Business | Values in practice: Client acquisition basics

Too often we get so involved in the next ‘Wonder Drug’ of business development that we lose site of the fundamentals. People buy from people, and it doesn’t matter how technically brilliant you think you are, the well will quickly run dry if no one likes dealing with you. But beyond the ‘likeability factor’, you may want to consider the following:

1. Service

You are in business to serve. Of course, your values, vision and mission statement have to drive the business forward, but if you have lost the thrill of helping others get what they want then you are, frankly, doomed. The problem is, if every time you see a client, you fix a stare which says or suggests another fee, then said client will smell that a mile off. You can ascribe to any programme you wish ? Clients First, Excellence ? but your client will want to enjoy the experience from tip to toe and not be thought of as another fish you have landed.

2. Cross-team working

Too often you hunker down in your silo, send the occasional email to remind people you still exist, and then wait. Wait for people to beat a path to your door. Your internal network should be considered well before those grip and grin sessions that you indulge in repeatedly, only to come away asking the perennial question ‘What was that all about?’ In fact, you need to deal with your colleagues as if they were your clients. Very often you look a gift horse in the mouth when you get a referral only to treat with it mild disdain because you can’t immediately see the Return on Investment (ROI) of your time. You even avoid dealing with certain people because of the repeated Hospital Passes that you have been the recipient of. You have to expect a certain amount of chaff among the wheat, but it is far more likely in the current climate that you will be receive your instructions internally and the more you can do to foster the image of helpfulness, capability and being able to superplease the(ir) client, the more likely it is that you will be first pick.

3. Staying in contact with clients

So what if you haven’t got an all-singing-all-dancing Client Relationship Management system! Most firms have still to make that investment, and most of the intelligence anyway is buried in a file, someone’s head or an Excel spreadsheet. Whoever is the master of the database is the person that is likely, in time, to be busiest. Not just in the sense of getting work directly from the clients on that database but in getting referred work for being a thoughtful, helpful and generally decent sort of person. It means a handwritten note, a telephone call or better still a coffee or lunch catch up. And this doesn’t just apply to commercial ‘Big Ticket’ clients. Many private clients are simply ignored even though they may have instructed the firm for decades. They might, if they are lucky, get the odd invite to some loosely disguised networking/sales do but just imagine how special they will feel to receive a phone call with an invitation to lunch.

4. Alignment with your values

Most firms will say they have values. A few will have proudly displayed them on their website. How many firms have them baked into everything they do? The thing is, in trying to please everyone all of the time or being all things to all people, it is simply not possible to serve everybody to the highest possible standard. New clients tend to receive a hyper sensitive approach to service ? you dare not drop the ball ? whereas the long-standing client is rather neglected because you know how much slack there is in the system. But in either case are these the right client rights for the firm? Too often firms allow themselves to be placed in a position where they regret the instruction, not because the client is awkward but because there is no mirroring in values.

5. Make business development ?a priority

As we all know what gets measured gets managed; but more than that if you want to make sure you deliver on your avowed intention to develop more business then reward those people who devote meaningful time to business development. It may sound heretical but try just for one week to give people a significantly reduced time target ? less than 10 hours ? but ask them to spend the rest of the week on business development. Remember the calendar never ever lies, and for those people that insist on doing the work this may come either as a welcome relief or a jolt to the system.

6. Do less

The corollary of point 5 is to do less. Too often with business development people get bored, absent immediate or significant results, and go walkabouts looking for the next practice area that is sure to yield fruit. One meeting follows hot on the heels of the next meeting where the same issues are discussed ? target lists, SWOT analysis and a sales-led programme ? only to leave everyone with the impression that there is far too much to do as well as the day job. Business development is a team exercise. Focus on one practice area. Focus on one business development activity. And measure and test the results regularly by reference to the conversion rates, client visits made and client wins.

7. Reward success

You need to consider that there are many lawyers who go above and beyond the call of duty and in time that is taken for granted and they get labelled a ‘rainmaker’ or ‘consummate rainmaker’. Start offering your appreciation in a thoughtful and timely way. Team meetings are one thing but a handwritten note with, perhaps, a small voucher may be all that is required for people to do that little bit extra or be prepared to attend another early morning or late evening networking event.

Think of business development much like a marathon ? the tortoise definitely wins in the end. Undoubtedly business development will become further professionalised but if you stick to the basics then they will hold you in good stead for the journey that is just now starting to unfold with the increased competition and proliferation of consumer facing brands.