• What are the common deal sizes the attorney works on?
• How many deals at what size would be optimal for the attorney to work on in a given year?
• Is the attorney hungry? (I.e., does he or she want to become much more successful?)
• How amenable is the attorney to referring you for your expertise if you can help him or her build up the legal practice?
This information and more is unlikely to be ascertained in a single meeting. Still, it is important to focus your conversations so you can get as much necessary information as quickly as possible. If the attorney is not addressing these points, probe for the answers.
It is during this phase that you decide if it is worth your time and effort to work with this particular lawyer. Critical to your considerable success in sourcing wealthy investors from other professionals is the fact that you are choosing whom to work with. They are not choosing you.
Along these lines, when an M&A attorney is not a good fit, it is important to say N.E.X.T. (never extend extra time). You need to move on, and it is advisable to do so relatively quickly.
Adding Value: Having chosen an attorney with great potential to be a strategic partner, you now have to add value. You can enhance the attorney’s practice in different ways. Using the research as a guide, helping him or her increase deal flow is probably a very good strategy.
It’s OK to refer one of your own clients to this attorney if that client wants to sell a business. But you won’t build an entire practice that way. The math doesn’t work. Client trading is rarely a viable strategy for any type of professional. Instead, you have to help this attorney get more business from other sources.
One of the most powerful ways to accomplish this is to help him or her become a thought leader. Give the attorney high-caliber thought leadership content to send to prospects and other professionals. If you do, there is a very good probability that the lawyer will see deal flow increase.