1.
How well do the lawyers in your firm evaluate the
opportunity before deciding to respond to RFPs or developing a pitch/proposal?
Create
and use a “go/no go checklist” for lawyers to use (with or without the assistance
of in-house marketing and business development staff) to evaluate key strategic
issues before spending a lot of non-billable time and resources responding to
an RFP and/or making a pitch. Below are a few key questions to include:
§
Are
there any explicit or potential legal and/or business conflicts of interest?
§
Is
this opportunity aligned with our firm/practice group strategy?
§
Can
we offer strong competitive advantages?
§
Is
the work a core competency of ours? Is it in our “sweet spot” – what we excel
at doing?
§
Can
we get the desired result (the win) for the client?
§
Will
winning provide us with any competitive advantages?
§
Can
we staff and handle this work profitably? Can we offer data-informed pricing
options?
§
Do
we know and can we contact the decision makers and influencers?
§
Do
we know the issuer’s main reason for sending an RFP (e.g., to save on costs, to
improve quality, to enhance results)?
§
Has
the issuer or prospect already made a decision? Do the decision makers or
influencers already favor an incumbent or competitor?
§
What
are the main selection factors or criteria? Will cost be a major factor in
selecting the winning bid?
2.
Do key lawyers and/or firm representatives contact the
RFP issuer, decision makers and/or influencers as appropriate before submitting a written response or
pitching?
Numerous studies show that the chances of
winning work fall exponentially when the respondents do not engage in some form
of personal contact with the issuer, decision makers and/or influencers before
or while drafting and submitting an RFP response or developing a pitch. Yet the
majority of lawyers and firms do not engage in personal pre-contact by
initiating a preliminary, introductory, appreciative phone call or sending
appropriate emails before responding or pitching. Law firms in the U.K. and
Australia have significantly higher RFP win rates than U.S.-based law firms,
mainly because they do engage in pre-contact for almost every RFP or pitch
opportunity. Listed above are several questions to ask and issues to raise
during the pre-contact call or email, or (preferably) during an in-person,
non-billable visit. Discussing these and other questions pre-pitch will greatly
increase a firm’s chance to win the representation, work, engagement, case or deal.
3.
Does your firm use a post-RFP/pitch protocol?
Worldwide, less than half of law firms
have and use an established post-RFP and/or post-pitch evaluation process. Yet
without such a process, it is impossible to know how best to use your limited time
and resources to improve your win rate. Effective post-RFP and post-pitch
protocols include a centralized method for contacting the issuer and/or
relevant decision makers; a qualified person to make the contact, call or visit;
a list of key and common debriefing or after-action questions; and copious
notes and tracking of the response. Then, analyzing and using the information
to improve.
About
the Author:
Julie Savarino is an attorney,
rainmaker coach, and one of the
world’s most highly
recommended
“sales” and business development coaches
and consultants for lawyers and law firms. If you
like this post, check out and "like" Julie’s new Facebook page
@therainmakercoach where she posts useful and valuable "sales" and
business development tips and content for lawyers, law firm marketers and law
firms.
