ISSUE TWO MARCH 2015

FRANK AND FEARLESS P1

The client feedback evolution

THE CHINA BOOM P4

Law firms adapt to the opportunity

IN STEREO P7

Communications experts from Maddocks and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

BID BENCHMARKS P9

2015 Survey of Australian Law Firms

CAREER PROFILE P13

Slattery’s General Manager, Ashley Bleeker

Editor Alicia PattersonDesign Nathan Betts

Publisher Seldon RosserDirectors Graham Seldon

and Katie RosserMelbourne

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and its predecessor Seldon Gill.

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Cover imageVictoria Reichelt

English Fairy Tales, 1 2010. Oil on linen

120 x 91cm (Detail)

Courtesy of Seldon Robinson collection. Artist represented by Dianne Tanzer Gallery + Projects

Introduction

Before we knew it, the flurry of activity that is the lead up to the Christmas break and the New Year was receding into the distance – and here we are, well into 2015. We had an excellent response to our first edition and so it’s with great anticipation we present our second Seldon Rosser publication of OnPoint.

In our career profile, we speak to Ashley Bleeker, who went from dreams (albeit brief) of being a High Court Judge, explored science and law at uni and finally moved from being a practising lawyer to a business development professional. Right now, he will be settling into his latest position as General Manager at leading Australian quantity surveying and cost engineering firm, Slattery.

Our In Stereo section dwells on the challenges inherent in being a specialist in the art of communications within the walls of a law firm.

We look at the evolution of client feedback programs, speaking to experts who manage the design and implementation in Australia and Asia. We find out what it takes to make one work and what kind of people have the skills and characteristics to create the best, most insightful programs in professional services.

With bids and tenders back on the radar as many companies and government agencies in Australia and globally look ever more to control their legal spend and drive their budgets further, we asked marketing teams from Australia’s mid market and leading law firms about what was changing in meeting the requirements of the final phase of pursuit campaigns.

And we look at the greater China region to see what’s happening in the application of business development processes and approach. We speak to practitioners in the field to find out how they have adapted their experience and expertise to serve global firms in the region and best assist them to manage their China-based and international clients.

We hope what you get from this edition is a new piece of information, something that provokes a new idea, opens a new horizon, or perhaps, reconnects you with someone you once knew or worked with from among the interviewees who generously gave their time to be interviewed.

Thanks for reading – and please feel free to forward this on to others.

Client feedback programs now form an integral part of the client relationship programs of law firms globally and in Australia. Some manage them in-house, some call in independent

consultants, but all need a certain kind of skill set and firm culture to turn quality feedback into great opportunities.

“Client feedback puts the voice of the client at the heart of the business,” explains Sarah Henwood, Regional Head of Business Development, Marketing and Communications for Clifford Chance in the Asia Pacific.

According to consultant Sue-Ella Prodonovich, Prodonovich Advisory, the impetus for law firms to begin client feedback programs can vary – everything from trying to develop better training programs through to gaining insights for pursuit campaigns or pitches.

“In strategy there is always a point,” she explains, “where you ask, what do your clients or referral sources say about you? Because you need to know that to make a considered next step.”

Sue-Ella spends about a quarter of her time on client feedback programs – the development of a specialisation which began back in the early 90s as a part of the popular Total Quality Management (TQM) phase in business. From there she was engaged by a leading law firm to develop a client care program.

She believes many firms are becoming particularly good at the client feedback process – in particular the client relationship monitoring program, end of matter / deal evaluation process, mixing internal resources, technology and independent external consultants to create balanced and robust programs.

“Some clients will only speak to an in-house person, others will only speak to an independent third party, so a mix is important. ‘In my experience the very best client feedback programs involve a face-to-face interview process conducted by a partner at the firm who is independent of the client and an independent external person,” she said.

FRANKAND

FEARLESSTHE CLIENT FEEDBACK

EVOLUTION

At Clifford Chance two formal feedback processes guide relationship development

and improvements in the way the firm does business. A relationship review is conducted annually with major clients and deal reviews are conducted with clients at the conclusion of significant transactions/matters.

The former (relationship review) involves a senior partner (independent of the relationship) and a senior business development person meeting with the client and going through a guided conversation, with plenty of space and encouragement given to clients to raise whatever issues they want to. Deal and matter reviews are done directly by the BD team.

Sarah says at least one or other of the reviews is happening weekly if not more often (deal reviews are on foot at least weekly). Once the relationship review meeting – which can last up to a few hours – is completed, the feedback is provided to the client team.

“It can be difficult and you do need to be sensitive in delivering feedback. But what everyone has to remember is that not having a perfect relationship means there is plenty of opportunity for the firm to show its commitment to the client and improve things. If there is work to be done, then there is an opportunity to build the relationship,” said Sarah. “If the report card is glowing, it’s more difficult in many ways.”

She adds that central to making feedback programs work is ensuring there is clear understanding that “client perception is everything. If this is their take out, then it doesn’t matter what the detail is, or what our reality is.”

Sarah says that the client teams are always prepared before a review takes place: “There is no point going on this journey if you don’t want to deal with tough things. But to be frank, it’s never really that bad. The client team usually has some idea of what might come up.”

“There is always change because of the feedback. It might be how we communicate - during a transaction with that client, or the billing side – or more in-house training. There is always something. What works really well is when a client says, look, we’d like to spend some time with you to explain how it works from our point of view during

the deal. What our pressure points were, our audiences. That feedback is incredibly valuable,” said Sarah.

Sue-Ella agrees that as a result of feedback programs, something in the firm changes each time – and some issues are perennial such as the client not knowing enough people at the firm, or about the firm’s full expertise and capability. Others can seem small, but make a big difference: “One smaller firm changed the way

partners communicated with reception so that communication could be better with clients about when partners might return their call. It was about leaving clients with some idea of when to expect to hear back.”

The firms, which use findings from feedback well, she says: “Share the insights across the partnership and keep using the information. It becomes a well-thumbed document – they use insights in their lawyer training internally, at partner retreats, as part of practice due diligence and to inform their recruitment process. Some use it to construct a targeted sales campaign.”

Sarah’s view is that the feedback is key to enabling firms to differentiate themselves with clients:

“The days of simply relying on technical competence are long gone. There are price pressures, new entrants and much more choice for clients these days. Law firms have very intelligent people who provide brilliant advice and have exceptional legal know how. The relationship is where they differ.”

— The very best programs involve a face-to-face interview conducted by a partner at the firm who is independent of the client and an independent external person.Sue-Ella Prodonovich, Prodonovich Advisory

2 March 2015 Frank and Fearless

She adds that for business development professionals in firms, it’s important to appreciate that “most lawyers don’t become lawyers because they want to be in the relationship game” and so the people who provide the internal service of assisting in client feedback programs must be of a particular skill set and style.

“Firms are placing a lot of emphasis on this support. But it takes a person who has a lot of energy, resilience and an ability to push back when required. It needs someone who is great at relationships themselves.” She says it helps if they have had experience in the commercial corporate world. “They need to be good at mentoring and coaching; to be able to build trust and credibility among the partnership. They need gravitas – which generally comes with experience,” Sarah explained.

It’s not easy to find people with that combination of skills and experience. Sarah confesses it’s one of the roles that, in her experience, has taken longest to find the right person.

As an emerging area of expertise, the skill set and experience of the people who are driving client

development – including feedback - programs in firms can vary considerably. According to Seldon Rosser Director Katie Rosser, the most sought after candidates would be those who have already managed client development and client feedback programs through specialist roles in a sophisticated law firm environment. These people are, however, few and far between and can be so entrenched in their business that they are rarely on the market. Other common backgrounds sought can be professionals from ‘big four’ accounting firms or specialists coming out of portfolio areas with direct industry experience – for example in telecommunications or banking where their industry knowledge is significant.

“However, most will have some professional services experience at some

point in their background – even if it was early in their career. There is much to be said for understanding the internal dynamic of a law firm.  Those who are successful in getting these roles who have never worked in law, will all have demonstrated clearly that they know what to expect and how they will navigate a legal environment.”

The ability to inspire confidence and coach partners in eliciting and acting on client feedback is critical too. Commonly the business development professionals will have a direct role in the client relationship, establishing their own connection with the client.

“Partners in different firms, or groups within a firm, look for different things. The kind of business development professional they can be looking for to help them in this area will depend very much on individuals. Some partners may be seeking an innovative approach and others a safe pair of hands. But it will always come down to attitude and commerciality – these two attributes are always key,” explains Katie.

While client feedback programs span the gamut from surveys to qualitative interviews (by phone or face to face), Katie has observed that, as client programs evolve, “less is often more; with a focus on very targeted smaller groups of clients and regular one-on-one interactions”.  

“It’s rare to find a firm that doesn’t have some kind of feedback program for key clients. But there is opportunity for firms if they also look at the periphery. For example, smarter sampling might include clients of the firm that have been with the firm for five years or more, along with a group of clients that are new to the firm – perhaps six months or less,” Sue-Ella explained.

But whatever the approach, the simple fact of seeking feedback sends a critical key message to clients: “The gift is in the invitation. Clients get the message that you have a client-centric culture. For some firms, that is a key aspect of having a program at all,” said Sue-Ella.

— If there is work to be done, then there is an opportunity to build the relationship.Sarah Henwood, Clifford Chance

3 March 2015 Frank and Fearless

4 March 2015 The China Boom

THECHINABOOM

Law firms globally have seized the opportunity, particularly in the past five years, deploying not just local offices and lawyers, but business development professionals to work with local talent to shape legal service to clients working within and across the Chinese border and across North Asia.

Alan Hanson, Herbert Smith Freehills Head of Business Development Lead in Greater China has been in this region for five years. He suggests that in the North Asian region, investment in strategic BD is at an earlier stage, often with a single person as a resource: “Asia is going through what Australia and the UK went through perhaps 8 – 10 years ago,” said Alan of the emergence of BD as a discipline; investment in BD seems to come off the back of prolific bid and tender activity in the market.

“Bidding in China is extensive,” explains Kathryn Garth, Senior Business Development Manager - Greater China, Norton Rose Fulbright (Hong Kong). “Chinese clients request expertise statements regularly and they want them fast. If you are servicing the region, a key challenge is having the time and established relationships to be in a position to question the strategic importance of each request.” She adds that a global outlook is commensurately important: “Business development professionals in Asia need to be thinking on a global level. When you sit in the middle of all the major markets, the opportunities are endless.”

Price sensitivity is key, agrees Alan: “For Chinese clients, the ‘value added services’ which are such a feature of law firm relationships in other markets simply do not have the same appeal. For example, it is less common to send secondees or offer free training, so firms have to find other ways of differentiating themselves.”

As with any business development strategy, in the China region it requires factoring in local knowledge, international or industry knowledge and experience and the key stakeholders within the firm and among clients. However, the boom in economic activity has meant BD strategy also must balance an additional pressure – managing internal relationships and introductions with the high volume of work.

“This drives a lot of demand on Asian offices to provide introductions into local companies for practitioners from their international offices. This can be demanding on the time of local practitioners,” said Kathryn. “BD teams need to assist with balancing these demands with the time required to implement local initiatives necessary to maintain these relationships.”

In addition, says Alan, a key difference in the region is that offices and practice groups are typically smaller. Partners are expected to cover more ground as a result – with any partner maintaining many clients and files.

Alan gives the example of where typically in a large Australian practice

a partner may be allocated one of the firm’s major clients, in China “a financial services partner will typically have responsibility for 4 or 5 key banks. The ratios in the market are very different” he says.

Relationships with clients are also more finely balanced: “Cultural factors definitely come into play in local client relationships,” explains Kathryn.

—Asia is going through what Australia and the UK went through perhaps 8–10 years ago. Alan Hanson, Herbert Smith Freehills

More than three decades ago economic reforms in China moved to a more capitalist system and re-established private enterprise. Those changes have yielded a boom – or a second industrial revolution – with China now the world’s fastest growing economy.

5 March 2015 The China Boom

“Unlike in Western cultures, you can’t always pick your most experienced team member and put them as lead on a relationship or bid. Given the prevalence of government and family-owned businesses, if you don’t understand the culture, speak the language or have a history with key executives (perhaps having grown up locally), it will be harder to break into a relationship and be top of mind for the next job.”

Alan concurs, describing relationship organisation in Chinese businesses as more centralised, with clients preferring one clear decision maker and contact, and lower comfort levels with multi-level connections. This can lead to strain on the central relationship partner in cases where interest is high in (and from) one specific client.

However, he adds that ‘cultural difference’ need not be overblown. He

describes an example where a proposed client feedback program was believed to be too difficult to implement: “But we have done client reviews with Chinese clients, conducted by Chinese speaking partners and BD professionals, and they have been extremely well received.”

Business development professionals working in China, Alan says, need to be very flexible to meet the demands of the business.

“There is a high volume of pitching and tendering. That is just the reality in this part of the world, so you have to be hands on.

“Language skills are more and more important. Someone who doesn’t speak and write Chinese well is limited. This also poses a challenge for team managers, who need to be careful that local BD people don’t become unfairly burdened with translating proposals and marketing collateral.”

However, other BD strategies are being adapted across firms. Alan’s team is to broaden from being operationally-focussed to more strategic business development support – a team that plays an active role in setting strategic direction and works with lawyers to equip them with key BD skills – everything from networking to writing fee proposals. Alan ran a pitching workshop for lawyers the day before this interview.

Kathryn agrees that a mix of skills – strategic and operational – is important – along with an understanding of local culture and, of course, language skills.

“This drives the need for truly multicultural teams and brings with it a great opportunity for all members to learn from each other. For example, my team consists of individuals from the UK, Australia and US, as well as local Chinese. It can be challenging and truly rewarding,” said Kathryn.

According to Graham Seldon, the desire to build sustainable, effective BD teams has led to regional offices mixing international recruits with hiring, developing and promoting local talent to build a longevity and career development opportunities.

“We are now briefed regularly on finding candidates with several years work experience in Shanghai and Beijing as firms invest more into the region. Candidates with generalist skills and with an aptitude to take on projects around clients and sector BD initiatives are in demand,” he said.

“As far as skills go, never write yourself off as an unsuitable candidate for a role in Asia,” adds Kathryn. “You never know what someone is looking for in terms of culture, language skills, expertise, or even flexibility to travel to various destinations within the region. Sometimes firms don’t know what a candidate can offer until they meet them.”

—This drives the need for truly multicultural teams and brings with it a great opportunity for all members to learn from each other.Kathryn Garth, Norton Rose Fulbright

6 March 2015 The China Boom

Communications

Mark Twain once said “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech” thus encapsulating the dilemma of communications professionals everywhere – communications in all its forms, done well, looks easy. And yet,

preparation and negotiation, with a firm eye on what actually has to be achieved, is critical. And that’s before fingers hit key boards to create a first draft, and a growing army of colleagues deploy the dread ‘track changes’ tool.

Irish playwright (and co-founder of the London School of Economics) George Bernard Shaw cautioned that the “biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”.

We asked two communications experts about whether numbers can measure communications, about making it look easy, where the communications blind spots are and what it takes to make it work in professional services.

Chris Davis is the Media Relations Manager for Asia at international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. He is part of the firm’s global media relations team which has around six full time PR practitioners. He reports to the Head of Business Development in Asia and the firm’s Head of Global Media Relations. Prior to working in law firms, Chris worked in communications for an Australian political party for nearly a decade.

l1 What’s the most common misunderstanding about the role of communications in your view?

A lot of people get the communications process in reverse in that they target the medium over the message. You can have the best communications strategy in the world, but if you don’t have something to say, it doesn’t mean a thing. Style tends not to overcome substance.

Kane Dowsett is the Senior Manager - Communications for national law firm Maddocks and part of the Business Development and Marketing Department team of 13 within the Business Services Division. Kane manages two of the team and reports to the Director of Business Development and Marketing. His background includes seven years with global engineering firm GHD and significant experience across the range of communications and their application nationally and globally.

l1 What’s the most common misunderstanding about the role of communications in your view?That what we do is easy! Partners think that courting media, understanding what works for different channels and establishing key messaging that aligns with firm (or individual) strategy is simply a case of ‘point and shoot’. Our internal clients are smart though; when you explain the process, investment and behind the scenes work that goes into even the smallest of media presence, they quickly develop a heightened level of respect for the role.

Kane Dowsett MADDOCKS

Chris Davis FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER

7 March 2015 In Stereo

l2 Which communications channels does your firm work most heavily?Internally, we use SharePoint for policies, procedures and detailed information – but also a tabloid style weekly newsletter. Frustratingly, and despite what we’ve been told over the years, people still respond most to email. In this light, crafting a message that meets communications objectives can turn even the most elementary email into a work of (word) art.

l3 Are there any you don’t use / rarely use? Why? In the legal sector, social media is still relatively untapped. But we’re breaking the mould on that – we’re even about to dip our toe into Instagram. We use Twitter (news, views, market-awareness), LinkedIn (firm news, employer brand, client engagement) and Facebook (employee brand, social and CSR).

l4 How do you measure the value of communications in the firm? What’s the most compelling?It’s difficult to quantify financial benefit from specific media pitches or coverage, as they tend to be a longer-burn and contribute to a wider message around the firm and/or its people. Positioning our people as thought-leaders, or having them contribute to (or start) industry debate can very powerful. I steer clear of Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) measurement for media. I find volume of outbound activity (pitches and releases out versus coverage in) is valued as continued activity can be linked to heightened brand recognition. Engagement levels based on qualitative analysis (not just number of shares or likes) for internal communications campaigns are the best test for success.

l5 What makes a great communications professional in a law firm environment? Empathy is important, and respect for time. Being good at developing relationships and ability to make it easy for the talent to engage with the media; make sure they’re prepared, supported and they can trust you’ve got their back. Internally – don’t be afraid to try new things, or admit failures. Video communication has been a bugbear for me lately – I’m finding it hard to strike a balance between good content, fast production and great talent.

l2 Which communications channels does your firm work most heavily?At the macro-level we work extensively with the traditional business media and the larger social media platforms. However, there’s still no better way to reach your clients than personal contact – targeted email campaigns and real client conversations go a long way.

l3 Are there any you don’t use / rarely use? Why? We are generally prepared to consider anything in the right circumstances, however we stay well away from paid editorials. If you have to pay someone to print something you want to say, it’s probably not worth reading either.

l4 How do you measure the value of communications in the firm? What’s the most compelling?Communications people in professional services need to recognise they are part of the business development function – so it’s all about measuring client influence. We don’t talk about success in terms of raw numbers, but reputational impact and client response (for instance, website spikes that coincide with press coverage).

l5 What makes a great communications professional in a law firm environment? You need to be an evangelist for communications itself. A big part of my role is putting the case forward for the very idea of doing communications.

Law firms measure everything in terms of risk, so you need to have a talent for balancing risk against reward and finding communications tactics that work in such a cautious environment.

8 March 2015 In Stereo

BID BENCHMARKS2015 Bids & Tenders Survey of Australian Law Firms

In today’s hyper-competitive legal market, bids and tenders (‘bids’) are back in focus – as the pointy end of strategic client pursuits. Firms of all shapes and sizes are rethinking their approach and resources, as they look to capitalise on advancements in client relationship management, pricing, project management and resourcing. So, while change is embryonic – what is current market practice? What are marketers experiencing in the day-to-day operation of bid development? To find out, Seldon Rosser /Yardstick Marketing surveyedin-house marketers from 31 ofAustralia’s mid and top-tierlaw firms about their approach,resources and results.Here are the key findings,along with observations oncurrent practice and emergingmarket trends.

KEY FINDINGS

The most time consuming bid activity for today’s marketer is: customising content (58%), project management (18%), working with partners (16%), document production (5%), pricing (3%) and working with clients (0%). These numbers reflect marketing’s move up the bid value chain. Today, the ‘average’ marketer is devoting their time to project managing the bid process, developing / sourcing customised content (including credentials, legal analysis, project plans and pricing) and working alongside partners. Firms are happy with this progress and are now looking to minimise the time taken to customise content and to facilitate greater marketing interaction with partners and clients. To achieve this, firms are creating libraries of customised content, investing in technology and tasking junior / administration staff with the maintenance of materials. This trend is seeing more work than ever done outside of the live bids process.

A ‘bid/no bid’ analysis is being used by 68% of firms. Firms today are thinking hard about the needs of the target, their position in the market and the unique value they offer. This thinking is happening through conversations, checklists, set processes and as part of more strategic client pursuits. Whatever the mechanism, this thinking is flowing from a greater understanding of the costs associated with bids and the brand damage that comes from bidding for the wrong type of work. No longer do lawyers see bidding for anything and everything as a no risk strategy.

77% of firms are recording bid results, with 52% capturing detailed bid variables and 35% communicating this information internally. Firms are recording detailed bid variables (for example pricing method, type of bid, opportunity source, etc.) to uncover trends to help refine their bid approach – particularly pricing. They are also recording the reason for bids results in set categories (for example price, experience, relationship, etc.) to create quantitative data for longitudinal insights. Another trend is the measurement of time taken per bid to calculate return on investment, to understand the impact of human variables (that is timing of effort, distribution of roles, etc.), to benchmark performance and to ascertain the time savings of resource or approach changes. More sophisticated firms are creating matter codes for each bid (within practice management software) and recording time for both marketing and fee earners.

29% of marketers have access to an ‘internal bids manager / pursuits specialist’ and 26% use ‘external advisers’. Few have access to both. In recent years, marketers have taken on a broad remit for bids that includes partner coaching and ‘beauty parade’ preparation. At the same time, there has been a move towards using external advisers for support earlier in the client buying cycle. Both trends are with merit and explain the relatively low numbers presented. More recently, the industry has seen bid managers being superseded by strategic pursuits specialists, while external bid specialists are being called on for firm-wide bid audits, the development of bid infrastructure and of course - support for a growing number of ‘must win’ bids.

10 March 2015 Bid Benchmarks

58% of firms ‘generally’ call a client to clarify a brief / RFP. This is a surprising figure, as you would expect firms to do this as a matter of course. More and more, firms are moving beyond simple brief / RFP clarification and are working hard to foster a collaborative bid process. This collaborative approach includes the use of complementary brainstorming sessions, the development of draft bids for discussion (including project plans and pricing) and the co-creation or refinement of the client’s brief / RFP.

52% of firms ‘generally’ conduct a bid debrief. Although some clients are suffering from feedback fatigue, this is one area where firms are entitled to ask questions. The trend is for firms to be more systematic in collecting, aggregating and analysing feedback – with debrief questions aligned to the firm’s positioning or strategic initiatives. Another trend is for marketing to undertake the debrief (as client relationship managers) as it has been proven to improve completion rates, the quality of feedback extracted and the use of that information.

87% of firms conduct an initial ‘strategy session’, while 26% conduct multiple sessions. Due to time restraints, most firms use an initial ‘strategy session’ for team selection and task allocation, with more customised elements (for example legal analysis, scoping / project plans, pricing, etc.) undertaken in silos and embedded in the bid document along the way. To foster greater strategic thinking, firms are becoming more structured in their approach and are investing in a variety of measures to ensure the rapid development of highly customised draft bids.

87% of firms involve marketing, finance and lead partners in pricing. Only 10% involve a pricing specialist or non-legal project manager. Pricing has become everyone’s concern, with each group offering different perspectives, insights and endgames. Considering recent trends, it’s likely that pricing specialists will remain predominantly external, while internally, firms will get more sophisticated in pricing work through the use of legal project management tools. Recently, we have seen firms ramp up effort outside of the bid process to analyse pricing, processes and resourcing – as they look to make operational improvements and create robust pricing precedents.

Lead partners are responsible for pricing sign-off in 52% of firms, with responsibility shared with MPs, practice / sector leaders or finance. Irrespective of who is responsible for pricing sign-off, it’s almost universal now to have dual responsibility, with one party ensuring protocols are met. It’s these protocols that are the biggest trend today, with firms developing and using sophisticated guidelines as to what pricing can be used and when – with tactical advice on securing expertise, relationships and work volumes. More broadly, the ‘shopping list’ of pricing options is being replaced with genuine advice on the best pricing models and processes for the situation at hand.

45% of marketers have access to a credentials spread sheet, 34% have access to a credentials database and 71% have access to a bids database. Amongst other things, these numbers reflect the common practice of using past bids as a quasi credentials database. It’s a functional approach, however provides problems with consistency, completeness and efficiency. The trend is for firms to undertake a hybrid approach, with a database or spread sheet trapping all credentials and a master bid document providing ‘marketing ready’ descriptions. However, the broader trend is that firms are relying less on credentials, as these are being trumped by legal analysis, project plans, value adds and in-depth case studies.

11 March 2015 Bid Benchmarks

OUTPUT AND PERFORMANCE

Note: numbers are rounded to nearest whole numbers. For more information on Bid Benchmarks or to share additional insights contact James Fielding (Founder & Director, Yardstick Marketing) at james@yardstickmarketing.com.au

MARKETERS RATINGS

BIDS RESOURCE COVERAGE

Bids are taking marketers (hours):

1–4 (29%) 5–9 (45%) 10–14 (21%) 15+ (5%)

Marketers are involved in the following number of bids per month:

1–4 (29%) 5–9 (45%) 10–14 (21%) 15+ (5%)

Bids to new clients:

< 5% (26%) 6–10% (11%) 11–20% (21%) 21–30% (11%) >30% (32%)

Win rates:

< 30% (17%) 31–50% (30%) 51–70% (33%) 71–90% (20%)

8 out of 38 marketers had no idea of their firm’s win rate.

Current bid resources

Poor (11%) Fair (16%) Average (63%) Good (11%)

Zero rated it excellent.

boilerplate content (89%)

design templates (71%)

bids database (71%)

image libraries (61%)

design support (61%)

intranet/p

ortal (5

5%)

credentials spread sheet (45%)

market insights (39%)

bids & tenders reports / in

sights (39%)

credentials database (34%)

secretarial support (34%)

clients insights (34%)

scoped project plans (26%)

legal project management to

ols (26%)

Price pressure

Moderate (16%) Strong (79%) Intense (5%)

Zero rated it non-existent or mild.

Partner engagement

Satisfactory (79%) Unsatisfactory (21%)

Of those that rated partner engagement ‘unsatisfactory’ - 75% were from mid-tier firms.

12 March 2015 Bid Benchmarks

When he was very little, Ashley Bleeker told a few people he wanted to be a High Court Judge. He cannot recall what prompted him to claim such an ambition: “I had no idea what that was, or why I wanted it,” he laughs.

He did eventually become a lawyer at Allens Arthur Robinson after graduating

from the University of Melbourne with honours degrees in science (BSc (Hons), Chemistry, 1996) and law (LLB (Hons) 1998).

Right now, Ashley is newly minted in the position of General Manager at leading Australian quantity surveying and cost engineering firm Slattery – possibly not the most direct route to the High Court, if indeed his career aspirations ever return to the law.

“When I was at uni I studied science/law – science because I loved it, and law to get a job! I never really knew what I wanted to do,” he laughs.

After five years in legal practice (intellectual property, energy/resources, infrastructure), he leapt at the opportunity for a secondment to the firm’s business development team in 2005.

“I tried out the secondment and found the work more exciting and interesting than what I was doing as a lawyer – at the time in the energy and resources team.”

He spent the next five and a half years at the same firm – but ensconced in the BD team as Senior Business Development Manager before moving to the role of Client Services Manager at PPB Advisory in 2010, eventually heading up the BD team until his recent appointment at Slattery.

It is a lifelong habit of natural curiosity that drives him: “I’m a naturally curious person, I was always asking ‘why’ when I was a kid; it drove my mother crazy” he said. However, it is a quality Ashley believes is important for anyone in a business development role.

“It’s important to understand that, although you may not be the subject matter expert when working with technical specialists like lawyers and accountants, you need to be naturally curious and take a real interest in the subject matter. You have to be curious enough to test the thinking, to challenge things – respectfully of course.”

Ashley believes the ability to learn and constantly adapt to changing market conditions is critical to success for people in business development roles.

“People remember you, and value you,

for how you operate more than how much you know. You might not start off with a deep knowledge of a particular technical area, but it’s incumbent on you as a BD specialist to take the time to find out what people do, to find out about the technical side. That is the way you can identify what will be compelling in a current market, with clients.”

Experience has also taught him to give people space.

“It’s taken me awhile to learn this, but you can’t have someone’s ‘ah-ha’ moment for them. You have to let them learn by themselves. You may see the answer very clearly, but you have to allow people the time to work it out. Everyone needs that. Especially if change is needed. You have to slow it right down; people need time to change the way they do something, see something.”

This is important in a changing market, and critical to the success of a business development professional, where facilitating and coaching is often what drives real value.Ashley notes that in a competitive legal market, even at the premium end of town, it is getting harder to convince clients to pay for ‘service’ alone. Service – and technical competence – is a given.

Ashley Bleeker General Manager, Slattery

CURIOSITY PAVES THE WAY from science, through law and finance, to quantity surveying

CAREER PROFILE

13 March 2015 Career Profile

The same applies to business development professionals within firms.

“There is a challenge in the market for professional services, the pressure to deliver value for money is now greater than ever. This means two things. First that business development functions in firms need to work hard to justify the investment in business development and marketing - there is heightened pressure to add value.

“But the other side of that dichotomy is that there is a lot of opportunity for business development professionals – because now more than ever firms are looking for ways to differentiate themselves and to be smart about it.

“To be really good, to really offer value, apart from natural curiosity and interest in the subject matter, you need to be able to do something no one else can do; whether that’s understanding the markets that you work in beyond the sphere of your firm’s service in those markets, being the voice of the client in a room that’s often full of practitioner views, or stress-testing the logic that underpins someone’s suggested approach to a proposed initiative. Basically, as a business development professional, you can decide to be the person who can do something no-one else can do – or someone who does what no-one else can be bothered doing. The former is eminently preferable.”

On the cusp of a new career challenge, Ashley is also on

the brink of becoming a father for the second time; with a two-year-old daughter, he and his partner Kate’s second child is due to arrive some time near the publication of this edition of OnPoint. Happily, Ashley feels his ability to influence without authority applies equally to toddlers and partners at professional services firms.

As a 16-year-old, Ashley had dispensed with aspirations of the High Court – his attention was consumed

by the demands of school and a keen interest in sport. Cycling remains a fairly serious past time – the doing and the watching.

What would his 16-year old-self think of him now?

“I’d probably think I’d done alright, based on the fact I now have a lot of great toys (bikes),” he laughs.

RECOMMENDED READING FOR A CRITICAL APPROACH THAT’S TIMELESS

When asked what reading he found himself referencing – when in need of inspiration, motivation or straight out reassurance – Ashley said he found himself going back to the extensive work of former Harvard Busines School professor David Maister, widely regarded as a world leader in the management of professional services firms.

His books include First Among Equals, The Trusted Advisor (among others) and his latest work Strategy and the Fat Smoker. Articles, podcasts, videos and books are available from www.davidmaister.com.

Now more than ever firms are looking for ways to differentiate themselves and to be smart about it.

14 March 2015 Career Profile

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