I've tried networking like crazy since before I opened my practice. About a year before I went solo, I joined a local board of lawyers on a local publication that met monthly. Since opening my office, I have joined two Inns of Court chapters in adjoining towns. Each chapter meets once a month (once ten times per year, one 8 times per year).
This seemed superior to attending other types of groups, because the Inns chapters are divided into teams, so you have dinner with the same group of people every month (that is, the ones in your team). I thought this would help develop deeper relationships than going to the kind of monthly get-togethers where you meet different people every month.
Total business revenue generated from referrals after nearly 3 years of meetings: $0.00.
Actually, I don't begrudge any of these guys. At least they were civil and cordial and wished me well.
Lawyers at some other functions, on the other hand, treated me like I had leprosy. Trouble with trying to break into the legal community of a small town, I guess. Business revenue generated from these meetings: $0.00.
I referred a good number of cases to other lawyers when I first opened up. I could have handled a lot of the cases myself, but they weren't in the field of my past experience or desired practice, so I referred them out. I read this was a good way to develop return referrals. Number of return referrals in the following three years: 0.
I talked with a new contact today, who lives and works in a town about 15 miles away. He told me that one of the challenges I faced in my town is that lawyers don't tend to refer cases, but instead keep them for themselves even if they have no experience at all and can't do a good job.
It was nice to hear my impression confirmed by an unsolicited comment.
Things are looking up lately through some other marketing, but I don't want to write about it because I don't want to jinx it. If something pans out from it -- or not -- I'll write about it then.
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