Avoid Getting Hit By the Bus

​In a conversation with a good friend and client, Pete, who was the head of litigation for a large law firm, I asked him what was one of the costliest business development mistakes he has made. It was safe to assume that even someone who was as successful as Pete has made a mistake or two in his career.

Pete didn’t hesitate in his response. He said, “Oh that is an easy one. It cost me a lot of business at the time, yet it also helped me build a successful practice thereafter.

​In a conversation with a good friend and client, Pete, who was the head of litigation for a large law firm, I asked him what was one of the costliest business development mistakes he has made. It was safe to assume that even someone who was as successful as Pete has made a mistake or two in his career.

Pete didn’t hesitate in his response. He said, “Oh that is an easy one. It cost me a lot of business at the time, yet it also helped me build a successful practice thereafter.

He continued, "I had a multimillion-dollar-a-year client in Silicon Valley. The client gave me so much work over the years that I started to get complacent. I relied solely on him at his company to contact me and I didn’t bother meeting any of his lieutenants. I didn’t think it was necessary until one day when he called me and told me he was leaving the company. While it was disappointing to initially hear the news, I wasn’t too concerned. I would follow him to his new company, and we would continue working together as we had for years. Easy.

Pete added, "There was only one problem. The new company he moved to was a conflict with our firm. The working relationship that we had established over the years vanished. To make it worse, he was my only contact at the prior company. I had no backup relationships there. Consequently, the prior company opened its doors to other law firms and the multimillion-dollar-a-year client disappeared."

How many of you are exposed to a similar situation? You have one main contact at a client who could disappear in a heartbeat. And the topper – you have no backup contacts at that client.

I call this scenario the “hit by the bus “predicament. What happens if your only contact with a client gets hit by a bus tomorrow and dies? Who do you call, or more importantly, who calls you?

It is a morbid way of looking at it, but it is certainly plausible.

If you have any clients with whom you only have one contact, consider fortifying that relationship. Ask your contact who their backup is in case something happens to them. Find a way to expand your relationship footprint with that client.

Posing this question should not come across as inappropriate, especially in the pandemic-affected world we live in today. You are showing your client that you care about not only them but the ability to continue to serve the company should anything happen to them.

The more you get to know your clients’ entire team the better. Who knows, perhaps some of those “new people” will bring you other opportunities that your main contact doesn’t oversee. Either way, protect your client relationships against the worst-case scenario.

Pete still enjoys a successful practice in part because he always tries to get to know more than just one person at a new or existing client.

When business is going well, we can all get somewhat complacent. Just keep in mind that the spigot can turn off quickly if you are not prepared. Take time this summer to get to know your clients better.