Client retention has always been at the top of all rainmakers’ business development tactics list. Many would say it is the most important and therefore, the SuperBowl. For several years, BTI’s annual survey of in-house counsel indicates that the most important qualification for their outside counsel is UNDERSTANDING THEIR BUSINESS. They describe it as rare in the marketplace. But actively using it to pursue cloient retention brings superior rewards.

BTI’s 2011 survey is no different, showing understanding of their business as well as client focus as the two highest ranking criteria for retaining outside counsel. If a long standing client, you should be offering advice and ideas on improving their business. If a prospect, make sure you know the environment and competition they work within.

Become their business partner.

Client retention has always been at the top of all rainmakers’ business development tactics list. For several years, BTI’s annual survey of in-house counsel indicates that the most important qualification for their outside counsel is UNDERSTANDING THEIR BUSINESS. They describe it as rare in the marketplace. But actively pursuing client retention brings superior rewards.

BTI’s 2011 survey is no different, showing understanding of their business and client focus as the two highest ranking criteria for retaining their outside counsel. Yet, a dichotomy seems to exist. ALM Intelligence reported in the December, 2011 issue of Corporate Counsel, that the highest criteria corporate counsel look for in their outside firms and lawyers is firm specialization, followed by cost, responsiveness and history with the company. Nowhere does understanding their business appear.

This absence could be due to how the survey questions were worded, or if the response choices were limited, or the demographics of the companies surveyed differed wildly.

But if you have to make a choice, go with knowledge of a client or prospect’s business. If a long standing client, you should be offering advice and ideas on improving their busines. If a prospect, make sure you know the environment and competition they work within.

They would not be talking with you if they didn’t already know what your specialty is. But become their business partner.

This is the final chapter on law firm mergers and the importance of early involvement by marketing leadership. What can you do to mazimize the “rollout” which begins in earnest after the launch is over? It needs to identify what the marketplace really wants, and deliver it.

The launch is a press release. The rollout is the real meat and potatoes of merger marketing. It requires an in-depth knowledge of your own resources in terms of people and expertise. Those resources can be tough enough to identify at your own firm.

A merger requires an assiuous cataloging of what the two firms bring to the table. It should confirm the wisdom of the merger.

In this third chapter on law firm mergers and the importance of early involvement of marketing leadershipo, the next question is:

How do you show – not tell – the marketplace that your intellectual and professional platform is indeed broader and deeper? New sub-specializations can be defined and marketed. Articles on legal or client industry issues should be co-bylined by lawyers from both merging firms. Talk about mergers in general, using your own as one example. Even years later, partners from the two original firms can still share their experiences at conferences, meetings, etc. And by so doing implicitly remind the market that their own experience is an example of how it is done right.

Our last segment in this series, Maximizing the Rollout, will follow.

This is the second in our series on Law Firm Mergers and the importance of integrating the marketing leadership from both firms as early in the process as possible. Since clients and internal stakeholders will be the most impacted, how should a firm get more people to care?

Well, what do people care about? While marketing in a merger situation is not conceptually unique, it is exponentially more complicated because now you must refine the message and re-identify the messengers across multiple fronts. These fronts encompass the capabilities of the merging firms and the altogether new capabilities that the merged firm presents.

With this premise set, our next column will focus on how you show – not tell – the marketplace that your intellectual and professional platform is indeed broader and deeper.

With law firm mergers increasing 65% between 2010 and 2011 (according to the American Lawyer), it’s time to bring back our series on Law Firm Mergers.

We begin with why most underachieveing law firm mergers share one fundamental deficiency. Over the next several columns, I’ll identify a checklist to be used by the negotiating partners and marketing leadership.

The failure is to not work a practicable marketing strategy into the very soul of the merger – before it happens, while it happens and after it happens. Keep in mind that marketing is not just self-promotional activity but the process by which the institution actually defines itself. It is also used by others, such as in recruitment and business development to define the firm externally. Marketing likewise has an immediate impact on internal perceptions.

The first of the strategic questions from both firms’ marketing leadership should include:

1. Who is going to care about the merger? The answer, of course, is anyone directly affected by it, mainly clients and internal stakeholders. So marketing leadership must provide for direct and well-timed outreach to both constituencies, by phone whenever appropriate.

Stay tuned for more.

Whether it’s the Aztecs of yore or the renewed predictors of economic doom and gloom, is your firm ready to compete? Experience tells us that law firms can differentiate themselves from the pack and engage in successful business development if they:

* Build with recent clients and leads;
* Increase efficiency in pursuing and winning new engagements;
* Stimulate more internal collaboration;
* Advance client/prospect targeting;
* Build the firm and practice area profiles and recognition.

As business development consultants, we often see internal improvements leading to external results [ with little if any additional costs![

In the field of law, there are many things that fall outside of your control—things like the market and your competitors. Thankfully, however, not all is left to fate. By focusing on creating change within your law firm, you can are working toward securing a more solid future for your firm with a pipeline of available opportunities. While this may seem daunting, don’t let it keep you from taking action.

Over the years that we’ve provided legal business development services, we’ve noticed a few common law firm business development objectives that can apply to most firms. By improving your firm’s internal systems, your attorneys and staff will be able to capitalize on the opportunities that present themselves as a result of this change.

Here are few of the most common legal business development objectives we’ve encountered over our years of helping clients improve their legal business development skills, and some guidelines on how to best reach those goals:

Objective: To increase efficiency in pursuing and winning new engagements
Guideline: To increase your efficiency, focus on improving your sales techniques and closing skills to create a well-oiled legal sales machine.

Objective: To stimulate more internal collaboration
Guideline: A common issue seen in many law firms is the lack of communication and collaboration between practice groups. Focus efforts on breaking down communication barriers and you’ll enjoy a variety of benefits including increased productivity, better legal sales pitches, enhanced creativity, and a better work environment for attorneys and staff.

Objective: To advance client/prospect targeting
Guideline: Consider segmenting your clients and prospects into groups that share common elements. Doing so will allow for more tailored sales pitches, meetings, and services.

Objective: To build the firm and practice area profile and recognition
Guideline: One popular way to increase legal sales is to increase brand recognition. This can be achieved through your website, blog, increasing or initiating client contact, or though activities like speaking at conferences or events.

Through business development training, law firms can increase their potential in the marketplace and successfully capitalize on opportunities to sell legal services. While these objectives are challenging, choosing one or two and then focusing efforts on reaching those goals can yield great results internally and externally.

Internal improvements often lead to external results. In the next blog post in this series, we will look at some law firm business development opportunities that, if seized, can help achieve goals and results.