9 Reasons to Reconnect With a Client or Prospect and What to Say
You’ve been meaning to contact a former client or follow up with a prospect, but you haven’t decided what to say. You could ask to catch up, although it would help to have something specific to discuss.
Company developments can provide that starting point. An acquisition, a leadership appointment or a new location may change what a business needs from its advisers. Paying attention gives lawyers an opportunity to ask informed questions, share relevant experience and reconnect with people they already know.
The announcement alone won’t tell you whether the company needs legal help. Before reaching out, check the source and date, review your firm’s relationship with the business and think about what you can contribute. These nine developments are worth watching.
1. The Company Announces an Acquisition
An acquisition can affect several parts of a business, including its workforce, contracts, financing arrangements and regulatory obligations. Even when transaction counsel is already in place, the company may have questions about integrating the acquired business or managing its operations after closing.
Read beyond the headline before contacting anyone. Look at what the company has said about the acquisition, how the businesses fit together and whether the announcement describes plans for integration. Then connect your outreach to an issue within your experience.
What to say: “I saw the acquisition announcement—congratulations. If employee integration is on your agenda, I’d be happy to share a checklist our team uses to help organize those discussions.”
Make that offer only if you have a relevant resource to share. A specific, deliverable offer gives the contact an easy way to decide whether a conversation would help.
2. A Client Contact Moves to a New Company
A contact’s move changes the business context around an established relationship. Their new employer may operate in different markets, have a different ownership structure or expect them to take on broader responsibilities.
Send a personal congratulatory note, then spend some time learning about the company they’ve joined. Check whether your colleagues already know the business and give the contact room to explain their new role. The first conversation may be about settling in, building a team or understanding the organization.
What to say: “Congratulations on the new role. I enjoyed working with you and would love to hear more about what you’ll be doing. Once you’ve had some time to settle in, let’s catch up.”
Record any timing you agree on. A warm exchange is easy to lose if both people leave the follow-up open-ended.
3. The Business Expands Into a New Market
A new office, facility or geographic market can bring unfamiliar operating requirements. Depending on the business, expansion may involve employment arrangements, licensing, contracts, property or other issues.
Confirm what has actually been announced. A company exploring a market is at a different stage from a company opening a facility next month. Your message should reflect that distinction and connect to experience relevant to the location or business activity.
What to say: “I saw you’re opening operations in another state. Our team has helped businesses work through the employment side of similar expansions. Happy to compare notes if that would be helpful as your plans develop.”
Avoid sending a broad summary of every service your firm offers. Choose the part of the expansion where you can make a useful contribution.
4. The Company Raises Capital
A funding announcement can offer insight into a company’s plans. The business may say it intends to hire, develop a product, make acquisitions or enter new markets. Those stated plans provide more context than the funding amount alone.
Review the announcement, the investors involved and any comments from leadership. Then think about how the intended use of the capital connects with your experience. Treat possible legal needs as questions to explore.
What to say: “Congratulations on the funding. I noticed the announcement mentioned plans to expand the team. If helpful, I can connect you with a colleague who works with growing businesses on employment arrangements.”
Acknowledge that the company may already have advisers handling the work. An introduction can still be useful when it addresses a specific need and respects those existing relationships.
5. A Private Equity Sponsor Adds a Portfolio Company
A sponsor relationship can extend across multiple businesses, each with its own leadership, operations and advisers. A new investment is a reason to learn about the portfolio company and assess whether your firm has relevant sector experience.
Start with the relationship partner. Review the company’s business, the sponsor’s stated investment plans and any existing firm connections before deciding who should make contact. Coordinated outreach helps the firm present relevant experience without approaching several people independently.
What to say: “I saw the new investment in the healthcare services business. We have colleagues with experience in that part of the sector, including regulatory and employment work. Would a brief introduction be helpful once the appropriate people are in place?”
The sponsor may prefer that introductions wait until after closing or come through a particular person. Follow that guidance and keep the offer focused.
6. A New General Counsel or Senior Executive Joins
A leadership appointment can change responsibilities, reporting arrangements and business priorities. It can also create a reason to introduce yourself or ask an existing contact how the appointment affects their team.
Research the incoming executive’s professional background and the responsibilities described in the announcement. Check your firm’s connections before reaching out, particularly if another lawyer already knows the person. Don’t assume a new general counsel intends to change outside counsel.
What to say: “Welcome to the role. Our team has worked with the business on commercial matters, and I wanted to introduce myself. When the timing is right, I’d welcome the chance to hear about your priorities and explain where we’ve supported the company.”
Where your firm has no existing relationship, explain the relevance of your experience briefly and accurately. A new appointment is an introduction opportunity, not evidence that a mandate is available.
7. The Company Announces a Strategic Partnership
A distribution agreement, joint venture, licensing arrangement or other commercial partnership can reveal where a company is investing its attention. It may also signal plans to reach new customers, develop products or change how the business operates.
Read how both parties describe the arrangement. Their announcements may explain different aspects of the relationship, including its intended scope and commercial purpose. Use that context to identify a question or resource connected to your practice.
What to say: “I read about the new distribution partnership. We recently put together guidance on issues that can arise as these arrangements expand across markets. I’m happy to send it if it would be useful.”
Check that the resource addresses the type of arrangement involved. A closely relevant article is easier for a contact to use than a general practice brochure.
8. An Industry Development Affects a Stated Business Priority
Sometimes the reason to reconnect comes from outside the company. A shift in financing conditions, a supply-chain issue or a regulatory development may affect a priority the contact discussed with you previously.
The connection to that earlier conversation matters. Explain why you thought of the person and keep the message proportionate to what you know. Where the development involves a legal change, verify its status and applicability before describing its implications.
What to say: “When we spoke, you mentioned that supplier arrangements were taking up more of your time. This industry development made me think of that discussion. I’m sending a short piece from our team that may be relevant to your planning.”
Remembering a specific concern helps make the outreach personal. It also gives the contact room to tell you whether the issue is still a priority.
9. A Previously Discussed Deadline Is Approaching
Some of the best reasons to follow up come from your own conversations. A contact may have mentioned a board meeting, a planned launch, a hiring decision or a time when they expected to revisit a project.
Record that information and follow up when agreed. Research can help you prepare, but the value of the message comes from remembering what the person told you and respecting their timing.
What to say: “You mentioned revisiting this after your November board meeting. I wanted to follow up as promised and see whether a conversation would be helpful now.”
If circumstances have changed, update your notes and agree on the next step. A reliable record helps colleagues coordinate and prevents the contact from having to repeat the same context.
How to Choose Which Developments Deserve Outreach
A company announcement becomes relevant to business development when you can connect it to the relationship, the business and something your firm can contribute. Before sending a message, ask:
- Is the information current and supported by a reliable source?
- Does it relate to something this contact is responsible for?
- Who at the firm is best placed to reach out?
- Can we offer a specific insight, resource or introduction?
- Have we checked for other recent or planned outreach?
A short weekly review of priority accounts can help lawyers and business development teams make these decisions together. Select a few developments worth discussing, assign any follow-up and record what happens. Over time, that creates a more useful account history than a collection of news alerts.
Where Gatsby Fits
Keeping up with clients and prospects takes time, especially when the list spans different industries, investors and portfolio companies. Gatsby Aware helps firms monitor developments at priority companies, while Gatsby Intel supports deeper research before a conversation.
That company intelligence becomes more useful when lawyers add what they know about the relationship: previous work, current concerns, promised follow-up and the people involved. Together, those sources of context can help a firm decide whether to reach out and prepare a message that makes sense to the recipient.
Start with a small group of clients and prospects your firm wants to understand better. Identify the developments that matter to those businesses, involve the relationship lawyers and make follow-up part of the regular BD routine.
Learn more about Gatsby Intel and Gatsby Aware at trygatsby.ai.