TRP 232: The Short List with David Ackert

The Rainmaking Podcast

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In this episode of The Rainmaking Podcast, host Scott Love speaks with David Ackert, business development expert and author of The Short List, about how professionals can focus on high-value relationships to grow their book of business. David explains the concept of applying the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) to networking, where 80% of results come from just 20% of relationships. By identifying and nurturing a select group of key clients, referral sources, and prospects, professionals can maximize their impact without wasting time on low-yield connections.

Key topics include defining a "short list" of 9 to 35 key relationships, strategically engaging with those contacts to drive business opportunities, and using data-backed insights to optimize networking efforts. David shares practical steps on how to track and maintain these relationships, ensuring consistent follow-up and meaningful engagement. He also highlights the importance of relationship-building over transactional networking and explains how to create authentic connections that lead to long-term success. This episode provides a clear, structured approach to business development for professionals looking to streamline their efforts and see measurable results.

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David is Co-Founder and CEO of Ackert, Inc. and its subsidiary, PipelinePlus. He is a highly regarded business development thought leader. Over the past two decades, David has pioneered revenue acceleration programs for hundreds of professional services firms around the globe.

He is the founder of several groundbreaking ventures in the industry, including Legal Lift, the MLR100, the MLR200, BDI, numerous Managing Partner Roundtables, and the PipelinePlus software suite. His programs have won “Your Honor Awards” in both the U.S. and Canada, and his software has been featured in NLJ’s “Technologies on the Rise.” David regularly keynotes at partner retreats and speaks at industry conferences. He also serves as a guest lecturer at USC’s Marshall School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, and at the UCLA School of Law.

David is the author of The Short List: How to Drive Business Development by Focusing on the People who Matter Most, published by Greenleaf. He has contributed quotes and articles to numerous media including the Los Angeles Times, the National Review, the Daily Journal, the Wall Street Journal, Above the Law, Attorney at Work, Law.com, The Recorder, and the Los Angeles Business Journal. His Market Leaders Podcast has won several JD Supra Reader’s Choice Awards.

David volunteers as a Big Brother with the Big Brothers and Sisters program in Los Angeles. He is also the co-founder of Voices in Harmony, a mentoring organization that has worked with at-risk youth around the globe. He co-produced and appeared in the documentary film, “After Kony: Staging Hope,” chronicling mentoring programs he helped to design and facilitate for former child soldiers in Northern Uganda. The film was used as part of an awareness-raising campaign that raised millions of dollars for health and education in underserved Ugandan communities. David’s charitable work earned the “Difference Maker” award from one of his alma maters, Ithaca College.

David holds a master’s in psychology and is a Fellow at the College of Law Practice Management.

Links:

Order The Short List here: https://pipelineplus.com/theshortlist/

www.PipelinePlus.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidackert/

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