Is Sales Training Worth the Investment?

The Pitch

In a business development setting, most lawyers go immediately into pitch mode. Based on little or no information, very smart lawyers attempt to convince a client of their unique ability to handle a certain matter. As a result, the meeting quickly turns into a lecture highlighting the profound credentials of the firm and its lawyers. Sometimes the client isn't even allowed to explain what they're looking for.

Before anything else, you must first understand the client's current situation ' and the business issue(s) at hand. If you don't, whatever you say is a guess. Before you say anything, your doctor will ask relevant questions in order to fully understand your problem. She will take many notes and generally perform a thorough assessment prior to prescribing a course of action. Much like your doctor, your first order of business should be diagnosing the problem, not offering a solution! The more you understand the issue and exactly what the client wants the better.

Business Development Activities

Business development success requires some level of activity. Without any formal training or direction, most lawyers will perform what I like to call 'random acts of business development.' Many will adopt the notion that any type of marketing will potentially bring in new work; thus theorizing that all marketing activities are created equal and produce the same return on investment. To a non-lawyer, say a sales representative, this approach has some merit. With unlimited time to sell, a sales professional can afford to invest time in potentially fruitless areas. A practicing attorney focused on billable hours cannot. In order to maximize the return on investment (your time), lawyers should consider spending most of their business development time focused on:

• Face-to-face meetings with decision makers at your top five clients and top five prospects;
• Client satisfaction interviews;
• Client, industry or geographic teams;
• Designing value propositions to help educate clients and non clients; and
• Networking with direct referral sources.

On the other hand, many will elect to spend their time on other activities with a much lower probability for success, such as:

• Bar functions;
• Community involvement;
• Writing articles and speeches;
• Brochures and newsletters;
• Seminars;
• Branding and advertising; and
• Research.

A laser like focus is required to successfully build a practice.

The Close

Remember the famous closing line, 'the only requirement is to sit through a 60 minute presentation?' The part that should have been revealed was the 'arm twisting' closing tactics employed by the time-share developer. Closing new business can be an extremely uncomfortable conversation for most lawyers; perhaps even more painful for the client that feels 'pressured' to buy. Closing a new matter is relatively uneventful if you've followed a logical sales process. The true 'art' of closing is simply a reasonable line of inquiry regarding the buying process of the client ' in order to advance to the next step. The 'close' merely moves the process forward naturally. Typical questions for the client during the latter part of the sales process include:

• What do you see as the next step(s)?
• What is your timeframe for a decision?
• What is the expected start date?
• Do you need any additional information?
• Should we schedule a follow up meeting?
• Who else will be involved in the decision?
• Does this require approval?
• Do you have a budget in mind?

Until law schools begin to educate students on business development, or rainmakers begin to mentor and teach the tools of the trade, some form of sales and business development training seems rational. After all, 'you don't know what you don't know!'

A veteran sales trainer was trying to convince a room full of sales professionals to simply keep an open mind. Glancing at the class and back to the flip chart, he tapped his finger on the hand-written third circle and explained: 'This is where ' you don't know what you don't know!' After explaining the first two circles that represented information that 'you know you know,' and 'you know you don't know,' I had to reflect on this profound concept for a moment. And of course ' he was right! The danger zone is clearly the outer circle where one doesn't even recognize the need for knowledge or information.

In the past, young lawyers learned the art of rainmaking on the heels of mentoring partners, both formally and informally. But times have changed. A more competitive legal market, combined with demanding clients, has caused the mentoring partner to focus on more immediate priorities. With no formal education in how to build a practice, obtain new clients or cross-sell services, most young lawyers are inadequately equipped to succeed in today's challenging legal market. But is sales training really the answer? Aren't most professionals smart enough to figure it out on their own?

Here are three examples in which lawyers 'don't know what they don't know.'

The Pitch

In a business development setting, most lawyers go immediately into pitch mode. Based on little or no information, very smart lawyers attempt to convince a client of their unique ability to handle a certain matter. As a result, the meeting quickly turns into a lecture highlighting the profound credentials of the firm and its lawyers. Sometimes the client isn't even allowed to explain what they're looking for.

Before anything else, you must first understand the client's current situation ' and the business issue(s) at hand. If you don't, whatever you say is a guess. Before you say anything, your doctor will ask relevant questions in order to fully understand your problem. She will take many notes and generally perform a thorough assessment prior to prescribing a course of action. Much like your doctor, your first order of business should be diagnosing the problem, not offering a solution! The more you understand the issue and exactly what the client wants the better.

Business Development Activities

Business development success requires some level of activity. Without any formal training or direction, most lawyers will perform what I like to call 'random acts of business development.' Many will adopt the notion that any type of marketing will potentially bring in new work; thus theorizing that all marketing activities are created equal and produce the same return on investment. To a non-lawyer, say a sales representative, this approach has some merit. With unlimited time to sell, a sales professional can afford to invest time in potentially fruitless areas. A practicing attorney focused on billable hours cannot. In order to maximize the return on investment (your time), lawyers should consider spending most of their business development time focused on:

• Face-to-face meetings with decision makers at your top five clients and top five prospects;
• Client satisfaction interviews;
• Client, industry or geographic teams;
• Designing value propositions to help educate clients and non clients; and
• Networking with direct referral sources.

On the other hand, many will elect to spend their time on other activities with a much lower probability for success, such as:

• Bar functions;
• Community involvement;
• Writing articles and speeches;
• Brochures and newsletters;
• Seminars;
• Branding and advertising; and
• Research.

A laser like focus is required to successfully build a practice.

The Close

Remember the famous closing line, 'the only requirement is to sit through a 60 minute presentation?' The part that should have been revealed was the 'arm twisting' closing tactics employed by the time-share developer. Closing new business can be an extremely uncomfortable conversation for most lawyers; perhaps even more painful for the client that feels 'pressured' to buy. Closing a new matter is relatively uneventful if you've followed a logical sales process. The true 'art' of closing is simply a reasonable line of inquiry regarding the buying process of the client ' in order to advance to the next step. The 'close' merely moves the process forward naturally. Typical questions for the client during the latter part of the sales process include:

• What do you see as the next step(s)?
• What is your timeframe for a decision?
• What is the expected start date?
• Do you need any additional information?
• Should we schedule a follow up meeting?
• Who else will be involved in the decision?
• Does this require approval?
• Do you have a budget in mind?

Until law schools begin to educate students on business development, or rainmakers begin to mentor and teach the tools of the trade, some form of sales and business development training seems rational. After all, 'you don't know what you don't know!'