Diving Into CRM Part 2 - Getting Into the Pool

It doesn’t matter how you end up getting into the CRM pool. Whether you step, walk, jump, dive or even belly-flop into the water, once you are there it’s sink or swim. Soon after you’ve taken the CRM plunge, it suddenly becomes very important to find a way to stay afloat. Once you have made the CRM investment, you’re committed, for a lot of reasons. (By the way, if you haven't done any of the following things yet, you need to - right away.)

You’ve spent a lot of time, money and, often, credibility. You’ve convinced the firm of the importance of purchasing a system. You’ve juggled budgets to get the money for the necessary software, hardware and staff. You’ve entered into a multi-year ongoing relationship with a CRM provider. You’ve partnered with IT to utilize some of their resources. You’ve hired an internal or outsourced data steward. You’ve had your data quality evaluated to figure out how much it will cost and how long it will take to clean up. You’ve put communication and training plans and incentives in place. You’ve committed to the change management that will be necessary to successfully roll the system.

  

Wow, have you gone off the deep end?...

Business Development as a Sport – Part 2: The Goal

So if we are thinking of business development as a sport then, of course, we need a goal. So what would the goal of business development be? Actually, there would likely be more than just one.

One of the most important goals would be to keep the ball rolling: reach out, make connections, set up meetings. In short, get out of the office and go see the Clients and prospects. While those balls are rolling, you would also need to be able to keep multiple balls in the air. You will need to juggle the work and other demands of a successful law practice with the responsibilities inherent in business development - writing, speaking, making calls and/or attending meetings, conferences or events, all of which can require a significant time commitment.  

A higher goal, and one that would be worth several points, would be to attempt to level the playing field – to become so good at what you do that none of your competitors can get close to you. One way to do this is to become so entrenched in an industry niche that your experience and knowledge are sought after and people refer you work. Another way is to become so well versed in your Client’s business that they consider you a trusted advisor and business partner and seek your advice, which can lead to multiple opportunities to generate additional work and even cross sell.

A final goal would be to practice, practice, practice. When it comes to business development, the more you do, the better you get - and the easier it becomes. In fact, if you practice enough, you will reach the ultimate goal: to make business development so habitual that you almost reach a point of ‘muscle memory’ where developing business becomes something effortless that you are so good at that you even enjoy it. That’s when you know you have ‘gone pro.’ 

Diving Into CRM - Part 1

Have you ever heard the saying that you have to walk before you can run? It’s usually being spouted off by one of those that really annoying self-important know-it-alls with all of their clever little sayings. You know, the ones who are usually all talk. Anyway, I’ve heard them say this about CRM too, but I disagree. Instead, I would say that with CRM is more like a triathlon: you have to swim before you can run (ok, a triathlon without the biking – and after swimming and running, most of us would be too tired to care about the biking anyway).

OK, I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck all that means. It means that different firms approach CRM in different ways. Some firms dive right in head-first with both feet. Of course, those firms often later need someone to toss them a life preserver. Some even require resuscitation, which is what some people call it when they attempt to roll out a system for the third time.  

Other firms commit to only a toe. They walk up to the pool with their water wings on and do as little as possible for fear of drowning. Years later, you can often still find them by the side of the pool watching all the cool kids splashing around and wishing they had the courage to go in. If they could only conquer that fear, they might have a great experience and may even learn new things. 

Understanding Leadership: Integration of the Five Frames for Effective Leadership

Frameworks are used to understand organizations, and to find the best way to operate the organization, its structure, and resolve various issues that arise. The five organizational frames are the rational frame, the human frame, the systems frame, the political frame, and the cultural frame. It is imperative to understand that when organizational leaders integrate all five frames, they can successfully solve organizational dilemmas.

The Rational Frame

The first principle of the rational frame is the organization is an instrument for the achievement of specific goals. The second principle of the rational frame asserts that every organization has an optimal structure and process, and in order to achieve this, the organization must incorporate differentiation and integration. Differentiation can be achieved by dividing responsibilities within the organization. The third and fourth principles of the rational frame blame inefficient structure for organizational problems, and state that reorganization can often solve those problems. 

The Human Frame

As its name implies, the human frame focuses on how human needs affect organizations. The first principle of the human frame is that the organization is the vehicle for satisfying healthy human needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is an integral part of the human frame. Just as a person whose physiological needs are not met cannot focus on needs of belongingness until his or her basic needs are met, the people within an organization, and the organization itself, operates in a similar way. On the organizational hierarchy of needs, increasing productivity and making a profit would be a basic need to survive. As organizations progress, ethical needs would be further up on the hierarchy of needs. Rather than simply questioning whether something is profitable would no longer be sufficient for someone who was looking at the situation from the human frame. The second principle of the human frame places the emphasis on the codependent relationship of the individual and the organization. The third principle of the human frame states that the needs of healthy people and the goals of functional organizations must be integrated in order for both to be productive. The fourth principle of the human frame is based on the concept of McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, which states that employees act the way they believe they are perceived by their managers—a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.

The Systems Frame

The main focus of the systems frame is the relationship between the organization and its surrounding environment, whereas the organization adjusts to its surroundings. Due to this adjustment to the surrounding environment, there is never an absolute resolution to a problem, because the environment is constantly changing. 

The Political Frame

All four principles of the political frame of reference address how organizations operate as a functioning unit within society. The first principle of the political frame states that the organization is bounded by the allocation of scarce resources. In this case, a leader viewing the organization’s dilemma from the political frame may view articles as a scarce resource. The second, third, and fourth principles address the differing beliefs of organizational members, negotiation that is necessary due to these differing beliefs, and the necessary conflict within organizations. Leaders viewing situations from this perspective would recognize that people within organizations are bound to perceive situations differently and for differing reasons. It is likely that these leaders would realize that internal conflict can lead to results by testing and refining ideas which would lead to discussion, and a possible compromise.

The Cultural Frame

The cultural frame addresses the way the actual organization can define problems and offer solutions based on the existing culture of the organization. The four principles of the cultural frame state that meaning is constructed for participants through organizational culture, that culture consists of the beliefs of these participants, and is reflected in behaviors and norms, and the group’s behaviors are due to learned responses based on that culture. Based on the aforementioned principles, a leader who is guided by the cultural reference frames does not make decisions that he or she feels is best for the organization, but to the contrary, the culture of the organization says what works in the specific environment. 

In conclusion, effective leaders must integrate the perspectives of all five frames. Managers and entrepreneurs who approach organizational dilemmas using only one approach actually hinder organizations. When leaders do not balance the five frames, they become disconnected from the issue at hand and those who they lead. Integrative leaders combine various management styles and theories, rather than just choosing one.

Business Development for Fun and Sport

If you were to think of business development as a sport, what kind of sport would it be? Football, with all of its intensity, competition and rivalry? Hockey, with its emphasis on hitting the goals? Basketball, with the excitement of making and scoring on a long shot? Baseball, where you have to ‘touch base’ or you are out of the game? Soccer, with the strategy of advancing the ball – and sometimes having it hit you in the head. Tennis maybe, with all of the volleying back and forth that goes on? Golf, with all of its emphasis on focus and concentration – not to mention the occasional frustration? Maybe it’s a little of all of these things, but one thing’s for sure: successful business development is definitely a team sport.

That’s because, as with most things in life, business development requires building and leveraging relationships. It requires collaboration in working together with clients to help them identify problems and find solutions. It involves the give-and-take and sharing of roles and responsibilities. It sometimes requires relying on others to get things done – and the idea that a partnership can allow you to accomplish more than you could have alone. Sometimes it even requires building relationships with other members of your firm, creating a Client team to support your best Clients or a pitch team to acquire new ones.

Of course, the ultimate goal in the game of business development is to have your Client consider you to be part of their ‘team.’ That is how you know you’ve won.

A Happy New CRM Year

The way to avoid causing a CRM 'revolution' at your firm and have a truly Happy CRM New Year is to forget about all of the sweeping changes you resolved to make. Instead, you need to make only one resolution this year: to be a little better each day. I know, it's not very exciting - but it works.

It also makes sense. That's because CRM isn't an initiative or a project. It's a fundamental change in the way your firm thinks about and manages its most important relationships. As a result, CRM success requires an ongoing commitment. This means that it takes time. This means that you are never really 'finished.' This also means there is no need to rush. In fact, firms that do rush often end up failing, which costs them a great deal of time, money - and credibility. 

Many of these firms ended up failing because they tried to do too much too fast: They may have rushed to implement without a strategy or a plan. They may have tried to roll out before their data was cleaned and standardized. They might not have taken the time to gather and implement feedback from end users to customize or enhance the system. They may even have been one of many firms that made the fatal but all-too-common mistake of thinking that it made sense to roll out everyone all at once. Many of these firms learned some very expensive lessons – and several have ended up aborting their rollouts, only to later have to begin all over again later.Many also learned how important it is to get it right the first time because you don't always get a second chance at CRM success. Once CRM has failed, it can be extremely costly and difficult to regain buy-in from firm management and confidence from end users. 

So this year, resolve to enhance your chances of CRM success by simply trying to be a little better each day. Develop a strategy. Commit to planning. Focus on understanding and meeting end user needs. Automate processes to save time and effort. Communicate successes to drive adoption. Measure results to demonstrate return on investment. Find opportunities to provide value to users. Most importantly, don’t do it alone. Reach out for information, ideas and best practices from colleagues, peers, industry experts, vendors or consultants. Remember, we are here to help if you need it. 

The Door to Business Development

Writing, speaking and other reputation-building or marketing activities are a great way to open the door for business development, but to be really successful, you have to walk through it. This door may lead to a lot of places, but the one place it should almost always lead you is out of the office.

That’s because the most effective business development is done face-to-face. To be a successful business developer, you have to get out from behind your desk and go see the Clients and prospects. Sure, there are other ways to develop business, but absolutely none more effective.

Does this mean you have to network at rubber chicken fundraisers or 'schmooze' at cocktail parties? Not unless that's your thing. But what it does mean is that you have to add ‘face time’ to your business development activities.

This means that when you write an article, you think about individuals who could benefit from it and send it to them with a personal note. When you develop a seminar, you offer to present it in-person to top Clients or prospects at their offices. When you speak at an event, you stay afterwards to answer questions or call to follow up with people who request additional information. When you attend a conference, you take prospects or referral sources out for dinner or cocktails. Most importantly, you plan face-to-face business meetings with your top prospects to assess their needs - because until you do, you have no idea how you can help them – and that is the key to developing business.