By Larry Bodine, a Business Development Advisor based in Glen Ellyn, IL.  He has helped law firm generate millions in new revenue by devising strategies, conducting business development retreats and individually coaching attorneys. He can be reached at www.LarryBodine.com and 630.942.0977.

Drilling deeper into the results of our Buy-Laws survey of lawyers and marketing (see 91% of Lawyers Unhappy about Lack of Marketing Training in Law School), it turns out that rainmakers are not born that way -- they are trained to be rainmakers.

The lawyers who participated in the research were a broad cross-section of practicing attorneys. 77% are partners and 48% practice at firms with 100 or more lawyers. Nearly every attorney feels that their law school prepared them poorly in marketing, or trained them inadequately or not at all. Only 22% of respondents consider themselves rainmakers.

Because they got no marketing training in law school, 61% of all respondents got training or education in marketing after they graduated.

It gets really interesting when you focus separately on lawyers who identify themselves as rainmakers: 73% of rainmakers took a course or training session in marketing after they began their law practice.  They made the extra effort to learn the skills of business development.

Compare this to the lawyers who say "I do market my practice but don't get good results" -- 32% did NOT take a course or training session in marketing after law school.

In other words -- if you want to get new business, you need training.