CRM Success Tips Blog

To develop business, you have to provide value to Clients. But no two Clients define value the same way. To learn how you can best provide value, you have to understand the Client's unique needs. You accomplish this by learning their business and industry, preparing for meetings, asking insightful and targeted questions and, most importantly, listening to your potential Clients. But to really become a trusted advisor, you will need to anticipate needs before the Client even becomes aware of them - often called latent legal needs. By definition, latent needs are unmet, so they represent significant opportunities. By helping Clients identify and appreciate these needs, you position yourself as uniquely qualified to address them – often limiting

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 and understand the Client’s business and industry undermines your credibility and limits your ability to connect with them. To prepare for a business meeting with a Client, do your homework. Read everything you can about the company and the individuals you are going to meet with - news and business information, company financials, industry information. Set up Google Alert to automatically notify you of important information and things being written about them

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 or methods for communication or publication such as articles, websites, blogs, newsletters or alerts. Messages may also be communicated through public relations, branding or advertising. Additionally, marketing may involve events such as seminars, webinars or individual speaking opportunities. All of these things provide essential support for effective business development efforts. Business development, on the other hand, involves personally connecting with Clients in order to understand their needs and facilitate an agreement or

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 ‘a server someplace outside the firm.’ While this may be standard practice for other industries – and while it may even be more secure than hosting within the firm - firms so far have almost universally taken a pass when it comes to having their sensitive contact data reside outside the firm firewall. 

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 such business. The good news is that lawyers don’t have to ‘sell’ to effectively development business. Great business developers understand that they are really in the Client service and success business. To succeed at business development, simply remember this: A sale is just a pleasant by-product of helping your Clients succeed. Be in the Client success business. 

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 succeed in a law firm environment. Unlike non-legal CRM providers whose products may ‘sync’ with Outlook in order to move Outlook contacts into a separate system, these products truly integrate. For the attorney, this means accessing the core functionalities of CRM without leaving the Outlook environment. It also means that only moderate training will be required and there will be few changes to their business processes. Despite some perceptions to the contrary,

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 or luck, neither of which is a good strategy. The reason that value is so important is that, in most cases, people don’t make a decision or choice because they want to. They do so because they need to. There is some pressing concern or challenge that they must address – or there will be consequences. These consequences are the costs associated with not making the choice or decision, also known as