Consultants Must Now Deliver Greater Bottom Line Benefits, According to New Survey by The Closers Group
Despite Downturn, Law Firms Leary of New Business Development Training Programs
TORRANCE, Calif., July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Closers Group, which helps law firms develop and implement business development strategies, today announced the results of a survey that gauges current perceptions of the value of business development consultants and training. Both partners and legal marketers were polled.
The survey results strongly suggest that, to prove their value, business development consultants must now play a more instrumental role in generating significant new revenue. Among the key findings, 36% of respondents say that the work of the business development consultants they've retained has real bottom line impact, while 57% say the work has been helpful but not decisive - or that it was initially helpful but less so as the engagement continued.
These numbers contrast with the 50% of attorneys, and 75% of marketing professionals, who simultaneously attribute new client engagements to the guidance provided by business development consultants. Apparently, working with consultants leads to new business but not enough new business to represent "real bottom line impact."
"The message is clear," said Allan Colman, principal of The Closers Group. "We have to train our lawyer clients to close, not just pitch," said Colman.
"Platitudes and 'soft' support are no longer enough. We must produce more hard revenue for our clients. We must deliver really concrete and actionable plans with significant returns to the bottom line," added Colman.
The survey also shows, surprisingly, that the current economic crisis has not provided a significant impetus to new business development training initiatives or to more law firms retaining business development consultants.
Nearly 200 attorneys and marketers responded to the survey: 60% from law firms with 250 attorneys or less; 24% from firms with 250-500 lawyers; and 16% from firms with over 500 lawyers.
The perceptions of attorneys and law firm marketing officers were significantly different as 42% of the latter believe that business development consultants had a real bottom-line impact, compared to only 25% of the lawyers. At the same time, 67% of the lawyers responding said there were major differences among partners as to the value of the consultant's strategic and tactical deliverables.
Here Colman sees important lessons for law firms. "These differences in perception between the marketers and the lawyers are not surprising, and suggest that, as in the past, the various parts of law firm marketing/business development programs are not necessarily moving in synch. On a firm-wide basis, there is still much to be done in terms of coherent approach, clear direction, and measurement of results."
Among other survey findings:
Only 20% of responding firms have started formal business development training since the downturn began, while 63% have considered one. At the same time, 100% of the attorneys may expand existing business development training programs. These numbers suggest that firms simply don't want to spend money to make money during this recession, while those that already have training programs in place unanimously see potential benefit in expanding them. Here we may be seeing a missed opportunity for the smaller firms that are well-positioned in this economy to offer clients more cost-efficient and personalized service.
A discouraging 71% of the firms report that only a few partners attended business development sessions or were coached by the consultant.
The vast majority of both lawyers (80%) and marketing professionals (75%) say that, among the deliverables provided by business development consultants, they were most impressed by the one-on-one coaching provided the attorneys.
29% of responding firms said they would not be inviting their consultant to provide additional services, while 31% indicate that they will be retaining a different business development consultant in the future.
71% indicated that associates were invited to participate in the business development program but only 20% got actively involved. These numbers are particularly interesting considering the clamor among associates for more training in general.
53% of the firms have no tangible rewards for developing new business and only 12% indicate some sort of shared origination credit.
55% of the firms have a Business Development Partner or Marketing Partner, suggesting an absence of real commitment and support for marketing/business development from firm management among the other 45%, even during these adverse times.
As further evidence of the surprisingly low impact of the recession on the growth of business development training, only 46% of the respondents stated they felt the services of a business development consultant are needed more in a downturned economy.
As further evidence of how perceptions of lawyers and marketing professionals differ, 75% of the marketing professionals believe that business development consultants retained by their firms have had an impact on how the marketing department operates. Only 45% of the lawyers share that belief.
The Closers Group counsels law firms and other service firms nationwide on strategies to generate new business rapidly - through customized training, active prospect identification, target pursuit, client meetings and deal closing. Its professionals bring decades of experience working with in-house counsel and CEO's to assess target strategies that forge relationships between service firms and corporate executives. Its signature "Red Zone" approach has helped generate millions of dollars in new business for its clients.
