Four Ways to Win More Client Work

A BTI study suggests law firms are leaving money on the table and unnecessarily. Although GCs say they want to give their existing firms more work, law firms are only getting a meager 23 percent of the pie, David Jacobs, senior client advisor for LexisNexis, reported these findings during a webinar focused on business development (BD).

“There’s a disconnect between what the firm has to offer more broadly and introducing existing clients to those additional practices and capabilities,” said Mr. Jacobs of the situation. 

The good news is there’s a relatively painless way to drive immediate results related to BD. By using a strategy that capitalizes on the realities of the market and arming the firm with the right intelligence, said Mr. Jacobs, attorneys can ensure a new business opportunity is not missed.

4 Legal Market Trends and Truisms

According to Mr. Jacobs, here are four trends and truisms that should be on every firm’s radar:

• Impress Your Existing Clients. This truism is identified by Mark Herrmann in an article titled: Business Development Five Things That I Have Seen Work. According to Mr. Herrmann, the most important thing a law firm can do for business development is simply impress clients.

• Maximize Business Potential with Existing Clients. Going back to the BTI study, this trend shows that in spite of a desire for client’s to give their existing firm’s more business, there’s clearly a disconnect in terms of aligning these opportunities with the right resources at the firm.

• Establish Greater Depth and Breadth of Client Relationships. Countless studies show that the more relationships partners in the firm have with their existing clients, the more likely that client will stay with the firm. In addition, clients are more apt to stay with an adequate firm, if they know two or three partners. In other words, the more client exposure the better.

• Get Famous; Make Contact; Repeat. This is another truism introduced by Mr. Herrmann, who believes it is important for attorneys to promote their talents in whatever form comes naturally to them. For example, if an attorney is the outgoing type, this may mean passing out cards at a cocktail party. Also, it’s important to gently stay in touch with clients and prospects. Something as simple as sending a congratulatory email for a promotion or personal acknowledgement of an employment change goes a long way.

4 Ways to Build Existing Business Using InterAction for Microsoft Office

Going back to arming the firm with the right resources to ensure no opportunity is missed, this is where useful tools come in. In the webinar, Mr. Jacobs provides a visual step-by-step demonstration of the LexisNexis InterAction for Microsoft Office (IMO) feature. The tool is designed to help attorneys capture, share, and manage critical firm-wide client touch points, directly from Outlook email.

Here’s a brief snapshot of how InterAction for Microsoft Office can help firms capitalize on these four market trends, as we speak:

• Set Reminders & Appointments for Important Client Touch points. The InterAction for Microsoft Office tool keeps attorneys engaged in recent client activity by allowing them to record and update important client meetings and set reminders that they receive from Outlook email and IMO alerts. This ensures all attorneys in the firm are knowledgeable about the latest client touch points or meetings, so they can plan their next communication or meeting, strategically and appropriately.

• Analyze Depth and Breadth of Relationships. Imagine a client shows a recent decline in billings. The IMO tool uncovers who in the firm has a relationship with the client and can signal a red flag, if the firm has less than two relationships with the client. In addition, by mining the data using the InterAction IQ feature, which helps firms assess the strength of a relationship, if an attorney sees the client has a low IQ score, this can signal a retention risk and enable the firm to put an action plan in place.

• Identify Cross Selling Opportunities. With nearly 70 percent of potential work on the table, InterAction for Microsoft Office can help by identifying via the IQ score, who in the firm has the strongest relationship with that client. From there, introductions can be made by the right attorney. In addition, by reviewing the client’s contact details, attorneys can see the best opportunities and venues to approach them.

• Identify Opportunities to Stay in Touch. InterAction for Microsoft Office can help keep attorneys in touch with their clients by alerting them via an “Alerts”” feature if an update to the client’s contact information has been made. For example, if a client has a recent title change, indicating a promotion, the attorney can send a note of congratulations. After all, a little bit of goodwill goes a long way.

For more information on IQ, visit lexisnexis.com/InterAction

* * *

This post is by Carla Del Bove, who provides support to the business of law software product line based in the LexisNexis Raleigh Technology Center.