Do You Know Where Your Alumni Are?

File this under low-hanging fruit; actually, make that fruit served on a silver platter.

"It" is the unexploited power of your firm's alumni network to drive business.

How do I know it's unexploited?  From experience and observation, but now as well from confirmation by the Financial Times.  According to Tony Angel, Linklaters' managing partner, the firm has decided to re-start its alumni relations program, and they "are not alone in letting such a program drift," according to UK consultants.  In terms of high return at low cost, tapping into your alumni network can hardly be beat:

• a very small percentage of all the people you invest in so dearly actually achieve partnership, and even then some depart;
• according to a survey of people who belonged to the alumni networks of 49 accounting firms and 51 law firms, 70% said they had never been contacted in support of marketing efforts, even though they thought they would be;
• one-third volunteered that they'd be happy to help business development, training, or recruitment; and
• more than 80% said they'd recommend their former firm as a place to work.

What's going on here?  The article suggests a strange—but I suspect accurate—reason firms don't use their alumni networks to more strategic effect:  Lawyers are shy about asking for help. 

The good news for all of the shrinking violets out there is that the best way to begin is with a dedicated alumni website (Gibson-Dunn has one in the works). 

The rewards should be enough to overcome your fear of looking needy.  Linklaters, quite interested (who isn't?) in expansion in Asia, uncovered over 100 alumni already there.  Of course, to actually make something of this untapped resource, you're going to have to get on a plane and buy some lunch, drinks, and dinner.  But suck it in and get started.

These people are, literally, waiting for the phone to ring.

If you're still wavering, I'll close with this (true) story:  When my mother was growing up on a ranch in eastern Washington state (still in the family, by the way), her older brother was torturing himself over whether or not he should ask a particular girl to the prom.  Finally fed up with his vacillation, she pointed out the brutally obvious:  "Look, Donald, as things stand you're not going to the prom with her.  What's the worst thing that can happen if you ask?  Right..."