What Every Lawyer Needs to Know about Effective Business Development Planning

Business development plans typically have the following components:
 

• Situation Assessment. A narrative description of the current status of the attorney or firm. This is the "here is where we are" statement.
• Goal. An overall statement on "where we are going."
• Objectives. Specific statements, both short range and long range, that lead to the attainment of the goal.
• Message Theme. A single concept that is woven throughout all business development activities and helps to focus efforts. It is one easily understood and memorable fact about the attorney or firm.
• Audiences. Identification of the specific people and groups important to business development. These will be clients, past clients, potential clients, referral sources, and so on.
• Strategy. A general statement that outlines the general approach to business development. This is the "how we will get there" statement.
• Tactics. The specific activities that develop from the overall strategy.
• Budget. The cost for carrying out each of the tactics.
• Schedule. The time frame in which all activities will take place.
• Evaluation. Process to control the marketing activities and provide feedback on their success.

Business development plans should not be complicated. Too much time can be spent developing the plans and budgets, and too much time can be spent controlling them. At the same time, the process of planning and budgeting can itself be time consuming while at the same time enlightening for an attorney. The process requires not only specific decisions on future action but also an acknowledgment by the attorney and other partners that this activity is important.


Every attorney and many staff members within a firm should be incorporated into the planning process in some way. Every attorney should have assigned to him or her some sort of marketing budget, however modest. This emphasizes that marketing is everyone's responsibility and that everyone is encouraged to include at least some marketing activities in their normal job responsibilities.

An attorney was once overheard commenting, "Lawyers are about the worst at planning; they seldom do any!" Perhaps that perception was because the simple basics of planning are not taught in law school, and nowhere else in their experience have attorneys been exposed to planning techniques. Some attorneys are good planners by default, coming by the skill naturally. But many attorneys have some difficulty in establishing and maintaining plans.

Whether planning a major practice emphasis change, office move, or practice restructure, or a special event such as a holiday open house, the planning concepts are the same. The important bit of wisdom to remember in terms of planning is, "If you don't know where you are going, you are never going to get there!" Similarly, if the attorney does not establish a plan with objectives, those objectives will never be met, and he or she will never be completely satisfied.

DRAFTING THE PLAN

There are four crucial elements to an effective plan. These are the objectives, assessment, strategy, and implementation. Anything else is an instrument to tailor the plan to fit a unique situation. First, the objectives list what the attorney specifically wants to accomplish. Is the foremost objective an increased number of clients, increased profits, success in a new practice area, or an open house for clients? What ever the case, additional objectives must be established which will help the attorney reach the primary objective. For instance,
 

• if the attorney's primary goal is to increase the number of clients, specific objectives might include membership in certain clubs, increased communication (such as correspondence, telephone calls, or visits) with potential clients, and so on.
• if the attorney's primary goal is to increase profits, specific objectives might include a greater emphasis on time management to increase hourly billings, new negotiation terms with clients to increase the financial value of work completed, or increased response from accounts receivable.
• if the attorney's primary goal is an open house for clients, specific objectives might include comprehensive cleaning and refurbishing of the office area; scheduling of a caterer; and some entertainment, development of an invitation list, and so on.

Next, some form of assessment regarding the plan's development and effectiveness should be introduced. Such an assessment vehicle would address issues such as
 

• What resources are available to the attorney?
• What internal factors exist which might influence the plan's outcome?
• What external factors exist which might influence the plan's outcome?
• What are the negative factors, or competition, for the attorney's attention?

The assessment provides the attorney with a clear vision of how practical the plan is and what sort of time line might be necessary for its effective implementation.

After an assessment of the environment in which the plan must operate, a strategy must be decided and clearly understood by everyone involved in its eventual success. This is when the attorney must decide which objectives are time-specific, quantifiable goals and to whom these goals should be delegated. For example, in the event of an open house, the office receptionist might be asked to schedule food and entertainment, the office manager might be asked to supervise cleaning and office rehabilitation efforts, and the attorney might want to retain supervision of the guest list.

Finally, the last step is the implementation process. This is where the attorney is rewarded for the sometimes tedious process of planning. If all the elements of the planning process have been satisfied, then the implementation of the plan is destined to be successful. Unfortunately, many attorneys jump right into the implementation process without setting objectives, conducting an assessment, or outlining a strategy. Because of this, many do not achieve the success otherwise possible.

A vast wealth of literature has been written and is available to attorneys with regard to all types of planning: strategic, marketing, and social event planning, to name a few areas. Successful planning essentially boils down to a rule of thumb: with very few exceptions, the amount of time spent making the perfect plan will multiply to create the perfect plan outcome.