The goal of most law firms is to make a profit by Growing, Protecting and Sustaining clients (G-P-S). The truth is … that most law firms do a poor job of marketing, managing clients and growing business development.
So why do you need a legal CRM system? Because the problem is… you don’t know which clients you will lose, how many you have called on, or what the rest of your firm is doing that will affect your success or failure. Just knowing how many calls to clients or prospective clients have been made is often done by asking them!
For years, law firms relied on lawyers to maintain good relationships with clients. They kept their own client records, followed up on new opportunities and grew the client base and service reputation. But when lawyers change firms, or the partners don’t know what the lawyers have promised (and vice-versa), this gets many firms in trouble.
Laser Focus for Success in Managed Services and Cloud ServicesJason Caras
Go vertical or stay horizontal? There has been a lot of talk in the managed services community about that decision. One option is to take a more blended approach — diversifying your customer focus, but specializing around one particular technology solution, such as security or managed services. That focused competency approach has led to extreme success for Tampa, FL, MSP IT Authorities. Co-CEO Jason Caras has watched his 7-year-old managed services business post at least double-digit growth from the start. Like those numbers? Read on to find out how Caras and his cofounder and Co-CEO Jason Pollner profited by building their IT company as a pure managed services practice.
Its easy to assume that CRM is something that all businesses understand. Well they don't. If you are focusing on your business and are unsure about how CRM can help your enterprise grow, then this resource is perfect for you.
This is an e-book published by one of our vendors and shared here for your enjoyment
If your firm is a small to medium-sized firm experiencing or anticipating a period of growth, you may wonder how KM can help you with your firm's efficacy. This article, originally in Solicitors Journal, will explain.
Laser Focus for Success in Managed Services and Cloud ServicesJason Caras
Go vertical or stay horizontal? There has been a lot of talk in the managed services community about that decision. One option is to take a more blended approach — diversifying your customer focus, but specializing around one particular technology solution, such as security or managed services. That focused competency approach has led to extreme success for Tampa, FL, MSP IT Authorities. Co-CEO Jason Caras has watched his 7-year-old managed services business post at least double-digit growth from the start. Like those numbers? Read on to find out how Caras and his cofounder and Co-CEO Jason Pollner profited by building their IT company as a pure managed services practice.
Its easy to assume that CRM is something that all businesses understand. Well they don't. If you are focusing on your business and are unsure about how CRM can help your enterprise grow, then this resource is perfect for you.
This is an e-book published by one of our vendors and shared here for your enjoyment
If your firm is a small to medium-sized firm experiencing or anticipating a period of growth, you may wonder how KM can help you with your firm's efficacy. This article, originally in Solicitors Journal, will explain.
VMworld 2013: Transform IT Into a Service Broker – Key Success Factors VMworld
VMworld 2013
Moderator: Heman Smith, VMware
Paul Chapman, VMware
Kevin Lees, VMware
Rich Pleasants, VMware
Jeffrey Ton, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana
Learn more about VMworld and register at http://www.vmworld.com/index.jspa?src=socmed-vmworld-slideshare
The Common Challenges of Common Practices Tips for Effectively Moving to a Sh...eprentise
Moving to a shared services model reduces costs and optimizes performance, but taking the right steps is necessary for a successful outcome. Explore the initiatives and challenges of a common chart of accounts and calendar for companies moving toward enterprise-wide shared service center operations. This paper will focus on how standardizing the data streamlines business processes, eliminates silos and facilitates the new functionality of Oracle® E-Business Suite Release 12.
View the original Blog post: http://www.eprentise.com/blog/reorganization/the-common-challenges-of-common-practices-tips-for-effectively-moving-to-a-shared-services-center/
Website: www.eprentise.com
Twitter: @eprentise
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Eprentise/posts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eprentise
As part of our mission to help companies make the best software selection decisions. The goal was to answer some of the critical questions that companies should ask themselves before embarking on this business task.
201210 Insurance and Technology: Changing Times- How CIO's Can Increase Influ...Steven Callahan
Contributor to an article following Elite 8 winner announcements discussing how CIO's can increase their strategic influence and better enable their organizations to realize the benefits from technology.
9 Considerations Before You License a New ITSM SolutionCherwell Software
In a crowded market of IT service management solutions, it can be easy to find a solution that meets your feature and functional requirements. Conversely, it can be difficult to calculate and understand the hard and soft costs of a potential solution. Getting clear answers from potential vendors to the following questions is critical in controlling your total cost of ownership.
If you think Managed Services are an unrealistic option for your business, you're not alone. It's not uncommon for business owners to share that same belief. But, a common belief is not always a good one.
Here, we're taking on the most common Managed Services myths and letting you know what you can expect when you partner with Marco.
Lokesh Gupta is the Co-Founder of RM Applications Sdn. Bhd. (RMA), a MSC status boutique software company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is passionate about Remittance, Payments and Data Management. Being part of boutique software organization, Lokesh is honored to wear many hats based on the situation and his role, demands involvement in wide scale with greater responsibilities. He takes end to end ownership by getting involved in all aspects of the organization and sees the ideas transform from the conceptualization stage, to become a full-blown product and keep it evolving to match Industry needs and to be part of RMA’s expansion.
White Paper: Increasing Law Firm Revenues Through Better CommunicationsDavid Blumentals
Every year law firms send out thousands of newsletters and event invitations with no aim other than to push information to their clients and, when the content and design of that information hasn’t changed in many years, it’s not surprising that most people don’t read it. There is a major opportunity to align such information with marketing objectives, and exploit new technology to connect with clients
VMworld 2013: Transform IT Into a Service Broker – Key Success Factors VMworld
VMworld 2013
Moderator: Heman Smith, VMware
Paul Chapman, VMware
Kevin Lees, VMware
Rich Pleasants, VMware
Jeffrey Ton, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana
Learn more about VMworld and register at http://www.vmworld.com/index.jspa?src=socmed-vmworld-slideshare
The Common Challenges of Common Practices Tips for Effectively Moving to a Sh...eprentise
Moving to a shared services model reduces costs and optimizes performance, but taking the right steps is necessary for a successful outcome. Explore the initiatives and challenges of a common chart of accounts and calendar for companies moving toward enterprise-wide shared service center operations. This paper will focus on how standardizing the data streamlines business processes, eliminates silos and facilitates the new functionality of Oracle® E-Business Suite Release 12.
View the original Blog post: http://www.eprentise.com/blog/reorganization/the-common-challenges-of-common-practices-tips-for-effectively-moving-to-a-shared-services-center/
Website: www.eprentise.com
Twitter: @eprentise
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Eprentise/posts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eprentise
As part of our mission to help companies make the best software selection decisions. The goal was to answer some of the critical questions that companies should ask themselves before embarking on this business task.
201210 Insurance and Technology: Changing Times- How CIO's Can Increase Influ...Steven Callahan
Contributor to an article following Elite 8 winner announcements discussing how CIO's can increase their strategic influence and better enable their organizations to realize the benefits from technology.
9 Considerations Before You License a New ITSM SolutionCherwell Software
In a crowded market of IT service management solutions, it can be easy to find a solution that meets your feature and functional requirements. Conversely, it can be difficult to calculate and understand the hard and soft costs of a potential solution. Getting clear answers from potential vendors to the following questions is critical in controlling your total cost of ownership.
If you think Managed Services are an unrealistic option for your business, you're not alone. It's not uncommon for business owners to share that same belief. But, a common belief is not always a good one.
Here, we're taking on the most common Managed Services myths and letting you know what you can expect when you partner with Marco.
Lokesh Gupta is the Co-Founder of RM Applications Sdn. Bhd. (RMA), a MSC status boutique software company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is passionate about Remittance, Payments and Data Management. Being part of boutique software organization, Lokesh is honored to wear many hats based on the situation and his role, demands involvement in wide scale with greater responsibilities. He takes end to end ownership by getting involved in all aspects of the organization and sees the ideas transform from the conceptualization stage, to become a full-blown product and keep it evolving to match Industry needs and to be part of RMA’s expansion.
White Paper: Increasing Law Firm Revenues Through Better CommunicationsDavid Blumentals
Every year law firms send out thousands of newsletters and event invitations with no aim other than to push information to their clients and, when the content and design of that information hasn’t changed in many years, it’s not surprising that most people don’t read it. There is a major opportunity to align such information with marketing objectives, and exploit new technology to connect with clients
Insights Success’s latest edition finds out ‘Best Of 5 SaaS Companies to Watch!’ These SaaS companies provide their futuristic services for your businesses
In this presentation, we will delve into a variety of techniques designed to enhance your communication skills, empowering you to excel as a communicator. Whether in your professional or personal life, these methods aim to elevate your relationships and foster meaningful connections.
The 10 best performing CRM solution providers of 2020Mirror Review
Our latest magazine issue, “The 10 Best Performing CRM Solution Providers of 2020,” highlights the best performing CRM solution providers that are bringing innovative CRM systems
that fulfill the customers' demands. These solutions providers are going beyond the imagination of customers and delivering customized CRM for every client’s business needs. Our cover star, Nimble is transforming the industry by delivering a CRM that is dominating the world of social selling today.
A CRM system can help you see all of your customers in one place. At present, SEO Expate Bangladesh Ltd. can provide you with every type of service. Everything is visible here. Here, the status of their orders, any outstanding customer service issues, and more. They can also better understand the sales or prospects coming in, which makes forecasting easier and more accurate. In addition, SEO Expate Bangladesh can give you 100% authentic data.CRM systems are usually used for sales and marketing. But customer service and support are growing parts of CRM. One of the most important aspects of client relationship management is communication. A customer today might bring up a problem on one channel, like Twitter. You can use email or the phone to solve it in private. A CRM platform lets CRM Web Solution you manage customer inquiries across different channels without losing track of them. It also gives sales, customer service, and marketing a single view of the customer. You’ll be able to see every opportunity or lead clearly. Here, it will show you how to go from inquiries to sales. It will maintain from finance to customer service to supply chain management.
If you don't have CRM, it can cost you a lot of money to run a business
When there is more work to do, there is less time for everything else. A busy sales team can bring in a lot of information. Reps are out on the road talking to customers and prospects and learning valuable information. However, all of this can get worse if a key salesperson leaves.
But without CRM, you can’t develop your business. Customers can get in touch with you by phone, email, or social media to ask questions and check on orders. It can be hard to get information out of people. Most importantly, a lack of oversight can also make the team less responsible.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solutions and their impact on business growth and profitability continue to increase in importance for Logistics and Transportation leadership teams. Sales Outcomes has compiled their top 6 critical considerations for a CRM investment in the Logistics and Transportation industry.
B2B Marketing: Using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems to Improv...Julie Bevacqua
How does Customer Relationship Management (CRM) fit into the picture? The benefits to a good CRM system is that they are easily integrated into your current web and marketing tools and can be adapted to suit your business’ unique needs.
Similar to Why all Law Firms Need CRM - xRM4Legal (20)
Microsoft Dynamics 365 xRM4Legal xRM4Accounting Technical OverviewDavid Blumentals
Data has become the new currency, and firms create and have access to more of it, and faster than ever before. The challenge is how to transform it into intelligence that generates action and drive outcomes. Dynamics 365 allows firms to adopt individual business apps such as Marketing, BD, Client Care and Operations, but as firms adopt more of the apps, synergies will be unleashed in the form of ‘Intelligent Business Processes’. This will help proactively guide employees & clients to generate optimal outcomes.
As an example – you can adopt Project Service Automation. Project teams can use it as standalone app in close alignment with Office 365, but when combined with Operations, the time and expense reports that project members submit, will automatically go to accounts, HR and Payroll systems, and Project Accounts will be automatically updated for Finance in the Operations App.
It sounds basic… but the fact is that the classic delineation between CRM and ERP has created a separation in data and processes. Dynamics 365 breaks down this separation, and our business platform strategy together with CIT and IOT is centered on enabling this to new levels.
We’re all busy—and it’s a common theme in most professional workplaces—with people trying to get more done with finite time and resources. For a lot of firms today, a major challenge is making sure we’re spending our precious time making the most of every business opportunity by maximizing client relationships. Marketing & BD teams need to know if they’re focusing on the opportunities, RFI’s and RFP’s with the best potential; that they are managing their firm pipeline effectively; and they are giving everyone on the team the best tools for the job—wherever they are.
That’s why firms today are focused on creating great client relationships – they need to try to reduce complexity and make it easier to maximize opportunities, provide excellent client experiences, and grow the firm.
Why should a legal or accounting firm care? Because client experience and knowledge is increasingly important for firms of all sizes – across all client interactions.
Client experience…
…is what differentiates your firm
…is how you win and keep clients for the long-term
…is how you grow your firm …and in a world where clients are mobile and social, your reputation (& brand) is more important than ever.
Today you don’t have as many contact points as you used to have, and you have to make every one count. To thrive in this ultra-competitive environment firms of all sizes have to make client experience a priority. That is why you need Dynamics 365 and xRM! Visit our websites www.xRM4Legal.com, www.xRM4Accounting.com and www.xRM4Finance.com or email Dynamics@xRM.email
Getting Started with Microsoft Dynamics 365 xRM4Legal 2017David Blumentals
Last month we unveiled and provided a first look at Dynamics 365 xRM4Legal, showing off the capabilities our customers can expect from our latest generation of intelligent business applications. Today, we are excited to announce that Dynamics 365 xRM4Legal is generally available.
The first thing users will see with Dynamics 365 xRM4Legal is that we are bringing our business applications closer together in how they look, feel and integrate with each other. To better enable end-to-end law firm business processes, we have unified the navigation and core user experience across each of the applications from Marketing & Communications to Business Development, Client Care, Time & Billing and Finance. It remains clean, beautiful, and familiar and it gives you the ability to seamlessly move from one application to another without switching windows.
And when a user logs into Dynamics 365 xRM4Legal, the home-screen will show you all the Business Apps and information relevant to you or your role. With one click, users can connect to Microsoft AppSource, quickly and easily locating the most relevant capabilities from hundreds of precisely curated additional business apps enabled by our partners.
Microsoft CRM xRM4legal 2016 for IP Management and MoreDavid Blumentals
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM/xRM4Legal 2016 platform is a powerful tool that leverages a firm’s existing Microsoft-based technology environment – Microsoft Windows, SQL Server and Microsoft Office – to deliver a system that is highly functional, easy-to-use (and customize) and very affordable.
Integrations are available with financial systems like Microsoft Great Plains/GP (AX, NAV) and other law firm systems (like Aderant, Thomson and so on).
When combined, this helps bring everything together to improve efficiency, streamline business processes and improve overall user experience and productivity.
It also enforces the “one stop shop” for managing all client, contact, case, activity and document records in one place – across marketing, business development, client care and project and resources management.
This story board highlights key functional requirements and capabilities provided by Microsoft CRM/xRM4Legal including IP (Intellectual Property) Management. These can be summarized as managing organization, people and case records, assigning (lawyer) attorneys to work on cases, creating IP records for patents, trademarks etc – also recording disputes and licenses.
Email us today to schedule a quick discussion and/or web demo – Support@xRM4Legal.com
Getting Started with Microsoft CRM xRM4NDIS 2016David Blumentals
Demonstrating the power and flexibility of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform, this guide shows you how to:
Find your work areas in xRM4NDIS
Work with enquiries, clients and carers, perform assessments, manage medications, create service plans, schedule services and make service bookings
Enter data quickly and easily
Place calls, send email and take notes
Check the disabilities, support needs, recent assessments and incidents of a client
Explore the resource planning, budget planning, time tracking, approval and invoicing manager features
And get up and running quickly with Microsoft CRM/xRM4NDIS – extended Relationship Management for disability service providers
Many Microsoft partners have found success driving revenue and delivering solutions with Office 365. Partners have built profitable service portfolios by selling, implementing, and creating value-added services for Office 365.
But there are many additional opportunities from Microsoft which enable Office 365 partners to elevate productivity for their customers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is such an opportunity.
Dynamics CRM Online is a customer relationship management solution which allows your customers to track relationships and interactions, automate business processes and gain valuable insights into their own customers. Capabilities include Sales Force Automation, Marketing Automation, Customer Service and Social Media Insight.
O365 and CRM Online give customers an incredible solution and partners a fantastic new offering. Adding CRM Online to O365 lets customers cut through the clutter—to zero in and easily identify what they need to do next. It lets them find a relevant way to connect with their customer so they can win faster. And lets them collaborate with people, find, and access the information they need to ultimately sell more and grow their business.
By adding CRM Online, you elevate the discussion to business solutions. Plus, in addition to sales, Dynamics CRM has great solutions across marketing, customer service, and social listening & engagement.
xRM extends this to industry-specific solutions.
In this technical training we introduce Dicker Data reseller partners to Managing and deploying customizations; Configuring role-based security; Customizing entities, adding fields and relationships; Building forms for users to input and retrieve data; Presenting clear information in views and charts; Combining data sources on a dashboard; Going beyond role-based record-level security and assisting users through their business processes.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Technical Training for Dicker Data ResellersDavid Blumentals
Many Microsoft partners have found success driving revenue and delivering solutions with Office 365. Partners have built profitable service portfolios by selling, implementing, and creating value-added services for Office 365.
But there are many additional opportunities from Microsoft which enable Office 365 partners to elevate productivity for their customers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is such an opportunity.
Dynamics CRM Online is a customer relationship management solution which allows your customers to track relationships and interactions, automate business processes and gain valuable insights into their own customers. Capabilities include Sales Force Automation, Marketing Automation, Customer Service and Social Media Insight.
O365 and CRM Online give customers an incredible solution and partners a fantastic new offering. Adding CRM Online to O365 lets customers cut through the clutter—to zero in and easily identify what they need to do next. It lets them find a relevant way to connect with their customer so they can win faster. And lets them collaborate with people, find, and access the information they need to ultimately sell more and grow their business.
By adding CRM Online, you elevate the discussion to business solutions. Plus, in addition to sales, Dynamics CRM has great solutions across marketing, customer service, and social listening & engagement.
xRM extends this to industry-specific solutions.
In this technical training we introduce Dicker Data reseller partners to key CRM concepts including Deployment including Solution import, Settings and Personal Options; Customization and configuration; Data import; CRM for Outlook and mobile access; Reports and dashboards and Introduction to business rules and processes.
Microsoft CRM xRM4Legal 2015 Enterprise Case ManagementDavid Blumentals
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM/xRM4Legal 2015 platform is a powerful tool that leverages a firm’s existing Microsoft-based technology environment – Microsoft Windows, SQL Server and Microsoft Office – to deliver a system that is highly functional, easy-to-use (and customize) and very affordable.
Integrations are available with financial systems like Microsoft Great Plains/GP (AX, NAV) and other law firm systems (like Aderant, Thomson and so on).
When combined, this helps bring everything together to improve efficiency, streamline business processes and improve overall user experience and productivity.
It also enforces the “one stop shop” for managing all client, contact, case, activity and document records in one place – across marketing, business development, client care and project and resources management.
This story board highlights key functional requirements and capabilities provided by Microsoft CRM/xRM4Legal. These can be summarized as managing organization, people and case records, assigning (lawyer) attorneys to work on cases, creating booking/billing events, reporting on these events, adding expenses, activities, documents and more.
If you want loyal clients you need CRM xRM4Legal 2015 Update 1David Blumentals
Microsoft Dynamics CRM / xRM4Legal 2015 Update 1 includes a number of terrific technical improvements including faster page loads, improved application performance, and faster email delivery. One noticeable feature is the new Form Rendering Engine. This enhancement loads CRM pages faster so you can view data on the forms quickly.
For law firm users this update also includes:
NetDocuments integration. By integrating NetDocuments, xRM4Legal “closes the loop” – delivering a modern, secure solution for intelligent and confidential document and email management with award winning client and legal project management. Together the two solutions address the rapidly changing needs of the legal services market. With NetDocuments Email & Document Management for xRM4Legal, users can enjoy the familiar Microsoft Outlook interface while saving Outlook message files and individual documents to NetDocuments locations. They can also view emails and documents within xRM4Legal, all without leaving Microsoft Outlook.
New Business Intake update. Now supporting over two dozen law types, users can perform a quick conflict check before selecting the required practice area. Tool tips and online help ensure that all the right questions are asked and the New Business Intake is completed quickly and efficiently. Built in charts and dashboard report on intakes by practice area and lead source.
Business development methodology. New “Blue Sheet” and “Buying Influence” entities deliver “strategic selling” to xRM4Legal with support for competitor, ideal client, strength and red flag tracking.
For more information email DBlumentals@xRM4Legal.com
NetDocuments document and email management for Microsoft CRM xRM4LegalDavid Blumentals
With NetDocuments, users can create, secure, manage, access, and collaborate on documents and email anywhere, anytime, on any device.
This story board shows how the power and simplicity of NetDocuments works with Microsoft CRM / xRM4Legal to help you streamline your technology and improve the way you work.
For more information, email DBlumentals@xRM4Legal.com or visit www.NetDocuments.com or www.xRM4Legal.com
Today’s client is smart and getting smarter by the minute. From virtually anywhere, they can find out about you, your firm, your competitors, whether your clients are happy—and most importantly, with a mere 140 characters, they can impact your brand.
• Today, law firms must face the reality of super consumers. They are unbelievably informed, highly fickle, and extremely powerful with a nearly unpredictable purchase path.
• They have unprecedented access to information, the ability to easily compare firms, fees or feedback in a matter of clicks, access to reviews—whether from a trusted confidant, highly rated industry source, or someone merely taking to their social network to make their experience known.
• And they can easily do the same—joining the social conversation with their experience and recommendation to others – giving a “like”, “thumbs up”, happy face, or not, and with a click of the button can make an impression on your brand.
• Everyone has probably heard the United Breaks Guitars story; it epitomizes the challenge firms face – each individual now has a powerful voice. In this example, United Airlines was unresponsive to a passenger’s complaints that his guitar was broken by negligent baggage handlers (he actually saw them throwing his beloved instrument through the air as he was waiting to deplane). This treatment lead him to record a song about his experience that he posted on YouTube. Over 12 million views later, this YouTube sensation has written a book on the very topic of how powerful one voice can be in the age of social media.
Microsoft CRM xRM4Legal February 2015 Introduction and DemonstrationDavid Blumentals
Extended Relationship Management for law firms, powered by Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 – over 4 million users globally, 40,000+ firms
Rollout in days with over 250 legal customizations pre-configured, ready-to-use, managing key clients, cross-sell, referrals & private clients
Integration options with major (bulk) email, PMS & DMS systems
A centralized approach to list management & BD (single click access)
Defined (data) quality standards & processes
Engages partners & staff with easy access & visibility of relationship connections, firm & practice performance
Allows fee earners easy access & update of records with critical BD info (for guaranteed user adoption) – via Outlook and mobile device
Microsoft CRM xRM4Legal 2014 Overview Update 0903David Blumentals
Time & Billing – Turning hours worked and services provided into billing events and invoices, quickly and easily;
Project Management – Delighting practice managers with resource and activity management; planning and workload control;
CRM – Enhancing marketing and business development with automated lists and event management, bids and deal-flow;
SharePoint – Adding value to the lawyer / client experience through collaboration, document management and search
Microsoft CRM xRM4Legal 2014 Introduction and Demonstration 0917David Blumentals
1. Achieve reliable user adoption, attain a complete view of clients, position the firm to adapt quickly to business changes, align firm & IT needs, accelerate matter delivery & returns. For partners & lawyers this means a clear view of the firm, leveraging agility for competitive advantage, partnering with IT for long term success. For firm staff the benefits are using familiar Microsoft Office tools, role-tailored views of information, minimized data entry, consistent client processes & actionable reporting & analytics.
2. Benefit from intuitive segmentation tools to drive superior target client selection with workflow-driven processes to increase reach & relevancy. Ensure high user adoption by making CRM a natural extension of user & client habits, improve productivity by consolidating client information to a single location, reduce training & transition costs with easy-to-learn, easy-to- use applications.
3. Change the game on business development – improve the other 80% of business development staff (“clone our best rain makers”), convert every opportunity into a pitch for new business, breakdown physical boundaries & eliminate down time. Partners & lawyers will reach client satisfaction goals, drive new revenue opportunities, achieve true business insight & visibility. Business developers will better manage key KPIs, increase client team empowerment & morale, enforce a consistent business development process.
4. Create branded, professional documents that win more deals; streamline the processes around preparing proposals with easy reminders/alerts & workflow approvals. Approvals can be electronically routed via emails, smartphones & tablets.
5. xRM4Legal supports integration with a number of email marketing, survey & analytics providers. The MailChimp, ClickDimensions, CoreMotives & Concep Campaigner connectors support quick & easy sharing of information – from marketing lists maintained within xRM4Legal to activity responses generated. The result is full & effective integration between “best of class” applications.
6. Manage complex business relationships across clients, partners, multiple offices allowing greater flexibility to manage client relationships & interactions – both on-line & off-line. xRM4Legal users can easily enter, track, & view complex relationships, fostering higher user adoption & greater data quality. Enforce the completeness & accuracy of client personal information through business required & recommended data fields. Identify & merge duplicate records, allowing a data administrator to select which data values are retained on the merged record.
7. Firm DNA is a key strategic advantage in law. With xRM4Legal, the firm can support unique firm processes, atypical CRM needs – matching the technology to the firm, not the other way around. Minimize change management of people, the hardest part. Key features include: robust & extensible platform, flexible licensing model, reduced TCO, backed by Microsoft.
Microsoft CRM xRM4Legal 2014 Introduction and DemonstrationDavid Blumentals
Extended Relationship Management for law firms, powered by Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 – over 4 million users globally, 35,000+ firms
Rollout in days with over 250 legal customizations pre-configured, ready-to-use, managing key clients, cross-sell, referrals & private clients
Integration options with major (bulk) email, PMS & DMS systems
A centralized approach to list management & BD (single click access)
Defined (data) quality standards & processes
Engages partners & staff with easy access & visibility of relationship connections, firm & practice performance
Allows fee earners easy access & update of records with critical BD info (for guaranteed user adoption) – via Outlook and mobile device
Microsoft CRM xRM4Legal 2014 Document Management with SharePointDavid Blumentals
SharePoint 2013 blends the worlds of traditional information and content management with social computing and search capabilities to deliver an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform that is accessible to everyone (with approved security roles). You are not limited to default behaviors, with SharePoint 2013 you can do even more:
Add Fields, update the table in the Table Designer by adding additional fields.
Create Lookups, creating your own relationships between records.
Customize Views, when adding controls such as Autocomplete, Button, Combo box and Hyperlink.
Import or Link Data, from Excel, Access, ODBC, text and SharePoint lists.
Create Reports, interactive reports that summarize data for presentation at team and management meetings.
The explosion of the social conversation along with the proliferation of mobile technology has changed our lives, more than we ever could have imagined.
The explosion of mobile technologies and rapid adoption of social networks have completely impacted our human behavior -- our communication methods, engagement principles, our belief and trust systems, and even our decision making criteria and models.
Firms need to understand these new principles and adopt them -- genuinely and proactively -- if they want to effectively engage clients.
How has the client changed and why does your firm need to reflect this? Because your success will depend on it, and so will your identity.
Today’s buyer is smart and getting smarter by the minute. From virtually anywhere, they can find out about you, your services, your competitors, whether your clients are happy—and most importantly, with a mere 140 characters, they can impact your brand.
Today, firms must face the reality of super consumers. They are unbelievably informed, highly fickle, and extremely powerful with a nearly unpredictable purchase path.
They have unprecedented access to information, the ability to easily compare fees, costs or services in a matter of clicks, access to reviews—whether from a trusted confidant, highly rated industry source, or someone merely taking to their social network to make their experience known.
And they can easily do the same—joining the social conversation with their experience and recommendation to others – giving a “like”, “thumbs up”, happy face, or not, and with a click of the button can make an impression on your brand.
It is no surprise then that firms who wish to remain competitive in this new age are concentrating their efforts on creating amazing client experiences…
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 If you want loyal clients you need CRMDavid Blumentals
Keep your best clients / stop them jumping ship to your competitors
Transform your top clients into loyal clients
Help your clients think forward – enable your practice groups and lawyers to stay a step ahead of your clients
Client Lifecycle Development – find the right clients, treat them right, grow them into loyal, long-term clients
Capitalize on Alumni – grow relationships, open doors, increase referrals
Capture a market segment – or beat the competition to a new market segment. Be there first to be best known
Increase the client pool – don’t be dependent on two or three big clients (or two or three biggest practice groups / “rainmakers”)
Deliver outstanding client service – be the best and known for it
First to know (e.g. Lobbying firms)
3. Table of Contents
Preface...................................................................................................................4
About the Author ....................................................................................... 4
Grow, Protect, Sustain .............................................................................................6
Determining Your CRM Needs ....................................................................................7
Why Should CRM Be a Priority? .................................................................................8
Making CRM Work in Your Firm..................................................................................9
Searching for clients, exploring relationships ................................................. 9
Creating contact records, connections and lists ............................................ 11
Reviewing activities, creating and sharing opportunities ................................ 16
Creating a targeted mailing/event list ......................................................... 19
Software Might Not Help ......................................................................................... 22
Presenting the business benefits ................................................................ 22
Calculating ROI ..................................................................................................... 24
Getting Started ..................................................................................................... 25
How We Can Help .................................................................................................. 26
3
SEPTEMBER 2011 WHY ALL LAW FIRMS NEED CRM
4. Preface
About the Author
David Blumentals has 20 years‟ experience in IT and Professional Services.
With a background in economics, finance and insurance David moved into
marketing and business development in 1989.
Since 1997, David has focused on the successful delivery of Client
Relationship Management (CRM) systems, often integrating with Practice,
Financial and Document Management Systems.
After working with Epicor‟s Clientele CRM in the late 1990‟s and developing finance and CRM
software systems in the early 2000‟s David started working with Microsoft CRM 1.2 in 2004
and Microsoft Dynamics AX in 2007. David continues to work today with Microsoft Dynamics
CRM 2011 in both on-premise and hosted, cloud computing deployments.
David has held several Director level positions with leading Australian IT groups. A major
project was development of the BankNET financial management system and 2003 partnership
with the Australian Taxation Office on their Electronic Commerce Initiative to test the process
of electronic lodgement of the Business Activity Statement from a „Web environment‟.
In May 2008 founded Client Profiles Asia Pacific, an offshoot of Client Profiles Inc, based in
Atlanta Georgia. As a Microsoft ISV Partner of the Year and Professional Services Partner of
the Year in 2009 and 2010, Client Profiles established an impressive client base across
Australia-New Zealand including six of the top thirty law firms.
More recently, David has established Asia Pacific Dynamics Corporation as a support vehicle
for both clients and Client Profiles implementation partners globally. He is also a director of
VARCentral, a leading supplier of hosted, eCommerce software solutions to IT Resellers across
Australia and New Zealand, www.VARCentral.com.au
David can be contacted at DBlumentals@xRM4Legal.com or +61 409 245 354.
Sydney – Sydney Wharf 9, 56 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont NSW 2009 Australia
London – 40 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 5NR UK
New York – 1330 Avenue of the Americas, New York City NY10019 USA
For North America please call: +1 (212) 653 0379
For Asia Pacific please call: +61 2 9571 4853
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5. “CRM turns frogs into princes.”
Anonymous
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6. Grow, Protect, Sustain
We work with a lot of law firms around the world as they consider the implementation of CRM
solutions, and many of them don‟t have a firm grip on what CRM is, why they need it and what
results it can bring to them. They aren‟t sure what they should spend on a CRM solution and
they ask, "How do I justify this system?“
Many firms have also put their CRM projects on hold as a result of other IT projects, the
economy, or because they think what they have now is OK. What priority should you give to
CRM? Hopefully we can help with what you need to know and if there is a fit in your firm.
The goal of most law firms is to make a profit by Growing, Protecting and Sustaining clients
(G-P-S). The truth is … that most law firms do a poor job of marketing, managing clients and
growing business development.
So why do you need a legal CRM system? Because the problem is… you don‟t know which
clients you will lose, how many you have called on, or what the rest of your firm is doing that
will affect your success or failure. Just knowing how many calls to clients or prospective clients
have been made is often done by asking them!
For years, law firms relied on lawyers to maintain good relationships with clients. They kept
their own client records, followed up on new opportunities and grew the client base and
service reputation. But when lawyers change firms, or the partners don‟t know what the
lawyers have promised (and vice-versa), this gets many firms in trouble.
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7. Determining Your CRM Needs
To work out a firm‟s CRM requirements a few simple questions can be asked:
How many new client prospect telephone calls do you make each day?
Does everyone who communicates with a client know what other practice groups said to
them or did for them?
Is all client information kept in one place for easy reference?
Do you have several databases of information that you need to access for a 360 degree
client view?
Are you able to manage the top 20% of clients that give you 80% of your revenue and
90% of your profit?
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8. Why Should CRM Be a Priority?
The simple answer here is because it can have such a profound effect on your firm! It greatly
affects staff satisfaction and turnover, the ability to target and close new business, the
management of client interactions and profitability, and so on. How much do you think these
few functions alone can affect your law firm?
Sometimes firms lose deals because one hand doesn‟t know what the other was doing. How
much would actions like this affect your law firm? How many times does this happen at your
firm? How do you know? And how do you know how many calls your lawyers make to clients?
Or… how much time do the lawyers spend with that "one problem client?" And how could it be
fixed?
Answers to these questions are what justify the need for CRM software! When firms start to
probe, they find that many things are going wrong and being covered up and they‟re costing
the firm a bundle! And don‟t say that your firm has everything working perfectly, because this
happens at every law firm! Do an anonymous survey to the "worker bees" and you will find
out.
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9. Making CRM Work in Your Firm
Searching for clients, exploring relationships
Scenario: You are attending an industry conference or meeting and would like to see what
information the firm has on some of the companies or contacts that are attending, their
positions and if known to anyone else at the firm.
Purpose: This scenario aims to demonstrate how to search for contacts, explore existing
relationships and profiles to build up information ahead of meeting a client or prospective
client.
Steps: Type in the client name “Microsoft”. This will display the following list of head office
and subsidiary records:
Clicking on Microsoft Corporation will display the following client record:
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10. From here we can review information that is tracked and maintained internally like Client
Number, Business Type, Client Manager/s and so on. We can also review information that is
tracked and maintained externally to the firm – like that aggregated from relevant executive
and business networks.
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11. Other details about the client organization can also be recorded such as Industry and
Revenue:
We can obtain a quick one page / “taxi pack” report by clicking File and Print Preview.
Creating contact records, connections and lists
Scenario: Having attended a conference or networking event you have collected two business
cards that you would like to add to the firm CRM system. You know there is also a seminar the
firm is hosting next month that you think might be appropriate to invite them to.
Purpose: This scenario aims to establish how to check the database to see if the contact is
already known to the firm, add new contacts from business cards, add you as a known contact
and add the contacts to a firm event list.
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12. Steps: Clicking on the associated Contacts list displays those contacts currently known to the
firm who work at Microsoft Corporation:
Clicking on the link to Steve Ballmer will display the following contact record:
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13. You will notice additional navigation pane options for Education, Employment History,
Expenses and Languages. These are examples of additional entities that can be added to
xRM4Legal for managing and integrating HR and Experience Databases – for Expertise, Matter
Level Experience, Education, Bar Memberships, Accreditations and Other HR related
information.
To create a connection with this contact record click on Connections in the navigation pane.
This will display those people in the firm already connected. Some connections are
automatically created such as when a Client Manager is assigned or when a Business
Developer is working on an Opportunity – also when professional staff are recorded on a
Matter. These tend to be the critical “Who Knows” relationships.
Connection records are used in the Outlook synchronization rules to keep CRM records up-to-
date and current between various users that have an interest in that client contact.
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14. To create a connection just click the Connect button. We can select the role and enter a
description.
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15. Clicking on Marketing Lists displays those lists currently associated with Steve:
To add Steve to another list click the Add Existing Marketing List button and select the list:
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16. A full Audit History of changes to the Contact is recorded:
Reviewing activities, creating and sharing opportunities
Scenario: After bumping into an old client you found out that good opportunities are
emerging in new areas of their business as a result of the recent changes in their General
Counsel.
Purpose: This scenario aims to establish how to record activities so we can share
opportunities and general activity information on our firm contacts with colleagues as well as
aid cross-sell opportunities to others and set reminders so you and your assistant can manage
meetings and action points generally.
Steps: Clicking on Activities displays those open appointments, letters, phone calls and event
responses currently recorded:
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17. Clicking the Add New Activity button allows us to record the details of the activity:
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18. From the Activity we can also create a new Opportunity record by clicking the Convert Activity
to Opportunity:
Client and potential new matter details can be recorded together with revenue forecast,
selection criteria/processes, deal and pitch information. Activities, Connections and
Documents can be associated with each Opportunity record.
You can share Opportunity details with colleagues by clicking the E-mail a Link button.
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19. Creating a targeted mailing/event list
Scenario: You have written a report with relevance to senior legal counsel at financial
institutions and want to send it to these clients.
Purpose: This scenario aims to establish how to create a targeted mailing/event list through
filtering contacts and assigning contacts.
Steps: Clicking on Marketing Lists displays those marketing/mailing lists currently recorded:
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20. To create a new Marketing List, click the New button and enter details as below – note that we
can specify either Static or Dynamic list:
After saving the record, we can filter and assign Marketing List Members. In this case we will
select only Contacts with a Banking & Finance subscription set to “Subscribed by Client”:
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21. Clicking the Find button displays the contact records that match the criteria.
With dynamic marketing lists you can rest assured that your special reports will reach the right
set of client contacts.
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22. Software Might Not Help
A health warning!
While some law firms are becoming more tech-savvy about marketing, others do struggle.
As a software system designed to promote business development cross-selling in law firms we
are asking lawyers to download their contacts into it so that other firm practice areas can take
advantage of them as well. The problem is that many of the lawyers don't want to divulge
contacts.
"It's the fear of sharing,"
says one law firm business development manager.
"Like a journalist having to reveal their sources to another journalist. For lawyers [a reluctance
to share client contacts is] fundamentally the most difficult thing for the law firm to
overcome."
"It's a fight to get [lawyers] to download into the CRM program,"
adds the chief knowledge officer at another firm.
"The software has got to be very easy to use," they say. "They've got to see a ton of value in
it without a lot of risk.”
Another problem is matching the right technology to a particular firm. As one chief marketing
officer puts it:
“It’s like shooting squirrels with a cannon.”
Some firms make the mistake of going too “heavy” with CRM and spending way too much
money and time.
“It is often more basic information that's important rather than knowing everything about a
given client.”
Presenting the business benefits
1. Centralized and reliable information/knowledge base (deal flow, sales pipelines etc.) for
reporting ROI on marketing/business development investments.
2. Improved communications (clients, prospects, affiliates/referrers/industry marketing
lists) – “Name and Shame”, “Walk on Water” reporting.
3. Better collaboration across staff/teams/practice groups.
4. Stronger relationships - clients/staff/associates/partners.
5. Greater efficiencies - staff can do more with the time they have.
6. Eliminate processing fall throughs using triggered alerts.
7. Full, complete audit trail of marketing, business development, client care activity.
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23. 8. Enhanced client satisfaction through better ownership, improved service
levels/escalation and follow through.
9. Better business analysis, automated trend reporting to make informed decisions using
dashboards/KPI reports.
10. Single view into marketing/financial/client management.
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24. Calculating ROI
For years law firms have sought to justify a CRM investment based on ROI. From our
perspective, it is important to base metrics on tangible, measurable goals. High level metrics
can include:
Enhanced contact management and relationship intelligence
Improved marketing and mailing list management
Data quality
Knowing who your top clients are is critical but also tracking the various touch points is
important.
Client team support and cross selling is a highly quantifiable and important aspect when
calculating ROI. Some integration with practice management will help calculate the value of
new matters generated from marketing events, newsletter subscriptions, opportunity and
pitch management.
Apart from these are many intangible benefits such as:
Increased client satisfaction and stronger brand equity
Increased partner satisfaction
Superior market intelligence
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25. Getting Started
It is fairly easy to see where the benefits of CRM exist in most law firms. If you are close to
the processes that turn a prospect into a client, and guarantee his or her satisfaction, you
know what would help your law firm be more successful.
The next step is to take action to document, justify and convince yourself that the investment
will help guarantee your firm‟s long term success.
Our recommended approach to most firms is to start small. A small “private cloud” hosted
deployment can start from $99 per user per month. Some basic tailoring of the system can be
done in a few hours with user training conducted over a few days. Data migration can often
be performed by users cleaning their Outlook Contact lists and then tracking those in CRM.
For firms that require an on-premise implementation licences start at just a few hundred
dollars per user.
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26. How We Can Help
What we do is help law firms and their staff become more effective business developers – to
increase client billings with less effort.
What we believe in is that it is no longer just enough to be good at what you do. You must
also be good at winning new clients and have systems in place to retain them.
We can help coach people to become systematic, organized, disciplined, innovative and
tenacious in their business development activities.
Why use us? Track record – We are more focused on change, not just education.
What are we looking for? Firms that share our beliefs and want to create a consistent source
of new clients and secure revenue streams where they are in control and are prepared to
invest to get it.
For more information:
David Blumentals
Director, CRM/xRM Strategy
www.xRM4Legal.com
DBlumentals@xRM4Legal.com
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