Activity, ability & focus: Mike Jones discusses the key steps to increasing market share
Lawyers do not like the term “sales”. In recent years they have accommodated—in some cases embraced—business development and marketing. But, please, don’t mention the “s” word. This prejudice towards sales has meant that firms and individuals have been slow to grasp the concept of sales, sales performance, and sales management. As a result much of the “prep” work done via business development and marketing is wasted.
A different art
Selling is not marketing. It is not “business development” either—this label simply adds to the confusion. The role of marketing in law firms is to create goodwill. The role of selling is to convert that goodwill into fees. The term “business development” is often used to avoid the dreaded “s” word, however it is also used to describe the entire sales and marketing continuum, and therein lies the confusion. This lack of clear definition leads to misunderstandings and misplaced strategies.
Most law firms focus time and money on just one of them, which alone might help firms keep up with their
