The ultimate guide to building a pipeline of new work by networking effectively

Although networking can be one of the biggest time wasters for accountants, lawyers and consultants, it is one of the tools that makes up an effective business development strategy. If done right, networking can be invaluable to growing a partner-sized client portfolio. But many professionals (lawyers, accountants and consultants) want to know how do you do business networking. How do you do business networking: everything you need to know To help you answer the question, how do you do business networking, or just work out how meet potential referrers or possible clients as effectively as possible, I have compiled a list of all the blogs I have written on networking so that you can actually win business with the time and effort that you put into it. Is this self-limiting belief holding you back from building your own network of introducers? All M&A or Corporate Finance Lawyers need to establish a strong referral or introducer network, so what is holding them back? This article looks at why establishing a network is so essential and the common self-limiting mindset that prevents lawyers from doing so and ultimately making partner. The ultimate guide to balance client work and networking (even if you have a large deal on) This blog explores how to balance client work and networking. Doing so is essential if you want to build a partner-sized client portfolio and progress from junior professional to partner, so this blog looks at what makes effective business development and how to make it a part of your day job so that it gets done. Asking for referrals: When not to do it (hint: many of us do this without realising) There’s a right way and a wrong way to ask for referrals and this post explores them both. This post also helps you to understand the importance of building relationships first and how to have a first conversation with a potential introducer which will then lead onto work. The number 1 myth you need to stop believing if you are going to regularly generate referrals How do you regularly generate work from your network and networking? This article addresses the harsh reality of networking and lists the ingredients of what is needed for an actual referral or introduction to occur. The ultimate guide to meeting an introducer for the first time Given the pressure to win work, many of us walk into meetings with high expectations of the outcome. In reality, a lot of these meetings don’t go well or as we planned. This article aims to rectify this by helping you have realistic expectations of first time meetings with potential introducers and outlining the steps to making sure that it goes well. How to make the RIGHT first impression when working the room You never get another chance to make a first impression so make it count! Here is how to create a great first impression whether you met a person networking in person or online. The two secrets every networking grandmaster knows! This blog post answers the question “what do you actually need to do to generate new business from your network?” We are told that networking is the best way to win new business, whether from new or existing clients, so here are the two essential ingredients to ensure you get results. Business development advice that harms more than helps Bad business development advice can actually be damaging to you winning clients, so how do you know which tips to take on board? This article looks at why established partners give such poor advice as well as providing two examples to help you recognise when not to apply it yourself. 7 tried and tested ways lawyers can make the time to network Networking doesn’t come easily to everyone but in order to move your career forward, you need to have built and nurtured a network which will help you bring in your own clients. Here are 7 networking tips for lawyers to help you do just that. This is why professionals with established referral networks make partner quicker than their peers I regularly speak to audiences of lawyers, accountants and consultants about the challenges of making partner, so this blog looks at why creating strong referral networks is so essential to the journey. One common way in which your mind is holding you back from winning work from your network People may be naturally good at networking but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be good at it either. The secret to generating referrals is just having the right mindset. This blog post shows you how it can be your worst enemy but also your greatest ally. This cautionary tale will make you consider your online footprint What does your online footprint say about you? How much is your online footprint hampering your ability to generate business referrals via your network? This article gives you tips for getting business referrals via your online profile. Are you making this mistake which is stopping your network from sending you referrals? The messages you communicate about yourself and what you do are crucial to whether or not your network will become your best referral generation source. I.e. they refer you regularly and to the right kind of work. This blog reveals a common mistake which you should avoid when networking and outlines how to clearly educate your network about what you do to get the referrals you want. This one tip could unlock the referrals from your network Do you struggle with generating referral leads via your network? Or is your problem that you get the wrong type of leads via referrals from your network? This article explains how generating referrals is more science than luck and how you can use it to stand out, be memorable, and ultimately referred. 7 annoyingly true reasons why you are not getting enough referrals from your network In this blog post, I identify the 7 reasons why you are not getting the results and referrals you need and share many referral generation tips. This is an essential read for accountants, lawyers and consultants who are missing out on referrals from their network. 5 ways to train your mind to get great results from networking events Getting results from attending a networking event depends as much on your attitude as whether you are going to the right event in the first place. In this article, we explore how to get the right attitude and mindset to achieve the best results from attending a networking event or group.