More Law Firms Sloooooowly Investing in Sales Professionals
Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The folks over at the Legal Marketing Association recently combined interviews of a small group of opinion leaders with an online survey conducted by the research team at American Lawyer Media to answer the question:

“Are traditional law firms resistant to hiring client-facing business development (i.e. “sales”) staff at a time when competition for and delivery of legal work continues to intensify?” And, “If so, why?” 

While explaining that their findings don’t set any industry benchmarks but are instead a “finger in the wind” to gauge potential trends, LMA highlighted the following from the ALM study of mid-sized and large law firms:

  • 42% of respondents said they had hired staff with primarily market-facing responsibilities.

  • 93% of respondents said their firm provides some type of business development training or coaching.

  • 64% of firms that had not hired sales professional cited “a culture adverse to change” and “partner objections” as the primary reasons.

  • 28% of respondents identified a “lack of knowledge of the formal sales process” as a hindrance to developing a stronger sales culture in the firm.

One of the largest hurdles is fitting sales professionals into an environment and culture where the responsibility for law firm sales has historically been with the firm’s rainmakers. Rainmakers typically possess strong client relationships and often view sales professionals as an unwelcome intrusion upon their territory. Clarifying roles is critical to introducing sales into a law firm’s culture.

Steve Bell, chief sales and marketing officer at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, notes, “Frankly, most lawyers aren’t good at initiating meetings or doing the follow up. Sales professionals can bring discipline and support to the relationship development and sales process.”

The report points out the primary advantages to law firms of hiring senior sales professionals:

  • Leverage and efficiency: Sales professionals can identify and research initial opportunities, bringing the lawyer into the process later.

  • Reach: Sales professionals often know more about a firm’s overall capabilities than most individual partners.

  • Mentorship: The right sales professional can act as a good model for lawyers to observe and emulate.

The LMA team was surprised that the ABA rule prohibiting fee sharing with nonlawyers was not a bigger obstacle to hiring sales professionals. In fact, the ALM survey of more than 300 mid- to large-sized firms found that only two respondents mentioned a potential violation of these rules as a factor in deciding whether or not to hire sales professionals.

In conclusion, the LMA report recommended that firms with a strong collaboration culture will be most effective in utilizing sales professionals if they hire and manage their sales team according to these rules:

(1) focus on the sales process,

(2) clearly define and communicate the role of the sales professional in the process,

(3) focus compensation on team success and sales management skills, and

(4) hire those who reflect the same character and qualities a firm would expect from its lawyers.

Having attorneys be responsible for following up and qualifying leads is not only inefficient, it doesn’t work! By defining the roles clearly so that your sales team is responsible for qualifying and nurturing leads that can then be turned over to an attorney for developing the client relationship, your entire firm will prosper.

 

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