You want new clients. Okay, what kind? Write down a description of your ideal client. Do the same thing for your ideal referral source. And be specific.
Great. You’ve got yourself a shopping list. With people on it.
Why is this a good idea? Because by identifying who you want to come into your life, you are more likely to find them.
Instead of networking “anywhere,” you’ll go to events likely to be inhabited by your ideal client and the people who can refer him.
Instead of writing articles and posts that target “everyone” with a legal problem you handle, you’ll write posts tailored to the specific types of clients you want to attract.
Instead of waiting for things to happen, your shopping list will help you make things happen. When your list says, “commercial leasing broker on the Westside,” for example, that’s who you’ll find.
It works like this: once you get specific about who you want, your reticular activating system (RAS) sifts through the mountain of input you encounter each day, looking for clues, and alerting you when it finds them. All of sudden, you start seeing Westside commercial brokers everywhere.
You’ll look at their websites and social media profiles and learn about them. You might identify a mutual acquaintance who can introduce you. Or you might send them the article you wrote about issues important to commercial real estate brokers on the Westside. Before you know it, you’ll be meeting for coffee and finding ways to work together.
Can’t this happen without a list? Of course. But the odds of finding precisely the kinds of professional contacts or clients you want to meet, at random, are about as good as getting the Christmas gift you want this year without giving your family a list.
I already know what I’m getting from my daughter this year. Funny how that works.
How to identify your ideal referral source
