Posted In: Business Development, Culture & Diversity
Law Firm Leadership—Lessons from a Winning Team
I recently had the pleasure of hearing Boston Celtics President Rich Gotham speak to a group of law firm business development and sales professionals at the June LSSO RainDance Conference in Boston. Among his many fine tips to the audience were some nuggets that I thought worth sharing:
A Losing Team is often attributable to:
- Poor management – you need consistency and strong management
- Poor business decisions – align decisions with core values that align with the overall purpose
A Winning Team has these characteristics:
- Invest in the business and key revenue generating functions including:
- CRM
- Rainmakers – hire a good sales team
- Customer service
- Management consultants
- Digital strategy – reach your market on a larger scale
- Engage with clients (your “fan” base)
- Compete to be the best – Hire superstars
- Focus on Yield – How high can you price?
- Really Understand Demand:
- Collect data from market
- Know the price point at which below you won’t sell
- Know when will clients pay higher amounts?
- Retention is key to success:
- Customer service
- What’s your risk score? Factors that make the firm most at risk?
- Inspired Employees help you succeed:
- Let them know you are listening
- Their contribution will have a direct effect on/off “the court”
- You are as important as the Operations Team
- Media Relationships to manage messaging and the brand:
- Increase visibility
- Increase good communications
- Relate values of the firm/the organization
- It’s OK…
- Some will leave – they don’t want the accountability
- Culture change is not easy or instantaneous
- Most risk is during the first two years of change
- After 3+ years stronger opportunity people will stay
Last…….Metrics drive everything
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Silvia Coulter is a Principal with LawVision Group and helps firms with client retention, growth and new business development strategies, process improvement and client experience initiatives. She may be reached at scoulter@lawvisiongroup.com.
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