Posted In: Business Development, Client Service
Law Firm Business Development: Connect The Dots To Maximize The Return
Over the course of the past decade law firm leaders have told my colleagues and me “we need to do something different” to continue to compete in the legal space. It’s no secret that demand for legal services is for the most part, flat; so this sentiment about doing something different has grown louder over the past two years as many firms struggle to maintain and grow market share. Rather than approaching business development in a holistic manner, we see many law firms following the path of least resistance as they craft and execute their business development program. The traditional approach has been to deploy some combination of the following:
- Lawyer business development coaching/training,
- A client team/industry team program, and/or
- A client feedback/client experience initiative.
Some firms do all three of these and some only do one or two. A number of firms share with us that they still have a lot to do to achieve the results that they would like and to change the firm culture.
To maximize the return on the firm’s business development investment, recognize that the three areas identified above are very much inter-related, rather than three separate and distinct activities. The more closely the firm coordinates as it identifies the individual leaders for business development coaching and training; the teams for inclusion in the client and industry go-to-market programs, and; clients to be included in the feedback/experience effort, the more sustainable the results will be.
Is your firm guilty of following the “path of least resistance?” Is your business development program connected or are you managing three separate and distinct programs? Please share your comments and any best practices that you may with our readers. Thanks!
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