Driving Profits Through Data
Existing clients make up the base of your practice and provide a reliable, steady income flow. Fortunately, keeping the goodwill of existing clients and referral sources requires less time, effort, and expense than cultivating new clients. There are many ways to nurture an existing relationship with a client by using research.
Both Westlaw and Lexis have excellent database files dedicated to previous, current, and pending legislation on a federal and state level. For regulated industries, keeping up not only with current legislation but also with pending legislation is crucial. Thomas, from the Library of Congress, provides legislative information in the form of bills, resolutions, status of legislation, and links to committee reports as well as the Congressional Record.
On a state level, both Westlaw and Lexis have pending state legislation, committee hearings, budget information, oversight, and review on a third-party license database called "State Net". You can find the same information by visiting your state's website.
Some other places to look for ideas, content, or analysis of issues that affect businesses or people's personal lives are the websites for the largest accounting firms, consulting firms, and "think tanks." Major accounting and consulting firms conduct cutting-edge surveys on industries or issues affecting personal living issues like insurance and health care and publish the results with their analysis. This is a perfect opportunity for you to merge your legal and business acumen and discuss the finds with real problem-solving examples from your practice.
At your fingertips is an information world that can help you expand your market reach, develop new business, and increase profits for the long term. You now have the data to help you drive clients by industry, occupation, age, and personal interests tied to the specific services you have to offer in today's world of legal complexity. Use the information to your advantage—and, remember, it's what you don't know that can hurt you, especially when it comes to staying competitive in a tough environment.
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