Here’s how to go from coffees to instructions whilst spending less time ‘networking’ and more time winning work.
Do you ever feel like your networking is like “chucking jelly at a wall and hoping some of it will stick?”.
It’s a common feeling; you’re busy with coffees and events, but it’s not translating into meaningful work. In this episode, we’re going to fix that. I’ll share three practical strategies to turn your networking activity into a reliable, lead-generating machine.
Listen to this episode to discover:
- How to change the conversation by ditching clichés like “Are you busy?” and asking more insightful questions like “What’s on your desk at the moment?”.
- Why you must audit your network to focus your time, prioritise the people who are already giving you work, and stop spending valuable time on relationships that won’t lead to business.
- How to work smarter, not harder by using scalable methods, like a short monthly insights email, to stay top of mind with key contacts without needing constant in-person meetings.
If these strategies make sense, but you’re thinking, “I need a system to make sure I follow through and don’t just fall back into my old habits,” that’s why having a plan is so important. The courses Creating a Business Development Plan and From Coffees To Instructions in our Progress to Partner Academy are a great place to start.
These courses will give you a repeatable structure to turn your relationships into revenue consistently.
If you find this episode useful, don’t forget to like it and then subscribe so you don’t miss another episode.
You can also listen to this episode on Substack and on Apple Podcasts
Hello and welcome to the How To Make Partner Podcast. My name is Heather Townsend, the founder of the podcast.
Do you ever feel like you’re chucking jelly at a wall and hoping some of it will stick?
That’s how one lawyer on the partner track recently described her networking efforts to me.
She was doing all the right things, coffees, lunches, events, but her pipeline was empty. Her business plan had the right words in, but actually the results were not happening.
And she had great relationships, but they weren’t translating into meaningful work. And you know what? She’s not alone. This is incredibly common.
In today’s podcast episode, we’re going to fix that. And so before we get started, this is the How to Make Partner podcast with me, Heather Townsend, the author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partners to Have a Life.
In this podcast episode, I’ll be highlighting some of the great stuff in our Progress to Partner Academy.
New episodes are released weekly, so press subscribe so you never miss a new episode. Right, let’s get started.
The first strategy to make your networking more effective is to change the conversation.
And most of us get stuck in what I would call social chit-chat mode. Now, of course, I’m on record by saying it’s the small talk that earns the right to build the big talk. While small talk is important to build rapport, you must eventually pivot to business.
And, you know, as I said this, and I always say this to people when I’m coaching them, ditch the cliched question, are you busy? It’s a dead end. Instead, ask something more specific and insightful. Try one of these. What’s on your desk right now? You know, what’s big in your world right now? What are you seeing in the marketplace?
And these questions invite a detailed response and inevitably they will ask you the same question back. And this is your moment to share a quick story about a trend you’re seeing or a problem you’re solving, positioning yourself as a credible expert.
So let’s move on to strategy number two. It is to audit your network and focus your time. And at this stage in your career, you cannot afford to go to every event or meet with everyone. It’s time to focus and get choosy about where and whom to spend your time with. So look at your list of contacts and ask these critical questions for each person.
Have they ever given you work? Was it recent? Was it the right type and level of work? And this should help you identify who to prioritise, i.e. the people that are already investing in you, the people that want to spend time with you, want to give you work, want to help you work.
Now, a common mistake is to put the effort into the people that you almost see as friends and not as much effort into the contacts that are already providing you with work.
And actually, the ones that are already providing you work need more work. Well, not more work. They need more time, more effort, more maintenance. So don’t neglect them.
And then people aren’t sending you work. You have to be brutally honest. Are they just a friend who will never likely be a source of work? If so, categorise them as a friend and stop spending your limited business development time there. And strategy number three is a cliche. It’s to work smarter, not harder.
Now, I always like helping people become lazy business developers. This is not about not doing business development. This is about the least amount of business development activity you can do and still get the results you want. After all, you can maintain relationships and credentialise yourself at scale.
For example, once a month, you could write a short, insightful paragraph about, say, a trend you’re seeing. For example, I’ve noticed a real reinsurgence in hospitality finance deals lately. And I’ve noticed many of my client base are struggling with X and Y is something. Is this something you’re seeing too? You know, you could write this simple personalised email, but for your stuff, to 20 of your key contacts it starts a conversation it keeps you top of mind and it demonstrates your expertise without you having to do a single coffee meeting or go to an event now if you’re listening and thinking these strategies are great but i need a system to make sure i follow through and don’t just fall back into my old habits that’s a very common feeling and it’s why having a clear plan and structure to your business development is so important.
The courses, creating a business development plan and from coffees to instructions in our Progressive Partner Academy are a great way to start.
These courses will give you a repeatable structure for your networking and help you build a system to turn your relationships into revenue consistently.
Because ultimately, isn’t that what you’re needing in order to win enough work to demonstrate you’re ready for partner and then establish yourself as a partner?
Now, I’ve popped a link to buy our Progress to Partner Academy in the show notes. Also in the show notes, you’ll find links to my book, Poised for Partnership and How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life, so you can easily find them on Amazon.
And as a thank you for listening, there’s also a link for a 10% discount on annual membership for our Progress to Partner Academy, which is packed with resources to help drive your own development and win your own work effectively.
Right, that’s all for this episode of the How to Make Partner podcast this week. And my one action for you is…
What’s one networking event relationship that you’re going to change this week?
So you can either spend less time with this person because they’re not going to deliver or you can get more work out of them by spending more time and committing to them. And that’s all I’m asking you to do this week. Start there.
Now, if you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or give us a comment on Substack. This helps us get the word out to others who may need this advice too.
Remember to hit subscribe so you don’t miss next week’s episode.
Thank you for listening.
Join my Progress To Partner Academy and access all my courses and use the code PODCASTBP10 to get 10% off 12 months of premium annual membership.
______________________________________
More help to progress your career in your law, accountancy or consulting firm?
- Sign up to my weekly tips packed full of advice and knowledge on how to progress your career in your professional service firm – click here!
