The Perils & Opportunities of Generating Revenue Using Chief Business Development Officers and/or Professional Business Developers©

As a lawyer and proven professional business developer with over 25 years of experience, I am concerned that too many law firms are trying to solve "the problem" of the need to generate more revenue in this tough economy by deciding to "hire a person to solve the problem" without providing much-- if any-- focus, buy-in, support, resources, authority and/or back-up. Unless responsibilities, expectations and deliverables are clearly defined and matched with capabilities, simply creating a new position as a solution does not work in the vast majority of cases. It is eerily similar to when law firms first started hiring marketing directors about 30 years ago. Back then, many firms did the same thing - hire a person to solve "the problem" without laying the proper foundation... simply hoping it would work. The negative effect of that approach is still with us, as unrealistically high law firm expectations and unrealistically minimal support and resources create the kind of mutual frustration and disappointment that cause the counterproductive turnover of marketing professionals the legal industry continues to experience.

Currently, more firms are hiring or contemplating hiring a high end "sales" professional as an internal business development staffer, and/or are retaining the services of an external business developer (outsourcing the function). In either case, before hiring or retaining such a person, it is essential that: 1) the role/responsibilities of the position are carefully and narrowly defined; 2) the reporting structure and coordination with the marketing department and other key support functions is carefully mapped out; and 3) the sales professional's direct track record, true capabilities and deliverables are vetted carefully. In some firms, the C.M.O., director or equivalent already services/supports the sales function, so an additional employee (increasing head count) is not necessary except to provide additional support, leverage, training and/or coaching to assist the existing efforts.

Hiring one professional to simply "get the 'job' done - generate new work for us" is not very realistic (unless it is a small firm). If it was so easy to do, law firms would not be in this situation. Firms are most successful when they approach the sales "job" from a holistic point of view - that is, embracing the fact that almost all employees and firm owners need to have basic client communication/client relations skills... whether or not they want to or will actually engage in the "sales" process itself. A top-down driven, shared understanding that every employee of the firm has some role/responsibility within the business development process, even as the roles vary, is essential to success for the sales function within law firms.

One of the key roles for sales professionals that law firms hire should be to develop the appropriate level of skills for the internal team - i.e. those that will be most active in the firm's business development program - lawyers and support staff. This requires directed resources and effort. It is ethically prohibited for law firms to use non-lawyers to solicit business for lawyers/firms. However, there are numerous tasks that are appropriate for non-lawyers including: conducting market/industry/client research to identify needs; conducting client satisfaction interviews/surveys; helping analyze and prepare information/pitches; coaching and preparing lawyers for client/prospect meetings/communications; helping coordinate business development efforts internally; helping set up and (as appropriate) attending prospect meetings along with the lawyers to take notes; organizing a method of tracking and reporting sales development efforts; and performing similar support activity.

Over the past 25 years, a few firms have been successful by having senior partners, partners and/or external professionals with significant external relationships devote a large percentage of their otherwise billable time to "sales" or relationships development, where they are the "face of the firm" in a specified community/industry. In this role - if they are lawyers - it is appropriate for them to meet with clients/prospects, help arrange for introductions and referrals, and set up/follow-up on meetings. The problem with this approach - in the past and even today - is that unless these efforts are internally coordinated and organized with solidly a supported tracking and follow-up system (which requires staff and resources), results can vary and have varied.

Bottom line, with the accelerated rate of industry and economic change, most firms benefit from a formal, annual review and upgrade of their overall, entire business development program (both the marketing and sales components). This is true whether they have a "sales" person or not, or are contemplating hiring one; whether their program is 100% internally supported; whether outside support is utilized; whether the review is conducted internally or externally. The ability to generate and report results is what matters.

2009 Year in Review - Business Development Trends in Law Firms©

Overall, in the global economy and within the legal industry, investment is no longer at a stand-still as it was earlier this year. But to keep their houses in order, many law firms have made and are continuing to make significant cut-backs, changes and upgrades in the manner and methods by which they are investing in business development. Some key trends in 2009 and into 2010:

1. The year-end collection process gets more challenging as firms experience reductions in the total percentage of receivables collected at 100% realization/standard rates.


2. Competition is at an all-time high, causing attorneys to change their thinking, mind-set and habits.


3. Upgrades to traditional marketing efforts/support -
   
   
   • Investments are tightening up in the traditionally most-utilized marketing tools.
   
   
   • Train-the-trainer, train-the-coach and train-the-leader programs are being commissioned for lawyers and staff.
   
   
   • Business/client development and/or "sales" pipelines are being employed to a greater degree.

To read the entire article, please visit: www.BusDevInc.com > Complimentary Resources > Trend Reports

Reflections on Facebook & Twitter for Lawyers

Facebook is one of many social networking site options, but it is not specifically designed for lawyers. It started as a site for college students to stay connected, thus its reputation as a "teeny bopper" site. Depending upon your law practice, Facebook may or may not be that useful. If one is a family lawyer, divorce lawyer, i.e. a lawyer who serves individuals, it could be a useful tool if used judiciously and correctly. The same may be true for lawyers who use Twitter and other mass market social networking sites.

Facebook is great to re-connect with old contacts-- those whom you may have fallen out of touch with and re-establishing contact may lead to mutually beneficial future relationships (i.e. future business). But, the majority of Facebook's active users are members of the younger generation, so it may be especially useful for younger Associates and Partners as a tool to re-connect and stay in touch with key people in many facets throughout their lives. But, today's most significant buyers of legal services are not even on Facebook, nor if they are, do they spend a lot of time using it.

The key for most lawyers is to manage the time spent on social networking sites carefully. Consider the fact that some lawyers who spend inordinate amounts of time every day on social networking sites are simply not very busy, may have too much time on their hands and as a consequence, any serious/sophisticated buyer may wonder just how good of a lawyer they really are. Common sense says that anyone spending a lot of time on social networking sites may not have enough clients, billable work to do. As a result, if they work in a law firm, they may be "on the bubble" and/or not very productive/profitable.

An article on this subject was written by Ann Urda of Law 360, and it should be published sometime next week.

Renowned Training Program Oct. 2 in NYC - "Mastering the 'Sales' Process for Lawyers©"

Check out the new client video testimonial raving about this program or read what in-house counsel say about this program. Pitch real-life client(s) and experience their candid and direct feedback. In-house counsel speakers on October 2 are Ross D. Vincenti, Vice President/Deputy General Counsel, Clearwire Corporation (formerly Sprint) and Amy Gallent, Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel & Chief of Staff, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Register soon, only a few spots remain. For more info, click here or email me at Julie@BusDevInc.com.

Evolving Diversity Policies in Law Firms

Most major law firms provide legal counsel to Fortune 500 companies. Most Fortune 500 companies have strong diversity policies in place and many try hard to utilize/hire diverse outside counsel to meet the objectives of that policy. Outside counsel are required to provide annual reports to relevant clients regarding their firm's diversity. However, many outside law firms remain unsatisfied with their internal/firm diversity numbers/statistics. All over the country I hear "Our firm is just not as diverse as we would like, so we are hesitant to pitch it or even bring it up with clients/prospects". But, there is more to diversity than just analyzing a firm's partnership composition and/or employee base. Some firms have realized they can gain an advantage by implementing a supplier diversity policy of their own - to name a few: Warner Norcross & Judd, Weil Gotshal, Sonnenschein, Saul Ewing, among others. So at the end of the year, even if they have not hired more minority partners or employees they can still report to clients an increase of X% in their use of diverse vendors, suppliers, expert witnesses, sales training and coaching specialists, etc.(DISCLAIMER - I have a not-so-hidden agenda since our company is a Certified Women Owned Business, and could be included in any such diversity statistic by a firm that uses our services). If outside vendors and suppliers to law firms are comparably qualified with similar track records, hiring a diverse/minority company/entity/professional could help the law firm "look better" to its clients. Food for thought.

Coaching Mistake to Avoid

Hiring several different coaches for interested lawyers in any one, single firm may not be a good idea. In my professional experience, many firms that have had or use multiple external coaches end up with a time management and support process problem for their internal mkt/bus dev staff which can cause great inconsistencies, extra work and dilute results. Much of what constitutes effective and efficient new business development turns on organized, focused and efficient internal and external approach, method, systems, processes and procedures. External (and internal) coaches vary dramatically in what they offer - some deliver mainly basic motivation and "fluff", while others deliver a more comprehensive, organized and measureable system and pipeline for the long term. Certainly, various approaches abound, but in my professional opinion, it is critical for every firm to use all resources wisely to fuel maximum growth in the immediate and long term.

Get New Business in the Door

With WIP (work in process) down anywhere from approximately 10% to 30% in most law firms since last year, now is the time to ensure that all partners are doing everything possible to fuel RIP (relationships in process). Too many lawyers who have hundreds of mainly social relationships are not sure how to convert them into business relationships; do not make every appropriate effort to expand and solidify existing relationships; and/or do not have an efficient method, routine, process or system for doing so. The knowledge, skill and art of client development are not just challenges for new partners. Seasoned experienced partners also get great benefits from attending and participating in a proven business development training and coaching program that focuses on tailored system and process of generating a consistent pipeline of new business.

As many firms re-direct their marketing investments toward emphasizing the one-to-one "sales" process, they are also restructuring and re-focusing their in-house marketing/business development departments to best support these efforts. However, it may no longer be enough to rely solely on internal marketing support. The best internal marketers understand their own limits, but not all external business development trainers, coaches, consultants are equally qualified to help. Some get better, more substantive results than others. That's why "Mastering the 'Sales' Process for Lawyers©" is the program of choice to offer proven outside assistance that augments marketing's contribution to the bottom line. For example, recently, one AmLaw 100 firm sent out a detailed, written RFP to over 15 possible business development trainers/coaches for a group of partners interested in becoming better rainmakers. The firm used an intensive, blind review and selection process to compare trainer/coaches on the basis of experience, credibility, approach, deliverables, features, reporting, benefits, fit, fees, past results and references and then narrowed it down to three finalists. After more due diligence analysis of the finalists, the firm selected our training and coaching program entitled "Mastering the 'Sales' Process for Lawyers©." This program was launched recently, earning excellent evaluations and measurable early results with more to come. To see references, please visit: What Clients Say About Us.