By Joanna Gaudoin, MD of Inside Out Image
Many mid-sized law firms struggle to maximise their firm’s full revenue potential.
These firms are winning enough work to sustain their current position, otherwise they wouldn’t still be trading. This is often from ‘natural’ business development i.e. doing a good job for clients, so they come back, whether to the same department or another or refer others; this is extremely important – excellent delivery and client service are vital foundations for this to happen.
However, there is often a limit to this as repeat work can be limited for law firms in some practice areas, unlike a professional service such as accountancy and without a more proactive approach to client development, clients may not remember your firm, either for the next time they have a need or have someone to refer to a law firm.
Therefore, there is a need to be more proactive – to sustain client relationships, build great relationships with potential referrers i.e. intermediaries who share your client base, and to be able to develop business directly with potential new clients.
The challenges in many firms
Most commonly, proactive business development is focused on a small number of (usually) senior fee earners which leads to several key challenges:
- BD skills amongst junior fee earners don’t get developed which presents a challenge as they may struggle to get promoted to a seniority where BD is a requirement or (in some cases) they get promoted based on technical excellence and then struggle to develop business, as it is a different skill.
- The firm is not fulfilling its potential, as junior fee earners can play a valuable and active role in BD.
- There is the risk of being reliant on a small number of individuals.
There are many issues that get in the way of having a strong business development culture – that being business development being part of everyday working life in your firm involving the majority of fee earners and other support functions who are involved in both effective client development and new business development – the main ones I see:
- Finding the time for business development amongst chargeable work.
- Knowing what to focus time, resource and financial investment on.
- Motivating a broader range of fee earners to get involved in developing existing clients and new business. Business development is not a natural inclination for the majority of fee-earners.
Specifically, many law firms don’t cross-sell effectively, so revenue is lost when an existing client takes a different type of matter to a different firm.
Why create a business development culture
A business development culture is highly recommended if you want to sustain your firm and be able to attract top talent by being able to compensate them well and by providing a dynamic and engaging environment where they can progress their careers.
It is essential if you want to grow your firm – in revenue and in other ways e.g. to have investment to develop additional practice areas.
Business development framework
There are some clear foundations that need to be in place before any meaningful business development activity takes place and which when all done well over time lead to a business development culture. I have developed a simple framework to outline the key areas that need to be in place:
1. Strategy – having one and being clear what this means for different departments. It also needs to be communicated to the entire firm so that everyone understands what the firm is looking to achieve, how and why this matters.
2. Marketing – most firms are doing at least some marketing even if that just involves having a logo and a web presence. It’s vital that marketing doesn’t operate in isolation and that there is a clear plan that can interact with a business development plan.
3. People – fee earners need to understand why they need to contribute to business development and be actively involved in how this is going to take place. It’s not a one size fits all, it’s about using people strengths. They then need the skills to be confident at developing clients and new business.
4. Integration – there are many factors that affect whether business development becomes part of business as usual in a firm, once the other three elements are in place. This not only includes less tangible factors such as Partner buy in and role modelling but also highly practical ones such as accountability and integration into HR practices.
Only with all of these elements in place to support one another will a firm develop a business development culture which is essential for it to be sustainable and have the desired results, with the focus on revenue growth.
It is a journey and can feel like challenging road ahead – getting started can feel difficult. However, taking it step by step and committing to this change will reap rewards.
Joanna Gaudoin, Managing Director of Inside Out Image, specialises in helping lawyers excel at relationships in different professional situations, helping them and their firms improve performance and achieve their goals.
Discover more about Joanna’s Business Development Accelerator, designed specifically for mid-size law firms. This programme equips your firm with the essential foundations and tools to build on your marketing efforts, win more business from existing clients, increase referrals, and attract new clients.
She offers a range of tailored training sessions and programmes for law firms and works one-to-one with lawyers. She is the author of Getting On: Making work work and a co-author for Globe Law and Business’s book on Business Development for Women Lawyers
Would you like to know how you can improve your business development?
If you are a mid-size law firm, attend Mastering Law Firm Growth: Key Foundations for Business Development Success – an online interview with Joanna on 8th November at 12.30pm to understand more of the detail behind her business development framework and to have your business development questions answered – to ultimately understand how you can fulfil your firm’s potential and grow your revenue.
Sign up to receive the joining instructions. As part of signing up and attending the session, you will get access to Joanna’s Successful Business Development Indicator so you can understand which elements of the framework you most need to focus on for your firm’s situation.