If
you
work
at
a
firm,
your
salary,
autonomy,
and
title
are
tied
to
your
ability
to
bring
in
clients
and
work.
The
popular
phrase
finders,
minders,
and
grinders
holds
a
lot
of
truth,
and
the
finders
—
the
rainmakers,
business
developers,
entrepreneurs
—
are
on
top
of
the
food
chain,
with
the
most
significant
salaries,
benefits,
and
flexibility. But
how
does
one
create
an
income
stream?
You
need
a
personal
business
development
plan.
The
following
is
what
I
use
and
do
to
develop
business.
Developing
the
plan
itself
takes
an
hour
or
two. Executing
the
plan
requires
daily
work,
hustle,
and
discipline.
The
big
ideas
are
easy. The
plan
is
easy.
The
action
steps
for
the
plan
—
that’s
the
hard
part. That’s
hard
work.
That’s
the
daily
grind. That’s
where
you
separate
yourself
from
the
pack
and
become
a
rainmaker.
So
here
is
the
plan.
Personal
Strategic
Business
Development
Plan
-
What
Are
Your
Main
Areas
of
Practice?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Which
Individuals
Can
Refer
You
to
Work
in
these
Areas?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Who
Are
Your
Clients?
________________________________________________________________
-
Who
are
Your
Potential
Clients?
________________________________________________________________
-
Who
Are
Your
Referral
Sources?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Who
Are
Your
Potential
Referral
Sources?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Who
Are
Other
Lawyers
You
Know
Who
Potentially
Can
Send
You
Work?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Which
Other
Attorneys
Do
You
Know
Well?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Create
a
List
of
All
These
Contacts
and
Arrange
Them
According
to
the
Probability
and
Likelihood
of
Them
Sending
You
Work:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Create
a
Chart
of
all
These
Contacts,
with
their
Contact
Information,
in
the
Order
of
Likely
Referrals
from
Them
(Word
Chart,
Excel
Spreadsheet,
Other)
-
Develop
a
Plan
to
Reach
out
to
Everyone
on
Your
List.
Options
include:
(1)
Coffee;
(2)
meals;
(3)
at
your
offices
or
theirs;
(4)
at
a
conference;
(5)
online,
or
(6)
other.
-
Schedule
meetings
with
everyone
on
your
list,
starting
with
those
at
the
top
of
your
list.
Schedule
two
meetings
a
week.
-
Which
organizations
are
you
involved
in?
-
How
Do
These
Organizations
Assist
with
Business
Development?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
How
Can
You
Leverage
These
Organizations
to
Develop
Business?
-
Do
You
Want
to
Present
this
Year?
If
so,
on
what,
where,
when,
and
to
whom?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Do
You
Want
to
Write
this
Year?
If
so,
on
what,
for
which
publication,
and
what
audience?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Do
You
Want
to
Earn
a
Credential,
Recognition,
or
Award?
If
so,
which
ones?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
Do
You
Want
to
Secure
a
Leadership
Role
at
Your
Firm
or
Organization?
If
so,
what?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
-
How
Much
Money
Do
You
Want
to
Generate
This
Year?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
-
How
Do
You
Plan
on
Achieving
This?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
-
Do
You
Plan
on
Being
Quoted
in
a
Publication
This
Year?
If
so,
which
reporters
or
contacts
do
you
know
or
can
you
get
to
know?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
-
Based
On
All
Your
Answers,
create
a
list
of
tasks
to
perform.
-
Based
on
your
tasks,
create
a
schedule
each
week
to
perform
some
of
these
tasks.
-
Choose
an
accountability
partner
who
will
challenge
you
to
stick
to
your
plan
and
perform
your
tasks.
-
Write
everything
down
that
you
do.
This
is
a
personal
marketing
plan. You
can
complete
it
in
the
morning
or
in
the
afternoon. The
work,
though,
must
be
done
regularly.
We
must
pay
the
rent
every
day
—
best
of
luck.
Frank
Ramos
is
a
partner
at
Goldberg
Segalla
in
Miami,
where
he
practices
commercial
litigation,
products,
and
catastrophic
personal
injury. You
can
follow
him
on LinkedIn,
where
he
has
about
80,000
followers.