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Richard Potter, Q.C.*

Clients prefer professionals who understand their industry sector: how do you measure up?  It’s quite clear that advisors are more successful at establishing long-term relationships with clients when they become knowledgeable about the client’s industry sector – its players, history, prospects and challenges.  This is true whether the sector is “traditional”, such as plastics manufacturing or very non-traditional, such as a health care service provider.  In fact, the principle applies equally to NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and charities, unions and other bodies not normally thought of in the same category as for-profit businesses.

How do you go about educating yourself?  First, use that ubiquitous and free resource, the Internet.  Tap into the resources of trade associations.  For example, when it comes to the agri-food industry, a Canadian Government site http://atn-riae.ca/supply/associations-e.htm has a list of over 130 industry associations that could be relevant, with direct links to their web sites.

Is this approach limited to big organizations?  Not at all.  Consider the case of small businesses which operate in the franchise mode.  If a client or prospective client is a franchisee, check out the many sites relating to franchising and raise your awareness of the issues affecting Canadian franchisees.  If your target is a franchisor, then visit the web sites the associations formed to promote the franchisor perspective.  (For example see the Canadian Franchise Association at <http://www.cfa.ca> and the Canadian Alliance of Franchise Operators at <http://www.cafo.net>).  In fact, no matter which side you want to represent – franchisee or franchisor – you need to understand the reciprocal perspective.

After surfing the Internet and increasing your knowledge level somewhat, what’s the next step?  Next, you should take that sometimes scary but very necessary step – contacting the target - the client or prospective client.  Meet for lunch or a coffee and ask your contact how they see the issues you have come up with.  How is their business affected?  Are they active members of an industry association?  And, if you have only scratched the surface with your research, come clean with your contact and admit it.  For example: “I’m very interested in this sector but I’ve only started to gather information.  How would you suggest I continue my education?”

One of the results of this sort of interchange is that as you listen to your clients/contacts express their interests and concerns, you will begin to see linkages between those interests and concerns and professional legal issues that you are already familiar with.  If you were to have this sort of communication with, say, five targets, the odds are strongly that you would come away from those initial contacts with at least one, and probably two, new assignments, as well as the beginning of a new or renewed relationship that is likely to lead to more work from them or, if not, then certainly to new referrals from them to third parties.

If you find this approach of gaining a better understanding of your client and its industry sector is successful, and you want to explore it more deeply – especially with larger entities – then take a look at a web site which promotes the related concept of “partnering with clients”: www.lawpartnering.com.  Here you will find a whole new world of techniques for seeing the client through your clients’ eyes.

So - what’s holding you back?  Get started today at building up your knowledge base of your clients’ areas of interests.  It’s every bit as important to the success of your career as is CLE.  As with CLE, you need to make an upfront investment of time and money.  But the dividends, both financially and in job satisfaction, are very real.

* Richard Potter, Q.C., i-lawmarketing.ca, (613) 476-8998, rpotter@on.aibn.com.