Time, or lack thereof, is a common reason cited by lawyers for not undertaking business development activities. Most lawyers are busy, of course, but those who understand legal marketing know that you still have to find time to feed the pipeline. Otherwise, when you could use more work, you’ll find you’re scrambling to generate it. Not the best approach.

So, for those that really think they are too busy, and don’t currently have the time to develop business, I have a suggestion that might help. Get control of your e-mailing in order to free up time to call a client or referral source to catch up, invite to lunch or to pass on some free advice, or invite to a sporting or cultural event, or any number of other ways to enhance a business development relationship. 

Easier said than done, you say? Well, maybe you should join E-mail Anonymous (I don’t have a clue whether such an organization really exists, YET), but I know there is a post on CNN.com that outlines the 12-steps recommended to cure e-mail addiction by Marsha Egan.

Take a look to see if the steps won’t help you get the e-mail monkey off your back, freeing up time that could be better spent developing business for your practice.

Special thanks to my friend Michelle Golden at Golden Practices for the link to the CNN post.