their network.
If you have delivered tremendous value and built genuine trust, there is nothing inappropriate about exploring whether the relationship can grow. You may just need a soft approach and language to make it comfortable for both parties.
Your best clients and referral partners may be perfectly willing to help you. They may simply need direction.
3. Make Business Development A Habit, Not An Event
This may be the biggest unfinished story of all.
A lawyer decides it is finally time to focus on business development. For three weeks, everything looks great.
Coffee meetings are scheduled. LinkedIn activity increases. Old clients receive calls. Networking events suddenly appear on the calendar.
Then work gets busy.
Business development disappears.
Three months later, things slow down and panic sets in. The lawyer starts networking again, posts something on LinkedIn, reaches out to a few prospects, and begins rebuilding a pipeline that never should have been allowed to disappear.
That is not a business development strategy. It is a roller coaster.
Finishing the story means developing a level of consistency that survives the busy periods.
That might involve blocking specific time on your calendar each week. It might mean meeting regularly with an accountability partner. It could involve working with a coach who keeps you focused on the activities you have committed to completing.
The specific mechanism matters less than the consistency.
You need to stay connected to clients, referral sources, prospects, and your broader network even when you have more legal work than you know what to do with. You also need to continue marketing, building your personal brand, and putting qualified people into your pipeline.
The best time to develop business is not when you desperately need it.
What Story Are You Leaving Unfinished?
When it comes to legal business development, I believe most lawyers are leaving more opportunities on the table than they realize. And the good news is that you don’t necessarily need to work harder or spend more time networking and marketing to change that.
Start by following up with the people you meet at conferences, networking events, and presentations while those conversations are still fresh. Next, take a more proactive approach with your best clients and referral partners by learning how to ask for quality introductions and uncover opportunities to expand those relationships. Lastly, make business development a consistent part of your weekly routine, regardless of how busy your practice becomes.
These three actions alone can make an enormous difference in your ability to build stronger relationships, generate more referrals, and develop a healthier pipeline of new business. None of them is particularly complicated, but they do require intentionality, discipline, and follow-through.
You have already invested the time and effort into building your practice and developing meaningful relationships. Now make sure you’re getting the most out of those investments.
It’s time to finish the story.
If you are looking for an affordable, high-value way to improve your business development skills, expand your network, and learn alongside other growth-minded attorneys, visit bethatlawyer.com/community to learn about the BE THAT LAWYER Community. More than 100 lawyers are already connecting, learning, exchanging ideas, and helping one another become better rainmakers.
Build your book. Own your future. BE THAT LAWYER.
Steve Fretzin is a five-time bestselling author, host of the BE THAT LAWYER and Future Rainmakers podcasts, and a business development coach who works exclusively with attorneys. For more than 18 years, he has helped lawyers build strong books of business without selling, pitching, or chasing, using his proven Sales-Free Selling™ approach. His clients consistently become top rainmakers and credit his coaching and systems for driving meaningful, measurable growth. Steve can be reached directly at steve@fretzin.com, or through his website at bethatlawyer.com. Connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin. His ALL NEW BE THAT LAWYER Community is changing how lawyers develop the skills never taught in law school. Learn more at bethatlawyer.com/community.
The post Finish The Story: 3 Ways Lawyers Leave Business On The Table appeared first on Above the Law.
When my son was growing up, he had a habit that probably sounds familiar to any parent.
He would have a snack and leave the cabinet open. Socks would land on the floor instead of the hamper. Something would get started, but the last step never seemed to happen.
My wife and I eventually came up with a simple phrase: “Finish the story.”
If you ate the snack, finish the story by putting everything away. If you took off your socks, finish the story by getting them into the hamper. It became a quick verbal cue that something had been started but not completed.
Did it work 100% of the time? Absolutely not. He was a kid.
Today, however, he is 19 and away at college, and I am happy to report that he seems to be finishing the stories he needs to finish.
The funny thing is that I now use essentially the same concept with lawyers.
I regularly see attorneys doing 70%, 80%, or even 90% of what is necessary to develop business, only to stop before completing the final step. That unfinished business can cost them relationships, referrals, opportunities, and ultimately a significant amount of revenue.
Here are three of the most common places where lawyers need to finish the story.
1. Follow Up While The Opportunity Is Still Warm
You attend a conference. You speak to an association. You go to a networking event. You meet five people who could potentially become clients, referral sources, or valuable professional relationships.
Then you get back to the office.
Your inbox is overflowing. A client needs something immediately. Someone puts a meeting on your calendar. Two weeks later, the business card is still sitting on your desk, and you can barely remember the conversation.
That is an unfinished story.
Every meaningful business development activity should have a next step attached to it.
If you speak at a program, consider using a survey or another mechanism to capture attendee information and identify people who would like to continue the conversation. If you attend a conference, leave with a short list of people you intend to contact. If you meet someone at a networking event and there is a legitimate reason to reconnect, schedule the follow-up before the relationship goes cold.
The value of networking is rarely in the event itself. The value comes from what happens afterward.
Time matters. A thoughtful email sent the next morning is very different from a vague “great meeting you” message sent three months later because you finally found their card.
You already invested the time. Finish the story.
2. Stop Waiting For Great Clients To Read Your Mind
Another unfinished story happens after lawyers have already done exceptional work.
You have a client who trusts you, respects you, likes working with you, and thinks you are one of the smartest lawyers they know. Maybe you have even developed a personal friendship over the years.
And then you wait.
You hope that someday the client will magically think of three other people who need exactly what you do and send them your way.
Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t.
Strong relationships often contain opportunities that are never explored because lawyers are uncomfortable being proactive. They do not know what to ask for, when to ask, or how to ask without sounding salesy.
So, they sit in the middle of the story.
Finishing the story does not mean aggressively asking every client, “Who do you know who needs a lawyer?”
It means learning how to have appropriate conversations about introductions, cross-marketing opportunities, expanded work, or other ways you can help people within their network.
If you have delivered tremendous value and built genuine trust, there is nothing inappropriate about exploring whether the relationship can grow. You may just need a soft approach and language to make it comfortable for both parties.
Your best clients and referral partners may be perfectly willing to help you. They may simply need direction.
3. Make Business Development A Habit, Not An Event
This may be the biggest unfinished story of all.
A lawyer decides it is finally time to focus on business development. For three weeks, everything looks great.
Coffee meetings are scheduled. LinkedIn activity increases. Old clients receive calls. Networking events suddenly appear on the calendar.
Then work gets busy.
Business development disappears.
Three months later, things slow down and panic sets in. The lawyer starts networking again, posts something on LinkedIn, reaches out to a few prospects, and begins rebuilding a pipeline that never should have been allowed to disappear.
That is not a business development strategy. It is a roller coaster.
Finishing the story means developing a level of consistency that survives the busy periods.
That might involve blocking specific time on your calendar each week. It might mean meeting regularly with an accountability partner. It could involve working with a coach who keeps you focused on the activities you have committed to completing.
The specific mechanism matters less than the consistency.
You need to stay connected to clients, referral sources, prospects, and your broader network even when you have more legal work than you know what to do with. You also need to continue marketing, building your personal brand, and putting qualified people into your pipeline.
The best time to develop business is not when you desperately need it.
What Story Are You Leaving Unfinished?
When it comes to legal business development, I believe most lawyers are leaving more opportunities on the table than they realize. And the good news is that you don’t necessarily need to work harder or spend more time networking and marketing to change that.
Start by following up with the people you meet at conferences, networking events, and presentations while those conversations are still fresh. Next, take a more proactive approach with your best clients and referral partners by learning how to ask for quality introductions and uncover opportunities to expand those relationships. Lastly, make business development a consistent part of your weekly routine, regardless of how busy your practice becomes.
These three actions alone can make an enormous difference in your ability to build stronger relationships, generate more referrals, and develop a healthier pipeline of new business. None of them is particularly complicated, but they do require intentionality, discipline, and follow-through.
You have already invested the time and effort into building your practice and developing meaningful relationships. Now make sure you’re getting the most out of those investments.
It’s time to finish the story.
If you are looking for an affordable, high-value way to improve your business development skills, expand your network, and learn alongside other growth-minded attorneys, visit bethatlawyer.com/community to learn about the BE THAT LAWYER Community. More than 100 lawyers are already connecting, learning, exchanging ideas, and helping one another become better rainmakers.
Build your book. Own your future. BE THAT LAWYER.
Steve Fretzin is a five-time bestselling author, host of the BE THAT LAWYER and Future Rainmakers podcasts, and a business development coach who works exclusively with attorneys. For more than 18 years, he has helped lawyers build strong books of business without selling, pitching, or chasing, using his proven Sales-Free Selling™ approach. His clients consistently become top rainmakers and credit his coaching and systems for driving meaningful, measurable growth. Steve can be reached directly at [email protected], or through his website at bethatlawyer.com. Connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin. His ALL NEW BE THAT LAWYER Community is changing how lawyers develop the skills never taught in law school. Learn more at bethatlawyer.com/community.
