At Today's Leadership Coaching, we specialize in helping attorneys generate more revenues and find new clients fast. This year alone we will coach and train partners and associates at more than 2,500 firms. One of the things we are most frequently asked is: "How do I find more clients?"

The answer to this question is deceptively simple, yet amazingly complex to resolve. Over the next several issues we will provide solid answers, specific strategies, and practical tips to help you apply cutting-edge business development techniques to your leg@l practice.

Here's our promise to you: Give us 5 minutes of your time once a month and we will help you revolutionize your practice by giving you insider tips and techniques that have been tried and tested by thousands of attorneys in dozens of practice areas at various stages of their career.

In this issue we will tackle the topic of referrals. We all know that referrals are the best way of finding new clients, but there are 4 common myths we would like to dispel about referrals:

1. Clients are the best source of referrals. This surprises a lot of attorneys when I tell them this is a myth. Clients are simply the most obvious source of referrals, not the best source. There are simply too many variables you cannot control when trying to get more referrals from clients: Do they know all the different services you offer? Can they accurately explain who your ideal target market is? Will they remember you when they meet someone who needs your services? Did they just receive a large bill from you? Every firm should have a client education plan that positions your firm, explains what you offer and keeps your current clients informed as to what's going on in your firm (we will show you how to do this in a future issue), but most attorneys find referrals from current clients happens haphazardly, not consistently.

2. Most referrals come from other attorneys. According to industry research, 25% of an established attorneys practice comes from referrals from other attorneys, so logically about 75% of your clients will come from other sources (this may vary greatly by practice area). A good tip is to set up an easy tracking system as part of your client intake file and then review on a quarterly basis where those leads came from.

Travis is a founding partner of the “Rainmaker Coaching Gym” and the “Practice Made Perfect” program. He began his career with Merrill Lynch as a financial consultant and business advisor. He has 15 years of experience as a professional trainer and has been a Master Business Coach since 1994. Travis regularly speaks to audiences on the topics of “How to Get Clients NOW” and “7 Strategies to Building a 7-Figure Practice.” See details at the end of this interview on how to receive your complimentary copy of his new practice building CD.

In addition to being a Master Business Coach and professional speaker, Travis is a recognized author of "21 Secrets of the World's Most Successful Solo Professionals".

Rainmaker Report: Travis, how did you get started teaching marketing systems and what drew you to working with attorneys?

Travis Greenlee: When I was at Merrill Lynch, I watched how our competitors leveraged technology to save time and find more clients. Years later when I left to start my own consulting practice, I focused on refining the process for creating and applying systems to business development. Specifically, I mastered how to use the internet to create a client-generating machine. This offers a huge benefit for attorneys because they only have two variables to work with: their expertise and their time.

Most professionals are very good technically at what they do, but they neglect the other roles involved in a financially successful practice, like entrepreneur, visionary, and strategist. Top Rainmakers realize all 4 must be fulfilled in order to succeed.

RR: What about attorneys who work in a small firm? Can't they just assign these roles to other people?

Next 90-day Rainmaker Program Starts November 17, 2005

"Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers" is an intensive 90-day Rainmaker program specifically designed for attorneys who want to rapidly increase their revenues and create a financially successful and personally satisfying practice.

If you're tired of waiting around for more business and you're ready to discover how to become a Rainmaker, contact us today to discover how to create a steady flow of new clients.

The next program starts November 17 and we only have 4 remaining spots. Call us at 800-447-3852 or visit us at:

How to Build a Strategic Referral Network Teleseminar

(Nov 15 at 6-7pm Eastern / 3-4pm Pacific).

In this 1-hour teleseminar you can discover how to build a network of referral partners. Listen in as Stephen Fairley and Travis Greenlee share with you:

• Where to find the best Strategic Referral Partners
• 5 power questions to land more referrals
• How to create a stream of new prospects
• 3 ways to leverage the internet to find more referrals

Your |nvestment is only $29 (Regular $49)— this includes access to downloadable recording of the seminar for future learning.

Space is limited. Register today by calling 800-447-3852 or visit The Rainmaker Gym at: http://www.RmGym.com/novteleseminar.htm.

Don't miss Stephen Fairley live at:

• Indiana State Bar Annual Conference (Indianapolis) Oct 21
• Texas State Bar (Houston) Nov 1
• Colorado State Bar (Denver) Nov 2
• Pennsylvania State Bar (Philadelphia) Nov 8
• Pennsylvania State Bar (Pittsburgh) November 9
• Nebraska State Bar Annual Conference (Lincoln) Nov 10