As firms grow, both in numbers of attorneys and dispersed offices, the ability to identify and leverage connections becomes increasingly important – and more difficult. In addition, now more than ever, firms are being compelled to respond to a deluge…
Clients want to work with lawyers who understand their business and industry. No good lawyer walks into a courtroom or deal room unprepared. Likewise there is no excuse for failure to adequately prepare for business development. Failing to properly research…
Successfully selecting – and deploying – a CRM system requires separating the ‘must have’ functionality from the ‘bells and whistles.’ When evaluating systems and providers, it can be helpful to keep in mind that bells and whistles can be essential……
While the lines may sometimes seem blurred between these two vital revenue generating activities, there is an important distinction. Marketing encompasses the strategies and tactics designed to help create or define needs. It can include the creation of various channels…
Hosting is also a crucial element to consider in CRM selection. The preferred business model of many CRM providers outside the industry almost always involves hosting the system and data ‘in the cloud.’ This is a fluffy euphemism for on…
Many lawyers bristle at the thought of ‘selling’ their services. In fact, one of the reasons many lawyers went to law school was that they didn't want to be in a business that required ‘sales.’ The bad news is that there is no…
We are fortunate to have a number of knowledgeable CRM providers with specific professional services industry expertise. All the companies understand both the profession and the business of law and have excellent products and technology created and customized specifically to…
Sometimes called an ‘elevator pitch,’ your Personal Value Proposition, or PVP, should summarize and synthesize the value you provide to Clients and potential Clients. Without providing value, business development can be challenging - and will be based mainly on hope…
Once you have finished with your internal needs assessment, you are ready to consider solutions. One of the CRM ‘must haves’ for law firms is seamless CRM integration with Outlook. Let’s face it, attorneys are busy. These people are balancing…
Welcome to Growing Relationships, a blog on Client Relationship Management – or CRM – Success from Chris Fritsch at ClientsFirst Consulting. At ClientsFirst, everything we do focuses on relationships - including this blog, which is dedicated to Growing Relationships through…
Complaints abound about the failures of CRM, a.k.a. Client Relationship Management. Some of the popular ones include, “We’re not getting any return on our CRM investment,” or “You mean we actually have to spend attorney time on CRM?” and the…
Despite what many lawyers believe – or have been led to believe, business development is not an art. It’s a learnable, repeatable business process. Ultimately, if you simply focus on putting the Clients first and helping them to succeed, it…
There may be no CRM project quite as challenging as data migration and deduplication. If approached without a strategy and plan, this type of data cleanup can seem like a daunting and endless task that generates frustration and drains firm…
Effective business development has become one of the primary keys to a successful legal career. Despite what many people think - or have been led to think - business development mistakes are common, but it doesn’t have to be difficult,…
Great salespeople are in the customer success business, and a sale is just the pleasant byproduct of helping your clients succeed. This is great news for attorneys who bristle at the thought of ‘selling.’ It’s also one of the core…
