“…over the last two years the number of Am Law 100 lawyers based in Beijing and Shanghai has declined by 25% from 569 to 424. The decline over a five-year period is 35%.”
Over the past 12 months, Chinese Law Firms DeHeng, JunHe, Fangda Partners and Han Kun Law Offices have established overseas offices in Singapore, the U.S., Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East
Having worked with law firms around the world for close to 30 years to help establish their overseas offices (with a particular focus on Asia), I’m not sure I have ever seen such a significant shift in an in-bound/out-bound referral strategy.
In my view, we are now at the dawn of an era when Asian-based law firms are referring more work out of Asia than International law firms are referring work into Asia.
The only question that remains then is this: “How are you positioning your firm/practice to benefit from this shift?“.
There are few more personal ways to thank a person for the support they have shown you and your business over the past 12 month than to send them a handwritten Christmas card.
Unlike e-cards, which to be honest I have never been a massive fan of (but can see both the financial and ecological savings if you are sending several hundred/thousand), a handwritten note in a Christmas card adds that personal touch to the message that, to me, enhances the gratitude being shown.
Some tips
If you’re going to send a handwritten note in a Christmas card to a key contact or referrer this year, make sure to:
Provide context: to why the card is being sent. For example: “it been a pleasure working with you over the past 12 months and we look forward to supporting you in the future”.
Personalise it: include a private note about something that happened this year.
Keep it professional: remember, it’s a Christmas card to a client/referrer, so be personal but keep it professional – no saucy joke cards you can find in some stores please!
Keep it brief: again, it’s professional, so keep it brief. The recipient of the card doesn’t have a lot of time to read this card and probably has a few more cards than just yours to read, so make sure to keep this to a couple of well-thought-out sentences at most.
The simple, relatively inexpensive, gesture of sending a handwritten Christmas card can leave a lasting impression on your client. It could well be the small differentiator that you are looking for to stand your business out from its competitors in 2025!
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.”
In professional services, we often talk about “standing out from the crowd“. But the truth is, more often than not, we are in the centre of the crowd! So for this week’s BD Tips Wednesday post on LinkedIn we shared what my daughters’ call the ‘3R Test’ when considering/deciding whether a differentiator really is a differentiator and helps that business truly standout from its competition.
Is it Respectful?
The first test is: Is it respectful? Here, what we mean is: Is it honest/true?
More often then not, professional services firms set themselves out as being different to their competitors with motherhood statements and hyperbole. Stress test the point, and it quickly falls apart.
By way of example, how many professional services firms state that they are “client centric”? Do a Google search and I suspect you’ll get a lot of hits!
Now, leaving side the issue for one second if saying such a statement really differentiates you or makes you another in the pack, a broader question arises: ‘Are they being respectful to their clients in saying this?’
Is it Responsible?
A responsible point of difference is one that actually matters to your customers – not you. By having this point of difference, are you trying to make a difference to your clients lives/business, or are you merely trying to standout from the crowd so your business can win more work?
If it is the latter, i.e. you are only trying to win more work and don’t really care about the customer, then this is NOT a responsible point of difference and therefore is not a true differentiator.
An example here would be a claim that your firm provided an ‘efficient‘ services (note, not effective, which would be different). The questions that arise here are: (a) is this actually true?, and (b) who gains from these efficiencies – you or the customer?
Because, assume your claim is actually true, if you – the service provider – are the net winner from the efficient service delivery – at the cost of the overall service delivery to the customer – then it is not a responsible differentiator, and therefore it is not a genuine point of difference!
Is it Resilient?
Is the point of difference resilient? Will it stand being stress-tested – by your customers and competition? Will it survive your competition’s attempts to copy it (if it really is a point of difference)?
In short, will your point of difference stand the test of time?
Brining it all together
Assuming your stated point of difference can pass muster on the ‘3R Test‘, you have yourself a genuine differentiator and so go forth and knock the competition into next week!
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
A huge part in the success of your business development efforts lies in what I like to call your: ‘Credibility Score‘.
So for my most recent BD Tips Wednesday post on LinkedIn, I walked through why credibility is so important to the success of your business development activities.
Below it a repeat of that post, but before we go there though, why is credibility an issue?
Information overload
The internet has resulted in information overload. We all have access to way too much information.
But ‘information‘ is not the same as ‘knowledge‘ – and professionals work (or should be working!) in a knowledge economy.
Which leads to a bigger problem from the client perspective: with so much information out there, how do I know who to trust?
QED: Credibility!
The ‘5’ Bs on building credibility with your clients
Be ahead of the pack
Industries change and so should your knowledge and skills. Keep up with the latest trends, technologies and practices in your field.
If you can show that you’re aware of new developments and can adapt your approach, you’ll be seen as a credible forward-thinking partner.
Be transparent
The starting point in any attempt to being credible is open and transparent communication.
Be honest about what you can and cannot do.
Talking up what you can do for a client and under-delivering on that talk damages your credibility. So keep it simple: Deliver on what you say you can deliver on!
Be reliable
The easiest way to building long-term credibility is by consistently delivering on your promises. Reliability and consistency in performance over time create a strong foundation of trust. Make sure you follow through on timelines, deliverables, and commitments.
If something goes pear-shape, take accountability for it and work to quickly resolve it!
Be honest
Always tell the truth, even when it’s difficult or uncomfortable. If you make a mistake, admit it. People respect honesty, and owning up to your shortcomings is an important way to build trust.
Also, always maintain ethical standards in your dealings with your clients.
Be committed
Focus on building relationships rather than simply making deals. The more you invest in your client relationships, the more credible and trustworthy you appear.
Regularly check in on your clients, even when you’re not pitching something new.
Being genuinely interested in your client’s long-term success will enhance your reputation as a credible partner.
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As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
You’d be amazed at the amount of work I have won for my partners just standing next to the watercooler chewing the fat!
To many it seems like a waste of time, so for this week’s BD Tips Wednesday I thought I’d outline ‘5 Reasons You Need To Have A Watercooler In Your Office‘.
1. The Icebreaker
The biggest benefit of small talk is that it serves as a buffer, an icebreaker.
Small talking around a watercooler allows you the double-whammy of not only being able to chat freely, but do so knowing that you’re very unlikely to be judged for the whacky business development ideas you throw out there!
QED: the watercooler is a great place to road test some of your more bizarre business development ideas!
2. The Power of Small Talk
Everyone loves to chat – it’s human nature (trust me, I know – and anyone who knows me well will gladly verify)!
But, small talk is a lot more than just causal chat. It can be the start of a meaningful relationships. It’s also the start of great insights. Because chit-chat/gossip helps break down barriers – you become human to others and that makes people more comfortable talking to you – which in turn makes them more comfortable doing business with you!
3. Common Ground
Ever wondered where you’re going to turn to next, only to have a chat with some of your colleagues at the watercooler and come away inspired?
Yep, common ground. Common interests. Common desires. Really, really important in the early phases of a business development pursuit.
4. Network
Central to the success of your business development initiatives is the ability to start, develop and grow a network. This network of shared interests starts by developing relationships with people – and a good place to start that is at the watercooler!
5(a). The Trusted Advisor
Every watercooler has a trusted advisor – the person we all wait to go and speak to.
The font of all knowledge is found at the watercooler.
Become that font of all [BD] knowledge!
5(b). Small business enterprises
For the SME firms out there – the watercooler is a coffee shop. It’s a chamber of commerce. It’s a gathering point.
Because small talk acts as a bridge between formal business objectives and an individual’s need to build trust!
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
In my most recent BD Tips Wednesday post on LinkedIn, I shared a professional development growth model that has been around since the 1980s and used relatively frequently by coaches such as me.
It’s called the GROW model, named in honor of the GROW acronym, and I thought readers of this blog might like to read about it:
Goal
Reality
Obstacles and Options, and
Way forward
Grow
Where:
Goal = The end point. Where you want to get to. Your Goal. This needs to be structured/set-out in a way where it is obvious there is a finish line.
Reality = Warts and all – where are you now? How far do you need to travel to reach the ‘Goal’? Is the ‘Goal’ pie in the sky or a reality?
Obstacles and Options = What Obstacles are in the way of you achieving your ‘Goal’? Once the Obstacles have been identified, do you have Options to deal with these Obstacles that will allow you to achieve your Goal?
Way forward = Last but not least, what action steps need to be put in place in order for you to achieve your Goal. In other words, what is the Way Forward!
Using the GROW model in your business development planning should add a little bit of perspective around the realistic nature of you achieving your Goal. It not only identifies what your Goal is – which is a great start in business development, but its also sets parameters around this so you clearly know when you have completed the Goal.
Bringing it all together
What I particularly like though is it highlights what the challenges will likely be and allows you to start working through how you can overcome those challenges – rather than waiting for the challenge to hit you on the nose!
Don’t get me wrong, GROW is not the only business development strategy tool you can use – and we will certainly be covering off others on BD Tips Wednesdays of the future, but it is a very useful tool to keep in your toolkit!
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
Success is the product of daily habits – not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.
– James Clear, Atomic Habits
Just as James Clear wrote in his best selling book Atomic Habits, success in business development is the sum of your daily habits and not a once-in-a-career pitch win!
To this end, while most professional services firms employ sophisticated Client Relationship Management (CRM) platforms, my experience has been that the greatest success in building daily business development rituals and habits comes from utlising the existing tools you have and are already familiar with – namely your Microsoft ‘Outlook’ and ‘To Do’ apps.
So for this week’s BD Tips Wednesday post I thought I would take a very high-level look at how you can be using Microsoft’s Outlook and To Do apps to advance your business development efforts:
Tips with using Outlook for your Business Development
Block-out 15 minutes each morning in your Outlook diary to post and comment on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn.
Block-out 15 minutes each lunchtime to call or email 1 client, prospect or referrer to catch-up and see how they are doing and whether there is anything you can be doing for them.
Use your Outlook email scheduling function to write marketing emails at a time more convenient for you (in my case 11pm!), but to be sent when they are more likely to be read by your target audience (say, 8am the next day!).
Use the email ‘categories’ function to organize your business development and marketing emails by campaign, client or project. This should make searching for emails in the future much easier [trust me, Future You will love Present You if all you do is do this!].
If you are working as part of a team, sync your Outlook calendar with the other members of your team so you can easily see when team members are free.
Schedule time each month in your Outlook diary to review and assess how your business development activities are fairing and determine if you need to make adjustments to your strategy/methodology.
Tips with using To Do for your Business Development
Schedule To Do reminders for re-occurring tasks, like writing and scheduling your social media posts.
Set To Do reminders ahead of time for important dates and events. An example here might be to schedule a reminder in your To Do app that the birthday of a client is coming up next week and you need to send them a handwritten card!
Use your To Do app to schedule follow-up reminders for people you meet at events, emails you have sent that have not been responded to, or actions you have promised to complete.
Used properly, your Microsoft Outlook and To Do apps can be very powerful business development tools. Ones which are typically very much under utilised by most professionals.
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
And how many law firms out there don’t have events teams who are experts in project managing and holding events that they could monetarize the expertise of while leveraging and cross selling other ‘allied services’ – such as their lawyers?
Value Added Services
Bet I can guess on one hand how many law firms will go for a tender like this because this is a ‘free’ value added service.
Big mistake.
Get in touch if you want to chat about the “allied services” your firm is offering.
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