Accounting and Financial Planning ® FOR LAW FIRMS

Volume 32, Number 12 • December 2019 Reimagining Business Development Training And Coaching

Six Pillars of a Successful Bus-Dev Program

By Debra Baker — an extension of rather than development requirements – an adjunct to legal excellence. e.g., “shows an aptitude for If you were to poll the attor- For firms wanting to thrive business development.” Once neys in your firm about whether through the next economic making partner, the expecta- business development is an ex- downturn and beyond, mastery tions change, but the clarity pectation or an option, would of business development funda- around what success looks like you get a consistent answer? mentals is as essential as mas- and how it is measured may not High performing firms are in- tering legal skills. Yet training be as clear to the front line as it creasingly investing earlier and and coaching — whether done is to the management team. more often in attorney busi- internally or through outside 1. Curriculum consultants — requires an in- ness development coaching and The first step to building a vestment in time and resources. training. This is good news for great business development Given the demands of the “doer- a profession that historically curriculum, therefore, is a set of seller” role that attorneys must looked down on business de- governing principles and phi- play to build successful prac- velopment as being beneath the losophies about business gen- tices, getting it right requires a character of a lawyer. Increas- eration requirements, so that in- holistic approach to business ingly lawyers are recognizing development training across the dividual attorneys can prioritize that sales is about helping solve attorney life cycle. their own development efforts. problems that need to be solved Topping the list of critical suc- Here are five additional fac- tors you should consider when Debra Baker, a member of the Board of cess factors: A shared mindset Editors of our LJN sibling Marketing the and consistent communication building out your business de- Law Firm, is a lawyer and a managing di- velopment curriculum: rector of GrowthPlay — a research-based about business development business development performance expectations. Too often, the 2. Methodology company focused on helping law firms Sales fundamentals are univer- and professional services organizations path to partnership is ambigu- improve sales effectiveness. ous when it comes to business sal, but in a professional services LJN’s Accounting & Financial Planning for Law Firms December 2019 organization where only part of foundational skills and not just development if the business de- the job requirement is business replicate them. velopment tools and templates development, consistency is key. This is where situational train- used in real time are the same Having an anchoring device ing is critical. For example, that attorneys have been ex- around which to frame, commu- cross-selling through an indus- posed to in training. nicate, and develop curriculum try group is different than sell- Conclusion will help support the creation of ing a single service. Selling a As professional development, a business development culture. team is different than selling a marketing and business-devel- 3. Curriculum Design person. Sales fundamentals are opment leaders work to invest The most effective training no different for women or peo- in building the right program- programs are those that lever- ple of color, but their experienc- ming for their attorneys, they age adult learning principles es in the sales process may be also are learning that more goes and recognize the interconnec- different. Not all situations ap- into success than just good cur- tivity between mastering sales ply to all lawyers, but they are riculum. Applied holistically, fundamentals (the what), ongo- areas where situational training these six pillars of a successful ing skill building (the how), and can reinforce and accelerate the business development program ongoing reinforcement training results of even the most experi- provide the opportunity to build to maintain momentum, devel- enced lawyers. a stronger bench of business op confidence and accelerate re- 5. Collaborators developers and to better en- sults (the “way”). Research suggests that a mix gage and energize attorneys for 4. Learning Loop of internal and external trainers, growth. A learning loop allows attor- coaches and facilitators provide neys to receive the right train- more “stickiness” to business de- ing at the right time and to velopment programs. But while promote continuous learning diverse views and experiences at each stage of their career. are essential, they must still sup- For example, level appropri- port the underlying philoso- ate business development skill phies and culture of the firm. building should start early in 6. Business Development an associate’s career, so that Toolkit by the time they make partner, Training doesn’t stay sticky they have been exposed to all unless it can be applied on a of the business development consistent and ongoing basis. —❖— fundamentals. At the same time, Many firms have mastered this once an attorney makes part- when it comes to professional ner, the sense of urgency and development around skills like circumstances change. Rein- conducting depositions or nego- forcement and situational train- tiations, so they can be applied Reprinted with permission from the December 2019 edition of the Law Journal Newsletters. © 2019 ALM Media ing becomes more important, consistently across a team. The Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. For information, contact 877.257.3382 but it also must build on the same can be done for business or [email protected]. # LJN-12102019-429393