Breaking up with a client
Breaking up is hard to do. Especially when you’re considering a break up with a client in the professional services context. Many professionals spend so much time winning or delivering client work that they don’t take time to think about the quality of their service relationships. The arrangement may work for the client, but does […]
Continue ReadingLeveraging a tender, bid or proposal win – get (more than) your fair share
Because so many corporate and government clients appoint multiple firms to provide their professional services, winning a place on a formal panel is only a preliminary to getting the client work you really want. And when multi-provider appointments are informal, it’s even more important to drive workflow in your direction. Steps to getting more than […]
Continue ReadingUnderstanding buyer perspectives in professional services
While each consumer of expert professional services has a unique set of preferences driving their buying behaviour, various groups or “clusters” of consumers share common characteristics. To forecast likely buying behaviour (and tailor your tender, bid or proposal pitch accordingly) consider these factors. Organisation type and size Public sector, large corporates, private companies, small business, […]
Continue ReadingHow easy is it to do business with your professional services firm?
How is easy it for prospective clients to become clients of your professional services firm? Are you or your team inadvertently putting up barriers that are turning off prospective clients? Firms often work long and hard on the marketing and positioning side of business development so the prospective lead or referred client is primed and […]
Continue ReadingGET SMART: create an effective client service plan with your next tender
Whether you want to win a new account or grow and retain an existing client, tender preparation is an opportunity to map out how your firm can (and will) deliver first-rate service. In the flurry to submit tenders, bids, or proposals many professional services firms miss the chance to create an effective client service plan. […]
Continue ReadingMeasuring client satisfaction – a win-win-win situation
Preliminary results from our research study with ALPMA, Winning work in a digital world, indicate that 64% of Australasian law firms do not have formal processes in place to measure client satisfaction. This means more than half of firms surveyed spend time, money and effort to win work and clients, but fail to follow-up in […]
Continue ReadingFaceTime, or the power of real life meetings in a digital world
In a way, we’re all more visible than ever, emailing, linking-in, twittering and googling away the day. It’s tempting to get busy with that and think we’re “doing” relationship building. As a fellow consultant recently told us of senior decision makers: “Face time. They all want face time.” And she wasn’t talking about Apple’s FaceTime […]
Continue ReadingHow well do you really know your clients?
Many of the best routes to increased business come from leveraging your existing client base. And yet, people often know very little about their largest and most important clients. To best leverage your relationships (cross-sell services or gain referrals), you must invest quality time to really understand the key decision makers in your top 10 […]
Continue ReadingHow to murder a client relationship
A strong client relationship is critical to business success. An angry client is a problem to your professional practice. But consider for a moment: a disappointed client may be a much greater danger. Disappointed clients rarely write angry letters, ring you to complain, or take the trouble to tell you what’s wrong. Instead, little by little, […]
Continue ReadingAll important first meetings
When you have an opportunity to meet with a new business or commercial client, be prepared. Here’s a quick checklist of “homework” for your first meetings. Check out their website Run through background issues on the company, industry, and its competitors Find out, if you can, who currently handles their legal work Think through the […]
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Feature article
Responding effectively to (unspoken) questions in tenders, bids and proposals
Over the years we’ve read hundreds of requests for tenders and proposals seeking services from professional services firms. Often RFT/Ps can seem cobbled together bastardised versions of older requests that have been edited by committee and end up asking silly, repetitive or irrelevant questions. Most of the time nothing sinister is going on, it is […]
