The latest in Mike O'Horo's series of BD-focused posts taking inspiration from spring training....more
A legitimate plan requires only that you go through a logical exercise that begins with your goal and engineers backward. Mike O'Horo explains how....more
If you struggle to collect what you bill, you have a sales problem. The collection problem is merely a symptom, and a consequence, of the underlying sales problem.
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We surveyed US lawyers to determine how anxious or confident they are. Mostly, they're anxious....more
After years of investing in marketing, sales training and internal sales support, sales management is the next organizational function for law firms to develop....more
Throughout my almost 30 years coaching thousands of lawyers of every description, I've found that these principles help lawyers keep things gender-neutral....more
It's time to abandon the failed force-them-to-comply philosophy in favor of identifying which of your firm's lawyers want to develop marketing and sales skills, and invest only in those....more
Mike O'Horo on what lawyers can learn about business development planning from General Motors' recent factory closure and layoff news....more
The embryonic law firm sales function is undergoing change at a dizzying pace. But the language of the current sales debate suggests that many participants still don't appreciate the degree. ...more
If you’re not relevant, you don’t exist....more
To succeed at business development, you need five things....more
There is no demand for legal services. ...more
Make your pipeline more exclusive....more
Law firms need to define these functional roles in a way that separates their responsibilities clearly....more
Your biggest competitor, with an estimated 30% market share, is "no decision."...more
Why not let potential clients decide how important your location is?...more
Clients in mature industries experience the same increased competition, price pressure, and shrinking margins as you do. ...more
Relationships have no inherent business value, only applied value. ...more
The days of paternalistic law firms maintaining client-less lawyers at their longtime compensation levels (or at all) is over....more
In a buyer's market, your expertise and experience becomes the entry fee, not the winning bid....more
Successful marketing gives you a willing person to sell to, but you still have to make the sale....more
Stop viewing companies through the narrow keyhole of the Legal Dept. Do this instead....more
One in a series of business development tips for lawyers, steering away from unproductive efforts and focusing on action items that actually make a difference....more
In a digital age in which information flows freely and everyone expects answers at the stroke of a keyboard, “Idea Relationships” succeed because your relevance is initially determined by what you know, not who you know....more
Relationships don’t sustain themselves. That means overhead. Each relationship requires you to invest time, attention, effort, and creativity....more