Attorney Marketing Culture Clash
by Allan Colman
The future you see is the future you get—Robert G. Allen
It goes without saying that every partner and associate in your firm desires the spoils of the outcome of a good business development strategy. But if you could look into the minds of all your comrades to see what their idea of what that actually looks like, chances are you would see a mosaic of ideas that might greatly differ from your own. All too often, everyone agrees on the destination, but no one can agree on which road to take, so the end result looks a lot less like the success everyone collectively envisioned in the beginning.
I find that this disconnect has much to do with the overall business development and legal sales culture of the organization and the inevitable clash of ideas that simply come with the territory. However, in order to grow your pool of clients and extend and expand client retention, the firm should be like a single organism with a system that works synergistically with its environment.
Of course, becoming like-minded about business development goals doesn’t mean that everyone pursues the strategy identically. Each member uses their individual talents and draws upon the skills of others on the team and perhaps trusted individuals outside of the organization. One member may be strong in closing skills, while another is artful in the practice of legal consulting, etcetera. After all, a quarterback doesn’t do the work of a defensive lineman, but both work together to achieve the ultimate goal: to win.
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Allan Colman is managing director of The Closers Group, a law firm marketing group that helps law firms develop new business opportunities, close sales opportunities and leverage new business opportunities with current clients.
