LAW FIRM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Struggling to grow your firm? At Orion Legal Marketing, we specialise in law firm business development, offering tailored services to enhance client relationships and boost market presence. Partner with us to unlock your firm’s full potential and achieve lasting success.
LAW FIRM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Law Firms and Barristers Chambers that have embraced change and adopted a client-focused approach to law firm business development are standing out from the crowd. Offering as much or as little support as you need, while working alongside you, we’ll take a detailed look at all areas of your legal practice. We’ll help you develop a realistic business plan and marketing strategy that takes account of your future ambitions for your legal practice.
We’ll get to know the values, principles and culture that your practice is founded upon and evaluate how much your staff and management team have bought into it. By exploring who your ideal target clients are, we’ll also uncover who your best clients currently are and which of your services and fee earners are the most profitable.
CLIENT SURVEYS FOR LAW FIRMS & BARRISTERS CHAMBERS
Build on your strengths and address weaknesses for law firm business development
Client feedback is critical to increasing client satisfaction, creating loyalty, and guaranteeing the long-term growth of your practice. Do you really know what your client’s value about your services? What makes you stand out from your competitors? It is impossible to be objective when you work in your practice every day.
Client surveys:
Establish what your clients’ expectations are and how you can meet them
Uncover how clients see your practice vs your competitors
Allow your clients to be open and honest about their views and experiences
Identify opportunities for cross-selling
Show that you care about the opinions of your most important stakeholders
Unlock new growth opportunities for your law firm business development
MYSTERY SHOPPING FOR LAW FIRMS & BARRISTERS CHAMBERS
Deliver an exceptional client experience
Do your clients truly experience the high levels of service that you expect, all the time? We can find out. A trusted external perspective can help you discover and evaluate what is working well, what isn’t, and what law firm business development opportunities are being missed.
For example:
How good are your staff at cross-referring work between departments and at keeping client data up-to-date?
Are your front-of-house staff capturing the right information to allow you to measure the return on investment from your marketing activities?
Do your fee earners have the confidence and required skill-set to attract and win new clients?
Once we have completed our mystery shop and delivered our report, we will work with you to identify and address any gaps. This could include providing training to increase staff confidence in key areas of:
Cross-selling the different legal services that you offer
Effective Communication Skills – particularly when communicating on the telephone and by email
Personal Impact and Body Language – to help put clients at ease
Building Relationships – to develop trust with clients in the long-term
NETWORKING FOR LAW FIRMS & BARRISTERS CHAMBERS
Learn how to create a lasting impression
Networking is a vital way of getting new and continued referrals into your Law Firm, Mediation Practice or Barristers Chambers but for many lawyers, it can be a daunting experience. However, networking is a vital skill and it can be learnt.
Networking can be done person to person at events or remotely using platforms such as Zoom or LinkedIn to initiate contact.
The key is knowing what types of contacts will be beneficial for your practice, identifying them, and nurturing that relationship by building trust and value for both parties. For your practice to succeed, you need to invest your time in creating real and lasting professional relationships, that convert into billable clients or referrers of quality work.
The time that you do invest in networking needs to deliver tangible results. That’s where our training can help. With our team’s combined 100 years’ in-house legal and business development experience, we understand the techniques and skills required to convert your online and offline contacts into clients.
In our training sessions, we will focus on the art of listening, including how to ask the right questions and give the right answers. We will show you how you can make a positive impression by email, over the phone, or using an online social media platform that leads to business opportunities. Being proactive in how you approach networking and following up with any connections that you make will produce immediate and lasting benefits for yourself and for your practice.
LEAD CONVERSION FOR LAW FIRMS & BARRISTERS CHAMBERS
Law firm business development: Plug the ‘leaky bucket’
It can be very easy to focus purely on lead generation and not take into account your lead conversion rate. When that happens, you can find yourself wasting the time, money, and effort spent on marketing activities to bring in more enquiries because you aren’t making the most of the opportunities you are generating. We call this ‘the leaky bucket’ syndrome.
What is the point in putting all your efforts and marketing budget into generating that call or email from a prospective client, if you fail to convert them once they have contacted you?
Lead conversion needs to be looked at from all the touchpoints across your firm as first impressions count – from how your front of house staff answer the phone, the speed of response, the form and tone of initial discussions, quotation style, and follow up.
By establishing a lead conversion strategy, to identify the strongest leads and ensure that you take every opportunity to nurture a prospect, you can earn their trust and their business. We can identify any weaknesses in your conversion process and show how you to fix them. We can also suggest easy and inexpensive ways to use technology to help build relationships with potential clients such as autoresponders (an automated sequence of follow-ups) or web chat tools which provide a great service outside of office hours.
Even if you already have a system for converting leads, it’s never a bad idea to revisit it and consider what you could do better.
Lead conversion optimisation is an important part of law firm business development.
CROSS-SELLING FOR LAW FIRMS AND BARRISTERS CHAMBERS
Deepen client relationships and increase revenue
It can be very easy to end up focusing on just winning new clients without looking at how you are serving the clients you already have. This is a flawed tactic as it has been proven that it’s 5-25X more expensive to acquire a new client than it is to retain and grow an existing one.
Cross-selling strategies enable you to earn more revenue and deepen relationships with existing clients. The problem is that law firms are traditionally very bad at cross-selling, as client relationships are often ‘siloed’ into singular departments or ‘owned’ by particular Partners, meaning a cross-firm view is not taken. This can leave you vulnerable as clients that only use one practice area are 35 per cent more likely to leave than those who have multiple connections with a firm.
It is the same for barrister chambers, where relationships with key solicitor firms may only be in one practice area and opportunities to grow solicitor-barrister relationships and referrals with other parts of the firm are missed.
Often clients would have been willing to use additional legal services but are not even aware they are available, again leaving you vulnerable as they may use other legal providers to fill the perceived gaps in service.
The key is not to blindly push services at clients that they do not need, but to take the time to research and predict what additional services they genuinely may require and present them so clients appreciate the value of the proposal and understand the benefit.
We can help you become more efficient by building an internal culture of cross-referrals and putting processes into place that deepen and broaden relationships with existing clients.
Ways we can assist include:
Conducting a ‘Windows of Opportunity’ exercise using a cross-selling matrix that allows you to easily see which practice groups are not servicing particular clients and identify openings
Develop an internal cross-referral approach and create better cross-departmental processes
Establish a Key Account Management programme, ensuring the appropriate time and attention is given to clients so that the care and service they receive is proactive rather than reactive
Manage and focus your marketing programmes to ensure message and activities with key clients are planned and consistent
Build barriers to entry against other firms trying to poach your clients
Use your deeper knowledge of your client’s requirements to make referrals out to external professionals, thus helping your clients solve their related non-legal issues, whilst strengthening your referral network
Law Firm Business Development FAQ’S
What is Law Firm Business Development?
Law Firm Business Development refers to strategies and activities aimed at attracting new clients, retaining existing ones, and increasing the overall profitability of a law firm.
How does Law Firm Business Development differ from marketing?
While marketing focuses on promoting your law firm’s brand and services to a wider audience, Law Firm Business Development is more about building and nurturing relationships that can lead to new business opportunities. It involves a more targeted approach, such as meeting potential clients, attending industry events, and fostering long-term relationships with current clients.
Why is Law Firm Business Development important?
Law Firm Business Development is crucial because it ensures a steady flow of work and revenue. In an increasingly competitive market, it helps law firms to differentiate themselves, build a loyal client base, and achieve sustainable growth. Without a solid business development strategy, firms may struggle to expand their client base and maintain profitability.
How can small law firms compete in Law Firm Business Development?
Small law firms can compete by focusing on niche markets, offering personalised services, and building strong client relationships. By leveraging digital marketing, such as SEO and social media, they can reach a broader audience without the need for a large budget. Additionally, small firms should focus on the quality of service and client satisfaction to encourage word-of-mouth referrals.
How does digital marketing fit into Law Firm Business Development?
Digital marketing is an integral part of modern Law Firm Business Development. It helps law firms reach a larger audience through channels like search engines, social media, and email marketing. By optimising online presence and content, firms can attract more clients and generate leads that can be nurtured into long-term business relationships.
What role do client relationships play in Law Firm Business Development?
Client relationships are the cornerstone of Law Firm Business Development. Strong, trust-based relationships lead to repeat business, referrals, and positive testimonials. Maintaining regular communication, understanding client needs, and providing exceptional service are essential to building these relationships and driving long-term business growth.
What are the benefits of outsourcing business development for law firms?
Many law firms choose to outsource certain aspects of business development, such as digital marketing, lead generation, and client relationship management. Outsourcing allows firms to benefit from specialised expertise and resources without the need to hire full-time staff, making it a cost-effective solution for many practices.
How do you measure the success of Law Firm Business Development efforts?
The success of Law Firm Business Development can be measured through key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of new clients acquired, client retention rates, revenue growth, and the return on investment (ROI) of business development activities. Regularly tracking these metrics helps firms assess the effectiveness of their strategies and make informed adjustments.
What are the common challenges in Law Firm Business Development?
Common challenges include a saturated market, client loyalty to established firms, and the time investment required to build and maintain relationships. Additionally, many lawyers struggle with balancing business development activities with their legal work. Overcoming these challenges requires a well-planned strategy, consistent effort, and sometimes the assistance of business development professionals like Orion Legal Marketing.
Our Approach
Our combined 100+ years’ legal marketing and business development experience means that we understand the culture, processes, and challenges within Law Firms, Mediation Practices, and Barristers Chambers and the markets in which they operate. We know what’s realistic, what gets the best results and have a solid proven, successful track record.
Our measurable marketing methods and techniques are focused on your success. We always tailor our approach to fit our clients’ specific needs but we have found by adapting the Design Council’s framework for innovation Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver every opportunity for value is maximised for our clients
DISCOVER
Most professional relationships are based on the ‘know, like’ trust’ approach. Ours is no different.
At the outset we will take the time to get to know you, your legal business, your target market and what you are trying to achieve so we can ensure we deliver the perfect solution.
You can ask us questions, see how we work, seek our opinion (we like to give it) and check that we are the right legal marketing agency to take you forward.
DEFINE & DEVELOP
Once we have an agreed brief, we will cost it out so you know exactly what you are paying for and what we will be delivering. No hidden costs guaranteed.
Once that is agreed we will commence work on your project.
We’ll make sure to keep you in the loop, letting you know how things are progressing without interfering too much in your busy working day. It’s our job to keep things on track and on budget so you don’t need to worry about it.
DELIVER
At the end of the project, we’ll deliver what you need and offer a handover process to make sure you are happy with everything.
Unlike some legal marketing agencies, we won’t just take the money and run.
We have ongoing relationships with most of our legal clients – supporting them in developing their marketing, growing their legal practices, and for the self-confessed technophobes assisting with website updates, posting articles and content on social media accounts.
Your relationship with your clients is unique. Trust is vital in securing the long-term success of your Law Firm, Mediation Practice or Barristers Chambers - let us help you build that in your target markets. We know the right questions to ask and can review your existing marketing activities as well as implement new initiatives.
With our keen eye for detail, we will ensure that every single image, piece of text, or marketing communication is co-ordinated to build your brand, put it front of the people who matter and ensure you are remembered for the right reasons.
The Latest Legal Marketing Insights
Boost Your Leads with Conversion Rate Optimisation for Law Firms
Conversion Rate Optimisation for Law Firms: Your Key to Success When it comes to digital marketing strategies for solicitors, barristers, and lawyers, conversion rate optimisation for law firms is a critical factor in achieving measurable success. Without effective...
SEO for Solicitors: Unlock Success and Attract More Clients
SEO for solicitors is the cornerstone of a successful marketing strategy. With more people searching for legal services online, solicitors, barristers, and lawyers must ensure their firm stands out in search engine results. The majority of people turn to the Internet...
Barrister Marketing – Why you need a Barrister Marketing Consultant
The legal industry, especially for barristers and their chambers, has experienced a transformation in how it approaches business development. Long gone are the days when barristers could solely rely on word-of-mouth or a strong reputation to bring in work. The...