Every year, I would look back and see that  I attended twenty-four events that were put  together by various professional associations. The one thing that was  prevalent, was that I was going to exchange  business cards dutifully with random  people. However, in the back of my mind I  was really looking for a connection to  someone that knew someone else, so I  could get someone else, to introduce me to  someone that was a key contact. My focus  was to get my foot in the door to refer a  connection for marketing and business  development for a rising star attorney.  

Somehow out of those events and the  connections made, our firm was able to  gain twelve new clients and thirty-two new  prospects. But with all these new contacts,  I knew there needed to be a system in place  to ensure the connections were not like  holding sand in your hand at the beach.  Hello BeFirst CRM, how are you today? ☺ 

Having a simple method for gathering and  tracking contact information is great as you  work with your business development  manager and administrative assistant to  facilitate data entry. The simplicity is right  at your fingertips every time you return  from an event. Once the system is in place  through formatting and testing protocols,  your administrative assistant will be taught  the implementation. Although you will  have the ability to provide input and even  customize the layout. Touching on an  essential value with your prospective client  because you sent the handwritten birthday  card a few days before the actual birthdate.  Why send the card before the birthdate?  

Remember, this is a key contact and your  method of breaking down the trust barrier  is to be your authentic self. This could lead  to an impromptu invitation to their birthday  celebration. After all, everyone eats cake  on their birthday right? The intrinsic value  that you instill in your prospect shifts their  focus not on you selling them your  services, but on you as a person that  happens to work at a great law firm that  can offer a fresh perspective on an old  approach. Now, who’s ready to party?  

 You are? Good, let me show you what that  looks like in setting up this system so that  you can BeFirst. As a business  development team, we have worked diligently on making the BeFirst CRM

home screen user-friendly so that your  administrative assistants only needs you to  either text them the contact name of whom  you met, or send a quick picture of the  business card you exchanged, or you can  snap a picture of the business card yourself  and it will automatically be entered as a  contact. Every Friday, on your assistant’s  calendar will be an hour dedicated to  reviewing your contact list and scheduling  calendar alerts for you to begin initiating  contact to begin your new relationship.  

Typically, never tell a new contact that we  are better than any law firm they have ever  worked with. Why? Because, the proof is  in the pudding. We want them to want to come to you and say, “Why haven’t you  tried to pitch me yet?” Thinking there is a  catch, but there is not, we are just building  a relationship first – so when it counts, we  can BeFirst on their mind for counsel. 

We want your new contact to know they  can trust you with intimate details about  their challenges without being intrusive.  Now you have every bit of information at your fingertips on your cell phone and your  desktop calendar, your only task is to  follow thru with executing a simple contact  to your prospective client. Keep in mind,  this is not a cold-call … you just met! This  is not pitch time for new business …you –  just - met! This is … the first time your  new contact will be impressed by your  authenticity. Now you are inside the trust  circle. BeFirst streamlines your contacts.  

Think of this like getting married. Yes,  everyone is different and like me, you  could be a romantic and its love at first

Think of this like getting married. Yes,  everyone is different and like me, you  could be a romantic and its love at first  sight. A majority of couples, that  eventually marry, have met by chance,  through a friend, or even celebrating the  New Year. What’s next after you’ve met?  You may (or may not) exchange phone  numbers, then you set up your last first  date, then you build chemistry. Then  hopefully, there’s another date. At this point, maybe there is one more date. Now  inevitably, it is time for your first time  holding hands. Next, one day/night, here  comes the time for your first kiss. Pause.  Are you remembering?  

At this point, I want you to think of all the  steps it took you to build up the courage to  make that first contact with a word you grew  up saying as a toddler to begin word  association, “Hello.” Earning trust is the  journey of a lifetime because you know what  you want, you see it right there in front of  you, but making a mistake of being  overbearing, overwhelming, or aggressive,  could ruin the fabric of the time space  continuum if you rush things. Thus sit back –  relax, you are relationship building. BeFirst CRM gives you efficient time management.  

As a firm, we have already created a  foundation of success and acknowledgment  among peers, professional associations, and  received industry awards that exemplify our  victories as a practice group. Since you are a  rising star, this relationship is going to last  longer than a first date, we want this marriage  to work so your new client contact knows you  not only take out the trash, ala fix problems  and put out fires from unfortunate shortcomings. You also mow the grass, do  the laundry, and clear the leaves in the gutter.  

This makes it easy to feel comfortable  allowing the firm to handle defense strategies  for favorable outcomes, or consulting on old  projects that have just been sitting on the  backburner because you do not want to waste  time on projects that do not add incremental  value, or you simply want to complete a  subsidiary merger to expand into a new market  without start over from scratch with cross promotional services the firm can handle any  matter your client needs addressed.  

Systems work. But how do you know,  what you don’t know, if no one tells you  what you should know? Try to say that  five times fast. It is difficult, but it can be  done. All it takes is your open-mind to  change and to say, “Hello.”