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Asking the right questions accomplishes several goals. It allows you to find ways to distinguish yourself from your competition and demonstrate the value you offer the allied professional and his or her clients. This can convince the professional to move forward with you. In addition, asking the right questions allows you to determine whether or not you want to forge a relationship with this particular professional. The key is understanding what type of questions to ask allied professionals—and why.

• Ask questions that help you understand what they do
• Ask questions to understand their experiences when working with attorneys, and what their clients have experienced working with attorneys
• Ask questions to understand where there is opportunity or challenges
• Ask questions to gain an understanding of what your services mean to them
• Ask if they think their clients are planning properly
• Ask questions to help you identify what to expect from this relationship
• Ask questions that let them discuss how they see your firm supporting them and their goals

As you can see, a professional’s answers to these types of questions will give you an opportunity to further demonstrate your value by addressing his or her greatest concerns and showing how the two of you can work effectively together. Equally important, the answers will help you determine whether you want to work with this professional. We’ll talk more about qualifying your referral sources next time.

Why should a professional refer his or her clients to you? For starters, the professional must know why and how your services will benefit his or her clients. The professional must also be confident that you will “do right” by his or her clients—basically, that you will provide effective legal representation.

Next, why should the professional refer clients to you rather than the firm down the street? How do you distinguish yourself and assure them that you will keep your promises? Perhaps it’s your process that sets you apart and addresses their initial concerns. Or the number of years you’ve focused on elder law and estate planning. Or the fact that you have plenty of recommendations from former and existing clients. Or maybe, what you have to say is something they have never heard before and they find extreme value in it.

Once you and the allied professional have agreed that there is value in your working together, you may find yourself thinking along the following lines: “This is going well, the professional really likes me, I’m going to get plenty of work from this person.”

Hold on. Remember, your goal isn’t just to have nice meetings. You want meetings that generate revenue. You need to know that this particular professional is someone you’re comfortable working with and a person who has the potential to actually deliver revenue-producing clients to you. In order to know that, you need to ask the right questions. We’ll cover the types of questions you need to ask in our next post.

To a large extent, your success is determined by how well you manage your leads and vital relationships, especially referral relationships with allied professionals. Unfortunately, forging and maintaining profitable referral relationships is one of the greatest challenges facing most law firms.

In the coming weeks, we’re going to discuss proven strategies for building a strong referral network. We’ll talk about how to get started on the right foot, the questions you need to ask to qualify your referral sources and properly set expectations, how to track your results, and more.

At the very least, we hope these emails help you understand the importance of the following two concepts:

Contrary to what some potential referral sources would have you believe, your value is not in the referrals you send back. Your value goes far beyond that.

Your goal is not simply to have good meetings with allied professionals. Rather, your goal is to turn meetings into revenue.

Logically enough, building profitable relationships with allied professionals begins with knowing precisely which professionals you should be meeting with. We’ll talk about that next time.

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?

Time Management. Though it’s a work in progress and likely always will be, we have learned so much about how to be more efficient, better organize ourselves and our calendars, and become more productive.

What is your favorite LWP tool?

The focusers in general but definitely the Daily and Weekly Focuser!

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?

We value ourselves as a team rather than just individuals working independently of one another. We have learned about our communication styles and differences that have helped us communicate more efficiently.

Share something about yourself that most people don’t know about you.

Most people don’t know that Jessica loves to cook and is really quite good. And Val loves to eat all of Jessica’s food creations!

What is your favorite book and how did it impact your life?

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. It has helped us learn how to interact with others in a more meaningful way. The most impactful habit we practice is to “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” In other words, learning how to listen empathetically in order to truly understand a person. All people are different, and you never truly know what they are going through.

Congratulations to you on your continued success!

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?

My biggest success has been utilizing an Irrevocable Trust to protect a firearm collection for clients that they have built for their children.

What is your favorite LWP tool?

My favorite LWP tools are the Workshops, Estate Planning Auditor and the Vision Clarifier. These tools are super for the client enrollment process and I like how well they roll into each other.

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?

LWP has impacted my firm by allowing us to have a great structure. It gives the tools to be able to use that structure to build on.

Share something about yourself that most people don’t know about you.

One thing that many do not know about me is that during college I was a basketball cheerleader.

What is your favorite book and how did it impact your life?

The book that impacted my life was Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. It was introduced to me in high school as part of a book class. It allowed me to realize that I was able to do college level classes during my time in high school. It also allowed for me to realize that reading literature was more than just a leisure activity.

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?

Consistently making revenue.

What is your favorite LWP tool?

The Medicaid Qualification Sheet.

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?

It has given our team more confidence, stability and awareness of how the team functions with LWP visuals and processes.

Share something about yourself that most people don’t know about you.

I am an avid hunter.

What is your favorite book and how did it impact your life?

The Ultimate Sales Machine- It has provided good strategies to approach sales on a large scale.

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?

Our firm revenue and camaraderie have increased exponentially. And while those two items are certainly successes, my greatest happiness has come from having a system in place that allowed me to rely on my amazing staff. Instead of hoarding my work, I’ve been taught to let my people do their job – and they have risen to the occasion every single time, which is a testament to the training they have received through LWP.

What is your favorite LWP tool?

According to my staff, my favorite tool is (should be) ActionStep. I (but really my staff) appreciate having an online database that tracks every case and keeps old and new clients at my (their) fingertips. Now I (they) can rely on ActionStep instead of my (their) memory or cell phone contacts! (I refuse to acknowledge that my memory may occasionally be shoddy.) My favorite tool – if you really want to know – is my coach. He hears me. He gets me. And he pushes me. Now, if Phil could just phone in when I go to the gym, I’d probably be in better physical shape, too.

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?

LWP has allowed me to focus more on Lineage and continuing to build my client base. More importantly, however, being a part of LWP serves as a daily reminder that we are a part of a wonderful community of lawyers.

We have been uplifted by each person with their willingness to share experiences and answers. We are only as good as those who surround us and we are surrounded by amazing people through LWP.

Share something about yourself that most people don’t know about you.

My greatest sense of accomplishment is making my husband proud. I love him so much more than anyone really knows.

What is your favorite book and how did it impact your life?

My favorite book is Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I remember reading it when I was a young teenager – at a time in my life when everything was black or white, left or right, right or wrong. People were either good or bad. Actions defined personality, which, in turn, determined character. This book redefined movement and color. One who engages in bad conduct can be swayed – even ever so slowly – by the nudge of love and forgiveness. A single choice, however significant, may color our lives, but it does not have to define our character. One can be both imperfect and redeemable. I learned that there is a little bit of Jean Valjean in all of us and that even the smallest acts of kindness can make an enormous difference. It seems the lessons learned from a high school English required reading assignment remain true even more so today.

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?

Thanks to the LWP Organization and team members, I have developed a knowledge of Medicaid, Elder Law and Estate Planning, That has allowed me to help people in my community to preserve their legacy and secure a future for their families. My approach to the practice of law has always been to provide service and value to my clients and because of LWP I have been successful in doing just that. I enjoy seeing the look on people’s faces when they realize that with proper planning, they can remain in their home and not worry about the government ending up with it when they pass.

What is your favorite LWP tool?

My Favorite Tool is the Revenue Focuser, because it allows me to look at my current position and know exactly what we need to do to meet our revenue goals and set future goals. It allows us to have realistic and achievable goals that we can work at accomplishing as a team and also allows us to track our efficiency and to see where we can improve.

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?

Being a part of LWP has allowed me to be more fulfilled and satisfied with the practice of law. This area of the law has allowed me to find ways of helping people plan for their future and their families future and I find this very rewarding.