Builden Partners’ Marketing Operations Manager Devon Pine outlined business development coaching best practices for law firms in the latest Brand Building in 15 Minutes program.

In the 15-minute presentation, Devon offered insights and strategies for implementing a business development coaching model that not only engages attorneys and meets their individual goals, but also improves the retention of attorneys and firm clients.

Watch the full webinar here:

The Brand Building in 15 Minutes webinar series gives attorneys, marketers and legal administrators practical tips for efficiently executing marketing and business development efforts in a bite-sized timeframe. The program topics focus on process-driven best practices that help raise law firm profiles.

Builden is changing the way law firms think about marketing by turning random acts of marketing into strategies that drive business development. Our seasoned team of legal marketers help firms of all sizes better engage with clients, prospects and talent.

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Video Transcription

Jocelyn Brumbaugh (00:03):
Welcome everyone. Thanks for joining us today. You are our very special guest at Builden Partners Brand Building in 15 minutes series. I’m Jocelyn Brumbaugh, the founder of Builden Partners and we’re super excited to have you here today to talk about meaningful business development coaching. This is something that haunts law firms large and small, so we’re very excited to talk to you about it today. My colleague, Devon Pine, is amazing at business development coaching and she talks fast. So, she is the perfect person to cram all sorts of information about business development, coaching and tips into your brain over the next few minutes. But first, you know us, we are Builden Partners. We do marketing strategy for law firms exclusively. We are consultants to many AmLaw 100 firms, but my favorite part about what we do is serving as an outsourced marketing department for firms with 15 to 150 attorneys. And we do that because our senior team, we all grew up in large law firms, some of the most popular, most prominent law firm names in Chicago and around the world. And we use a process-driven approach to everything that we do in raising law firm profiles. But you’re not here to hear from me. You are here to get all of the business development coaching tips that could possibly come through in the next 15 minutes from my colleague Devon Pine. So, Devon, don’t stop until we run out of time.

Devon Pine (01:27):
Yes. Thank you, Jocelyn. So yes, today we’re going to be talking about business development coaching, but before we dive into how to build a meaningful program, let’s talk about why these coaching programs matter and what their impact can be. The first impact is an increase in retention rates for both clients and attorneys. When attorneys see the firm is investing in them, they’re more likely to stick around. That makes sense, but what about client retention? A study by Bain and Company, who you may have heard of if you’re familiar with the net promoter score, shows that increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by 25 to 95%. So, we know the building client loyalty is really good for that bottom line. How do we get there? How do we turn a coaching program into increased client retention? Well coaching programs encourage collaboration and even cross-selling.

(02:25)
So I’m a total fan girl of Harvard fellow Doctor Heidi Garner who’s research on collaboration saw that clients who are serviced by multiple attorneys across practices are not only more likely to stay at the firm even if the service partner leaves, but can also generate 17% higher revenues. She did another more recent study around Covid and found that attorneys who were highly collaborative had far superior individual and collective performance than their counterparts who took a little bit more of an individual approach. Their revenues didn’t drop nearly as far during the crisis, and they recovered significantly faster. So, we know what the end game is, let’s talk about how we get there. Coaching starts with four key components. We don’t always love to hear it, but part of coaching, a big part of coaching, is holding candidates, or if you’re an attorney yourself accountable. There must be a level of follow-up and follow through on the assignments that consistently reinforce the tools and tactics for success.

(03:32)
This accountability and ongoing support provide a space for attorneys to achieve results, which is obviously what we want. Alright, inspiration. I know this can get a little bit squishy here, but we’re going to discuss taking a tailored approach to coaching in a couple slides, but part of that is using a creative and inspirational approach to provide unique ideas on how to develop habits. Motivation, because your coach is in your corner, providing the right motivation can help avoid that feeling that business development is a chore because of course it is hard to battle with the billable hour, but providing that right level of encouragement, even if it’s just a quick note, can sometimes be the difference between moving forward and feeling stuck. Okay, so we’re getting to vulnerability. I know that it is spooky season, but vulnerability does not have to be scary. Coaching creates a space for sharing ideas, thoughts, fears, even frustrations that coaching can act as a sounding board, which can lead to a really meaningful impact.

(04:39)
And I do want to mention here how coaching and business development has really changed during the pandemic. These key elements, both on the attorney’s part and the coach’s part are still woven into the program. And part of that is providing a perspective for new avenues and pivoting if needed, which I think we’ve all had to do in the pandemic. Alright, so the attorneys are in, the coaches are in how do we get buy-in from firm leadership? In order to get that support, it is crucial to make sure that the program aligns with their goals and visions for the firm. But there may be more connections to that strategic plan than you think. For example, if there’s a focus in the plan on a particular stream of business, start coaching attorneys in that practice group. Alright, data, it is your new best friend. Give from leadership the numbers and projected ROI and use that data to really paint a picture of what is possible for the coaching program.

(05:43)
I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but attorneys are not known for their love of change. But presenting a program in a way that strikes the right balance between pushing new behavioral changes and leveraging what attorneys are already doing well will make the program much easier for firm leadership to accept. And the sell might not actually be that hard, a lot of AmLaw firms are already increasing their business development efforts. They’re incorporating coaching programs. So, there is a chance that your attorneys are already asking for coaching, and here is our first little blue bubble tip. Once you get that green light from firm leadership, start with a small pilot group. This is not only going to help you get your footing, but it’s also going to create a nice buzz around the program. Get people excited. Okay, so who’s the right candidate for a coaching program?

(06:35)
Well, to put it simply, it’s someone who wants to do it, right? So, setting a program up for success in the beginning with attorneys who are excited to participate will help the program gain more traction. And you can see this list here really consists of a lot of busy attorneys and you may have heard the question, if you want something done, ask a busy person. This is not about bogging down attorneys with a lot of busy work or homework. It’s about giving the folks who want to change the tools to do so. And looking back at that accountability piece from earlier, the right candidate should also be prepared to agree to commitments both from a timing perspective and on their deliverables. And as a coach, the success of your candidate is your success. So, agree on those expectations early on, whether that’s a conversation or if you’re both signing an agreement, make sure that that is something you’re both on the same page.

(07:36)
Alright, let’s get coaching. Let’s start our program. Alright, so our question is, should the program be tailored or driven by process? Well, it should be and can be both. Setting up a dedicated timeline is part of that process. It creates a structure for the program but making sure that the tactics within each phase of that timeline are customed to the attorney’s preferences is part of having a tailored approach and tailoring the program becomes a lot easier when you really meet the attorneys where they are. And this goes back to finding that right balance for change. Jocelyn, does this remind you anything that Builden does?

Jocelyn Brumbaugh (08:17):
Yes, Devon, what I love so much about this and the way that you approach this is how well it dovetails with our marketing infrastructure model, which is about helping attorneys expand and do more of what they already do well because business development coaching is so scary to a lot of them, this really helps them to meet them where they are and capitalize on the success that they already have.

Devon Pine (08:40):
Definitely. Thank you. Yeah, this program is really designed to meet attorneys where they are and allow them to develop habits organically. Those organic habits are going to lead to long-term success. You also need to be sure to set up SMART goals along the way. And if you need a refresher on what SMART goals look like, they’re specific, they’re measurable, achievable, realistic, and they’re anchored within a timeframe. Alright, so let’s talk more about that process driven part and what that means. It’s so key to a smooth coaching program. No matter who’s going through the program, the first aim should be to identify and reinforce their differentiators. Answering the question essentially, why should clients choose this attorney? What makes them stand out? Step two is about mining the contact list and outreach. In my opinion, this really is the most crucial part to any program.

(09:44)
It really gets the ball rolling and allows for attorneys to start generating wins. Within I would say the first second at the latest conversation between the coach and attorney, the attorney should start identifying their business development style. Do they like speaking, writing? Maybe they’re passionate about art and want to leverage some of the relationships on the board of that museum where they serve transparency on the attorney’s part here is going to allow the coach to identify the right style and point the attorney in the direction of the activities that are the right fit. And I really can’t stress this enough – people don’t want to do things that they don’t like to do. I mean just there’s so much stuff on Netflix right now, if you’re going to ask an attorney to write a blog who hates writing to do that over watching Squid Games or spending time with their children, it’s not going to happen.

(10:38)
So you got to make sure that the tactics align with their business development style. Finally, you want to find your, in some of the outreach that you’re doing of your contacts is going to be really easy and organic. But other times you need your in essentially a reason to reach out and think about these three options. An invitation. Do you want to grab coffee? An introduction? You have to meet my colleague, Jocelyn, to help you with this really cool project you mentioned, and information, I saw this great article about this thing that you were interested in. And once those are in place, then you can start focusing on the more tailored aspects. But these are really an important base. Alright, so I am obligated to say that business development is not about quick wins. It is a long game. It can take up to 18 months to see movement.

(11:34)
And it’s important to recognize that persistence pays off. It does take time to cultivate these new client relationships. Think about it like a pension. You’re not going to retire tomorrow, but eventually it will pay off. However, on the flip side of that, it is important to build in goals that allow for wins, like reaching out to low hanging fruit that will help build momentum. And not to mention it is fun to celebrate milestones and it’s important to have fun in this coaching program. I’m going to clap here. It’s important to track your outreach. It is essential. Seriously track your outreach. Short term, adding things to a spreadsheet will make you feel like you’re moving the needle. And longer term it will show you that you actually did move the needle. And that part is really exciting. And I do want to mention this shouldn’t all be conceptual.

(12:25)
It’s important to include practical skills and takeaways that attorneys can use day-to-day. Like preparing answers to what’s new or honing their networking skills or their virtual networking skills. If there’s one thing to take away from the entire brand building series, it’s to find a method of scheduling your outreach here in this blue bubble tip. Use your calendar to schedule reminders for yourself. Okay, so that is my spiel on business development coaching. We’re going to take a little bit of a break during the holidays, but we are going to be back with Brand Building in 2022. In the meantime, if you want to get caught up on previous programs, so please visit buildenpartners.com. And I just want to say if you’re looking to kick off the new year with a new practice group or industry team, I highly recommend that last program listed there about marketing your new practice. Alright, Jocelyn, what else do we need to know?

Jocelyn Brumbaugh (13:29):
Well, we don’t have time for questions, we only have 15 minutes, but if you do have a question, you’re welcome to email Devon or me. Happy to help out. And also, if you like a lot of marketing tips crammed into a small space, sign up for our newsletter at hello@buildenpartners. Thanks everyone. We will see you in January.