Lawyers often tell me they want more business, better clients, more freedom, more control, and more independence. I get it. Those are the right goals. That is what BE THAT LAWYER\u00a0is all about.<\/p>\n
But here is the part many lawyers do not want to hear. You are probably going to have to give something up to get there.<\/p>\n
You may need to sacrifice some comfort by attending events where you don\u2019t know anyone, or a little pride by asking for help and admitting you don\u2019t yet have a real business development plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You may need to let go of perfectionism and post on LinkedIn before every sentence is polished to within an inch of its life. And you may need to sacrifice some billable time in the short term to build greater leverage and independence in the long term.<\/p>\n
That is not always fun. But neither is giving up a summer of golf, paddle, and pickleball. Sometimes the short-term sacrifice is the price of long-term freedom.<\/p>\n
The second lesson is that recovery requires a proven regimen.<\/strong><\/p>\n After surgery, my physical therapist did not say, \u201cSteve, just wave your arm around whenever you feel like it and let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n There is a plan. There are steps. There are exercises. There is an order to the process. Certain movements happen first. Others come later. If I try to skip ahead, I risk doing damage. If I ignore the plan, I slow down my recovery.<\/p>\n The progress has been amazing, but it is not random. My range of motion is improving. My pain is decreasing. My strength is slowly coming back. I can see the transformation week by week because I am following a system that works.<\/p>\n Business development is the same way.<\/p>\n The lawyers who struggle the most are usually not lazy. They are just winging it. They go to a lunch here, post something on LinkedIn there, attend a conference, send a random email, and hope something happens.<\/p>\n As you\u2019ve heard me say before, \u201cWinging it is not a strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n In our Sales-Free Selling model, we teach lawyers specific steps, language, and structure to help them move business development conversations forward without feeling salesy or awkward. The point is not to manipulate people. The point is to create clarity. Who should you spend more time with? Who is wasting your time? Where are the real opportunities? What is the right next step?<\/p>\n When you follow a proven system, business development becomes less mysterious and much more manageable.<\/p>\n The third lesson is that consistency wins.<\/strong><\/p>\n I do not just go to physical therapy three times a week and call it done. I also do the exercises at home. I do them at the gym. I do them even when I do not feel like it. That daily consistency is the reason I am seeing progress.<\/p>\n Again, business development works the same way.<\/p>\n You cannot post on LinkedIn once or twice a year and expect the phone to ring. You cannot attend a single conference and expect clients to line up outside your office. And you cannot meet someone for coffee once and assume they will remember you six months later when a legal issue arises.<\/p>\n Rainmaking is the result of consistent, intentional effort. The specific activities will vary, but the principle does not: make business development a regular part of your week. Block time for it on your calendar, create content, stay in touch with referral sources, ask for introductions, and build in accountability so those commitments do not get pushed aside when client work gets busy.<\/p>\n The key is to stop treating business development like something you do only when you are slow. That is like doing physical therapy only when your shoulder hurts. By then, you are already behind.<\/p>\n And here is the bonus. When you do the things you know you are supposed to do, you feel better about yourself. Whether it is physical therapy, exercise, or business development, action creates momentum. Momentum creates confidence. Confidence creates more action.<\/p>\n Finally, you need to celebrate the progress. In recovery, that might mean noticing that you can move your arm a little higher than you could last week, that the pain is less intense, or simply that the work is starting to pay off.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lawyers should approach business development the same way. Too often, they wait to celebrate until the big matter lands, but that big matter is usually the result of a dozen smaller wins along the way. Setbacks are inevitable, and none of them are a reason to stop. They are a reason to adjust, recover smarter, and keep going. Make the sacrifice, follow a proven regimen, stay consistent, celebrate the momentum, and keep moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n That is how you recover from an injury, how you build a book of business, and how you can BE THAT LAWYER.<\/p>\n Steve Fretzin is a five-time bestselling author, host of the\u00a0BE THAT LAWYER\u00a0and\u00a0Future Rainmakers\u00a0podcasts, 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\u2122 approach. His clients consistently become top rainmakers and credit his coaching and systems for driving meaningful, measurable growth. Steve can be reached directly at\u00a0steve@fretzin.com<\/a>, or through his website at\u00a0bethatlawyer.com<\/a>. Connect with him on LinkedIn at\u00a0https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stevefretzin<\/a>. His ALL NEW\u00a0BE THAT LAWYER Community\u00a0is changing how lawyers develop the skills never taught in law school. Learn more at\u00a0bethatlawyer.com\/community<\/a><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The post What A Torn Rotator Cuff\u00a0Can Teach Us About Legal Business Development<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you are old enough to remember the movie Risky Business, you probably remember the famous scene where Tom Cruise slides smoothly across a wooden floor in his socks while Bob Seger\u2019s \u201cOld Time Rock and Roll\u201d blasts in the background.<\/p>\n Now imagine that same scene, except it is not smooth, there is no music, and instead of looking cool, the person sliding across the floor is a 56-year-old business development coach who lands in a heap and tears the heck out of his rotator cuff.<\/p>\n That was me about\u00a0six\u00a0months ago.<\/p>\n I was rushing around my house, slipped badly, and took a brutal fall. At first, I was hoping it was one of those injuries that would calm down with ice, rest, and maybe a little denial. Unfortunately, the MRI told a different story. I had a significant tear in my rotator cuff, and it was not going to repair itself.<\/p>\n That left me with a choice. I could avoid surgery, live with chronic pain, and accept that I might never regain full use of my shoulder. Or I could bite the bullet, have the surgery, and go through the long recovery process.<\/p>\n As someone who loves platform tennis, pickleball, golf, and staying active, the decision was not easy. Surgery meant missing the paddle finals, member-guests, the spring platform tennis season, six months of pickleball, and pretty much my entire summer of sports.<\/p>\n That stung.<\/p>\n But I also knew the alternative was worse. I did not want to spend the rest of my life unable to lift my arm over my head or play the sports I love. So,\u00a0I made the sacrifice.<\/p>\n And as I sit here about eight weeks into recovery, I have realized there are some strong parallels between coming back from an injury and building a successful law practice.<\/p>\n The first lesson is that anything worthwhile requires sacrifice.<\/strong><\/p>\n Lawyers often tell me they want more business, better clients, more freedom, more control, and more independence. I get it. Those are the right goals. That is what BE THAT LAWYER\u00a0is all about.<\/p>\n But here is the part many lawyers do not want to hear. You are probably going to have to give something up to get there.<\/p>\n You may need to sacrifice some comfort by attending events where you don\u2019t know anyone, or a little pride by asking for help and admitting you don\u2019t yet have a real business development plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n You may need to let go of perfectionism and post on LinkedIn before every sentence is polished to within an inch of its life. And you may need to sacrifice some billable time in the short term to build greater leverage and independence in the long term.<\/p>\n That is not always fun. But neither is giving up a summer of golf, paddle, and pickleball. Sometimes the short-term sacrifice is the price of long-term freedom.<\/p>\n The second lesson is that recovery requires a proven regimen.<\/strong><\/p>\n After surgery, my physical therapist did not say, \u201cSteve, just wave your arm around whenever you feel like it and let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n There is a plan. There are steps. There are exercises. There is an order to the process. Certain movements happen first. Others come later. If I try to skip ahead, I risk doing damage. If I ignore the plan, I slow down my recovery.<\/p>\n The progress has been amazing, but it is not random. My range of motion is improving. My pain is decreasing. My strength is slowly coming back. I can see the transformation week by week because I am following a system that works.<\/p>\n Business development is the same way.<\/p>\n The lawyers who struggle the most are usually not lazy. They are just winging it. They go to a lunch here, post something on LinkedIn there, attend a conference, send a random email, and hope something happens.<\/p>\n As you\u2019ve heard me say before, \u201cWinging it is not a strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n In our Sales-Free Selling model, we teach lawyers specific steps, language, and structure to help them move business development conversations forward without feeling salesy or awkward. The point is not to manipulate people. The point is to create clarity. Who should you spend more time with? Who is wasting your time? Where are the real opportunities? What is the right next step?<\/p>\n When you follow a proven system, business development becomes less mysterious and much more manageable.<\/p>\n The third lesson is that consistency wins.<\/strong><\/p>\n I do not just go to physical therapy three times a week and call it done. I also do the exercises at home. I do them at the gym. I do them even when I do not feel like it. That daily consistency is the reason I am seeing progress.<\/p>\n Again, business development works the same way.<\/p>\n You cannot post on LinkedIn once or twice a year and expect the phone to ring. You cannot attend a single conference and expect clients to line up outside your office. And you cannot meet someone for coffee once and assume they will remember you six months later when a legal issue arises.<\/p>\n Rainmaking is the result of consistent, intentional effort. The specific activities will vary, but the principle does not: make business development a regular part of your week. Block time for it on your calendar, create content, stay in touch with referral sources, ask for introductions, and build in accountability so those commitments do not get pushed aside when client work gets busy.<\/p>\n The key is to stop treating business development like something you do only when you are slow. That is like doing physical therapy only when your shoulder hurts. By then, you are already behind.<\/p>\n And here is the bonus. When you do the things you know you are supposed to do, you feel better about yourself. Whether it is physical therapy, exercise, or business development, action creates momentum. Momentum creates confidence. Confidence creates more action.<\/p>\n Finally, you need to celebrate the progress. In recovery, that might mean noticing that you can move your arm a little higher than you could last week, that the pain is less intense, or simply that the work is starting to pay off.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lawyers should approach business development the same way. Too often, they wait to celebrate until the big matter lands, but that big matter is usually the result of a dozen smaller wins along the way. Setbacks are inevitable, and none of them are a reason to stop. They are a reason to adjust, recover smarter, and keep going. Make the sacrifice, follow a proven regimen, stay consistent, celebrate the momentum, and keep moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n That is how you recover from an injury, how you build a book of business, and how you can BE THAT LAWYER.<\/p>\n Steve Fretzin is a five-time bestselling author, host of the\u00a0BE THAT LAWYER\u00a0and\u00a0Future Rainmakers\u00a0podcasts, 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\u2122 approach. His clients consistently become top rainmakers and credit his coaching and systems for driving meaningful, measurable growth. Steve can be reached directly at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>, or through his website at\u00a0bethatlawyer.com<\/a>. Connect with him on LinkedIn at\u00a0https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stevefretzin<\/a>. His ALL NEW\u00a0BE THAT LAWYER Community\u00a0is changing how lawyers develop the skills never taught in law school. Learn more at\u00a0bethatlawyer.com\/community<\/a><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you are old enough to remember the movie Risky Business, you probably remember the famous scene where Tom Cruise slides smoothly across a wooden floor in his socks while Bob Seger\u2019s \u201cOld Time Rock and Roll\u201d blasts in the background. Now imagine that same scene, except it is not smooth, there is no music, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":161609,"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-161608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/business-4595805_1280-tvq3Lr.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161608","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=161608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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