There are things we’d like to know or find out, but it can be difficult for the professional in day by day engagement with a client to ask some of the tough and telling questions.If you want to get answers to the questions which matter most, it’s best to enlist some support: someone external to the on-going relationship will get more frankness than you can expect in everyday professional contact.

My work confirms this useful rule of thumb: the greater the perceived distance between the client and questioner or interviewer, the greater the frankness and clarity. That applies to what’s right in the relationship, but most especially to what’s not.

Fresh eyes and ears come away from client interviews and relationship reviews with important perspectives and insights and some telling characterisations.

Previous eTips I’ve written have talked about what to ask in client interviews. Others offer tips and a great best practice framework I developed for a relationship review.

Here are some more of my personal favourites to add to the list of questions which lead to insights to propel business development:
• Just how well does this firm understand you and respond to your needs ?
• When you go elsewhere for service, what do you expect that is different from our work ?
• Thinking about this firm and its competitors, what is it that competitors do much better ?
• Where else does this firm fall short of the competition ?
• Are their people or politics which create problems or obstacles ?
• Are there any areas where this firm shines ?
• What would it take for this firm to be your most favoured service provider ?
• What would it take for this firm to get a greater share of your work ?
• Is it realistic for this firm to aim to get all your work eventually ?
• If you were managing this firm, what are the big changes you’d make ?

Worthy professionals value client relationships. Sometimes we flatter ourselves that things are travelling better than the reality. Smart and brave professionals know that tuning in to how clients evaluate our performance can yield important insights which underpin efforts to do better and increase the value produced in the relationship.

Externalising the process can make a massive difference to obtaining full, frank, and forthright feedback.

Copyright 2008 Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

Sorting through what’s important to your prospective client and determining what will differentiate you from your competitors can be a daunting task. In hard-fought competitions, how we deal with even minor issues can make the critical difference between winning, and losing.

This list is a useful starting point in determining how best to position your proposal to maximise your probability of success.

• Credentials and evidence of your experience in each area or field required
• Evidence of successfully handling routine matters in each are of interest
• Evidence or examples of successfully handling unusual or high-risk matters in each field
• Depth of your team
• Specialisations of your firm or practice group
• Participation, representation, and profile of your firm in each service area required and the client’s industry or markets
• Any special techniques or strategies used/developed by your firm
• Evidence of the effectiveness of your recommended strategies and approaches
• How can you best demonstrate your track record of success?
• How many files will each lawyer handle?
• What is the right number of files for this type of work?
• Geographical coverage - appropriateness of the location/s at which you offer service
• How you’ll handle regional matters and work outside your normal home patch
• How you” manage the account
• Who will be your key liaison point?
• What service or client satisfaction guarantees will you offer?

This checklist will help you work through issues of fees, pricing, and billing when developing your proposal.

• Structure of fees: hourly rates, day rates, fixed fees, event costs, capped fees, fee estimates, volume discounts, project budgets, success or “at risk” components, retainers, client satisfaction components, other fee alternatives and hybrids
• Predictability and certainty of fees - for the client
• Controllability of fees - for the client
• Protocols for managing time spent (in the interests of the client)
• Reporting on fees and progress on project budgets
• Reporting on services availed under retainer arrangements
• Disbursements: what is classified as a disbursement?
• Overhead (e.g. photocopying, faxes) disbursements: no charge, charged at notional cost, charge rate, outsourcing arrangements
• Other disbursements: at cost, at cost plus mark-up
• Disbursements control mechanisms and reporting
• Billing frequency
• Billing styles and options: level of detail, management summary, electronic billing
• Payment terms: within x days of billing, deferred payment, pre-payment of disbursements, hybrids
• Discounts: on time payment, rebates on volume use of services, etcetera
• Pricing validity period
• Pricing/fee review frequency and mechanisms
• Value-added services: free value adds and chargeable add-ons
• How the pricing arrangements you propose serve to align your rewards with your client’s interests.

Sophisticated clients buying behaviour increasingly reflects the value they place on expert professional services providers who can deftly manage relationships and who are sensitive to personal and organisational dynamics.

This short checklist will help you to work up selling arguments centred on relationship dynamics.

• Your team leader, his/her credentials for the role, and how s/he will relate to the client
• What you plan to contribute to the relationship, besides technical expertise
• Where you can add distinct value to the client’s organisation: the network of useful contacts to whom you will facilitate introductions and related services which the client will access through you
• “Feel good” aspects of being a client of your firm - and how that differs from the alternatives
• Value-added services you will offer - and deliver
• Techniques you propose to obtain client feedback
• How you’ll evaluate you client’s satisfaction - measures or indicators you will use
• How the client satisfaction feeds into your internal appraisal, recognition, and reward systems
• How you will deal with problems and issues which arise
• What action you promise if your client is dissatisfied
• What else you’ll do to establish a relationship with the client which ensures they derive maximum value
• Examples of other clients with whom you’ve developed similar relationships and evidence of the benefits to these clients of your relationship - testimonials, references, case studies
• What this relationship means to you and the “price” you’re prepared to pay for it - how important the client will be to you
• How far you’ll go to protect and advance your client’s interests
• The difference they’ll notice in dealing with you and your firm.

Be clearly and convincingly painting a picture of the working relationship you have in mind, demonstrating that you’ll constructively engage problems, and showing downstream benefits your client will derive, you will vastly improve your prospects of success.

Previous eTips have suggested possible selling points which will help you to positively differentiate your proposal in a crowded market. Increasingly, astute clients value law firms and other expert professional services providers who show that they are both fully aware of and respond appropriately to concerns about commercial sensitivities and conflicting interests.

This quick checklist will help you to develop the key selling arguments you will use to position your proposal.

• Your understanding of this client’s sensitivities to commercial confidentiality issues and conflicts
• Protocols to maintain confidentiality (no, don’t just treat this as a “given”)
• Systems and processes you use to recognise potential conflicting interests
• Due diligence you have conducted to establish that there is “no conflict”
• Real life examples of commercial sensitivities you have recognised and your response to these
• Examples of actual and possible conflicts - and what you would propose to do about them
• On-going input and collaboration from your client on these areas, and how you propose to obtain it
• What work/other clients you would be prepared to relinquish in order to establish and maintain a long-term relationship with this client - that is, how much this relationship does/will mean to you and what “price” you’re prepared to pay for it
• How far you’ll go to protect and advance your client’s interest.

By proactively and constructively dealing with your client’s commercial sensitivities, and any possible conflicts, you will advance your prospects by reducing perceptions of risk in accepting your proposal and establishing a business relationship with you.

Copyright 2001 Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

Our extensive research confirms that most substantial clients value - and expect - periodic frank relationship reviews.

• clients want predictability and controllability of price - they also want economy, but economy alone won’t make up for unpredictable prices
• clients want to clearly understand the basis of your charges
• it follows that many clients want to use that understanding to take action to control their expenditure with you

We are often asked how to conduct an effective client relationship review meeting. Getting these meetings right is very important. Feedback obtained is essential input to:
• improvements service delivery
• future proposals
• reveal risks for you to address
• uncover further business development opportunities

So first, the basics
• have a clear agenda
• plan a series of “open questions”
• record the details of your review meeting
• take note of client’s attendees and their titles/roles
• thank attendees for taking time to participate in this process.

Next, agree clear objectives for meeting. For example:
• we want to understand how we’re going …
• we want your full and frank feedback …
• we want to understand exactly what you need and expect from us so we can advise and serve you better …
• we want to know if there are problems which we need to work on …

From here, move to specifics.  Include topics such as:

Our understanding of your business
• how well do we understand your business, the industry environment in which you operate, and the challenges you face?
• Do we properly understand your concerns, your problems, and your priorities?
• What work do we need to do on our understanding of your business and your industry?

The quality of advice we give you
• do we consistently provide the right advice to you?
• do you find that our advice is practical and tailored to your particular situation?
• does our advice help you to achieve your objectives?
• what improvements do we need to make in the area of advice quality?

The quality of our relationship with your people
• do our people take a keen interest in your matters and treat you as an important client?
• are our people always straightforward, direct, and honest with you and is their behaviour always completely ethical?
• have our people formed productive working partnerships with key players in your organisation?
• do you feel that we consistently work in your interests?
• how should we work to improve our relationships with your people?
• this is the starring point.

Our accessibility
• are our people readily accessible to you?
• do we return your calls, faxes, and emails promptly?
• do you feel that we are ready and willing to visit you and your facilities?
• how should we work on becoming more accessible to you?

Our responsiveness
• do our people respond in accordance with your priorities?
• do we keep you properly informed during the progress of matters?
• do our people give you clear explanations of legal matters in plain English?
• do you feel that we are easy to work with?
• what work do we need to do on our speed, our responsiveness, and becoming easier to deal with?

The tangibles in the relationship
• what is your opinion of what the quality of letters and documents which we present to you?
• is the format of opinions and advices clear and easy to follow?
• does the presentation of our premises meet your expectations?
• have you found that our technology and other facilities are up to the desired standard?
• are the people with whom you deal with from our firm consistently well presented?
• what aspects of the presentation of our people, facilities, premises, and documents do you suggest we work on?

Let’s review some recent cases
• I’d like to turn to a couple of matter which we have handled for you to get your detailed assessment of how we’ve done. Taking these cases on at a time, thinking back over the [name of case, outlining key points] case, what, if anything, do you think that we did especially well? (Probe out fully.)
• what aspects of our handling of this case fell short of your expectations? (Probe out fully.)
• what suggestions would you have as to how we could improve our performance on such matters in the future? (Probe out fully.)

This will help you to progress towards your objectives in this forum.

The value we provide for the fees you pay
• do you believe that the advice we provide represents good value for money to your organization?
• how do you rate us in terms of value for money compared with the other law firms and professional advisors with whom you deal?
• are you happy with the style, frequency, and presentation of our bills to you?
• what, if anything, should we do to improve performance in relation to the fees you pay for our work?

Opportunities for expanding the relationship
• are there any other areas of your business which need quality legal advice?
• Would you or others in your business like to know more about any of the services which we offer?
• How do you recommend that we promote our services to your organization?

Effectiveness of marketing initiatives
• is our newsletter helpful to you?
• do you find the seminars we offer to you interesting and valuable?
• is our website valuable to you?
• has the education we have provided for your staff been useful?
• do you find access to our library helpful?
• what has been your experience of our client research programme?
• how do you feel about the entertainment we offer to you and other key people in your organization?
• what suggestions can you offer to improve the effectiveness of our value added services and marketing?

How we can work together better in the future
• are there barriers or obstacles in working effectively together?
• What can we do to become easier for you to work with in the future?
• Is there anything else at all which you would like to add?

At the end of the interview, again it in important to remember the basics.

• Thank your client for his/her time and interest
• promise action on key items requiring further investigation or consideration, indicate time frame for feedback
• explain what will happen as a result of the interview
• again, thank client for time and input.

Copyright 2001 Julian Midwinter & Associates

Assuming that you’ve decided to take the plunge and improve your marketing effectiveness, networking is a good starting point, well within the comfort zone. Whatever your level - senior partner, or newly employed solicitor - you can make a positive contribution to business development through network contacts.

We’ve all heard other lawyer success explained in terms of their connections: “so and so is well-connected”. And that may be true. But you can take charge and build your connections into worthwhile networks too.

Business development through networking is low risk, low cost, and offers opportunities for high yields.

Networking success depends in large, on being discriminating about where you choose to expend your energy: it isn’t just how much you do that matters, it’s where you apply scarce time.

Possibly you already spend time networking - perhaps it’s already effective for you. But if your networking effort haven’t been fruitful, maybe you’re confusing networking with socialising and recreation.

Spend as much time as you want mixing with people you like and with whom you get on well. But don’t deceive yourself by calling it networking. Spend your networking time with people and organisations who are willing and able to introduce you to profitable business opportunities.

Rather, find a niche which you can dominate. Better still, create a unique niche.

A quick quiz to help you assess the value of a network contact.

First, think of contact. Now, grade the capability of the contact to introduce you to useful business opportunities.

• Does your contact have a disparate network of relevance? Does s/he have diverse contacts within appropriate industries or professional circles? - score out of 20
• How prominent is s/he within his/her own network? Eminent and seen as a leader within the circle? Or, insignificant and largely unknown? - again, score out of 20
• How large is his/her network? Just a few contacts, or does this person always know someone of relevance or value in just about any area you mention? - score out of 10

Now, assess the propensity of you contact to graft you onto his/her connections.

• Is s/he always willing to share news, ideas, industry gossip, knowledge about what’s going on, and business opportunities with you? - score out of 20
• To what extent does s/he feel an “indebtedness” to you to help you make the right connections? Is there a sense of “owing it to you” for any reason? - score out of 20
• Does s/he actively introduce you to useful contacts? And, do others seek him/her out for advice, ideas or opinions? - score out of 10

Now, add the scores to arrive at a percentage grading or ranking:

• 75% and above: this connection has a high probability of yielding valuable opportunities
• 65% plus: this contact may be worth working with
• Below 65%: possibly a great social connection, but don’t label it strategic networking!

If you’ve decided on networking as a technique to develop business for your practice, start with the networks your best clients are already connected into - clients are usually pleased to introduce you to their business associates.

Don’t fall into the trap of just networking at your own level: cultivate connections which will lead you upwards in the business decision making tree.

And, don’t expect instant results. Be patient, and be prepared to add value to the network as well as to extract advantage or opportunities from it.

Carefully analyse what you can do for a network contact.

• What ideas, information, introductions, opportunities, can you offer?
• Is this a way of creating or increasing any sense of personal indebtedness to you?
• How can you bring about the situation where your contact believes he or she “owes it to you”?

The best networking relationships are two-way streets: think about what you can get out of it, by all means, but also look for opportunities to contribute.

Long-lasting, high-yield relationships are the product of network contacts where the value you bring to the association is perceived to be of least equal worth to the benefit you derive from the connection.

Networking is an important component of business development: it is a low risk, low cost way of building strong, healthy, and enduring client relationships which can produce handsome dividends for all concerned.

Copyright 2001 Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

Often, too little time is spent working out what you want them - your prospective clients and clients - to say after the meeting. Mostly, the work goes into what you want to say at the meeting, presentation, or interview.

By turning it around, you’ll put the emphasis where it belongs:
• on what you want your clients or prospective clients to take away
• on the messages you want them to carry with them
• on how you want them to see who you are
• on what you offer which matters to them
• and, on how you fit.

Plan your meeting or presentation by getting the end firmly into mind.

Some call it the “barbeque statement”. It’s what you want your prospective client to say about you and what you offer and why they want to take the next step with you to their colleagues and contacts back at their office - or at a barbeque.

It might go like one of these:
• “that team has done all this so often, and seem to understand all the intricacies - we’d be in safe hands”
• “they made me feel that they didn’t just know how to do our work, but they really cared about doing a great job for us”
• “they might not have the big brand and reputation of some of the alternatives, but they have all the essential skills and have structured their service proposal so we bear minimal risk”
• “there isn’t much to separate credentials of the contenders, but this proposal included valuable bonuses which would be great”.

Work out what you want them [the prospective client or client] to take away and craft your messages, proposals, and presentations accordingly.

Copyright 2006 Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

What’s going on in the wider business environment is impacting how professionals - individually, and as firms - interact and transact with clients. This is one reason that managing and developing key client relationships is now at the forefront of professional accountabilities.In an ever-changing world, with a constant stream of new political, economic, technological, environmental, and competitive pressures, it’s little wonder that clients - even those long-established and not unhappy - are revisiting their professional services options.

No longer is it if the relationship is put under review, but when.

For some professionals, open competition is now a way of life, even when service delivery is strong. (If you’re fortunate enough not to be subject to continuous direct competitive pressure, this still applies - at least sometimes.)

Management of risk is now prominent in the business lexicon. Savvy clients constantly reassess their risk landscape: they think through scenarios spanning natural disasters, oil crises, terrorism, bird flu … plus loss of key customers, failure of customary suppliers, or wide-scale change in their management.

For individual professionals, contemplating all this is great, and important - as a minimum, it will put you in touch with your clients’ concerns.

Smart risk management in professional services focuses around client relationships: their quality, depth, spread, and value.

Begin by gaining a clear and frank understanding of how clients see your services and their business with you - especially what’s important to them now, rather than (even a possibly fascinating history of) why they formed an association with you in the first place.

Then, take action. Proactivity may well save you from what might be a looming dangerously critical situation.

Be ready for each client to put their business with you under scrutiny - no longer is it if, it’s when.

Copyright 2006 Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

In competitive and highly-crowded professional services markets, even minor differences in service delivery or client experience can be significant to consumers. This is especially true in those service categories with:
• high risk
• high transaction value
• high purchase frequency.

Professionals are often too prone to discount client views as inexpert, superficial, naive, or purely price-driven.

Our research confirms that high purchase frequency clients rapidly develop expertise in evaluating professional service alternatives. Those whose work is high risk and/or high value, are often especially sensitive to the subtleties of their professional services experience.

Our research also confirms that performance characteristics on which these clients base their evaluation frequently do not correlate with how the professionals concerned think their service is and should be assessed.

Earning and keeping a professional services market leadership position substantially depends on understanding how clients evaluate and rank various elements of your service offering and their consumer experience. Coming to grips with this will help you identify the small differences which matter so you can make them work in your favour.

Copyright 2006 Julian Midwinter & Associates

Maybe you’re one of those fortunate professionals who has such a stand out service to offer that it’s clearly technically superior, demonstrably better, and so reported by objective analysts and high-profile “industry authorities”. More likely, the professional services you offer - while better than many - are neck-and-neck with alternatives.

If you belong to the second category, it’s essential to work hard on perceived advantage.

In the first category, you already have a clear advantage, but adding perceived advantage is always a good idea.

Perceived advantage is about what happens in the mind of prospective clients and clients. It results from:
• branding
• profile
• reputation.

A professional services firm with strong and distinctive brand personality, impressive profile, and the right reputation will enjoy success with even “average” products. Their perceived advantages may be sufficiently strong to overcome apparent service weaknesses, at least for a time. (Beware: never recommended to rely on marketing to paper over problems !)

You can also develop perceived advantage by designing and developing your service delivery processes to:
• more comfortably fit with clients
• ease interaction between your business and theirs
• provide minor desirable add-ons at no-charge
• minimise their concerns
• mitigate the insecurities and risks they perceive in proceeding with your service.

A better professional service may deserve to win over the rest, but the fact is that perceived advantage often wins the race.

At moments of truth - the critical times when consumers are selecting the professionals with whom they will entrust their work - by mustering the most appropriate and effective business development behaviours, you will create and leverage strong perceived advantage.

Copyright 2006 Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

Clients have problems which professional experts are equipped to solve - that’s our raison d’etre.Too often, though, professionals fail to make the connection between the expertise they possess and solutions to the problems clients confront.

A client’s legal problem is also a business problem, and most show a whole lot more interest in the “fix” you offer than the technical stuff.

Here are some tips to engage a client’s ready-made interest in solving business problems :
• do your background research
• anticipate their issues
• offer a creative and effective solution to their problems
• develop specific details of how your solution will work in practice
• assemble evidence of how your solution has worked for others
• prepare for likely questions
• offer clear, short responses to queries
• devise presentation media or hand-outs to support your case
• reinforce your solution with examples
• quantify expected benefits.

Clients buy the lawyers and other professional experts who convince them that their services will solve real business problems, and offer better solutions than alternatives.

Copyright 2006 Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

With so much to do - so many opportunities deserving of business development energy - only rarely are professionals truly satisfied that they’ve done all they should. It’s the economic problem: unlimited needs and wants, limited means (and time) …When we are confronted with seemingly endless ways to promote our services and grow our client relationships, it can be hard knowing where to make a start.

Rather than feeling overwhelmed, determine to make a start today.

By chipping away at your business development “to do” list every day, just a little at a time, you can start to get it done and make some valuable progress.

Even seemingly insignificant steps in the right direction, piled one upon another, lead to meaningful change, outcomes, and pay-offs. A series of small, not-too-hard actions can create a positive ripple effect. And, that ripple effect can be amazing.

Lawyers and other professionals can easily be so swept along by the pace of the day and all that is happening around them that they give up on making headway with business development. By making even a small step in the direction of a better professional future, you can plant an acorn today, plus another tomorrow, and tend them after that. Be certain that the oak trees we so admire today, wouldn’t be there except for the acorns of days before.

Copyright 2006 Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd