Your quick legal marketing tip for the week is on getting active in meeting potential clients.
Get active in a trade association, and get on the board of directors. You’ll notice that I said, “trade association”, and not “bar association”.
You should join an association of clients. You want to get in front of a room full of clients, people who can potentially hire you. This can also quickly build your visibility in the marketplace as well as your credibility amongst your peers and prospects.
You can find out about these trade associations by asking your current clients what meetings they go to.
Then it’s a simple matter of saying, “I’d like to join you at the meeting. Would you introduce me to your friends?” These friends, of course, are all potential clients for you.
However, you don’t have to wait or even request an invite. Many trade associations allow you to attend a meeting/event for no charge to check it out. For example, if business law is your top practice area, you might consider joining your local chapter of the Entrepreneur’s Organization, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), or BNI.
It’s no good just going to the meeting; you have to be visible. Your goal when you join a trade association is not to be just a face in the crowd. Your goal is to get on the board of directors. The way you do that is toyou seek out the president and you volunteer. You volunteer to help put together programs; you volunteer to help with the newsletter; you volunteer to help in any sort of activity that is going to lead to a board position.
