Companies are increasingly circumventing lawyers to seek direct advice from a barrister in a squeeze on legal costs, according to a survey showing at least half of the New South Wales bar's clients use barristers exclusively or most of the time and direct briefing is up almost a third in three years.
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Sometimes your client feedback meetings can go off piste. So you need some tactics for fixing things when they stray a little off course.
Read MoreA new financial year can be a great time to give your business development efforts a great big, hard shove. Here are 10 practical ways you can start the year with a BD bang.
Read MoreIf you want to gain market share from your competitors, don’t rush into a brand overhaul. Ask your clients what they think of you instead.
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We’re often told that success depends on pushing boundaries and doing things we’re not comfortable doing. But, for business development, I think success depends on being very much inside our comfort zones, not outside them.
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How often are we told that the billable hour has had its day? That it’s archaic, that it’s inefficient, that it makes our clients angry and holds our practices back?
Read MoreIn January I tuned in to BTI Consulting’s annual webinar on the Market Outlook and Client Service Review of US Law Firms. There were some very practical insights relevant to all professional service providers, including 7 tactics for taking market share. Here are my highlights:
Read MoreIt’s that time of year again. Yep, the time that 80% of the emails we send come back with an ‘Out of Office’ message on them.
Read MoreA little while back I wrote an article cautioning law firms about the perils of playing in the ‘mushy middle’. I pointed out that this was the most competitive - and most vulnerable - part of the legal services market where fees are under the greatest threat. It’s also the part where it’s becoming hardest to make a decent living.
Read More“It feels like common sense to play to the center of the market, but actually the middle is least desirable place to be.”
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When it comes to the way your law firm operates - and what you expect your lawyers to do to keep it profitable - you might be surprised what your associates don’t understand.
Read MoreHow do you get professionals to contribute to your firm’s business development from the very moment they start? It’s one of the hottest issues in professional services marketing and BD right now, and it’s something I spoke about recently at an APSMA session in Auckland.
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So you pooled your firm’s resources, pulled a few all nighters and presented a winning pitch. But what happens next?
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In May, I joined Lynette Nixon Innovation Director at PWC to address the CXPS: Client Experience in Professional Services Conference. Together, we spoke on ‘Building client journey maps to drive action and deliver smart revenue’.
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For professional services firms, working out your fees can be a balancing act between charging enough that you’re not leaving money on the table, but not so much that you’re pricing yourself out of work. (Unless, of course, that’s your conscious plan.)
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Last week I blogged about three common fears that hold professionals back when it comes to asking for client feedback. And I was pleased to see that my post generated a reasonable of discussion from people on the feedback front line.
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The value of client feedback to professional services firms is well documented. And yet, so many professionals let their fears about client feedback hold them back from doing it properly. If you’re one of them, read on...
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A lot of people have been asking me how to ask for work lately. Here are seven tactics I tell them to use.
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If, like me, you believe that the essence of good client service is knowing your client, The Legal 500 General Counsel Powerlist for Australia and New Zealand should make for a fascinating read.
Read More‘How can I possibly work on business development? I’m flat out doing client work.’
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