She wants employees who’ll go out and generate business. She wants them to meet people, make a good impression, stay in touch, build a relationship, and make the phone ring.

She can dream, right?

She wrote me and said this:

I can’t find any staff (partners or associates) who can or will do business development work. I have offered incentives, provided guidance, offered suggestions, and provided travel money, yet NOTHING!

She’s the founder, owner, and chief cook and bottle washer of a small law firm. I understand her frustration.

I found myself saying out loud, “I feel your pain,” as I literally felt the pain.

It’s so frustrating. We talk to our people, we explain, we cajole, we encourage, and we pay for mileage and meals, and still NOTHING! She’s right. It’s horrible.

How Do You Fix It?

There is, in fact, a solution. Unfortunately, it won’t involve your current team.

Anne Lamott famously said, “100 years from now? All new people.” How about we change that to “10 days, all new people?” Well, maybe not all of them. Just all new associates. That sound overly harsh? Probably so.

Realistically, the solution is to replace the old people with new people. You need folks who see business development in a favorable light. You need people who see themselves as networkers, marketers, connectors, and players in the business development game.

Alternatively, you can train, teach, offer incentives, provide guidance and suggestions, etc. to your people. You can give your best shot. You can even do a little dance in the parking lot while they watch. What should you expect? What will you get? What will come of your efforts?

NOTHING. Expect NOTHING because that’s likely what you’ll get.

That’s not 100% true (except that it is). You can get your team to do some business development if you have really low expectations. The lawyers I meet who tell me how well they’re doing with developing marketing talent in their firms usually don’t shoot for much. They rave about the associate, and I ask about revenue. They evade and then tell me how the associate brings in $10,000 a month in new business. That’s great in the fantasy “I have a pretend business” world. In the real world, it’s barely worth getting about out of bed.

And then I meet the attorney who brags about his associate who’s killing it. Networking, connecting, and bouncing from meeting to meeting, and she’s got $200,000 a month flowing in from her efforts. I probe a bit deeper when he explains that he brought her along from nothing. He explains that she’s purely the result of his mentoring. Only later do I discover that she was president of her college student government, played team sports, got elected as law school class president, plays kickball, started a nonprofit in law school, etc. She was good at this before she started. He hired right.

He did something right and it was big. He hired the right person. And that’s what you need to do also.

How to Make the Right Hiring Decision

The solution is to hire for business development. You need to find people who are already demonstrating some aptitude for shaking the bushes. You need to find people who’ve already built a network and just need a place to bring their connections while they continue to grow their capacity to generate business.

They’re out there. Of course, they’re not sitting around waiting for you. They’re not skimming the classified ads. They’re not worrying about finding a job. They’re busy growing their opportunities. They’re adding new people to their list, they’re getting to know them, and they’re tending to their old friends.

You need to find them. They’re not looking for you. They’re out in the world doing it, doing it, doing it. You need to find these people and bring them in if you want people who are good at making it rain.

Unfortunately, these special people are difficult to keep because they have so many opportunities. Once you get one, you’re going to have to work hard to keep her happy. She’s going to be exposed to job offers, partnership offers, and other opportunities. You’re going to have to create a place for her that’s better than the alternatives.

You’re not likely to turn your existing team into rainmakers. They are what they are, and they’re not likely to change. Turning someone into what you need is nearly impossible—sadly.