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Message: Hi, I thought you might be interested in this article I found. Three Ways to Attract New Small Business Clients to Your Law Firm Many solo and small practice attorneys look to court small business owners as their clients. Marketing for lawyers in a corporate transactional law firm must include this target market. This segment of the population offers enormous opportunity for your law firm. Small businesses enter into contracts and service agreements regularly. They have copyright, trademark and patent issues. They deliver products and services and need to be protected from liability. And they often have complicated tax issues that need to be sorted out. All of these factors make them good potential clients for your firm. Yet one persistent question always arises about this group. How does a solo attorney attract a small business owner to his law practice? Since small business owners are usually busy, and they prefer to work with people they know, like and trust. The way you approach a small businesses owner is critical. You must take a long term view toward building this relationship. Start by getting to know them and helping them get to know you. Below are three ways to jump start a professional relationship with a small business owner: Ask a CPA for an introduction CPAs are a critical partner to small business owners. In most cases, they are trusted advisors and their recommendations are accepted and enacted quickly. If your solo practice works with small businesses, you need to immediately begin to introduce yourself to as many CPAs as possible. Develop relationships with them first and then follow up in a nonthreatening way. Make them aware of the different matters you can handle. A relationship with a CPA will pay big dividends down the road. Go to lunch with a new small business owner everyday This may seem like an overwhelming task at first but it is one of the easiest ways to build your small business client base. There are twenty work days in a month. You need to eat every single day. The business owners must eat daily as well. There is no reason for either of you to eat alone. Every lunch you eat alone costs you money. Marketing for lawyers should include mealtime marketing. Start by immediately offering to take a small business owner to lunch tomorrow. Then begin to fill out your calendar for the remainder of the week. As you fill up dates for the month, remember that breakfast is also a great way to meet and establish a relationship with a prospective client. Meals are great opportunities for these get-to-know-you sessions because of the common purpose—everyone has to eat. Use this time to get to know the prospective client and follow up over time to keep your name in front of them. Leverage memberships in groups to build relationships Chamber of commerce groups and networking groups are excellent sources of leads for small business attorneys. Small businesses make up the bulk of the membership in these groups. The key to leveraging a chamber of commerce or a networking club membership to build a successful law firm is to go into the meetings with a specific purpose in mind. You must have an idea of who you want to meet and what you want to do when you meet them. When you are introduced to these folks, do not immediately pitch them on your services. Instead, take some time and win over their trust. This is a key component of marketing for lawyers. These three tips may seem basic but if you work on them on a regular basis, you will be surprised at how effective they are in helping you to build a successful law firm. Link: http://www.rainmakerlawyer.com/site/permalink/three_ways_to_attract_new_small_business_clients_for_your_law_firm/