What’s the red Ferrari in your legal business?

Guest Blogger: Charlie Lawson Unnatural Success

It’s a truism of networking, but the more specific you are about who you want to speak to, the more likely you will get referrals to them.

This sounds counterintuitive. You might think that ignoring a whole swathe of potential clients to focus on one specific target is ridiculous: you wouldn’t be the first. Go to any networking event, and listen to what legal folk often say when trying to get referrals:

• “I help businesses with all their legal needs, so a good referral for me is any business owner.”
• “I specialise in tax law, so anyone that pays tax is a great client for me.”
• “I’m in conveyancing, so a good referral for me is anyone with a property.”

In all three of these examples, the lawyer will make it harder for their network to refer them. Who do you know that owns a business, pays tax, or has a property? Lots of people.

But does this make it easier to refer them? Unfortunately, not. Using the words anybody, everybody, somebody tends to lead to nobody. Let me give you an example, by using an example from outside the legal profession.

I’d heard John say, “A good referral for me is anyone with a car,” many times. He runs a car cleaning business – but not your average car cleaning business. He focuses on detailing high-end cars: Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, and so on. Owners of cars like these want them kept in pristine condition – car cleaning at a whole new level.

John ran an okay business, but he wasn’t getting referrals. The issue was he was asking for anyone with a car. However, because he wanted high-end cars, his prices reflected this. This meant that while he could cater to customers with a standard car, people like this didn’t want or need high-end service, so business was slow.

He thought he was making it easier to pass him a referral because he was including anyone.

I asked John to tell me about a really good customer. He’d recently cleaned a red Ferrari – so I suggested the next time he went networking, he shouldn’t ask for anyone with a car: ask to be referred to a red Ferrari owner. He looked unsure, but I encouraged him to use those exact words.

Guess what? Someone in his network had a friend with a red Ferrari. An introduction was made, and John had a new client.

The story doesn’t end there. It turned out that John’s new client was in the Ferrari Owners Club of Scotland – and referred John to other members. Now, he was cleaning and detailing lots of Ferraris. Owners of Ferraris also have other high-end cars – so he got more Lamborghinis, McLarens, and so on.

All of that came from a change of language. He thought he was trying to be helpful to his network by asking for “anyone with a car” – but he wasn’t. He had good relationships. This meant people wanted to help him – but he wasn’t giving them the tools to do so.

This same principle applies to your legal practice. It’s tempting to cast a wide net when describing your ideal client, but this makes it harder for your network to help you.

For example:

• If a good referral for you is any business owner,” say, “I’m looking to meet tech startups that need support drafting employment agreements for new hires.”
• If you’re in family law, you might say, “I’d love to meet parents that have decided to split up.”
• Instead of saying, “I deal with property law,” say, “I’d like introductions to property developers acquiring land for commercial projects.”

By being specific, you make it easier for your network to connect you with the exact people you want to meet. And just like John’s success with the Ferrari Owners Club, a single well-targeted introduction could unlock a niche or community full of ideal clients for your practice.

What’s the red Ferrari in your legal business? Take a moment to think about your ideal client. The next time you network, describe them as specifically as you can. Be bold. You’ll be surprised how quickly the right introductions come your way.