© ccg 2013 measuring the roi of business development — even if it’s possible, does anyone care?...

© CCG 2013

Measuring the ROI of Business Development — Even if it’s Possible,

Does Anyone Care?

Timothy B. CorcoranCorcoran Consulting Group

August 7, 2013

© CCG 2013

Who am I?• Over 20 years of expertise in law firm management,

marketing, business development and technology, product management and consultative selling

• Advises law firm leaders in business development, legal project management, process improvement. Also advises legal vendors on product development, market strategy and sales force readiness

• Formerly a senior consultant with Altman Weil; Director of Practice Development for a global law firm; CEO of a NASDAQ-traded legal technology company; and a senior executive with both LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters

• Fellow, College of Law Practice Management • Fellow, Center for International Legal Studies• President-elect, LMA International Board of Directors• Author of Corcoran’s Business of Law blog• Columnist, Marketing the Law Firm journal and PSMG

Magazine (UK)• Host, In-House Legal podcast• Yellow Belt certification, Legal Lean Sigma

Timothy B. Corcoran

Principal

Corcoran Consulting

Group, LLC

© CCG 2013

Who moved my cheese?

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Remember when everything was working well?

Demand

Rates

PPP

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“Post hoc, ergo propter hoc”

Cause Effect

Or was it?

“After it, therefore because of it”

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Law is shifting from a demand to a supply economy

Location, location, location

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Have the R.U.L.E.S. changed?

Old school New school?

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Envisioning a different future

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What matters now?

• Client focus

• Predictability

• Communication / managing expectations

• Efficiency

• Yada, Yada, Yada

• Legal expertise

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New rules, new vocabulary

I Love Lucy, “Paris at Last,” S5E18, 1956

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Lawyers and marketers and CFOs speak different dialects

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ROI = return on investment

ROI is relative, not absolute

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Measures of ROI

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Where does ROI matter?

• Prospecting

• Events and Sponsorships

• Pitches, Proposals & RFP responses

• Social Media

• Resource allocation

• Departmental reporting

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Which dollars do we chase?

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Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5Initial Contact Fact Gathering Needs Analysis Proposal Close

Bay Bank, Joe Reed; Lazlo Mendel et al, BioVate Labs Banco de Espana Tolliver IndustriesCatch up lunch Tony Monte, ptnr Antitrust defense Airport development Patent litigation

Lit co-counsel oppty Ron Keltner - NYC Kent Linert - NYC Steve Testke - ChiMitre Inc, Sue Glade; next mtg 7/23/09Met at ABA CLE Brighton Bank Ltd $725,000 / Aug 09 $110,000 / Jul 09

Stuart Grady - London S'western PowerNoCal Power, Jeff debt restructuring Water filtration plant Ritter CorpLisso; Ref by ASD&R Brent Day - Houston Whistleblower def.

Sun Apparel proposal due 7/20/09 Aimee Mann - AtlantaConvo Destin, Gene Chas. Marin - AtlantaInello; New GC mtg RIF Major Ventures, LLP $275,000 / Jul 09

xchange delistingCity Construction, Ed Quantralis Torango, Silber - NYCFlister; RFP rec'd Silber - NYC meet CFO 7/7/09

option backdatingRaytheon, Lucy Arroz;Webinar attendee AirPeru

Jose Denon - AtlantaClifton Pubs; Neil class action defenseNolan; inbound call

GE Aircraft; Bo Little;Network referral

Identify and repeat efforts that win business

80% probability of closing within 3 weeks, leading to $100k billables in Q1, $150k in Q2, $50k in Q3

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Propose solutions to business problems

Business Issue

BioVate ex-VP of Engineering filed sexual harassment claim, seeking class action status

Impact to Business

Potential negative PR impact with customers, suppliers, trade press

Expensive to defend ($____), though allegations are unfounded

Recommended Actions

Additional round of P/E or VC financing needed

Cash flow/liquidity squeeze by Q4 at present run rate

Explore financing alternatives and issue offering

BioVate has several high-growth products at risk of IP infringement in growing 3rd world markets

Loss of revenue ($____) from clones Expensive to file ($____) IP protection

in all markets Difficult to enforce valid IP protected

in some markets

BioVate to vigorously protect IP in key primary markets

BioVate to monitor IP infringement in 3rd world using 3rd party tool

Selective high-profile enforcement for deterrence

Aggressively pursue summary judgment

If fail, seek settlement over trial Inoculate against future actions by

presenting employee training

Capabilities statements and brochures are often a waste of time and money. Customized proposals win business.

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Which practices deserve attention?

Repetitive

Important

Strategic

Repetitive

Repetitive

Supply Rates

There is an inevitable and inexorable migration of products and services from leading edge to common place, whether the provider likes it or not

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Which partners deserve attention?

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Where should we spend our time?

• Plot all activities

• Plot all practices

• Track marketer time against all practices

• Compare to strategy plan

• Review resource allocation with firm management

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Submit Articles

Speak at Conferences

Networking & Education

Demonstrating Expertise

Leading ExpertBoard

Committees

Attend Meetings, Educational sessions

Visibility & Credibility

Memberships and Associations value chain

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Event ROI: What do we need to know?

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Event ROI: A lot more than we track today!

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Event ROI: The numbers don’t lie!

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Which publications generate traffic?

Sep. 15 (5067)

Sep. 16 (4908)

Sep. 18 (8642)

Sep. 19 (8643)

Sep. 21 (8658)

Sep. 22 (8664)

Oct. 6 (9805)

Oct. 7 (7936)

Oct. 16 (8847)

Oct. 22 (8658)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Alerts

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Share of Voice

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Pitches, Proposals, RFPs – The Great Time Suck

The usual process

• Always in a rush

• 95% about us

• Deal lists, representative matters, bios

• Never call to clarify

• Last second drop-in of mystical pricing

The usual result

• Who cares? We pitch what the partners tell us to pitch!

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Pitches, Proposals and RFPs – Model of Efficiency

Winning Characteristics

• Early

• Client prep call/test close

• 95% about the client

• Clear problem statement

• Potential alternative solutions

• Proposed project plan

• Proposed budget

Regression analysis – an internal Chambers?

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Measure & report on metrics that matter to clients

The ACC Value Challenge

Understands Objectives/Expectations 4.5

Legal Expertise 4.6

Efficiency/Process Management 4.2

Responsiveness/Communication 4.4

Predictable Cost/budgeting skills 4.0

Results delivered/execution 4.4

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The death of asymmetric information

Repetitive Repetitive

© CCG 2013

The death of asymmetric information

Repetitive Repetitive

© CCG 2013

The death of asymmetric information

Repetitive Repetitive

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The death of asymmetric information

Repetitive Repetitive

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The death of asymmetric information

Repetitive Repetitive

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The death of asymmetric information

Repetitive Repetitive

© CCG 2013

For more information

© CCG 2013

Timothy B. Corcoran

Principal

Corcoran Consulting Group, LLC

609.557.7311

tim@corcoranconsultinggroup.com

CorcoranLawBizblog.com

Twitter.com/tcorcoran