You Made the Plan. Now What?

It’s hard to believe, but we’re already nearing the end of the first quarter of 2026. Which makes it a good time to ask a simple question:

Where are you on your plan?

If you’re like most lawyers and legal marketing teams, you likely started the year with strong intentions: practice group priorities, target clients, maybe even a few business development goals.

And then the year started. Client work picked up. Deadlines piled on. The plan…quietly moved to the side.

That’s normal. But this is also the moment where plans either stall, or start to gain traction.

The good news is that you don’t need to overhaul anything. You just need to move one step closer to action.

Here are a few simple ways to do that:

Revisit your priority clients

Pull out your list. Are these still the right clients to focus on? If so, what’s one thing you can do this month to strengthen the relationship or expand the work?

Map who’s already connected

For each priority client, take five minutes to identify who else in your firm has a relationship. Most growth opportunities come from connections that already exist, you just need visibility into them. Reach out to that fellow contact to strategize, collaborate or at least communicate plans and ideas to grow that relationship.

Look for one gap

Where could this client be using you more? Another practice? More work in the existing practice? Work with accounting to identify where there are holes. Don’t overcomplicate it, just identify one opportunity.

Make one introduction

Business development doesn’t have to be a major initiative. A thoughtful introduction - internal or external - can open the door to meaningful work. Who have you been meaning to connect? Do it today.

Do one thing that keeps you visible

This could be a LinkedIn post, attending an event, a client check-in call, or a small, relevant touchpoint. The goal is consistency, not perfection.

That’s it. You’re not rewriting the plan - just a implementing a few focused actions that start to build momentum.

If your plan hasn’t gotten as much attention as you hoped so far this year, you’re not behind. You’re right on time to pick it back up.