Client Development Process

Client Development Process is a 4 hour course that approaches client development from the client side. The course is taught in half of a day with individual coaching available over the second half and follow up coaching via conference call for 90 days.

The top 3 goals that law firm management have shared with me are:

"We are looking for a way to attract and retain a quality client base and leverage existing clients more effectively."

"I would like to increase our profits per partner."

"We would like to develop senior associates and existing partners into rainmakers."

How does your firm market? Is there a common process to be shared and understood or do you rely on lunches, white papers, and press releases?

Do you have a way of looking at every phase of your client development and identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement in your approach?

We have provided the capabilities for attorneys and firms to address these and other issues and I would like to explain how.. Please call me at 850-893-8984 or email me at Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com. You may also visit my website http://www.wilcox-legal.com/

Client Development Process-Course Agenda

1 hour
Introduction to Client Development Process
Client Development Issues
Management Issues
No Decision
Traditional/ Process Sellers
Competency Components
Value Knowledge
Market Knowledge
Vision of Usage

Client Development Skills
Alignment with Buyers
Personal
Buyer Starting Point
Buyer Behavior
Interrogatory Engine
Value and Vision Before Service and Price
Buyer Qualification
Power Line
Opportunity Approvers
Sphere of Influence
Opportunity Qualification and Control
Qualification Elements
Prospecting and Business Development
Conceptual Client Development Territory
List of Requirements
Self-generated vs. Competitive
Main Concepts
You get Delegated to People You Talk Like
People Buy from People
Success Story format
Don’t Give without Getting
Bad News Early is Good News
Value of Usage

1 hour
15 minute break between sessions

Goal Identification/ Menu of Goals/ Success Stories
Questioning Etiquette
Targeted Conversation
Sample Questions
Value Questions
Value Measurement
Call Debrief
Letter to Advocate

Opportunity Organizational Chart
Buyer Qualification
Why engage other Key Players?
Follow up to the Advocate Letter
Joint Client Development Calls

Qualifying the Advocate
Choosing to compete
Competitive sanity check
Competitive Strategies
Reasonable Scenario
Competitive Differentiators
Qualifying the Opportunity
Solutions develop over time
Key Player call- Targeted Conversations

1 hour
Opportunity Control
Determine Evaluation Process
Chain of Events Template
Define proposal process
Chain of Events
Opportunity Control
Draft Implementation Plan
Cost vs. Benefit Analysis
Define Success Metrics
Close and Negotiation
Buyer Tactics
Negotiating Tips
Navigating the Negotiation
Negotiation Stands

1 hour
Prospecting and Business Development
Planning
Qualifying Unsolicited RFP’s
Gaining Access to Senior Execs
Telephone Prospecting
Organizing to Prospect
Habits of Rainmakers
Setting up Your Network
Referrals
Voice mail/ Admin
Sample Prospecting Letter/ Fax
Email Prospecting
Seminars/ Trade Shows
Management Tools
Allocating your Time
Activity Balancing
Opportunity Difficulties vs. Seller Problems
Getting Started with Client Development Process
30-day Tasks
Dealing with Stale Proposals
Proposal Withdrawal Letter

About the instructor:

Andrew Wilcox’s experience with client development process began in 1996 as a sales representative for a Fortune 500 company working his way up to Senior Sales Director for the southeast. There he implemented a process that grew his region’s sales by an average of 57% per year for the next 3 years. Andrew went on to Thomson West where he achieved the award of President’s Club for the next 2 years as the only small market manager.

Since 2004 Andrew has been working with Fortune 500 companies and law firms to teach sales and client development process working with such companies as Business Objects, IBM, Rockwell Automation, VWR International, Aspen Tech, and Thomson West. Andrew held corporate sales and sales management positions where, in addition to achieving individual awards as top revenue producer and sales manager, he managed special projects such as implementing sales measurement & reporting systems, designing incentive & compensation programs and opening new sales regions. Andrew is a graduate of Florida State University where he majored in marketing and minored in international business.

Andrew is the owner of Wilcox and Hackett, LLC, a legal search and client development consulting firm since 2004 where he has worked with small law firms to firms in the AM Law Top 5. Over that time, Andrew has helped place shareholders and associates and has worked extensively on firm mergers. Experience including working from the discovery of interested firms, through merger, developing business plan to training partners and associates on client development process.