Law Consulting Blog : Cordell Parvin's Law Consulting Blog : Coach & Consultant For Lawyers & Law Firms : Business Development, Career Planning

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A friend sent me a July 6 article from Law 360 titled: “Firms Hesitant to Invest in Business Development.” The essence of the article was that business development training/coaching must produce real bottom line results for firms to want to engage an outside consultant. Producing more revenue is the primary reason for a firm to engage in client development training and coaching. The unanswered question is how can client development training and coaching produce more revenue. Here’s how:

One-shot business development training will not produce more revenue because it will not change the actions lawyers should take to produce revenue. Business development training should be combined with individual and group coaching. Your firm can either hire an outside consultant, or create your own internal program. Either way, to produce more revenue the firm, the lawyers and the coach must make commitments and keep them.

The Law Firm Commitments:

1. Select lawyers who have the inner drive to be more successful. Your lawyers who need coaching the least, will put the most into it and get the most out of it.
2. Leadership commitment and involvement. When your firm leaders are champions for the program, there is greater energy and a buzz around the firm.
3. Aligned and active involvement of professional development and marketing professionals. Client development training has both a training component and a marketing component. Your professionals from both groups have a role to play.
4. Sharing unique firm strategies and issues with the coach. Each firm is different. For an outside coach to be successful he or she needs to understand your firm’s goals, strategy and culture.
5. Funding the program. Shows you are investing in your lawyers.

The Lawyer Participant Commitments:

1. Active involvement in the group and individual coaching activities.
2. Open mind to change.
3. Create a business development plan with goals.
4. Willingness to be held accountable.
5. Preparation for coaching sessions.
6. Monitoring client development activities.
7. Sharing best practices and successes with the group.
8. Identifying challenges and working to overcome them.
9. Commitment to spend around 20 non-billable hours a month on client development activities.

The Coach/Consultant Commitments:

1. Helping participants with planning and goal setting.
2. Pushing each member and the group to attain group and individual goals.
3. Role playing and experiential learning.
4. Ideas for client development.
5. Teaching and applying client development techniques.
6. Referral to source materials on career and client development.
7. Team coaching.
8. Creating opportunities for teambuilding.
9. Providing candid feedback and suggestions.
10. Making firm leadership aware if any participant is not meeting his or her commitments.

I know from my experience leading a program in my old firm and now working with lawyers and law firms that if your firm, your lawyers and your internal or outside coach/consultant makes and keeps the commitments described above, the firm will generate a return on investment that is a multiple of the program cost.