The highest strategic priorities in 2015 and beyond for most law firms are to measurably get new business and to increase profitability. In today’s extremely competitive market for outside legal services, attaining these objectives requires adopting and implementing proven strategies in addition to and in conjunction with the most commonly used growth strategy: new lateral hires and acquisitions. Below are several proven tactics to achieve the priorities of increasing revenues and profits in a measurable manner:
1. Formalize/Upgrade
Collections Year-Round – To avoid
large, old and non-collectable A/R, collecting should not primarily be a
year-end effort. The proven tips in this free, highly rated, 30-minute webinar
on “How to
Turn Collections Season Into a New Business Development Opportunity”
may help.
2. Assess
and Invest in Attorneys’ Business/Client Development Potential and Interest
– Ask: which firm lawyers (whether partners and/or associates) have
demonstrated some capabilities when it comes to developing business and
also want to/have the desire to put in the work to become better rainmakers?
Consider sending a query, tally and then provide proven programs, tools and
resources to help them get there. If you are considering supplementing internal
business/client development support with proven, outside programs and services guaranteed
to return a measurable return on investment and report measureable results,
we can help.
3. Avoid
Expenses Associated with Reinventing the Wheel – Considerable attorney
and support staff time and cost savings can be attained by identifying
existing, proven already-built programs and resources, thereby avoiding having
to take the time and make the investment to re-create them. For example, on our
website we offer:
a. Highly
rated live webinars -
Receive a 15% discount for any three 2015 webinars of your choice if you
register by December 15, 2014;
b. On demand
webinars are available on such topics as:
“Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn for Lawyers©”, “Key ‘Sales’ Tools for
Lawyers©”, “Innovative Client Service©”, and “Mastering the RFP Process™”
among others;
c. 20-minute
Rainmaking Express™ videos
available on demand;
d. Our
Rainmaker
Coach™ app is available on iTunes® for iPads® and iPhones®;
4. Intensify
the Focus on What Works to Develop Business – The vast majority of
lawyers’ business and client development efforts are non-billable, so
optimizing lawyers’ preparation and results from all non-billable efforts is
key to increasing revenue and profitability.
a. Over
the last 25 years, we have compiled all available and relevant information and
research that proves what works best to develop new business and clients for
lawyers and law firms — beyond having the right relationships. This body of
research consists of decades of study, surveys and data analysis -
including intake and client surveys, reading hundreds of books, reviewing
financial and statistical data, and analyzing numerous other survey results
from hundreds of firms - yet few law firms are fully aware of this ‘proven
science of business/client development’ nor
do they educate all lawyers about it or capitalize on it. If you would like
more information on the science of business and client development for lawyers
and law firms, please email me.
b. Another
option is to consider formally assessing and identifying the strategies, tools
and tactics in your firm that generate the most revenue, the fastest. Then,
benchmark, compare and consider upgrades/changes that can yield even better
results from them and educate internally. For example, most firms have Key
Client Teams, yet not all function optimally. Also, some law firms have created
Client/Referral Source Advisory Boards, but few use them as productively as
possible, and most lawyers are pitching new business and responding to RFPs now
more than ever, yet not winning as much new business as they would like.
Consider commissioning a customized “Perfect
Your Pitch” program for lucrative and interested practice groups
such as: “Perfect Your Data Security & Privacy Pitch”, “Perfect Your
National Coordinating Counsel Pitch”, “Perfect Your Water Rights Pitch”,
“Perfect Your Wage and Hour Pitch” or “Perfect Your Patent Litigation Pitch.”
5.
Objectively Assess and Upgrade Your
Firm’s Business & Client Development Processes – Just like the
practice of law, business and client development are a process, each stage of
which consists of many sub-processes. To remain competitive, regular upgrades
and innovations to these processes are critical. The keys to the success
of any process are the people who do the work and creating efficiencies within
the process. Gone are the days of “we have always done it like this,” and the
days of having only one or a few marketing directors/staff members who “do all
our marketing/business development” are waning. We have assisted numerous firms
that needed to conduct a thorough assessment, and then assisted them with the
implementation of upgraded strategic investments to improve their measureable
results. One of the biggest trends in the past few years is law firms’
increased hiring of specialists within the business and client development
function — people such as pricing specialists, client development “sales”
specialists, strategy and innovation specialists, internal “sales” coaches,
etc. Consider registering before December 15, 2014,
for the highly rated program “Mastering
the Sales Pipeline Process for Law Firms,” which will be held June
5, 2015, in Chicago, and receive a 10% discount.
