Automating Your Law Firm Business Development

Automating Your Business
Development
State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting
Asian Pacific Interest Section
June 18, 2015
San Antonio, Texas
Stacey Burke
Attorney/Owner
415 Westheimer, Suite 209A
Houston, Texas 77006
Office (713) 714-8446
Fax (877) 314-9990
stacey@staceyeburke.com
www.staceyeburke.com

Presentation Overview
• Define business development and its objectives
• Explain how business development varies by law
firm and practice area
• Discuss CRM tools
• Law firms can use a CRM to:
– Assist with business development
– To maintain appropriate contact with clients to comply
with ethics rules
– Manage the intake of new leads and cases
• Return on Investment: Metrics and Reporting

Business Development

What is Business Development?
• Marketing and business development are not interchangeable terms
• Marketing designs and produces materials to support business
development efforts
• Marketing is responsible for items such as:
– Market research
– Messaging and branding
– Developing a strategic marketing plan
• Business Development is responsible for items such as:
– Attending networking events
– Hosting targeted social events
– Social engagement with prospects (lunches, happy hours, etc.)
• The client is paying for a relationship with his or her lawyer, the person
they will trust with their legal matters, meaning that lawyers
themselves must engage in Business Development

Business Development Goals and Objectives
• Review your budget over the past five years
• Look at the breakdown of how you have spent
marketing and business development funds
• Ensure your accounting structure is set up to
appropriately track associated expenditures
• Use your budget to allocate funds by quarter,
designating portions for:
– Maintaining what you have already built
– Seeking out and obtaining new business sources

How Do You Track Business Development?
• On my calendar
• In Outlook
• On a notepad
• I don’t
• Why it matters:
– Do you get paid more for the business you bring in or are
you required to bring in a certain amount of business?
– Your firm’s financial survival in an increasingly
competitive industry
– Keep track of your time to see if the time you invest and
how you invest it are working and worthwhile – AND see
which parts you can automate!

How Business Development Varies
• The sales cycle for professional services is long,
requiring long-term lead nurturing sequences
• Business Development Varies By Factors Including:
– Law Firm
• Size/number of lawyers
• Geographic area
• Languages spoken
– Practice Area
• Digital demand generation versus digital brochure
• Formal in-person pitches with slide decks
– Cross-Promotion

CRM and the Law Firm

What is a CRM?
• CRM = a system by which a company manages
its prospects, customers, and business partners.
A law firm will use a CRM process to manage its
interactions with its current, former, and future
customers.
– Who are the customers of a law firm?
• Leads (Potential Future Clients)
• Clients (Current and Former)
• Other Lawyers

Ethical Issues When Using a CRM
• Most jurisdictions require that a law firm use “reasonable
care” with regard to confidentiality, security, accessibility,
etc. (ABA Model Rule 1.6)
– Collecting Customer Data
– Storing CRM Data
– Using CRM Data
– Destroying CRM Data
• ABA Model Rule 1.4 Communications (a) a lawyer shall (1)
promptly inform the client … (2) reasonably consult with
the client … (3) keep the client reasonably informed…
• Conflicts checking mechanism (ABA Model Rules 1.7-1.11)

CRM Cycle for Prospects
Need
Contact
Courting
Paperwork
(Pre-Nup)
Marriage?

Law Firm Customers: Prospects
• Potential Pitfalls:
– You don’t know how to develop your pipeline
– Lead entry does not happen in real time
– Lack of consistent, formal screening questions by
case type
– Transmission and tracking of paperwork and
communications
– Lack of lead nurturing sequence
– Failure to convert leads into cases

CRM Cycle for Clients
PNC
Client
Case
Processed
or
Litigation
Resolution
Post-
Matter

Law Firm Customers: Clients
• How do we boost client satisfaction?
– Personalized communication
– Consistent contact person who is knowledgeable
about their case
– Be responsive
– Monthly or quarterly updates
– Keep track of feedback

CRM Cycle for Lawyers
Contact
Courting
Joint
Venture
Resolution
Post-
Matter

Law Firm Customers: Lawyers
• When are lawyers the customers of other
lawyers?
– Referral Attorneys
– Local Counsel
– Co-Counsel
– Joint Venture Partners
– Multidistrict or Mass Litigation Steering Committee
– Outside Counsel to General Counsel

Law Firm Customers: Referral Lawyers
• Potential Pitfalls:
– Lack of consistent screening criteria and/or forms for
referral lawyers to use to sign up clients they will
send your way
– Failing to provide consistent and adequate updates
to the joint client and/or to referral counsel
– Failing to circulate relevant documents so that all law
firms can maintain the requisite files for mutual
clients

How Can My Law Firm Use a CRM?

Law Firm Customers: Prospects

Sample CRM Options
• SaaS platforms (pay as you go)
– Any software application you run that is not located on your physical
premises or on your machines. You generally log into your vendor’s website
and run the application “in the cloud.” You have no software to buy, install,
maintain, or update.
• Zoho (https://www.zoho.com/)
• BatchBook (http://batchbook.com/)
• Salesforce (http://www.salesforce.com/)
• Database (either software or SaaS)
– Needles has a CRM tab you can make active (http://needles.com/)
• Marketing Automation Software (generally SaaS)
– InfusionSoft (http://www.infusionsoft.com/) and Marketo
(http://www.marketo.com/) track metrics associated with each contact’s
interactions and provide automated all-in-one sales and marketing platforms
• Email Service Provider (generally SaaS)
– MailChimp

Law Firm CRM Best Practices
1. Training
– Train all new employees
– Have a manual or intranet
videos
– Automation of workflow
2. Personalize and customize
your system but maintain
CONSISTENCY
3. Process everything through
the system
4. Run reports to develop
success metrics
5. Test, monitor, and
communicate so that
adjustments can be made

Training is Forever
• Periodic training for new and old employees
helps standardize procedures.
 Training can also produce discussions for
improvement of current systems.
 Training provides employees with leadership
opportunities.
• Be open with praise as well as criticism.
 Employees want their work to be acknowledged.
 Employees that are proud of their work will want
to continue producing quality work.

Return on Investment: Metrics
and Reporting

Quality Control: Standard Reports
• Using software provides DATA and allows for
unbiased auditing of staff efforts across a law firm
• Open TO-DOs/tasks
– How many/staff
– How old are they
• Blank Fields
• Duplicates
• Staff Auditing
– Lead duration by staff member
– Number and type of CRM updates/day

Using Your Data
• Using software provides DATA and allows for
unbiased auditing of efforts across a law firm
• What can this do for me?
– Provide real metrics to use when determining
things like bonuses, who makes partner, or who is
best at business development
– Understanding prospects’ triggers
– Show lapses in communication and issues in your
process

Return on Investment

STACEY BURKE
ATTORNEY/OWNER
415 WESTHEIMER ROAD
SUITE 209A
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77006
OFFICE (713) 714-8446
FAX (877) 314-9990
STACEY@STACEYEBURKE.COM
WWW.STACEYEBURKE.COM

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