Avoid A Big Mistake Choose Your Clients Carefully

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Avoid a Big Mistake: Choose Your Clients Carefully A few months ago I met with a lawyer I coached four years ago for a tune-up session. He shared with me that since we worked together he had learned to be more selective in his pursuit of new clients. If you are a young lawyer trying to bring in business, any business may look good to you. I have been there myself.  When I was practicing law at first I was so anxious to bring in business that was my own that I had blinders on.  I thought any business was good business. That was a mistake and after a few bad experiences with clients who really could not afford my services I learned my lesson. I thought of my early mistakes and how I evolved into making better decisions when I read Seth Godin’s blog post: Choose your customers, choose your future.  What he says makes great sense for lawyers. If you are a young lawyer, you may fall into the trap of taking any business. Seth describes that as being “like a sailor on shore leave.” Then he says: “Find great customers, they will eagerly co-create with you. They will engage and invent and spread the word.” That is what happened to me. When I focused on the right clients rather than any client, the experience was more pleasant, the clients were more satisfied and the clients spread the word which enabled me to get the opportunity to serve more of the right clients. I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.