Today's issue of The AmLaw Daily includes an article entitled, Welcome to the Future: Metrics Count. In the article consultant Mike Huber comments on law firms' tendency to use backward-viewing measures for financial performance analysis. He argues that in the future law firms need to be managed more like a traditional business.
This Rainmaking Lady is reminded of the saying, "you get what you inspect, not what you expect." Business development in today's law firm should include a proactive focus on specific goals that the firm wants to achieve, down to the associate level at a minimum. Leading indicators that point to future performance levels include advance planning in arranging speaking engagements, getting published, referral network management, maintaining active client contact, and other proven biz dev techniques.
For those firms that are using few or ineffective metrics for individual business development efforts, it is best to start with a simple attorney marketing plan that can be easily measured and carefully monitored.
The start of a New Year is a perfect time to engage partners and associates in taking individual responsibility for business development performance that rolls up to firm-level goals.
Click here for a very basic attorney marketing plan that can be used as a point of reference. Remember, never stop marketing!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
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1 comment:
On our Marketing Action Plan dashboard that we help our attorney (and CPA) clients use, we simplify the goal setting process into a "cascade" (one leads into/fits into the other: year, semi, qu, mo.) with a "number by date" simplification on the S.M.A.R.T. concept. By initially focusing on whatever "number(s) by date(s)" my client holds already as a mental thumb-rule, we can quickly emotionalize and quantify what is often a loosey-goosey approach to Practice Marketing metrics measurement.
Thanks for the post, great timing (as I am about to write an apropos goal setting post myself)!
~ Vikram Rajan
PracticeMarketingAdvisors.com
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