Category Archives: Business Development and Selling

How to Tell One Specialist From Another

A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a woman down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts, “Excuse me. Can you help me? I promised my friend … Continue reading

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Should Your Firm Outsource Business Support Functions?

Many firms have slashed their support functions (ie Finance, BD, HR, IT etc). I’m not at all sure that’s the right thing to do. Do you really want your partners spending time on administration? I offer an approach to ensure … Continue reading

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Finding the Perfect Firm for a Merger

So you’ve decided you want to find a merger partner. The trouble is there are a lot of prejudices out there and a good deal of misinformation. So you need to adopt a rigorous approach to data-gathering on the potential … Continue reading

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Handling the Media – What to do When a Journalist Contacts You

Maybe you are working on a case where there is a lot of public interest. Most people panic, feeling nervous about how best to handle the call to avoid the wrong thing being said in the media. But it can … Continue reading

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Is Client Service Going Out the Window During Lockdowns?

It’s not easy delivering outstanding service at the best of times. But now, with so little fact-to-face time? There are just so many pitfalls. Let’s analyse the situation to show where these potential traps are. First, there’s knowing what the … Continue reading

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Post COVID 19 – Your Firm Probably Needs a New Strategy

I can always tell if a firm hasn’t got a working strategy. All I have to do is ask a partner what the strategy is. What I typically then hear is a list of activities – and that isn’t a … Continue reading

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Is Asking Clients for Feedback a Sign of Weakness?

Sadly, many professionals think it is! Perhaps they believe that clients will think you lack confidence, or awareness. But I think this view is sorely mistaken. Imagine this situation: you have halfway through your first piece of work with an … Continue reading

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Improving Margins in a Downturn for Professional Service Firms

COVID-19 is bound to be affecting workflows and margins.  Here’s a programme of activities to address this. Some are strategic and fundamental and others are tactical and operational. These are the questions that need to be answered together with the … Continue reading

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Matter Management Matters – Improving Quality and Efficiency

I’ve delivered dozens of workshops on this topic and always get the same reaction to the question ‘Who is responsible for what aspects of a matter?’ There are blank faces, because there is typically no clear answer. The implications of … Continue reading

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Marketing and Compelling StoryTelling

All of us construct narratives about ourselves – where we come from, what we do, where we are going. The kinds of stories we tell make a big difference to how confident we are marketing ourselves and our products or … Continue reading

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