There\u2019s something I\u2019ve been seeing a lot lately, and it\u2019s too important to ignore. Too many lawyers are out there networking, attending conferences, speaking, and generally hustling, but still not seeing meaningful results for the time invested.<\/p>\n
On the surface, it looks like momentum. But when you dig a little deeper, something becomes clear: there aren\u2019t many new client opportunities coming your way.<\/p>\n
For countless attorneys putting in daily effort on the business development side of law, the problem isn\u2019t effort. It\u2019s growth and results. Or more accurately, the lack of them.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the tough question I ask lawyers when we start working together:<\/p>\n
Do you have 10 years of experience in business development, or one year of experience repeated 10 times?<\/strong><\/p>\n This question tends to raise a few eyebrows. But it\u2019s a crucial distinction. There\u2019s a huge difference between being active and actually getting better. Just because you\u2019re doing business development doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re improving at it.<\/p>\n Think about it. Athletes review game tape. Chefs constantly tweak recipes. Musicians record rehearsals to catch missed notes and polish performance.<\/p>\n Why aren\u2019t lawyers doing the same with their business development?<\/p>\n In the legal world, the billable hour creates a dangerous illusion: if you\u2019re busy, you\u2019re successful. But real business growth \u2014 the kind that builds long-term control over your practice \u2014 requires something more: deliberate learning and consistent improvement. You need to reflect, evaluate, and course-correct constantly. Otherwise, you\u2019re just doing laps on a treadmill, sweating but going nowhere. Meanwhile, your most valuable asset, time, is on the line.<\/p>\n One of the most impactful tools I introduce to my clients is something called the Success Journal<\/strong>. It\u2019s not complicated, but it\u2019s powerful.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n You track your business development activity daily or weekly. Who did you meet with? What follow-up did you send? Did you ask qualifying questions? Was a next step established? You write it all down. And then, here\u2019s the key, you review it. With this simple Excel spreadsheet completed regularly, patterns begin to emerge. Strengths show up. Gaps become glaring.<\/p>\n For example, let\u2019s say you emailed ten people to meet for coffee, and only one replied. Without tracking and reflecting, you might not realize your outreach needs work. Or maybe you had 10 networking meetings this month, but no next steps were created. If you\u2019re not qualifying the right people, being proactive in offering value, or establishing meaningful follow-ups, you\u2019re just going through the motions.<\/p>\n Without a proper tracking system, it\u2019s like hacking your way through a jungle without a map. With one, it\u2019s like turning on GPS. Suddenly, you\u2019re not just doing business development. You\u2019re getting better at it strategically, deliberately, and consistently.<\/p>\n Another vital element of improvement is the art of debriefing<\/strong>. Like an NFL coach watching back game tape, you take five or 10 minutes after a meeting to review what happened. What went well? What could have gone better? And most importantly, what steps were skipped?<\/p>\n If you\u2019re wondering why I mentioned \u201csteps,\u201d it\u2019s because yes \u2014 you should be following a process when engaging in business development. Winging it is not a strategy.<\/p>\n Here are a few debriefing questions I share with my clients to help refine their networking meetings:<\/p>\n While I provide a detailed forms to follow for my clients, these questions illustrate the intentionality that should drive every meeting. Most lawyers simply have coffee and wait to see what happens next. Spoiler alert: not much typically does.<\/p>\n So, ask yourself, what is your time investment in business development really costing you? If you\u2019re not tracking or debriefing, you may never know. In many cases, when digging into my clients past habits, we find millions of dollars in lost time, energy and opportunities.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a saying I often share: \u201cYou can\u2019t manage what isn\u2019t measured.\u201d<\/strong> And I\u2019ll add, you can\u2019t improve what you don\u2019t review.<\/p>\n Improvement is a choice. It\u2019s the decision to pause, reflect, and refine. That\u2019s how the best rainmakers operate. Not just with hustle, but with intention.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re serious about owning your growth and becoming not just a good lawyer, but a confident, organized, and skilled rainmaker, start treating your business development like your billable hours. Track it. Debrief it. Learn from it.<\/p>\n Because time will pass either way. But progress? That\u2019s on you.<\/p>\n Want a free evaluation of your current business development habits and how to improve them?<\/strong> Let\u2019s talk. Visit fretzin.com<\/a> or shoot me an email at steve@fretzin.com to set up a quick strategy call.<\/p>\n Steve Fretzin is a bestselling author, host of the \u201cBe That Lawyer\u201d podcast, and business development coach exclusively for attorneys. Steve has committed his career to helping lawyers learn key growth skills not currently taught in law school. His clients soon become top rainmakers and credit Steve\u2019s program and coaching for their success. He can be reached directly by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>steve@fretzin.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Or you can easily find him on his website at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>www.fretzin.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or LinkedIn at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stevefretzin<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The post Is Your Business Development Evolving Or Just Repeating Itself?<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s something I\u2019ve been seeing a lot lately, and it\u2019s too important to ignore. Too many lawyers are out there networking, attending conferences, speaking, and generally hustling, but still not seeing meaningful results for the time invested.<\/p>\n On the surface, it looks like momentum. But when you dig a little deeper, something becomes clear: there aren\u2019t many new client opportunities coming your way.<\/p>\n For countless attorneys putting in daily effort on the business development side of law, the problem isn\u2019t effort. It\u2019s growth and results. Or more accurately, the lack of them.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the tough question I ask lawyers when we start working together:<\/p>\n Do you have 10 years of experience in business development, or one year of experience repeated 10 times?<\/strong><\/p>\n This question tends to raise a few eyebrows. But it\u2019s a crucial distinction. There\u2019s a huge difference between being active and actually getting better. Just because you\u2019re doing business development doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re improving at it.<\/p>\n Think about it. Athletes review game tape. Chefs constantly tweak recipes. Musicians record rehearsals to catch missed notes and polish performance.<\/p>\n Why aren\u2019t lawyers doing the same with their business development?<\/p>\n In the legal world, the billable hour creates a dangerous illusion: if you\u2019re busy, you\u2019re successful. But real business growth \u2014 the kind that builds long-term control over your practice \u2014 requires something more: deliberate learning and consistent improvement. You need to reflect, evaluate, and course-correct constantly. Otherwise, you\u2019re just doing laps on a treadmill, sweating but going nowhere. Meanwhile, your most valuable asset, time, is on the line.<\/p>\n One of the most impactful tools I introduce to my clients is something called the Success Journal<\/strong>. It\u2019s not complicated, but it\u2019s powerful.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n You track your business development activity daily or weekly. Who did you meet with? What follow-up did you send? Did you ask qualifying questions? Was a next step established? You write it all down. And then, here\u2019s the key, you review it. With this simple Excel spreadsheet completed regularly, patterns begin to emerge. Strengths show up. Gaps become glaring.<\/p>\n For example, let\u2019s say you emailed ten people to meet for coffee, and only one replied. Without tracking and reflecting, you might not realize your outreach needs work. Or maybe you had 10 networking meetings this month, but no next steps were created. If you\u2019re not qualifying the right people, being proactive in offering value, or establishing meaningful follow-ups, you\u2019re just going through the motions.<\/p>\n Without a proper tracking system, it\u2019s like hacking your way through a jungle without a map. With one, it\u2019s like turning on GPS. Suddenly, you\u2019re not just doing business development. You\u2019re getting better at it strategically, deliberately, and consistently.<\/p>\n Another vital element of improvement is the art of debriefing<\/strong>. Like an NFL coach watching back game tape, you take five or 10 minutes after a meeting to review what happened. What went well? What could have gone better? And most importantly, what steps were skipped?<\/p>\n If you\u2019re wondering why I mentioned \u201csteps,\u201d it\u2019s because yes \u2014 you should be following a process when engaging in business development. Winging it is not a strategy.<\/p>\n Here are a few debriefing questions I share with my clients to help refine their networking meetings:<\/p>\n While I provide a detailed forms to follow for my clients, these questions illustrate the intentionality that should drive every meeting. Most lawyers simply have coffee and wait to see what happens next. Spoiler alert: not much typically does.<\/p>\n So, ask yourself, what is your time investment in business development really costing you? If you\u2019re not tracking or debriefing, you may never know. In many cases, when digging into my clients past habits, we find millions of dollars in lost time, energy and opportunities.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a saying I often share: \u201cYou can\u2019t manage what isn\u2019t measured.\u201d<\/strong> And I\u2019ll add, you can\u2019t improve what you don\u2019t review.<\/p>\n Improvement is a choice. It\u2019s the decision to pause, reflect, and refine. That\u2019s how the best rainmakers operate. Not just with hustle, but with intention.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re serious about owning your growth and becoming not just a good lawyer, but a confident, organized, and skilled rainmaker, start treating your business development like your billable hours. Track it. Debrief it. Learn from it.<\/p>\n Because time will pass either way. But progress? That\u2019s on you.<\/p>\n Want a free evaluation of your current business development habits and how to improve them?<\/strong> Let\u2019s talk. Visit fretzin.com<\/a> or shoot me an email at steve@fretzin.com to set up a quick strategy call.<\/p>\n Steve Fretzin is a bestselling author, host of the \u201cBe That Lawyer\u201d podcast, and business development coach exclusively for attorneys. Steve has committed his career to helping lawyers learn key growth skills not currently taught in law school. His clients soon become top rainmakers and credit Steve\u2019s program and coaching for their success. He can be reached directly by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>steve@fretzin.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Or you can easily find him on his website at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>www.fretzin.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or LinkedIn at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stevefretzin<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The post Is Your Business Development Evolving Or Just Repeating Itself?<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s something I\u2019ve been seeing a lot lately, and it\u2019s too important to ignore. Too many lawyers are out there networking, attending conferences, speaking, and generally hustling, but still not seeing meaningful results for the time invested. On the surface, it looks like momentum. But when you dig a little deeper, something becomes clear: there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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