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I picked-up up the above recently because I don’t love selling and although over time I have realized the central role of rainmaking in building a law practice, let’s just say I came to that realization reluctantly and a tad slowly. My experience is that most lawyers tend to fall in one of three categories when it comes to rainmaking:

*1. Lawyers who view “selling” as beneath them and “not something that Professionals do.”

*2. Lawyers who engage in rainmaking but approach it in an inconsistent and disjointed manner.

*3. Great, natural and consistent rainmakers.

So if you’re in category #3 you’re probably all good and if you’re category #1 I’m guessing you were graduated from law school prior to 1980 or you probably need a more fundamental shift than can be obtained from some 200 page marketing book. But if you’re in category #2 like me, I think The Reluctant Rainmaker can provide some smart, long-term organization to your rain-making efforts.

Author Julie Fleming is a former patent attorney and currently provides attorney coaching development over at Life at the Bar.

Here are my 5 favorite “take-aways” from The Reluctant Rainmaker (get the book for more!):

1.  The RIGHT Business Development Priorities. Meaning, what client prospects should be the focus of your Rainmaking efforts…a) Current clients; b) Former clients and referral sources; c) “Warm” potential clients and referral sources; and lastly, d) Strangers. Without being too emphatic it’s hard for me to think of a situation where small law firms should spend much time at all marketing to strangers. I ran an advertisement for some 6 months early in my sole practitioner days in a Chicagoland senior publication with the only return on that investment being one initial client meeting. The critical point:  It’s SOOO MUCH easier and more efficient (meaning cheaper) to generate new business from people who know you versus strangers.

2. Create Your Business Development Plan. Creating this sort of a roadmap for your marketing efforts is likely what most of us stuck in category #2 are missing. Checkout The Reluctant Rainmaker Business Development Plan Generator.

3. Make a Great Biographical Sketch. Why is it that something like only 15% of attorneys have real client-friendly/focused biographies whether on the Web or in written materials? When I get a new case or transaction I’m always curious about the opposing counsel and checkout their profiles on the Web and I sure think potential clients are doing the same before retaining counsel. The Reluctant Rainmaker suggests including a photograph, areas of practice, wide-ranging narrative (including things like practice area description, special skills, leadership roles, and personal interests), and a separate section listing representative clients, articles written and/or speeches given, and bar/industry/community memberships.

4. A Simple Classification System for your Marketing Activities. So is what you’re planning and doing a high/medium/low yield activity & is it fast or slow yield? For example, a law review article may be high but slow yield whereas a “legal update” newsletter to your list of clients/former clients/referral services is probably high/fast yield. And you probably want a mix of high yield slow and fast since like in the example above although your legal update might bring in some business quickly a law review article likely has more staying power and reputational benefit long term.

5. 5 Great Elevator Speech formats. This is golden and something every lawyer needs a better grasp of…the big 5:  a) The benefits-focused description; b) The practice, client-centric description; c) The Unique Selling Proposition intro; d) The provocative statement; and, e) The “you know how” introduction.

And don’t forget this recent post, Why Don’t You Write More, inspired by The Reluctant Rainmaker…because every lawyer has some text sitting around waiting to be re-packaged.

Pick-up The Reluctant Rainmaker today!