I’ve spent several days over the past week training some wealth management advisors at Goldman Sachs on Rainmaking in a Global Economy.  Like top performing lawyers, these advisors are bright, motivated and hardworking.  And, like top performing lawyers, these advisors also benefit from defining their ideal clients very carefully.

Because GS clients must have a certain net worth to become a client, up front the GS advisors need to (1) define and pursue appropriate clients, and (2) graciously refer others to a different wealth management advisor if the fit isn’t right. 

Lawyers can learn a lot from this approach.  The diligent GS folks do lots of preliminary research about their potential clients to find the ideal ones.  Too many lawyers hang out their shingle and take whatever walks in the door.  Others rely on their law firms to do the requisite screening, and end up with clients that would be better served by another attorney. 

The more clearly a lawyer can define his or her ideal client, the more successful that lawyer will be in finding them. Defining clients by industry, size, type of legal matter, experience, geographic scope and other criteria all help to paint a clear picture of an attorney’s ideal client.  Charting this data will also enable the lawyer to see common characteristics among his or her best clients, and then focus future rainmaking on potential clients with those traits.  It’s also a good idea to identify which kind of clients he or she actually enjoys working with most.

Lawyers also need a list of names of other competent counsel to refer business to–within and without their firm.  That way, when a potential client isn’t ideal, or a conflict arises, the lawyer can graciously refer the client on but keep good relations. (In other words, the lawyer is acting as a helpful ”connector”, as Malcolm Gladwell discusses in The Tipping Point.)

Keeping a list of qualified international attorneys capable of handling cross-border issues is especially important for lawyers working globally.  Potential clients can probably find another local lawyer to represent them in a domestic matter, but will have more difficulty finding another experienced attorney with true cross-border knowledge.  Make yourself a valuable information source, whether you are performing the legal work yourself or referring it to someone who can.