A recent article in the Global Legal Post by Ben Edwards: ‘Law firm marketing and business development teams spend more time firefighting than on strategy‘ threw up some very interesting – if not predictable – stats:

• Two thirds (65%) of marketing and business development teams [in law firms] are spending more time firefighting then developing strategy
• 80% of that 65% spend at least 2/3rds of their working year extinguishing fires, over providing strategic thinking
• Just over half (57%) have a seat at the head table [when it comes to strategy input]
• 69% of respondents said they spent most of their time on addressing short-term issues rather than focusing on long-term initiatives.

And the number #1 reason given for why law firm marketing and business development teams were running from one fire to another – a lack of investment in resources.

All of which leads me to ask this question:

Do law firm partners value the service they get from their business development and marketing teams?

Another way of putting that question is this:

Do law firm partners understand the strategic value that their business development and marketing teams can provide?

Because the evidence would suggest that they don’t.

By putting – let’s be frank – high paid personnel on firefighting tasks, your firm will not be getting good value for money.

So here are my 5 reasons why your business development team should be working with you on your firm’s strategy and not just putting fires out:

1. Industry focused

Most business development professionals are laser-focused on industry expertise. They understand a particular industry sector – such as energy, resources, financial services, FMCG, property – and by and large stay in their lanes. As such, many have a deeper understanding of what is happening in that industry sector than the partners they work with.

2. Market knowledge

Really good business developers are on top of market trends and competitor intelligence. They should be able to tell you what your competitors are up to, how your competitors are ranked in the market, which clients your competitors are acting for and the relevant lateral movement in your sector.

3. Relationship Building

A critical skill of good business development professionals is building relationships. They should be able to not only tell you who the General Counsel at client and target clients are, but also who the lead procurement team will be on a pursuit or tender opportunity.

4. Data analysts

A good business developer should be able to look at a set of data and provide you insights. For example: should you be worried if the number of instructions you are receiving is on the decrease, but the value per file is significantly increasing?

5. Results driven

Every good business development professional will tell you they are only as good as their last result! By nature, they are very results driven and don’t rest on their laurels.

So there you go, my 5 reasons why you need your business development team working with you on your next strategy day rather than just putting out fires!

Also, get in touch if you need help with any of the above.

rws_01