I attended the session titled Transitioning from a Marketing to a Business Development Mindset this morning at the LMA Annual Conference. The session was standing room only—yet another indication of just how critical this topic is for firms today. The panelists for the discussion were José Cunningham, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Crowell & Moring LLP, and Anne Malloy Tucker, Chief Marketing Officer, Goodwin Procter LLP.
1. Understand your key partners’ top 5 clients
2. Know your firm’s top 100 clients and prospects
3. Be an agent for cross-selling
4. Focus on initiatives that get lawyers in front of clients
5. Identify and nurture those lawyers with untapped potential
6. Involve yourself in lateral integration efforts
7. Make it strategic; if there is no plan, create one
8. Shift dollars and resources to higher priorities
9. Persuade with facts
10. Measure your program communicate results
In addition, given limited resources and time, the panelists suggested the audience ask some key questions in order to align marketing and business development efforts:
1. What should you not be doing?
2. What are you doing in marketing that someone else should be doing?
3. What are you doing well now, but can be done more efficiently?
4. What are some of things that you are not doing, but should be?
The panelists also underscored the importance of balance in approaching both marketing and business development. They two should go hand in hand.