Business Development is a skill that will continue to grow in importance as the legal market becomes even more commercial and competitive. It is imperative for legal consultants to excel at business development.
So, what is Business Development? In short, it is getting and keeping clients by building relationships.
Traditionally, Business Development was left to Partners, who were expected to spend a certain number of hours per month contributing to the growth of the firm. However, times have changed and legal consultants are now also expected to generate business in order to retain status or gain promotion, making the ability to acquire clients and build relationships as crucial as strong legal skills. Without a strong foundation of knowledge and a pool of techniques to handle sales opportunities, even legal consultants who are the most dedicated to business development can fail.
In an industry where the competition is significant and substantial, not to mention the legal advice readily available on the internet, it is even more of a struggle to maintain clients. In addition, clients are becoming more promiscuous and are using the competitive nature of the market to their advantage.
In summary, possessing excellent Business Development skills is fundamental for any legal consultant wishing to be successful in today’s competitive legal market. Firms that invest time in BD and have a well-developed strategy generally have greater long-term commercial success.
