In Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this five part series I explained the psychological problem many lawyers face that inhibits their relationship building marketing. It’s that their ‘ego’ which doesn’t want to hear the word ‘no’ rules the roost. And the ego provides many good reasons to avoid ‘no’. So the lawyer who wants to market more needs some ‘workarounds’.

The first workaround was to Make Marketing A Time Management Policy; the second was to Be An Evangelist For Yourself; the third was to Set Targets for the Number of Contacts you Make each Day. Here is another workaround.

Focus Your Marketing On People You Want To Do Business With.

It’s awful to do business with people you don’t like and don’t want to spend time with. Sometimes you must because they come to you and give you lots of money. It’s hard to turn that kind of work away.

Where this idea really takes hold is in your outbound marketing. Just plants seeds with and cultivate people who you want to do business with. That will make the marketing a more pleasurable activity. You’re normal if you are not motivated to chase after people you don’t like. Solicit business from people you would want as friends.

On the other hand it is fair to say you can tolerate a lot when you are being paid. Especially when it’s a fair chunk of money. Here are some rules to follow when money is all important.

Focus on going after big clients. It’s called fishing for whales. It’s de-energizing to market to someone for a long time only to get a small reward.

Do you know what an ideal client looks like? It is worthwhile to review your client list and decide which of your existing clients is ideal. That will give you an idea of what types of people to focus your marketing on in the future. You could even make a list of names you would like to have as clients because they are like your ideal client.

Generally a few big clients who produce a steady stream of income are better than a wide variety of clients. Of course it depends on the product you market. If you already have one big client who produces a steady stream of income, ask yourself who else could do the same. Who is like your client?

To make a quantum leap in your business identify your best marketing opportunity and then create the time to follow that opportunity. The principle is that it is better to spend your time marketing to a big potential client than servicing a small existing client. Big means more money and profit and satisfaction. Small means less money, less profit and less satisfaction. And certainly stay away from those that are not profitable at all.

In the last article in this series I will lay out one last workaround you can use to overcome call reluctance and market yourself more.

Jerome Shore is an Executive Coach in Toronto, Canada. Clients to look to Jerome for help with Marketing, Leadership and Stress Management. He can be reached at coach@coachingclinic.com or 1-416-787-5555.