Cross-Selling: Good in Theory. Poor in Practice.
By Sue-Ella Prodonovich | Originally published August 2015 | Updated September 2021 and March 2026.
Key Takeaways
Poorly executed cross-selling can damage the very client relationship its designed to deepen.
Introductions that are earned through demonstrated value, responsiveness, and contextual relevance, outperform those that are expected.
The onus for cross-introductions should sit with those seeking access to the client relationship, not those holding it.
Collaboration, as Heidi Gardner's research shows, is fundamentally different from cross-selling, and delivers stronger outcomes for both firms and clients.
What is a Cross-introduction?
A cross-introduction is an internal referral made by one fee earner to another, where a colleague connects a client with a different part of the firm to address a related or complementary need. Done well, it adds genuine value to the client. Done poorly, it feels like an upsell and the client notices the difference.
Cross-selling is one of those ideas that sounds entirely sensible in the boardroom and falls apart in the corridor.
At a US sales conference I attended, a Managing Partner made an observation that has stayed with me. Asking professionals used to getting all their work referred to them to embrace business development, he said, was like asking a trust fund kid to get a job. The easier path was simply to keep the tap running — and let them live off the fees brought in by others.
That image stuck. Because it captures something firms rarely say out loud: cross-selling, as commonly practised, can foster exactly the complacency it is supposed to solve.
Here are four reasons where cross-selling strategies falter, and what to do instead.
1. When The Work Arrives Uninvited, No-One Learns To Earn It
Today firms need everyone - from Associates to the CEO - to make an effort when it comes to business development. They shouldn’t rely on the skills of one or two rainmakers to introduce people across the firm.
When an introduction arrives without effort, there is no incentive to build the behaviours that make it sustainable. The professional takes the work and moves on. The referral relationship goes unexamined.
Cross-introductions work smoothly when the person seeking access to a client relationship has done the work to earn it. Specifically, when they:
Are easy to work with - responsive, reliable, and appreciative
Treat the internal referrer with the same care they would show an external client - what I call the Platinum Rule (treating the referrer the way they want to be treated, not simply the way you would want to be treated)
Can demonstrate their understanding of the client and the value they bring - with context and evidence, not a menu of services
Read more: Why Your Referrals May Have Dried Up and What to Do
2. What The Clients Feels Is Not What You Intended
Consider this feedback from a decision maker with one of Australia’s Big 4 banks...
“We appoint a panel of providers every 4 years. Once firms get on the panel for specific areas of work (after a formal procurement process) they start to cross sell or up sell. Firms on Litigation panels want more debt recovery work. Firms on the debt recovery panels want litigation matters. It drives us mad!”
UK consultancy O Shaped has documented similar frustration. Their research with General Counsel found that poorly executed, transactional cross-selling is cited as the least influential factor in how clients select legal service providers.
“Often, they just seem to be going through the motions of cross-selling. And they have often developed a sufficiently thick skin so they can handle the rejection, but they fail to realise the damage it can cause to the broader relationship.”
In their 2025 research, O Shaped warns that poorly executed (‘salesy’) cross-selling is cited as the least influential factor in ways General Counsel select legal service providers.
O Shaped Report (2025) Closing The Gap Between What Law Firms Sell and What Clients Buy
Read more: Why Collaboration Eats Cross Selling For Breakfast
3. AGREED AT THE TABLE. FORGOTTEN IN THE CORRIDOR.
The time taken to convert a prospect into a client can be long enough where there isn’t an immediate or obvious need for your services. While you may get agreement around the partnership table about cross-introduction activity, the follow-up can be half-hearted, slow or it simply doesn’t happen. Busy people revert to what they know.
But watch the rate of activity accelerate when there’s an explicit need or a new client on the radar and your people team up in pursuit.
The lesson? Put the charge of earning a cross-introduction on those seeking access to the client relationship. Two ways to make that practical:
Communicate the triggers that create a need for your set of skills - focus on why a client might need you, not a menu of what you do. If your firm goes t market by industry sector or client type, adapt your pitch to suit.
Why me? Why now? Make the case for relevance and timing. Articulating why this introduction matters now is what makes it actionable.
This shift also sets the tone from the top. It transfers the onus for building trusted relationships (internally and externally) to everyone within the firm to earn an introduction.
Read more about How to Get a Colleague to Introduce you to Their Client
4. Access is Earned on Both Sides
The ease with which cross-introductions happen depends largely on the motivation of the person holding the client relationship. Their perspective matters.
The most successful introductions are ones where both sides can see the upside. A few examples of win-win introductions:
They address a client’s strategic-to-business or bottleneck-in-business problem
They address niggles about the bench strength of your firm (clients want to know their is depth behind their Partners)
They show-self awareness. Acknowledging the limits of your own expertise builds trust.
The SHIFT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
Don’t get me wrong, cross-selling is great when it happens as a matter of course. For example, it’s a no-brainer when a client needs help and the introduction is immediately relevant.
Harvard Law Fellow Heidi Gardner makes a useful distinction. Cross-selling is telling your corporate client after negotiating a contract: “I have a partner who does great litigation work. Let me introduce you.”
Collaboration is different. It is telling your banking client during an M&A deal: “My partner is an expert in deal-making. She works in our real estate area, but she might help us think through this from a different angle. Do you want me to set up lunch for the three of us to brainstorm?”
One is a sales pitch. The other is an act of service.
The firms that make the shift from the first to the second, from entitlement to earned access, from pitching to problem-solving, are the ones clients introduce to others.
For more on building a culture of collaboration, read: Why Collaboration Eats Cross-Selling For Breakfast.
Want More?
If you’d like to know more about effective cross-selling programs, get in touch by email sueella@prodonovich.com or book a private consultation with Sue-Ella at www.bd45.com.au
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between cross-selling and collaboration in professional services?
Cross-selling involves one fee earner promoting the services of a colleague to an existing client, often without direct involvement in that work. Collaboration means two or more fee earners working together on a client's problem, each contributing expertise to a shared outcome. The client experience, and the resulting trust, is significantly different.
Why does cross-selling damage client relationships?
It tends to signal that the firm's interests are taking priority over the client's. Clients who are already satisfied with their existing adviser can feel pressured or patronised when additional services are pushed without a clear, demonstrated need. Research from O Shape (UK, 2025) identifies poorly executed cross-selling as among the least effective ways to grow client relationships.
How can law and accounting firms encourage internal referrals without creating pressure?
Place the responsibility on those seeking access to the client relationship rather than those holding it. Fee earners who want an introduction should be able to articulate a clear trigger (a specific client need) and demonstrate their relevance and timing. Introductions that arrive with context and evidence are far more likely to be made, and made well.
What makes a cross-introduction successful?
Three things: the referring fee earner trusts the colleague they are introducing; the client has a genuine, active need; and the colleague being introduced understands both the client's situation and the dynamics of the existing relationship. Without all three, the introduction is likely to stall or backfire.
What is Heidi Gardner's research on cross-selling and collaboration?
Gardner's research, conducted at Harvard Law School, found that professionals who collaborate on client matters — rather than simply cross-sell — generate significantly higher client retention, fee growth, and client satisfaction scores. She distinguishes between transactional introductions (cross-selling) and genuine joint work (smart collaboration), arguing that the latter creates value that neither party could produce alone.
References & Further Reading
Articles by Sue-Ella
• Why Collaboration Eats Cross-Selling For Breakfast
• Why Your Referrals May Have Dried Up and What to Do
• How to Get Someone to Introduce Their Clients to You
• How to Win More Work from Your Existing Clients
External References
Cross, R; Rebele, R; Grant, A (2017) Collaborative Overload, Harvard Business Review.
Fishman R. (2015) Cross-Selling Sucks. Fishman Marketing
Gardner H (2015) ‘Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and their Firms Succeed by breaking Down Silos“ Harvard Business Review Press.
Gardner, H & Matviak, I (2022) Performance Management Shouldn’t Kill Collaboration, Harvard Business Review.
Maister D. Why Cross Selling Hasn’t Worked (1997) True Professionalism: The Courage To Care About Your People, Your Clients and Your Career. Simon & Schuster
O Shape (2025) General Counsel research on legal service provider selection (UK). oshaped.com
Pink D (2012) To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
Prince R A (2019) The Death of Law Firm Cross-Selling, Forbes
Sue-Ella is the Principal of Prodonovich Advisory, a business dedicated to helping professional services firms sharpen their business development practices.
She is an Accredited Partner in Gardner & Co.’s ‘Smart Collaboration Accelerator’ ™ tools, and works with law and accounting firms on Business Development strategy and support structures, leadership and professional-development programs, and designing client-listening initiatives.
She also co-facilitates firm planning retreats and delivers public workshops such as Business Skills for Lawyers.
Through her BD45™ service, she assists individuals with their personal business-development plans.
Connect on LinkedIn or visit prodonovich.com.au
©Prodonovich Advisory. This article was written by a human. Please respect our copyright and the effort taken to produce the original material in this article. This article, and any portion of it, may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.