2008 Business Development Practices Survey Report
The report of this year’s survey of Business Development Practices in Law Firms will be headed to the printers by the end of the month, but we can say at this point that it is clear that the business development/sales effort in law firms is becoming more entrenched, even with smaller firms. More firms in this year’s survey reported having someone dedicated to this role, more reported that it is a separate role from the person dedicated to marketing/communications, and more also reported that it has become a separate department within the firm. And budgets were up, as was staffing for business development/sales efforts, but growth was more modest in the last year than it had been the previous year.
Some background: This is the third year that ALM Research has conducted a survey of business development practices at law firms. The purpose of the survey is to track and benchmark trends in the organization and structure of these efforts, and the resources devoted to them—leadership, staff, and budget.
We also benchmark business development trends against the structure, budgets, and staffing of the firm’s marketing/communications efforts. In most firms, if there is a business development effort, it emerges first within the marketing department, and then gradually establishes itself as a separate effort.
Although some of the largest firms in the world participate in the survey (Tier 1 Firms), along with smaller firms (Tier 2 Firms), the ratio of each group has remained steady over the years, with Tier 1 Firms representing 55% of all respondents. Wherever there is sufficient data, breakout comparisons of these two groups are made. This year, we were also able to make some comparisons between Top Tier 1 Firms (400+ lawyers), and the overall Tier 1 group.
The survey has also looked at specific business development strategies over the years, in order to help professionals gauge the effectiveness of these strategies. In this year’s survey, we took an in-depth look at three—surveys and interviews of clients, client service teams, and sales training for lawyers. Though at least half of all responding firms employ these strategies (and more reported using sales training), it was interesting to find that, in each case, Tier 1 Firms rated these strategies higher than Tier 2 Firms rated them.
We also got some interesting feedback in response to our questions about the RFP process. Though Tier 2 Firms submit substantially fewer RFPs than their Tier 1 counterparts, their win rate is significantly higher. And it was somewhat puzzling to us that the great majority of respondents said their firm did not have a formal method in place for finding out why they did not win a proposal. But then again, many said that in the event of a lost RFP, they simply called or met with the client to discuss why.
Of course, there’s plenty more information where this comes from. The 2008 Business Development Practices Survey is available through ALM Research Publishing. You may also direct your inquiries to almresearch@alm.com, or 888-770-5647. Or you may contact Chuck Lowry, Director of Client Relations.
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