How do your clients measure your legal work?

One of the quickest ways that I can invoke silence in a seminar is asking attorneys if they know how their clients measure the success of the legal work that they do for them.

It amazes me that this simple step of alignment, and huge opportunity, is missed all too often. The client has a legal need and as luck would have it I am an attorney that can handle that need…

In this day of alternative fee agreements, RFP’s, and the like, how does that separate you from everyone else looking to secure business?

I get asked all of the time to be measured on Client Development Process implementation. Some of the more common metrics are: Reduction in RFP’s, hit rate on RFP’s, Increased bill rate per partner, profit per partner, marketing expense pay back ratio. These are all granular items that can be tied specifically to my offering.

One of the main reasons that the answer is unknown is because the question is a business one that is not be asked of a business unit. A General Counsel has a legal need generated by a business unit. One that probably several firms in your area can handle. So they go with the cheapest or the one that appears to fit in a billing range, set by them. Without value established, it’s just a number, and a number that most likely someone will come under to get the business. Not always, but often.

You get delegated to people that you sound like. If you sound like an attorney, chances are you will end up talking with attorneys. Those attorneys from a business more than likely talk to several attorneys at several firms. Many that probably do the same or similar work as you. Do you want to play bill rate bingo?

Rainmakers talk to all levels of a business and have targeted conversation tied specifically to goals associated with each job title. A CFO has different business goals than a COO. A CMO has different goals than a VP of HR. A CEO has an eye on all of them but has their own business goals. These goals are things that they are measured and bonused on.

Having these individual conversations with each enables you to identify costs. How much product liability they have with a new product launch, merger and acquisition goals, on-boarding, turnover cost, retention. What do these things do to affect stock prices, credit ratings, etc?

Value and vision before service and price. Once you know an organizations business goals and what is holding them back from achieving them, you can offer a vision of how engaging in your services will help them achieve those goals. Without value, cost is the only variable. This helps you determine if this is business that is even worth it to you. Is it business that is best served by a trusted member of your referral network?

Regular meetings to review success metrics of your business relationship. So you have won the business. Every quarter, schedule a meeting to go over metrics that you all have agreed to measure the relationship on. If you things are on track or better than planned, is there a better time to leverage more business? If things are not going as planned would you rather wait until they decide to go with another firm or make adjustments accordingly?

In the race to cut costs, you have two ways to play the current environment. Buy the business and destroy your bill rate, or create value and help businesses achieve their goals, satisfy a need, or solve their problems.

I have worked with several firms to create measureable results and would welcome the conversation with your firm.

Please contact Andrew Wilcox, Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com, 850-893-8984

T-ball and the partner track

On a recent Saturday I was preparing to coach a bunch of T-ball players for the first time. I realized before I stepped foot on the field that this wasn’t the same T-ball that I played as a kid. We had championship trophies. After reviewing the rules I learned score isn’t kept (except quietly by parents in the stands) There is no catcher, therefore no dramatic play at the plate, and kids bring their own helmets, in my daughters case a pink one. There were no pink helmets when I played T-ball. The best part for the kids is the snack and drink after. That is pretty much the only thing that hasn’t changed.

I grew up playing baseball in Plantation, FL. Played at a place we called “the rockpit”. Not quite the manicured fields of today, but still was awesome. Coached high school kids that went on to play D-1 ball and 2 are in the majors now.

So I prepared and set out my coaching stations. Watched all of the usual movies to get big first speech direction…Hoosiers, Rudy, Patton.

I made my first critical mistake and it’s one that some firms make when developing associates into partners.

Assuming that there was a baseline of knowledge, I broke the players out. “You all go warm up, play catch and throw, going to take some batting practice, work on some situational plays, maybe some around the horn, a quick game of pepper, and wrap it up with some cut off throws and a 2 mile run.”

As the kids were throwing “at” each other and ducking for cover from incoming balls, hitting the tee very well, but the ball not so much, and when they did creating a 10 kid pileup at the spot of where the ball rested, I realized something.

I assumed because they had been alive and functioning for 5-7 years that they were prepared for a certain level of play. Just because associates have been working for 5-7 years, a lot of firms assume that when they become partners that they can just kinda do their thing and become rainmakers.

It’s the trainer and political junkie in me that has to create themes. “Have fun, learn something, and do your very best.” I ask them after every practice if they have done these things. That’s a pretty good day if they have.

So starting with the end in mind how do I get them there? How do you get rainmakers out of associates?

Putting the fundamentals into a process. How to hold the ball. How to stand. How to hold your hands on the bat. Getting your glove on the ground. Two hands, turn your body, face where you are throwing from the side. Throw and turn your body toward the target. Little successes that lead to getting the most out of being there. Fun, learning, empowered to do your very best once you have something to build on.

For associates or junior partners that want to learn to develop clients. How to prospect. How to build a referral network. How to have a business conversation. How to create value for a client and document that conversation. How to leverage opportunities into larger opportunities. How to measure success in their efforts.

Without a process, they resemble the 10 kid pileups. Every once in a while a kid gets the ball first, throws to first and gets the out. A series of random events tied together with hope and luck.

I have worked with several firms to help them create a measurable and repeatable process. Please contact me at: Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com , or (850) 893-8984 to learn how.

Prospecting isnt for sissies!

The beginning is usually a good place to start so let's talk about initiating client development cycles, aka prospecting. Boo! Hiss! Who likes to prospect? Not many, but it is a necessary evil. New client development is a numbers game and the more contacts you make, the greater your chances of success.

The primary objective for prospecting is to generate curiosity so that buyers are interested in talking with sellers. Unfortunately, caller ID, Spam filters and gatekeepers do their best to keep sellers at bay. And, how many executives are routinely available to answer their phones without an appointment? So, what can you do to increase your chances of making contact?

We recommend a campaign where you reach out to multiple people within an organization (we call this the Sphere of Influence approach) AND multiple organizations concurrently. Here are some ideas:

1. Profile your Target Market. Identify the top 3-5 titles within a prospect's organization that influence the decision to buy your products/services. Understand why they need your offering. Using case studies, quantify the potential value of your offering.

2. Build a Database. Locate contact information for prospects that meet your target market criteria. Use all available sources including existing customers, lead generation subscriptions, trade association listings, Web site visitors, social media groups such as LinkedIn, and referrals (by far the best approach).

3. Develop Issue-Based Messaging. Create 2-3 introductory letters that will be sent in advance of a phone call and close each one with a call to action. These letters are not about your services; they're about how you help your clients. The 1st letter highlights specific issues that your prospects wrestle with. Subsequent letters focus on how you helped your prospects improve their business results.

4. Deliver your Messaging. Send these letters out 7-10 days apart via email to all key influencers, letting each person know you are sending it to everyone else. If one influencer doesn't attend to your email, someone else might. You also may be told that they are not the right person, but someone else is. Bingo - now you have a referral. There are HTML applications that allow you to embed logos, images and links. They also provide stats on opens and clicks which can help you hone in on the more interested prospects.

5. Follow Up. Pick up the phone and first contact those that responded to your emails and/or clicked on an email link. The call won't seem as "cold" if you've first warmed them up with an introductory letter.

If you'd like to learn more about how we help our clients with prospecting, send us an email.

Do you have a firm retreat coming up? Looking for targeted client development training in person or via video-conference? Have you gone past training and implemented a client development strategy that integrates your firms brand with each attorneys marketing efforts?

We have worked with several organizations to help them achieve their client development goals and would like to share with you how.

Contact Andrew Wilcox at (850) 893-8984, Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com

Super Bowl of Client Development Tips

Super Bowl of Client Development Tips

Legendary football coach John McKay In response to a question about his team's execution said - "I'm all in favor of it."

We are just in the 1^st quarter of this year but is momentum wearing your teams colors or are you already playing a couple of scores down?

I had a manager fresh out of college that was a Tennessee grad and spoke almost exclusively in football clichés. Was a great manager and still good friend. Although some of them were a stretch, they rattle around in my mind when thinking about client development and sales opportunities from time to time. Here are some of my favorites that I hope you will enjoy:

Getting a deal comes down to blocking and tackling: How are you on the fundamentals of planning. How are you executing on each move? What is your plan for the 1^st hour of the day? Who are you calling? What are you doing? Look at successful people and are they executing the little things all day or relying on a big play to pull them through.

Goal line stand: Protect your brand. Protect your name. Protect what you are about. When it gets down to there it is who wants it more.

Punt: Risk/ reward. Sometimes the best deals are the ones that you never make.

Matriculate the ball down the field: If the goal is to score and ultimately win, what does everything that leads to that look like? It’s the actions that set up other actions, deliverables that lead to the final result. What measurable events (10 yards at a time) are you planning and executing on to get to your goal? How do you identify areas where you can do better the next time you have a chance?

Calling an audible: When faced with competition that has you matched well, change the play in your favor.

Executing the 2 minute offense: When the pace is picked up and time is not on your side, where does precision come in? It comes from preparation, teamwork, communication. Everyone has their role and everyone is dependent on each other to do their job.

Nose for the football: Know when a play is about to be on, anticipate, and make your move. Always be looking and listen for opportunities. Be in position to capitalize.

Don’t be the quarterback with happy feet: When the pressure is on, questions are flying at you, you may not have as much time as you think, slow things down in your head and rely on your ability.

Pin your ears back and go after them: When your competition is back on their heels a bit, aren’t executing, and you have momentum, go after them. You do them no favors by letting them believe they are better than what they are.

Hand the ball to the official after a touchdown: Scoring touchdowns are what you are supposed to do. Winning, growing business, executing, is why you are hired, and what is expected. Act like you been there before and just hand the ball over..

Gut check time: I’ll never forget what my manager said on a low day in his office. I had produced a few excuses for a bad sales month and he said, “Whatever problem you think you have, you will own it. If you think people won’t buy because of this reason or that, they won’t. Use any excuse you want, they all work..” If you think you can’t develop clients because you are an associate or never have before, you won’t. You have to see yourself above your plan. Everything you do from that point on is an exercise in getting there.

Have a firm retreat coming up or want to get your team all pulling in a higher revenue direction?

Looking for speakers through lunch and learns or webinars/ audio conferences? Have had tremendous feedback on customized presentations specific to individual firms goals and plans. Please read some testimonials at www.Wilcox-legal.com

Please contact me: Andrew Wilcox, Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com, 850-893-8984.

Does your firm have a client retention strategy?

Does your law firm have a client retention strategy?

So much time and effort is spent on new client development. The national average on client attrition is between 12-15% from year to year. How does your firm compare to this average?

What is striking are the issues as to why clients leave at all. Has your firm measured the value of retaining each client %? How much would that mean to your bottom line?

According to a recent study by Lexis Nexis:

• Clients that have more than 5 partners working with them, 90% of them stayed with the firm.
• Although clients that had 100% of the work done by partners were only 50% likely to stay with the firm
• Clients that stay with a firm/ lawyer for more than a year were 80% more likely to stay with them for the long term.
• 35% of the clients that used a firm for one area of practice ceased using the firm after the issue was completed.

Bill rates had very little to do with retaining clients. Low price shoppers were more likely to leave anyway.

So when forming your client retention strategy, how do you optimize efforts? Understanding that some clients are best not held on to for a variety of reasons.

Have business conversations with business people. Are your attorneys talking with a single point of contact (General Counsel) about legal matters? Have you considered talking with the C-suite or VP of HR about their business related legal issues? May secure labor an employment work for someone in a referral network, or products liability work, or transactional work.

Establish success metrics- How do you and how does your client want the attorney/ client relationship measured? Can you discover metrics beyond wins and losses to save your client money, time, resources? What is the value of your work to your client? Is this a client that makes sense for you to retain, or is it costing you money?

Build your bench - Associates are your future partners. What is your firm’s succession strategy to get associates involved in partner matters like client development. The clients should be comfortable with the firm’s talent and resources from the receptionist to the managing partner. Free up the time for partners to do more client development. Consider what work your associates can help with and gain greater understanding around to ultimately better serve your clients?

Qualify, Qualify, Qualify… There are 2 winners in the client development game. The firm who gets the client and the firm who got out first without spending time, money, resources that could have been better spent elsewhere. If your bill rate is $650/hr and this is a prospect that won’t pay more than $500/hr, then move on to other prospects. If this is a prospect that understands the value and doesn’t treat legal work as a commodity, they will pay your bill rate.

Do you have a firm retreat coming up? Let’s discuss how to merge your marketing plan with your attorney’s client development and retention efforts through Client Development Process.

Email me at Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com. You may also visit my website http://www.wilcox-legal.com/. 850-893-8984

http://www.linkedin.com/in/wilcoxlegal

Client development and the Earth's rotation

http://www.wilcox-legal.com/Client%20Development%20Process%20Overview%20podcast.mp3

Client Development and the Earth’s rotation

Let me be the first to say I have no idea what relation the Earth’s rotation around the sun has on client development opportunities or exploration of career options.

However, it seems like decisions and planning are always made at the end of the quarter, end of the year…

As we approach that turn I am having several conversations with attorneys daily about planning. Not Y2K the world is ending planning, but what will 2010 look like. More importantly, how folks want it to look.

It can look the same or worse than 2009, or you can use the Earth’s rotation to your advantage.

5 tips on client development planning:

1. Develop goals with what you want the end of 2010 to look like and work backwards. How many seminars do you need to do per month? How many calls or emails to prospects do you need to make weekly? Who can you set up a referral network with inside and outside of your firm (think complimentary practice areas.) Most attorneys that I speak with that do not have a book of business, do not have a business plan.

2. Commit to taking a client to lunch. At least once a month. Things have been tough on everybody. Everybody is looking at bottom lines. What better time to reset a relationship. Bring a notepad. Find out what “business” issues they are dealing with. Take notes. If the issues don’t match your practice areas, what better way to provide a referral to someone in your network.

3. Referral networks are like the holiday season, better to be in a giving mood. Nothing will kill a referral network quicker than a group of people that are together to take and not give. Always be listening for opportunities to feed your network.

4. Go outside of your profession to create a network. Financial planners, doctors, real estate agents, engineers, IT, business leaders. Amazing how much you can learn about how a business works and the issues that business people deal with when you hear from them first-hand. Possibly facilitate the deal between business people.

5. Establish success metrics for yourself and qualify opportunities in or out as quickly as possible. Time management is so tough. There are two winners in a deal. The one who gets the business and the one that gets out first without commiting time, money, and resources toward a prospect that you know you will not represent.

Whether you sit on boards, give seminars, join groups, spend the time up front to determine if it is something that you can be passionate about. Do they have contacts that you can leverage, but more importantly develop strong long –term relationships with? Nothing is less inspiring than someone that is going through the motions in a chase for the dollar.

Andrew Wilcox
President
Wilcox and Hackett, LLC
Andrew@Wilcox-legal.com
www.Wilcox-legal.com
(850) 893-8984

Taking it personal

Do you go to work everyday and do your job, or do you take it personal?

I speak with people all of the time who are trying to find and edge. They step outside of their day-to-day, try and do what others competing with them do not, all good things.

However, is it who they are or what they are doing? That board you are looking to be a part of, friend you are trying to make, job you are doing, is it personal or just business.

Remember the movie Jerry McGuire. Jerry told him he was "paycheck player" and that "that doesn't inspire people".

We probably know more people that do what they do for money than for passion.

I talk with people everyday that make alot of money. Alot more than most I should say. They aren't happy and want a change. I tell them if you do anything for money, you will never have enough of it. That's fine, but what inspires people?

Is it the person joining a chamber of commerce board to pass their business card out or the person feeding the homeless on a cold Saturday morning with their kids because their life is a blessing and they want to share that with the ones closest to them?

I have been very lucky to work with a broad range of companies. Some struggling, some doing well, some searching.

When I walk into a class I see something very quickly. Who is engaged and wanting to improve. Who takes it personally and who is there as if it were a prison sentence?

You see it in some peoples eyes immediately. Others have been burned before but believe in what they do. Others are paycheck players. If someone offered them more money that would trump everything else.

Ask yourself in what you do. Do I worry about my job responsibilities or do I mentally check out at some point in the day? When others stop, do I do a bit more, honestly?

Do you dive into the new initiatives or find the person/ people that is griping in the corner about how bad the new idea is?

Do you give more than you get? Are you committed to the development of others? Part of a team or a bad month affect "you".

What would inspire you in others?