The Inbound Referral

Inbound referrals are a wonderful source of work, and are a compliment to your reputation. They should be honoured and without exception dealt with professionally.

That said, you might be surprised that a key part of the art of dealing with inbound referrals is knowing when to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Here’s the thing: as much as you’re always grateful for friends and colleagues sending you potential work, sometimes you shouldn’t take the work. Seriously.

Remember earlier discussions of who the best clients are for you, that is (1) those clients who can help you amplify your reputation, and (2) those clients who are a combination of most profitable and least grief. It’s hard to argue with those propositions, but the awkward part is when colleagues and friends send you clients who don’t fit those criteria, sometimes not even close.

There are at least three scenarios. First, when an inbound client referral is of the preferred sort, be smart and courteous about the fact of referral. Remember that this means your referring colleague is paying you a high compliment, and deserves to be thanked clearly and sincerely. In the case of significant referrals, there’s nothing wrong with buying them lunch and discussing both your practices and careers, looking for further mutual opportunities. That’s not a bribe, that’s a courtesy, and a smart one.

At the very least, keeping a stack of thank-you cards on your desk and handwriting a brief note of gratitude, is a lost art yet one which still speaks volumes. (Yeah, I know, it’s old fashioned, but it still works.)

Second, an inbound client referral may not quite fit the criteria above, but they’re not going to do you any harm or lose you any money. Assuming you have a bit of slack capacity, you may still want to accept them simply to honour your referring friend and keep the pipeline flowing.

Third, the inbound client definitely does not fit your criteria, either reputationally or business-wise. Nevertheless, and assuming the referrer wasn’t deliberately sending you a stink-bomb, acknowledge the referral, be grateful for the gesture, and be diplomatic about your inability to take the client on, using language which doesn’t slam the door on your friend’s fingers. “How come you always send me the dregs of society?” is probably not as good a choice as, “Mildred, I’m flattered by your referral. However, I’ve thought very carefully about Mr. Hennessy, and while I would love to help him, unfortunately, I don’t see us as having the capacity at this time. Can I give you a call and we can canvas who might be a good match for this important matter?” Remember, every interaction with a colleague or source either builds or detracts from your reputation.

(There is, I suppose, an exception to the “dregs of society” rule. Not every lawyer wants to accept clients who kill little kids with axes, but a criminal defence expert may be looking for just such a case, especially on an appeal, because he sees a novel argument of law. An environmental disaster might not appeal to every engineer, but to someone in that specialty, the nastier the better. Situations which may be a hard case for you might be exactly what a colleague is looking for.)

You’ve got people who actually send you clients? These friends and colleagues are working on your behalf. Honour them well.

Much of what is written here is an echo of what our friend Michael Hughes would teach us. We all miss him very much.