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You meet a prospective client at a conference and hit it off. They suggest their company may need your legal services, and invite you to follow up with them.
You're excited about the opportunity, so the day after you get home from the event, you craft and send a thoughtful email expressing how great it was to meet the person and suggesting dates for a call.
And then...crickets.
I often work with clients who experience something like this. What seemed like a surefire business development opportunity becomes radio silence.
When faced with a situation like this, the key thing to remember is to not get discouraged nor make assumptions.
There are all kinds of reasons—other than you getting ghosted—that may explain why you didn't hear back:
- Your email got missed amid the onslaught of other messages the prospective client received while away at the conference.
- The opportunity may be real, but not ripe.
- They caught a cold at the conference and they're triaging their inbox because they're not feeling well.
- They have every intention of responding, but just not yet.
- And a multitude of other potential reasons.
Give it some time. Be patient. And work other opportunities to build your pipeline. Don't be the person who sends an email to a prospective client on a Friday and then follow up on Monday.
But do follow up—with empathy and understanding of what it's like to stand in the other person's shoes.
In some cases that may mean waiting a couple of weeks, and sending an email that doesn't even mention setting up a call. Think back to the conversation you had, and what questions were asked, or pain points and objectives discussed. Send a helpful resource that addresses a problem the prospective client is facing.
This demonstrates that you're interested more in their success than your own business development. And you may have to send several other such emails and resources over the course of months—or even years—before you get the response you're looking for.
Legal demand is unpredictable—as are the personal or business circumstances faced by someone you're reaching out to at any given moment.
Be persistent and helpful—not pushy. More often than not, if there is a real opportunity to be had, this patient approach will pay off.
Jay Harrington is president of our agency, a published author, and nationally-recognized expert in thought-leadership marketing.
From strategic planning to writing, podcasting, video marketing, and design, Jay and his team help lawyers and law firms turn expertise into thought leadership, and thought leadership into new business. Get in touch to learn more about the consulting and coaching services we provide. You can reach Jay at jay@hcommunications.biz.