By: John D. Barber, Marketing Coordinator, White and Williams LLP
On September 18, 2014, the Legal Marketing Association – Philadelphia Metro Chapter met to discuss “Business Development Training for Lawyers – Planning, Executing, and Measuring Success.” The speakers for the program were Chuck Polin, President, Sandler Training - The Training Resource Group and Kimberly Rice, President and Chief Strategist, KLA Marketing Associates. Many legal marketers and business development professionals are called upon to help their attorneys develop new business and sharpen their business development skills. The speakers discussed best practices and the obstacles that most frequently hinder business development success.
Both speakers discussed how reticent many lawyers tend to be when put into a situation where they are expected to sell. Selling the firm or selling themselves tends to make lawyers uncomfortable and historically may have been something they were never expected to do, but in today’s marketplace business development is necessary. Recognizing that not every lawyer has the natural talent or desire to be a rainmaker, the speakers discussed techniques and tools that give them the best shot at becoming one.
The first step in becoming a business developer is a change in focus from billable hours to relationship building. Many lawyers don’t realize that the most important aspect of business development is one on one relationship management. Maintaining relationships takes work and time, but there are ways to manage those relationships efficiently and effectively. By developing systems that keep lawyers on task and accountable, lawyers can keep relationships from withering and dyeing on the vine. These systems can be as simple as setting an Outlook calendar reminder to reach out to new and existing contacts or more complex like setting goals and benchmarks for specific business development activities. Regardless of how sophisticated a system may be, having some system, any system, is an invaluable tool that is frequently overlooked.
The best business developers recognize that relationships can start at any time, inside or outside of the office. Lawyers should be prepared to act when opportunities arise. Business development is not a standalone act. It is a lifestyle and lawyers should be utilizing every available opportunity.
Even the strongest relationship with a potential client may never be profitable if the lawyer doesn’t specifically ask for work, but having a strong relationship does make the pitch easier and more likely to produce business. Perfecting a pitch takes practice. It will be different for every lawyer and every client, but there are ways to recognize what the correct language sounds like and how the conversation should go. A by-product of a strong relationship built from consistent, persistent action over a long period of time, is a strong understanding the ways the lawyer can best help the client and what concerns the client may have over hiring a specific attorney or firm. Business developers should use this knowledge in crafting a pitch tailored to the preferences of the potential client.
In many instances, acting as a business developer is unfamiliar ground for lawyers, but, marketing and business development professionals can make the process more comfortable and more fruitful by understanding the process themselves and teaching techniques and systems that best fit the individual lawyer with whom they are working.
Click here to access the event recap video.
Sponsored By: Sandler Training – The Training Resource Group
