Capability template for sales
Referral source follow-up
The day after a partner meets someone who sends the firm work, they have a follow-up draft and a list of every promise made at the table, by both sides. The draft uses only approved materials and nothing said in confidence; the partner checks it, chooses the next step and sends it.
Add it to a workflow in the Fully Powered Planner, beside the teams and roles that will run it. Book a fit call
The outcome
Every promise made over lunch gets kept, or at least gets a decision. A partner comes back from a conversation with an accountant, a banker, another lawyer or a prospective client, and by the next morning has a short message ready in their own voice: the checklist they offered, attached; the seminar date someone on the team owes, restated; the next step they want, proposed. That is how a fully powered practice turns a good lunch into the next introduction, instead of leaving it to a partner's memory.
What could embarrass the firm stays out of the message and is put in front of the partner instead: a client's deal mentioned in passing, news shared off the record, a banker's name before the banker has agreed to an introduction, a figure the firm's advertising rules control, a question that would need advice. The partner checks confidentiality and the advertising rules, edits, and sends. The capability never sends, never records and never answers a question on the law.
Who starts the work, and when
The partner starts it within a day or two of the conversation, or hands their notes to a business development or relationship coordinator who runs it for them. It runs once per conversation, whether the conversation was a lunch, a call, a meeting or a word at an event.
What they supply
- Their notes from the conversation, with the date and who was there, and any line marked confidential or not public.
- The contact's row from the firm's contact list, including how they like to be reached and whether they may be contacted at all.
- The earlier history with this contact, so older promises still open are not forgotten.
- The firm's approved materials list, with the audience each item is approved for and the date its approval ends.
- A few settings: the follow-up window, the word limit, the firm's own advertising checklist if it has one, and the next step the partner wants, if they have chosen it.
What comes out
One page for the partner. At the top, when the follow-up is due and whether the draft is ready. Then the promises: the firm's, each marked as kept in the draft, restated, or left out with the reason; the contact's, each with a date to check back; anything said with a "maybe", kept apart from real commitments; and earlier promises still open. Then up to three next-step options taken from the notes, what was held back from the draft and why, any sentence that touches the advertising checklist, and any question the partner must answer personally. Then the draft itself, with its word count, and one proposed line for the relationship record.
A good run leaves the partner editing for tone, not hunting through their notes for what they said they would do.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. The firms, the people, the clients, the dates and the materials below are all invented, and the names are made up for this example. Firm A is an invented 35-lawyer business law firm. Elena is a corporate partner there and Sam is an associate on her team. Marcus is a partner at Accounting Firm B, an invented accounting practice that has sent Firm A work before. First come the inputs Elena supplied, in full, then the follow-up the capability returned.
The inputs
1. Settings
Partner: Elena, corporate partner, Firm A
Sign-off: Best wishes, Elena
Today: Wednesday 4 November 2026
Follow-up window: 2 working days, Monday to Friday
Word limit: 180
Advertising checklist: the seven default categories
Required label: none
Next step chosen: propose a call once his list of businesses arrives
2. Contact record (one row from the firm's contact list)
Name,Organisation,Role,Relationship,Preferred name,Preferred channel,Do not contact,Last contact
Marcus Q.,Accounting Firm B,Partner,Referral source,Marcus,Email,No,2026-06-18
3. Relationship history
Date,Type,Firm person,Summary,Open promise
2026-06-18,Call,Elena,Catch-up on referrals; Marcus interested in a seminar for his partners,Elena to send seminar dates when the autumn programme is set
2026-03-04,Lunch,Elena; Sam,Introduced Sam; general catch-up,
4. Approved materials list
Title,Audience,Approved by,Approved until,Link or file
Selling your business: a readiness checklist (2026),Referral sources; Prospective clients,Marketing partner,2027-03-31,sale-readiness-checklist-2026.pdf
Corporate team one-pager,Referral sources; Prospective clients,Marketing partner,2026-10-31,corporate-team-one-pager.pdf
Year-end briefing for clients 2026,Clients,Marketing partner,2026-12-31,year-end-briefing-2026.pdf
5. Elena's notes
Lunch with Marcus (Accounting Firm B), Tuesday 3 November 2026. Elena and Sam from us.
- Marcus said the share sale we did for Client C went well and Client C is pleased. (Client C is his client too.)
- Four of his firm's clients are thinking about selling their businesses in 2027. He wants to know who to send them to.
- I said I'd send him our sale-readiness checklist and the corporate team one-pager.
- He asked how many sales we'd done this year. Said I'd get him the number.
- He asked whether earn-outs are taxed differently after this year's changes. Told him I'd rather not answer off the cuff.
- Marcus will send me a profile of the businesses (rough sizes and sectors, no names) by end of next week.
- I said I'd introduce him to Priya at Bank D, who does acquisition lending, once I've checked with her.
- Sam will send him the date of our January succession planning seminar once it's fixed.
- Maybe a joint session for his clients in the spring?
- Suggest a call when his list comes in.
- Not public: Accounting Firm B is merging with another practice in the spring. Don't mention.
- His daughter starts university next year; he's nervous about it.
The output
REFERRAL SOURCE FOLLOW-UP: Marcus Q., Accounting Firm B
- Conversation: Tuesday 3 November 2026, lunch, Elena and Sam (Firm A); Marcus (Accounting Firm B). Prepared Wednesday 4 November 2026 for Elena.
- Contact: Referral source. Preferred name Marcus. Preferred channel email.
- Follow-up due by: Thursday 5 November 2026 (2 working days after the conversation).
- Status: READY FOR THE PARTNER'S REVIEW.
- For the partner: F2, F3, F4, P1, E1, Q1.
PROMISES MADE
Firm side:
- F1. Elena to send the sale-readiness checklist, no date stated. Notes: "I said I'd send him our sale-readiness checklist and the corporate team one-pager." In the draft: kept: "Selling your business: a readiness checklist (2026)" attached.
- F2. Elena to send the corporate team one-pager, no date stated. Notes: "I said I'd send him our sale-readiness checklist and the corporate team one-pager." In the draft: left out, needs the partner: its approval ended on Saturday 31 October 2026.
- F3. Elena to give Marcus the number of sales the firm did this year, no date stated. Notes: "He asked how many sales we'd done this year. Said I'd get him the number." In the draft: left out, needs the partner: a figure about the firm's work is category 1 on the advertising checklist.
- F4. Elena to introduce Marcus to a contact at Bank D who handles acquisition lending, no date stated. Notes: "I said I'd introduce him to Priya at Bank D, who does acquisition lending, once I've checked with her." In the draft: left out, needs the partner: the introduction has not been confirmed with the Bank D contact.
- F5. Sam to send the date of the January succession planning seminar, no date stated. Notes: "Sam will send him the date of our January succession planning seminar once it's fixed." In the draft: restated. Overlaps E1.
Contact side:
- C1. Marcus to send a profile of the businesses, with rough sizes and sectors and no names, Friday 13 November 2026 ("by end of next week"). Notes: "Marcus will send me a profile of the businesses (rough sizes and sectors, no names) by end of next week." Check back: Monday 16 November 2026.
Possible, not promised:
- P1. A joint session for Accounting Firm B's clients in the spring. Notes: "Maybe a joint session for his clients in the spring?" Partner confirms whether it is a promise.
Earlier promises still open:
- E1. 18 June 2026: Elena to send seminar dates when the autumn programme is set, from the relationship history. Needs the partner: say whether it was kept.
NEXT STEP
- A call once Marcus's profile of the businesses arrives. Notes: "Suggest a call when his list comes in." Chosen.
- A joint session for Accounting Firm B's clients in the spring. Notes: "Maybe a joint session for his clients in the spring?"
Chosen: 1
FOR THE PARTNER BEFORE SENDING
Held back from the draft:
- H1. Marcus's comments on the share sale for Client C: client or matter.
- H2. That four of Marcus's clients are thinking of selling in 2027: client or matter.
- H3. Accounting Firm B's planned merger: told in confidence.
- H4. Marcus's daughter starting university: personal.
- H5. The Bank D contact's name: third person not yet asked.
Advertising checklist, sentences in the draft that touch it:
None.
Questions recorded, not answered:
- Q1. "He asked whether earn-outs are taxed differently after this year's changes."
DRAFT for Elena to review, edit and send
Channel: email To: Marcus, Accounting Firm B Subject: Following up on Tuesday's lunch
Hi Marcus,
Thank you for lunch on Tuesday 3 November.
As promised, I have attached "Selling your business: a readiness checklist (2026)".
Sam will send you the date of our January succession planning seminar as soon as it is fixed.
Once your profile of the businesses comes through, could we set up a call to talk it over?
Best wishes, Elena
Body words: 56 of 180
PROPOSED LOG LINE, for the person who keeps the relationship record
Date | Type | Firm person | Summary | Open promise
2026-11-03 | Lunch | Elena; Sam | Referral catch-up; follow-up with the readiness checklist | Elena: corporate team one-pager (F2); Elena: sales figure (F3); Elena: introduction to the Bank D contact (F4); Sam: January seminar date (F5, overlaps E1); Marcus: business profile by 2026-11-13 (C1); Elena: seminar dates from 18 June (E1)
Prepared for Elena's review. Nothing has been sent, recorded or promised on the firm's behalf.
What the example shows
- The checklist was the only material that could go: the one-pager's approval had ended, and the clients' briefing was approved for another audience and was never promised.
- Three of Elena's own promises wait for her, each with its reason, instead of being quietly dropped or quietly kept.
- The tax question, the merger, the client's sale, the daughter and the banker's name stay out of the message and the log line. So does Marcus's remark that four of his clients may sell: it is about his clients, and the capability holds back what a contact says about their own clients' plans even when no client is named.
- The "maybe" about a spring session is offered as an option, not written in as a commitment.
Where it fits
- Law firms, where most new work arrives through other professionals, and confidentiality and the firm's advertising rules decide what a follow-up may say.
- Professional services, for accounting, advisory and consulting firms whose work comes through introducers and who keep their own rules on what they may claim.
- Sales, where following up on a promise is the whole of relationship selling.
- Growth & scaling, when more partners are meeting more referral sources than anyone can keep track of by memory.
- Established businesses, where long-standing referral relationships are the firm's most valuable pipeline and deserve a consistent follow-up.
It sits beside Inquiry handoff, which takes a new matter to the firm's intake and conflict review; Cold outreach sequence drafting, for people the partner has not yet met; and Referral programme design, for deciding how the firm asks for referrals in the first place.
What has to change for your company
Replace the default advertising checklist with the categories your own rules and policies require, and add any wording they require on a message like this. Decide how many working days a follow-up may wait and how long a message may run. Agree who approves materials and keep the approved list current, with an end date on every item; the capability will offer nothing that is not on it. Decide what else your firm holds back, such as anything about a pitch or a panel. Match the column names to your own contact list and relationship history, or the capability will stop and ask. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini from the files and notes a person supplies, with no connection to the firm's mailbox or systems.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template from its own published map of law-firm work. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried on its invented example on 10 November 2026 in Claude, and the record of that run is published with it. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your firm means running it on recent conversations whose follow-up a partner already sent, and comparing: every promise found, nothing confidential in the draft, every material approved and in date. Include hard cases written in advance: a material whose approval has ended, an introduction not yet agreed, a request for a deal count, a tax question over lunch, a prospective client who describes a dispute. Pilot acceptance-test preparation builds that set, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
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Next step
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