Your competitors are asking for new business. Is your team?
Is your group bringing in new business from clients and prospects?
Are they selling but not seeing results?
Where are their opportunities?
Can they be expanded?
Do they really know how to communicate effectively with their prospects?
Go to our new website’s Services page for tips and tactics – and download a free chapter of
OWN THE ZONE.
If you are or about to be named head of a practice group in your firm, and are tasked with making Business Development a top priority, here are 4 questions that must be asked, answered and acted upon.
1. Do you have underperforming assets?
2. Where are the overlooked opportunities?
3. Can you find hidden assets?
4. Is your group undervaluing relationships?
Law firm managing partners, practice group leaders and partners-in-charge of offices will find that bringing rigor to answering these questions will chart a direct path to growing your business. Our STRATEGIC ACTION PROGRAMS are designed to help answer these questions and bring rapid success and will new business.
In our last column, we identified steps that contribute to keeping your clients. It is a key to business development success. In addition to turning clients into your advocates, we recommend to our own clients that they:
* KNOW WHAT’S WORKING AND WHAT COULD BE BETTER — Find out by conducting regular client satisfaction visits or discussions to enhance client retention opportunities.
* FOCUS ON MORE THAN JUST WHAT YOU’RE DOING NOW — Cross-selling other practice group services is a solid approach to marketing.
Two more clues that we suggest will be in our next column.
According to a Harvard Business Review blog, at least 50% of new business every year, for professional service firms, should come from clients and referrals—that’s right 50%!
* Turn your clients into important advocates and spokespeople for your firm.
* Know what’s working and what could be better.
* Focus on more than what you are doing now.
* Keep adding benefits to your services.
* Participate rather than just attend.
We’ll discuss each of these in more details in the following posts. You can also obtain lots of additional ideas from www.allancolman.com/services.
Our newest business development workshop is on keeping your clients. Entitled 3 LAWS OF CLIENT RETENTION, we identify what drives clients crazy and how to apply the 3 rules to keep them and actually grow more business.
Here’s a hint to the 3 rules from LEGACY by James Kerr, “What is the food of the leader? It is knowledge; it is communication.”
Go to www.closersgroup.com/services.
In one of the LinkedIn groups, there has been a lively discussion of recommendations for “great marketing books” for new marketeers. But while they all address marketing, there is nothing moving the reader out into actual business development. This provides me with a very self-serving opportunity to offer OWN THE ZONE – Dominate the Competition, published by Made For Success Publishing and found at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kindle, Itunes, etc.
“The real impact of the book is about transforming your business culture, erasing the artificial boundary between sales and professional service, and understanding the bottom-line benefits of speaking directly and honestly to client needs.” Larry Smith, Sr. VP LEVICK.
If you are on allancolman.com, download a free chapter. And for the first 10 people who send in the contact form, I’ll foward the book to you at no cost.
You can also reach me at acolman@closers group.com.
NOVEMBER 6TH, 12 noon Eastern Time; WIN AND KEEP NEW BUSINESS – GOAL Webinar
This webinar for Global Outsourcing Association of Lawyers will address the following key elements of business development:
* Why should your firm be hired?
* Doubling the number of prospect meetings;
* Retaining clients;
* 12 steps to ASKING FOR BUSINESS;
* Building opportunities.
Register at – https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/965647478 or contact me at www.allancolman.com.
The World Series of baseball is upon us with one surprise team in the finals. It points out that even a “non-big-name” firm can win. All too often we hear law firm excuses that “they want a name-firm so if things go bad, the client can tell the Board of Directors “we got the best.”
More importantly, in the U.S. and Canada, 3 major new campaigns have begun, National Football League, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association. You won’t hear any of them with excuses as to why they can’t beat the big guys.
Our BUSINESS ACCELLERATOR WHEEL c, has 7 steps to get you ROI.
1. Opportunities;
2. Communications;
3. Anticipating and overcoming objections;
4. The “ask”;
5. The “close”;
6. Results;
7. Pipeline.
Let us help you put this to work for your firm.
We’ve learned from others the importance of simplifying and clarifying what clients come to us for and how we can help new business development. Whether you enter www.allancolman.com or www.closersgroup.com, you will find us ready to assist you in accelerating business, presenting keynotes on Leadership, Winning New Business, Client Retention, etc.
Deepest thanks to DeeDee Heathman from Made For Success. As the publisher of my books and future book, CRAZY IMPACT, she brought a unique view into building our new website.
We get measurable results for our clients.
One of the first questions that any firm should ask when they consider working with a business development consultant is about the consultant’s approach: what do they do differently that will help you to see real results from your lead generation efforts?
At the Closers Group, we help clients achieve results using a three-phase approach 1) analysis with Rapid Assessment; 2) Strategic Business Road Map; 3) business development strategy and training that builds on the first two.
Once we know what is working for a firm and have identified where there is room for growth, we work with firm management and marketing professionals to establish and prioritize target prospects, create a timeline action program, recommend refinements for collateral and pitch materials, and provide direction for closing new business.
Each of our next columns will address the 3 steps to Growing New Business.