Stuck at a plateau? Wish your organization could “go to the next level,” whatever that means. Simply want something more than single digit growth?

Remember this phrase: the POWER of 7.

Marketing can do only so much for professional service firms. Yes, you need to understand your clear point of difference in the marketplace.

Yes, you need to be able to communicate that with clarity to those in your database (current clients, past clients, referral sources, business to business partners, etc.); you need to be able to educate folks on how you’re different from your competitors. Yes, you need a web site and brochures and the like. You need basic marketing.

But most professional service firms grow primarily by referral. Period.

Other than a public endorsement from Oprah, you grow primarily, for example, when an executive at a current client refers you to a friend of hers at another firm. That’s the magic.

It’s a form of “word of mouth” marketing. And a cousin to viral marketing. The problem is that “word of mouth” tends to be passive, not active. You get the referral at the whim of your current client.

Back to the POWER of 7 …
If you want to grow, your consultants (lawyers, investment bankers, etc) simply need to pick up the telephone. Here’s the statistic: If you follow up a direct mail piece (letter or newsletter or other publication, for example) with a phone call, it is seven times more likely to be effective in generating a referral. (The statistic comes from the real estate services industry—Brian Buffini, www.buffiniandcompany.com).

A phone call is active. Instead of expecting the phone to ring, you make it ring. Check in with your clients and referral sources. Ask a few questions. Set up a lunch. Perhaps even create a friendship.

Radical, I know.

The problem, of course, is the notion of using the telephone for business. Who wants to do that?

Too bad we can’t outsource that to India.