{"id":154066,"date":"2026-06-08T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/08\/rewarding-your-referral-sources\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:00:00","slug":"rewarding-your-referral-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/08\/rewarding-your-referral-sources\/","title":{"rendered":"Rewarding Your Referral Sources"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can do plenty of things to stay in the good graces of your referral sources, even if you can’t always refer back work. Here are a few good ideas from law firm business development expert Sally Schmidt.
\nThe post Rewarding Your Referral Sources appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.<\/p>\n

A handful of steady referral relationships can make a lawyer\u2019s career \u2014 but how do you stay in their good graces? There are plenty of good ideas for rewarding referral sources, says Sally Schmidt, even if you can\u2019t reciprocate.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Most of the lawyers I know rely on referral sources for new business, at least to a certain extent. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Depending on your practice, the relationships you develop with potential referral sources may be more important than knowing prospective clients. For example, estate planning lawyers rely on insurance brokers and private bankers to meet wealthy people. Attorneys serving middle-market companies are introduced to business owners by accountants. Bankruptcy and white-collar criminal lawyers refer different parties in their matters to other lawyers in the same practice.<\/p>\n

When developing referral relationships, a lot of lawyers are concerned that they do not have much business to refer back. Even if the referral source does not expect a quid pro quo, everyone would like to see more business come their way. Here are some thoughts on the other ideas for rewarding referral sources.<\/p>\n

Focus on the Business at Hand<\/h2>\n

Do a good job with the referral.<\/strong> Reciprocity may be important at some point in time but taking care of the client is job one.<\/p>\n

Express appreciation.<\/strong> Send a handwritten thank-you note <\/a>ASAP \u2014 even before you are sure you will be retained. As a banker once said to me, \u201cThere are plenty of good lawyers I can send work to; I want to send it to someone who appreciates it.\u201d If it is a particularly large matter, consider whether you should provide more substantial recognition at holiday time or when the matter is concluded, such as a nice bottle of wine or a dinner.<\/p>\n

Keep the referral source in the<\/strong> loop<\/strong>. If the client relationship allows it, find out if and how referral sources would like to be kept informed about their clients\u2019 matters, especially if something may affect the work they are doing (e.g., taxes).<\/p>\n

You Can Reciprocate in Various Ways<\/h2>\n

Build a relationship.<\/strong> Take referral sources to lunch and ask about their practices or companies. What kind of business are they seeking? Who is their ideal customer or client? How can you recognize a prospect for them? Let them know you will do your best to identify opportunities.<\/p>\n

Make introductions.<\/strong> Even if you don\u2019t have business to give, you have contacts to share. Perhaps a banker can meet with your firm\u2019s CFO. Maybe an engineer would enjoy playing a round of golf with you and your contractor client. You might even facilitate a networking event or host a happy hour for people who would benefit from knowing one another. Maybe an HR trainer can submit a proposal to work with your firm. (Read \u201cLawyer Networking: Are You the Spoke or the Wheel?\u201d)<\/a><\/p>\n

Include them.<\/strong> Rewarding referral sources might include inviting them to the firm\u2019s parties and events so they can meet others in your circle.<\/p>\n

Return the favor.<\/strong> If you can, send business back to people who are referring business to you. Obviously, this needs to be in the best interest of the client. If you don\u2019t already, maintain a list of your contacts and track both inbound and outbound referrals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Be strategic about your referrals.<\/strong> Everyone has strengths. There are banks, for example, that finance yachts or insurance companies that cover art collections. Learn the personalities and niches of your referral sources and be sure to factor these in when sending out business.<\/p>\n

Spread the wealth.<\/strong> If you give a client the names of three real estate brokers to interview, you can advise all three that you passed along their contact information.<\/p>\n

Promote Your Referral Sources and Provide Value<\/h2>\n

Use social media.<\/strong> Follow referral sources on LinkedIn and other social networks and share their articles or comments.<\/p>\n

Give them exposure<\/strong>. If you are putting together a panel for an industry or trade group, it is a chance to give a good referral source some visibility. If you are writing an article, consider co-authoring with someone who sends you business.<\/p>\n

Nominate them.<\/strong> Look for chances to get referral sources recognition or benefits through awards (e.g., investment banker of the year) or other activities (e.g., a board or club membership).<\/p>\n

Provide substantive information.<\/strong> Ask if you can speak at a contact\u2019s annual client or customer seminar. Offer to write an article for the referral source\u2019s client or customer newsletter. Do a lunch-and-learn for company employees (e.g., the basics of estate planning) or provide a service to the company (e.g., an employment hotline for supervisors).<\/p>\n

Four or Five Good Referral Sources Can Make a Career<\/h2>\n

For many lawyers, referral sources are critical to developing a practice. Rather than targeting every prospect, it\u2019s more efficient to know the people who know the people you\u2019d like to represent.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that quality is more important than quantity. You don\u2019t need dozens of referral sources to build your practice; four or five good sources can make a career. Focus on your best opportunities and concentrate your efforts on taking good care of them and their clients.<\/p>\n

Featured image licensed under the\u00a0Unsplash+ License<\/a> and Nabinjan Maharjan<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Play to Win<\/a><\/h3>\n

In \u201cPlay to Win,\u201d you\u2019ll get smart, executable business development and marketing tips<\/strong> from Sally Schmidt, the authority on winning new clients and holding on to them. <\/p>\n

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READ PLAY TO WIN \u2026<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Updated from an article that was first published in 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Keep Your Marketing and Business Development Efforts on Track with a Journal Designed for Lawyers<\/h2>\n

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Every element of this guided journal has been designed to help you capture your ideas, motivate you \u2014 and keep your marketing and business development efforts on track. From Theda C. Snyder and Attorney at Work, the Lawyer\u2019s Marketing Journal<\/a><\/strong> is the perfect place to capture your thoughts, write down your daily tasks, notes and accomplishments \u2014 and monitor your progress. Take control of your marketing and order your journal today.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You can do plenty of things to stay in the good graces of your referral sources, even if you can’t always refer back work. Here are a few good ideas from law firm business development expert Sally Schmidt. The post Rewarding Your Referral Sources appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and […]<\/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":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154066","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=154066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154066\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}