Breaking down barriers:becoming more client focused

Adam L. Stock

Allen Matkins

Background

22 years in marketing & business development

6 years in the legal industry

Primary buyer of outside legal services for several companies

Developed a formal client service team program and launched 30 teams

“Round up the usual suspects…”

Lack of understanding: What is “client focus”?

Lack of buy in: Why do it?

Lack of urgency: Why do it now?

Lack of perspective: What do our clients really want?

Lack of resources: How can we do it without $$?

Lack of commitment: How can we sustain the effort?

Barrier:Lack of

understanding

What is “client focus”?

Putting the clients’ interests at the center of our business decisions

This plays out in: Information sharing & training Client surveys and teams Quality improvement program

Shift service delivery… from the lawyer

Shift service delivery… to the team

This means…

More client contact

Sharing information internally

Recognizing service beyond good legal work

Asking the client what s/he wants and needs and acting on it

Everyone is a “firm ambassador”

Who are our clients?

Client information

Who are our clients?

Competitive Intelligence

Business Trends

What services do we provide?

Services we provide

What services do we provide?

What services do we provide?

What services do we provide?

What services do we provide?

Barrier:Lack of buy in

Clients who see their primary law firms as best in client service deliver nearly twice the spending

$0.59

$1.15Million $

Spending on PrimaryLaw Firm

Spending on PrimaryLaw Firm Client sees

as BEST in Client Service

BTI Survey of Client Service Performance and Client Needs 2006

Also…

30% more profits

Word of mouth recommendations

Builds morale and productivity

How much buy-in do you really need?

Build some successes and people will follow

Barrier:Lack of urgency

Exploit a sense of urgency

Advocate for change

Insanity doing the

same thing over and over

again and expecting

different results

Albert Einstein

Barrier:Lack of perspective

What do clients really want?

Buy research

Ask them!

How clients define client focus

Put the Client's Needs First

Understand the Client's Business

Be Responsive

Deliver Good Value

Achieve the Client's Goals

How Clients Hire, Fire and Spend: Landing the World's Best Clients 2006, BTI Consulting

29.6%

24.9%

19.6%

9.5%

5.8%

There is no substitute for asking your clients

Every client has different specific needs:– Responsiveness– Billing detail and formats– Budgets and summaries– Bench strength– Business referrals– Education– Etc.

Find out what the needs are and address them

The client review process

Barrier:Lack of resources

Client feedback “on the cheap”

Clients invited to our firm to tell us about:– Their business– What they like in law firms– What they don’t like in law firms– Their ideas of good

client service

Thanks for organizing this event. From my perspective, the presentation was as enjoyable as it was informative. I cannot think of a better education regarding client service than to hear it straight from the client in that fashion.– Associate

Barrier:Lack of commitment

How can we sustain the effort?

Provide ongoing training & celebrate successes

Include the entire firm – show everyone how s/he plays a part

Build a service improvement process and employ Six Sigma techniques

It takes a “whole firm” to deliver superior client serviceSample Client Service Improvement Checklist – everyone has a part to play

Client action plan Who

Introduce another practice group Attorneys

Managing partner visit with GC Management

Host a client event, Add client to mailing lists, Perform a client survey

Marketing

Set information alerts Library

Provide a customized billing format

Billing/Finance

Create a Client Extranet IS, Secretaries / Paralegals

Improve responsiveness Attorneys, Secretaries

Six Sigma methodology (DMAIC)Define process improvement goals that are consistent with customer demands

Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data

Analyze the data to verify cause-and-effect relationships

Improve or optimize the process

Control and continuously monitor the process

Case study: improving our client pitch processImproving our pitches improves our win rate & business

Challenges to address:

Preparation: Insufficient time to prepare

Customization: Not customized to the specific needs of the client

Relationships & history: poor knowledge of client/prospect and important relationships

Research: Poor knowledge of prospect priorities and which law firms they use

Differentiation is primary in competitive business presentations and proposals Level 1: Competence

– Technical capability of the lawyer or reputation of the firm

Level 2: Comparative performance– Track record on similar matters as compared to other

firms and credentials in the industry

Level 3: Differentiation– Creativity on a specific matter, mutually beneficial

relationship with buyer and perceived seamless service from the firm

Firms spend too much time on levels 1 & 2 and are unprepared to discuss level 3WJF Institute, 2008

When we implement the full process including research, pitch development and refinement we get the best results

Day 1 Day 7

IdentifyTarget(Atty + BD)

ReviewResearch(Atty + BD)

Review1st Draft ofPitch (Atty + BD)

FinalizePitchMaterials (Atty + BD)

Do research Develop pitchmaterials

Refine/review pitch

Ideal pursuit development process

“K. and I have interviewed patent litigators from Boston, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, Denver, the Bay Area, Portland, and Seattle. I can honestly say that your team was hands down the most impressive – by a mile. Thank you all for being prepared, answering our questions articulately and thoughtfully, and for taking the time to meet with us.”

–Chief IP Counsel, Fortune 100 company

Results over one year

Win rate up >20%

Number of pitch requests has increased >2x

Average advanced notice is >week

Record level attorney satisfaction

Key to success: seeing beyond the barrier

Don’t focus your energy on the barrier itself

Focus on the solution

Envision your firm beyond the barrier