While building a multi-million-dollar business, I’ve realized that certain business development tactics are universal—whether you are building a law practice or selling widgets. Over the years, I have deeply researched some of these strategies to better understand them, while accepting others at face value. I’ve used them all, and they have served me well.
In this upcoming series of blog posts, I will take you through several of these tactics. While not every strategy will fit your personal style, many will. The more of these tactics you adopt and align with your goals, the more success you will enjoy.
Master the Fundamentals
As in any endeavor, adhering to the fundamentals is essential to success. We see this most often in athletics. If you speak to any elite athlete, they will tell you that staying true to the basics of their sport is the surest path to victory. They practice them every day, whether shooting baskets or driving golf balls.
Athletes constantly break down their movements: What is the ideal arc on a basketball shot? What is the best way to hit a wedge onto the green or sink a tricky putt? Through endless repetition, they build muscle memory. For lawyers, the same concept applies, but it requires mental memory. Remembering and practicing the fundamentals of both law and business is a discipline you must master.
Put it in Writing
Every business school teaches its MBA candidates that success is contingent upon planning. Professors also drill home the rule that these plans must be in writing. It sounds simple enough, but there is more to it than mere academic theory. Putting your goals in writing and keeping them in your line of sight triggers psychological and physiological effects that help ensure you accomplish the tasks at hand.
This approach is supported by two cognitive concepts: external storage and encoding. Both create powerful sensory markers:
- External Storage: Writing down your goals on a piece of paper or a whiteboard that is readily accessible creates a permanent external visual cue. As one writer noted, “It doesn’t take a neuroscientist to know you will remember something much better if you’re staring at a visual cue every single day.”
- Encoding: As you repeatedly read your written goals, your brain encodes them through a biological process. The things we perceive travel to our brain, where they are analyzed, stored, or discarded. The more you look at a goal and the tactics required to achieve it, the more your brain flags it as essential information to retain.
Writing down a goal gives it a much greater chance of being stored in your memory. By repeatedly reading it, you encode it into your subconscious, making you far more likely to accomplish it.
Fortunately, this is easier than you think because you have already been trained to do it. Think about how you work with clients or prepare legal documents: you listen, take notes, create checklists, verify citations, revise contracts, and polish arguments—all in writing. Why not apply that exact same skill set for your own professional growth?
Watch, Listen, and Shut Up
The best way to avoid a self-inflicted slap to the forehead for missing what is right in front of you is to learn to watch and listen before you speak.
We miss vital information because we make assumptions too early and jump into conversations too quickly, often interrupting the speaker. That is a tough habit to break, and it’s one I struggle with every day. However, whenever I control my urge to speak or interrupt, I always learn more about my clients and their unique problems.
How good are you at truly watching and listening?