Outsourcing Options and Opportunities - Part 1: Outsourcing Can Make Your Firm More Competitive

A recent articlein the ABA Journal proclaimed, “Boom years for law firms were an aberration.” The article quotes information from a 2013 Client Advisory report from Hildebrandt Consulting and Citi Private Bank which predicts that the double-digit rate increases that occurred from 2001 to 2007 are over.

As proof, the article summarized information in the report confirming that “productivity is down among income and equity partners, expenses are up, clients are demanding and getting discounts.” As a result, future law firm success will likely be measured by “profit growth in the single digits.”

To succeed going forward, the article suggests law firms are going to have to do things like develop a growth strategy, practice good leadership, focus on key Clients, practices or industries and seek Client feedback. (I would add, “act on it!” to that last one.)

These are all radical concepts, I know. But the article also suggests that, to stay competitive, firms may need to rethink their business models to focus on efficiency, and to do this they may want to consider their outsourcing options.

This makes perfect sense. How many tasks are the firm’s key marketing and other professionals currently working on that are keeping them from their most important jobs of crafting and executing the firm’s strategy and helping the attorneys to develop business? The good news is that now there are some options to help law firms save time and money – and free up key staff members for more important and strategic pursuits… 

CRM Success by the Numbers - Part 2: Let Me Count the Ways – and Dollars

So what kind of CRM numbers or metrics might make sense? Ideally, you want to find ones that are particularly relevant to the attorneys and the firm. Often these will be the numbers that are frequently preceded by a dollar sign – ones that relate directly to top line revenue or enhanced growth opportunities, like:

• Increased opportunities for business development
• Increases in revenue from key Clients
• Increases in newly discovered relationships
• Increases in cross selling opportunities between practices and attorneys
• Increases in referral business

Then there are metrics related to dollars saved, which also can contribute dollars to the bottom line. Some of these include:

• Reduction in the amount of attorney and staff time spent on list management  
• Reduction in the amount of time spent on repetitive or redundant tasks
• Reduction in the number of disruptive internal e-mail communications
• Reduction in the amount of time required to input contacts into the firm systems
• Improved tracking and management of marketing and business development expenses

In addition to all of these numbers, there are additional numbers you can select based on the stage of your CRM lifecycle… 

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 14: The Enemy

While it’s easy to portray business development as a battle – with the Clients as targets to be won over and your competition as the enemy standing in the way, this is a simplistic outlook. In reality, sometimes the enemy is us. We let our own issues or shortcomings limit our business development potential.

For instance, we may make excuses for not committing the necessary time to developing business. We tell ourselves we are just too busy. Well guess what: while you are busy being busy, there are plenty of other attorneys out there who will commit the time and do the work instead of making excuses – and they are likely talking to your Clients.

Additionally, some of us may feel uncomfortable in social situations. We would really rather not have to go to that networking event, conference or cocktail party. Frankly, I know very few people who relish this. But sometimes you have to just suck it up and remember that everything you want is just outside your comfort zone. Make the effort to meet new people and you will almost always be rewarded. 

Then there are some of us lawyers who can be overly critical (shocking, I know)… critical of others or even of ourselves or our own abilities. Rather than being open to new things, we reject them out of hand to avoid mistakes or embarrassment. But to be successful at business development, you can't be afraid to try new things and make a few mistakes. In the long run, they will make you a better business developer - and a better person.

Others of us may be perfectionists. While this can be a beneficial trait for practicing law, this tendency can actually get you in trouble in business development. I have seen so many business development plans that are beautifully prepared, bound in fancy notebooks… and gathering dust on the shelf. The goal of business development is not to wait to make a move until you are fully prepared for every contingency – which is impossible anyway. You would be much better served to focus on the execution. Do something. At a minimum, do more than you are doing now. If you don't fight you can't win. 

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 13: The General

While there are many people who can aid and assist your troops in their business development battles, it is imperative to have the support of strong and effective 'generals'. This is why it is crucial that the managing partners, chairmen and other firm leaders be actively involved in any business development campaign.

Their leadership roles may involve many facets. Great leaders should be unwavering in their support for business development and the troops. They should measure and reward positive advances. They should also encourage and publicly praise individuals and accomplishments. While this may seem like an obvious or minor thing to do, it sometimes can be difficult for leaders who are overachievers themselves - and who have come to ‘expect’ this level of achievement from everyone else - to utter the words, ‘good job.’ Regardless, this is one of the most powerful tools in the leadership arsenal. 

Conversely, if any of the troops are not carrying their weight, a good leader should take corrective action privately and provide the assistance needed to promote the needed improvements. Most importantly, generals should lead the troops – by example. They should actively encourage business development. They should share their business development contacts. They should attend business development meetings. They should discuss the importance of business development to the firm as well as each individual. They should provide or serve as mentors for the newer recruits. 

Ultimately, when it comes to winning the business development battles, the troops are only as strong as the weakest link, which is why many firms are now focusing on promoting and rewarding leadership as one of the keys to business development – and firm – success. 

An Apple a Day Keeps CRM Failure Away Part 6 - A Second Bite at the Apple

If at first you don't succeed at CRM... so then what? Should you just give up? Throw in the proverbial technology towel? Admit defeat and go look for a job doing something easier - like maybe becoming a lion tamer or a crash test dummy? No, don't even think about it. 

You should never give up, because it's never too late for CRM success. Besides, you are not alone. There are plenty of firms who have had failed CRM rollout attempts. In fact, research suggests that 50% to 80% of CRM systems may fail. Some law firms have even had to roll out their systems a second time… and even a third.  

This is because, at its core (don't forget our apple theme), CRM is about people, process and technology – and when it fails, it’s not usually the technology that’s to blame – and it’s certainly not you. It’s the people and process issues. So to succeed with CRM, all you have to do is create the processes and fix the people. How hard could that be in a law firm? (OK, stop laughing and get to work.) To do this, just stop focusing on the technology and start finding ways to solve problems and help your end users and firm to accomplish business objectives.

But don't try to do too much or do it too quickly though. If you try to achieve perfection, you will always be in for disappointment. Never strive for things like 100% adoption or 100% data quality. That’s just setting yourself up for failure. Instead, try to achieve small successes. Help one attorney communicate his or her expertise to a key group of targets. Help one practice group improve their success on pitches. Help one Client team with cross selling. And when you accomplish these things, share the successes.

The best recipe for ongoing CRM success is get a good result, communicate it, repeat. Once you do this, you’ll find the next group of willing attorneys lined up at your office door. And then your problem will be getting enough staff and other resources to handle the demand. Frankly, that’s a pretty great problem to have. 

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 12: Counterintelligence

Business development battles cannot be won without dedicated and motivated troops. But motivating attorneys to develop business can sometimes be challenging. Many attorneys went to law school specifically because they didn’t want to ‘sell.’ Just the mention of selling can evoke thoughts of a loud used-car salesman in a bad plaid jacket trying to overcome objections and ‘close’ a deal. That is not a motivator, by any means.

Sometimes the best way motivate your attorneys to develop business is to use counterintelligence, because what makes a great business developer can sometimes be counterintuitive. While initially it may seem to some attorneys that they need to ‘sell’ themselves to develop business, actually the opposite is true. To develop business, lawyers shouldn't try to sell anything. In fact, they shouldn’t spend much time at all talking about themselves, their services or their firm.

Instead, to develop business lawyers should focus on the prospective Client – and try to talk as little as possible. They should try to learn as much as they can about the prospect and his or her business and industry. They should ask good questions to gain an understanding of the Client’s needs and challenges. Most importantly, they should stop talking and really listen to the Client. Only then can they find opportunities where they may be able to help the Client.

That’s the real counterintelligence in business development: it’s not about selling – it’s about helping. Once they realize that this is true, your troops will be much more motivated – and much more successful – on the business development battlefield.  

An Apple a Day Keeps CRM Failure Away Part 5 - Slicing the Apple

When it comes to CRM success, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. There are, however, some almost universal ways to fail. Trying to roll out the software to everyone in the firm all at once is one good way. Trying to get the lawyers to sit through point-and-click classroom training is another. Also good: trying to deploy every bell and whistle, feature and function during the initial rollout. These are some sure-fire ways to create frustration - and maybe even cause a minor mutiny among the key stakeholders. Ask any of the firms who have done these things - although they probably won't have time to talk to you because they are in the middle of trying to roll out their system for the second or third time.

In reality, the most successful CRM implementations are achieved one small bite at a time. For instance, because CRM has so many different features, it can - and often should - be implemented differently for different groups. For one practice area, it might allow for tracking activities, for another, opportunities. One group might want to send out eAlerts while another may want to manage events. One practice might want to create an experts database while another wants to track referrals. 

The great thing about CRM is that it can be many things to many users. But the most important thing is to understand that success is also defined by those users. This means you have to engage your end users early and often. But don't expect them to tell you what they want the CRM to do. In most cases, they couldn't... because they have no idea what it can do. Instead, you should inquire about their business needs and issues. What problems are they trying to solve? What processes are they trying to automate? What objectives do they want to achieve? It’s our job to think of all of the ways CRM can help. If we slice the apple this way, then there will be plenty of CRM success to go around.

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 11: Purple Hearts

Alas, you are not going to win every business development battle. It can be daunting to put yourself out there in the field, face-to-face with Clients and prospects, who may either accept or reject your advances. While most of them will not be outright hostile, it's a fact that some of them are going to say ‘no.’ And when this happens, it can be tempting to retreat… to pull back and set up camp in your office, safely barricaded behind your desk. But that is the wrong battle strategy.

As confident as we attorneys appear, it’s really hard for most of us to take rejection. We take that ‘no’ very personally. Face it, most of us were not the ‘cool kids’ in high school. We were more likely to be the valedictorian or president of the Honor Society (guilty) than the captain of the football team or head cheerleader. And even though things turned out ok – sure, we’re successful professionals now – some of us still carry around that stigma from childhood. To some of us, a ‘no’ is more than just a ‘no’ – it’s puts us right back there in 10^thgrade being picked last for the team. 

An Apple a Day Keeps CRM Failure Away Part 4 - The Golden Apple

Arguably, the most important thing a CRM system can help a law firm with is business development – attracting and retaining top Clients. This is the reason a lot of firms invest in CRM systems in the first place. Actually, this is the reason a lot of firms do a lot of the things they do.

The problem is that, after the fact, those same firms often complain that their CRM systems are not providing a return on their investments. The reason has less to do with the CRM technology and more to do with the fact that the system either isn't being used properly – or at all – or that the firm hasn’t found a way to adequately measure ROI.

Here are a few measurable things that CRM systems can do to enhance the firm’s business development efforts:

• Communications can be targeted to key Clients and prospects to provide opportunities to generate business related to changes or developments in laws or regulations.
• Invitations to events can be distributed to key prospects to provide opportunities to get face-to-face to discuss key issues and strategies for addressing them.
• Client team meetings can be planned and scheduled to identify cross selling opportunities.
• Information from Client surveys can be communicated to improve Client service and retention.
• Reminders can be set to enhance follow-up after events.
• Pipelines can be created to track business development progress with Clients and prospects. 
• Financial information can be shared to help determine who the firm’s top Clients are so that the firm can serve them better and try to grow them – and to help identify who the firm’s at risk Clients may be so that the firm can serve them better and try to retain them. 

One other thing to remember when it comes to ROI on CRM investments: CRM is about people, process and technology – and when it fails to deliver ROI, it’s more often an issue caused by the people, not the technology. All the technology in the world isn't going to get business in the door if the attorneys aren’t willing to walk out that door and go get face-to-face with Clients. 

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 10: Air Cover

No matter how great an army of seasoned business development veterans you may have at your firm, they will always be more effective when they have reinforcements. In the law firm, the group that is tasked with backing up the business development troops is the Marketing Department. They provide the air cover to help ensure that the business development battles on the ground are successful.

These loyal and dedicated members of your business development army can help to provide whatever the troops need to be effective. They can start by helping to draw up business development battle plans. They can ensure that the troops’ expertise is widely distributed through publications and placements. They can assist in picking the right targets. They can do research or other leg work to help with movements in the field. They can provide ammunition to use during meetings. Then they can help with follow-up to keep things moving forward. Most importantly, they can help to lay out and execute an effective business development strategy, which is essential to success. Remember, no matter how fierce the battle, the Marketing Department should always have your back.

An Apple a Day Keeps CRM Failure Away Part 3 - The Apple of Our Eye

Sure, there are plenty of stories about CRM failures. But in reality, when rolled out successfully, CRM has tremendous potential. It can actually help a firm to improve communication, coordination and Client service. If you think long and hard about it, I bet you’ll have trouble coming up with too long a list of really important stuff we do in a law firm that don't involve at least one of those things. That’s because law firms are relationship businesses and relationships take a lot of all of the above.

Here are just a few of the things CRM can help us to do:

• We can de-duplicate our contact lists so we don’t send the same people multiple communications.
• We can generate lists that can be segmented by key categories to ensure that we can target information to the people who can benefit from it.
• We can alert potential Clients of important changes in laws or regulations that can affect them.
• We can coordinate Client team meetings and efforts.
• We can share information gathered from client surveys about Client service preferences.

All of these things can help CRM to become the apple of our firm’s collective eye. Then, there are even more important things that CRM can do…

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 9: On Targets

To win the business development battle, you first have to make sure you are aiming at the right targets. Each one you miss wastes valuable, and limited, business development time and resources. As a result, the most effective targeting involves aiming at the targets that you have the best chance of hitting.

Start with your current Clients. Presumably they are already your allies, since they are currently writing you checks. To effectively develop more business with existing Clients, first prepare a plan of attack. Identify areas where they have needs that are not currently being served by your firm. Next, divide and conquer. Have your troops spread out and make new contacts within the Client’s company. Learn about their issues and approach them proactively with valuable ideas and information. 

Next you may want to join forces with referral sources who may already be on your side. This could include other professionals with complementary practices such as accounting firms, consultants or lenders. It’s likely that you both have a number of Clients who could benefit from each other’s services. Putting together joint events such as seminars or roundtables on areas of interest to joint Clients can be a good plan of attack.

Only then should you consider prospects, who may be hostile, or at least less receptive, to your advances. Because you don’t have working relationships, it can take a long time and a lot of ammunition to overcome their defenses, resulting in protracted business development battles. To improve your odds, start with prospects with whom some of your attorneys may have existing relationships. Additionally, Enterprise Relationship Management (ERM) software can help you hone in on these relationships and point your top guns in the right direction. 

An Apple a Day Keeps CRM Failure Away Part 2 - A Bad Apple

In the past, you may have heard stories about CRM failures and disasters. CRM has been branded as an over-hyped, overpriced technology with poor adoption and little or no ROI. It’s rotten to the core. In fact, some people have even proclaimed that CRM is dead.  

In reality, CRM success is more of an apple and tree issue. It’s way too easy to blame CRM failure on the technology. Usually when CRM fails to meet expectations, the problem is not about the technology at all. It’s about the expectations.

Firms install CRM systems and suddenly expect them to solve world hunger – or at least help to feed all the hungry associates and other attorneys who need more work but have been unable or unwilling to focus on business development. End users are mesmerized by the dog and pony show and plan to implement all the bells and whistles all at once. The data is bad because the firm was not willing to devote the resources to cleaning it up ormaintaining it. There is no plan or strategy for success – and, as a result no success (shocker!). But it doesn't have to be that way…

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 8: Marching Orders

To be relevant for business development, the skills learned in basic training must be put into action. This is why it is crucial that well trained troops be deployed to the field as soon as possible. In other words, they need to get out from behind their desks and go see the Clients. These are the marching orders for any successful business developer.

Let’s face it: we all know that we didn’t really learn to practice law in law school. So why would anyone expect to be a natural born business developer? Being good at business development takes practice. You have to get out and engage with the Clients.

Many times, new recruits ask how much hand-to-hand – or face-to-face – Client contact is enough. The answer is that there is never enough. But since time is limited, here are some metrics that have served other business developers well: if you can manage 2 in person meetings and 4 phone calls a week, you will soon find yourself winning frequent business development battles. You will also be gaining allies left and right. If this seems like too much time to balance with your other duties, at a minimum, do something. When it comes to business development, each little thing you do can help you, and your career, to advance. 

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 7: Corps Competencies

Basic training should focus on the ‘corps’ business development skills and information that will help to prepare all recruits to win their personal business development battles. The troops should also be put through drills that will help to make all of this information actionable.

Typical drills may include things like 'ammunition loading' – gathering and analyzing information to prepare for Client meetings, 'targeting practice' – making sure to aim at the best business development prospects, 'mission readiness' - preparing for meetings with potential Clients, and 'hand-to-hand collaboration,' helping Clients to solve their problems and meet their business objectives in order to develop long-term business relationships.

While business development boot camp can be challenging, the troops who make it through should be well prepared for deployment. 

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 6: The Drill Instructor

Basic training focuses on general business development skills and information that is essential for all recruits to understand before moving into the field. However, as with any type of training, up to 75% of this knowledge can be lost without the addition of regular one-on-one follow up coaching. This is where the individual battles are won or lost.

Finding the right instructor can enhance individual business development results exponentially. A good drill instructor or coach can help the troops to take the basic business development information and put it work for them to achieve their business development objectives.

So who makes the best instructor or coach? The drill instructor for business development bootcamp can be an internal staff ‘sergeant’ or an external coach– or a combination. Many attorneys feel that an outside consultant is often the best fit because of the sometimes-personal nature of the coaching relationship and the level of confidentially that can be maintained. 

Often having a variety of different styles or types of coaches can be beneficial to ensure that you find the best fit for each of your troops. Ultimately a good drill instructor or coach can be the difference between advancing on the business development battlefield… or retreating. 

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 5: Basic Training

Business development basic training for your troops should be done early and often. While it’s almost never too soon to begin training in the basics of business development, attorneys who have been practicing 4 years or more tend to make excellent recruits. 

The first element of basic training should involve getting the attorneys ‘over the wall.’ In other words, they need to know that business development begins by getting out of the building and getting face-to -face with Clients and prospects.  

‘Corps’ business development training should then begin with Client calisthenics. These workouts may include researching Clients and potential Clients to better understand their businesses and industries and learning to ask questions to help identify Client needs that they may be able to help with. The top candidates may then advance to a 'ropes' course where they get to learn the ropes of their Clients’ businesses by visiting their offices, meeting their key contacts, attending their meetings or events - or even doing a secondment. There is no better business development tool than spending time learning all you can about your Clients.  

Focusing on regular, ongoing training exercises will not only underscore the importance of business development to the firm, it will also demonstrate the firm’s commitment to the attorneys’ continuous development and growth, which can help in retaining top talent. After basic training, ongoing refresher courses should continue regularly to keep all attorneys in their best possible condition. Additionally, while training is crucial, even more important is regular one-on-one personalized instruction… 

Categorizing CRM Contacts - 'Status' Symbols

Another way you may want to categorize CRM contacts is by contact ‘status’ or ‘type.’ This will allow you to better keep track of key individuals, segment your lists and target the audiences that you want to reach – and the ones that you don't.

Status categories may include a number of different types of classifications. For instance, you might want to track types of Clients such as current Clients, former Clients, top Clients or at risk Clients. You might also want to keep up with prospects who the attorneys may be targeting and who could someday become Clients. Additionally, you may to categorize other contacts who can help you to bring in Clients such as referral sources like accountant or bankers. These groups of contacts are the people who you want to keep in contact with on a regular basis, share information with or invite to firm events.

Then there are the contacts who you categorize to make sure that you don't share firm information with them or invite them to events. These might include adversaries or competitors. Judges might also fall into this category. You might also be sure to categorize personal contacts to prevent them from being included in the CRM system at all.

Then there are more innocuous categories you can use to make it easy to find certain people or companies when you need them. For instance, you may want to categorize different types of experts or vendors that the firm uses frequently. You may also assign a category to other types of businesses that may be in the system such as restaurants, hotels or clubs. All of these categories make it easier or more efficient for the attorneys and staff to do their jobs and accomplish firm goals. 

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 4:The Troops

Of course, the most important factor when it comes to winning or losing the business development battle is your troops. They must be loyal, courageous, dedicated and prepared.

You also must be careful to select the right troops. Different battles require different deployments. For some, you may need a small army of foot soldiers. For instance, when responding to an RFP or when a potential Client has a project that requires attorneys from multiple practices or specialties, you may want to send in a pitch team. Other battles may call for an army of one. You may move in a lone sniper who rarely misses, armed with information and ideas, when the Client needs laser-focused expertise for an unusual or unique situation.

In other situations, it may be more effective to engage a few top soldiers who are highly trained in special operations. These special forces would be called up when a Client has ‘bet the company’ litigation or a complex deal that simply must go precisely as planned. Situations like these require the best of the best, attorneys whose skills are unquestioned and unequaled.

But no matter how you may choose to deploy your business development troops, one thing is crucial: they must be well trained.  

Winning the Business Development Battle Part 3: Intel

Planning for the business development battle starts by gathering intel. You need to do your homework to gain a keen understanding your Clients and prospects, your adversaries – and even your own troops.

One way to begin gathering intel is to do research. Find out all you can about your Clients' and prospects’ businesses and industries. Are they expanding or contracting? Are they hiring employees or laying them off. Are they adding new locations or closing them? Are they moving forward or backward? Are they developing new products or services or acquiring them through purchases? Are they content with their current locations or entering new markets? Do they want to be regional, national or global? Are they targeting new companies for acquisitions - or might they be potential targets themselves?

So why is this intel so important? Why do we care about these things? Because each one often involves issues or challenges that may require legal services - and each represents an opportunity to help the Clients or prospects - and ultimately develop business.