Law Firm Business Development and SharePoint. ROI Driven Applications in Client Development, Client Relationships and Revenue Growth

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1 Law Firm Business Development and SharePoint ROI Driven Applications in Client Development, Client Relationships and Revenue Growth

2 The Dichotomy When it comes to legal technology, there can be a fundamental disconnect between buyers and sellers Buyers often want the latest and greatest technology But sometimes aren t focused enough on firm needs, issues and problems Sellers make great technology tools But sometimes get too focused on bells and whistles This leads to more disconnects and complaints

3 Buyer s Complaints We wasted our money The lawyers won t / don t use it They don t understand law firms They didn t take the time to get to know us This was shelf ware The interface wasn t intuitive The systems don t talk to each other Their sales rep didn t know the product Their support and service was non existent

4 Seller s Complaints All they cared about was price Access to decision makers was blocked They didn t negotiate in good faith Their other systems were so out of date that they couldn t integrate These law firms just don t get technology Service is for people who pay maintenance Don t they know that we have solutions

5 Just a question: How can you sell solutions without first taking the time to ask or understand the issues or problems?

6 Solutions Business development Enhanced Client retention New business opportunities Cost reduction Process automation Improved leverage Improved Client service Lateral identification Associate retention Increased revenue and profits per partner

7 Real Solutions More sleep Fewer problems Staff retention Reduced headaches No irate lawyers in our offices Fewer late nights or weekends worked

8 Another Big Problem with Technology ROI

9 Dogs & Ponies Providers open the stables and trot out the coolest things they think customers will find appealing including: A parade of features and functions Complete with bells and whistles

10 Features & Functions Integrated data sources Comprehensive databases Customizable reports Broad coverage Single point of access Automatic alerts Prospecting Flexible filtering Opportunity tracking Industry leading sources Powerful report building tools Broad strategic views Analysis filtering Drill down and roll up information Client share measurements

11 Ok, Yes, They Are Appealing

12 But We Deserve More Law firms should expect and receive return on technology investments Radical, I know

13 We Need to Start Focusing on the Only Technology Acronym That Matters

14 Putting the R in ROI Results Revenue generation Retention of current Clients and attorneys Representing new Clients Reducing time spent on redundant tasks and processes Risk assessment Rewarding positive behavior Recruiting key laterals Reporting to drive business decisions Respect for your department

15 Before We Start Blaming the Vendors, Let s Not Forget Law Firms Have Some Issues of Our Own

16 Buyer Issues We don t have the staff We don t have the time We don t have the resources We ve got too many silos It s too much work What do you mean, training I ve got billable work We didn t do our homework

17 What We Should Have Checked Before Writing the Check Did we have goals? Did we assess the firm s needs in advance? Did we address a real problem or issue? Did we involve key stakeholders? Did we have management support? Did we define success? Did we set metrics to measure that success? Did we have a realistic budget? Did we understand staffing requirements? Did we check references of the provider? Did we ask for help?

18 The Real Way to Reap ROI Identify problems to solve Fix the people and process issues Then buy the technology

19 What You Need To Succeed Management support Attorney / end user buy in People who understand the tools, the firm and the goal A strategy and a plan Effective communication Questions

20 Ask the Right Questions What do the Clients value/want? What do the lawyers value/want? How could we generate revenue? How could we reduce costs? What problems do the Clients / lawyers have? What are we wasting time/money on? What processes could we automate? How much time/money are we wasting? What advantage could we gain by? What will we do if?

21 How Do We Measure It Revenue, of course E mail metrics Relationships identified Reduced bounces Reduced returned mail costs Reduced time spent on e mail blasts re who knows who Reduced time spent responding to RFPs Increased consumption of firm information Improved attendance and tracking at firm events Business development activities entered Website page visits Enhanced RFP success Attorney / user feedback

22 Think Outside the Box To provide real value and ROI forget out of the box solutions Customize Configure Integrate Communicate Integrate

23 The Value of Integration = 3 The right technology working together The right team working together Make sure all the right players are involved IT / Marketing / Attorneys / Finance / Training / Assistants

24 Portal Integration Strategy first Technology second What should the focus be Client / Matter / Industry / Team / User What should the platform be SharePoint or

25 Integration Mission critical Time and billing client/matter and billing metrics CRM who, what and when Experience what have we done that sets us apart? Nice to have Websites lawyer bios, practices / industry descriptions Proposal automation proposals, RFPs and pitches Only if needed HR Database emp. ids, birthdates, contact information DMS relating stored documents, pushing completed documents back

26 Ask the Right Questions Does the system have information that furthers the strategic sales initiatives of the firm? Does the system provide actionable data?

27 New World Order There is no technology for the sake of technology There is no marketing for the sake of marketing We have the tools to combine resources of IT, MBD, Finance and others to drive help revenue ROI analysis Client service support (pricing, budgeting, KM ) Communication!

28 Business Problem Firm needs to understand what BD initiatives are happening Tracks success/failure = ROI Allows marketing to provide support Minimize multiple attorneys pitching the same company Time data siloed in Elite Contact data siloed in InterAction How can we collect data into an actionable format that can be disseminated

29 Existing Information Sources Attorneys ALWAYS track time Attorneys USUALLY track expenses Existing mandatory process requiring partners to enter MBD data into a third system

30 Solution: CRM + Elite = Actionable Data Marriage of Elite and InterAction via SharePoint Intranet Portal Secretaries assign partner BD activities on contacts in InterAction quickly each month

31 From Elite to SharePoint

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34 Into InterAction

35 Delivered to In Boxes

36 How Information Helps Ensures business development team can be in the know on partner activities Allows for ROI analysis Minimize instances of two attorneys, or groups, pitching the same company unawares Encourages collaboration Another data point in understanding how we acquire contacts

37 Communication Capabilities

38 Client Team Sites For client service, which is now essential to driving the bottom line. These are essential Document sharing Closed matter information Contacts Industry and client specific news Budgets Pricing proposals Fee agreements

39 Deeping Client Value

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42 Time and Billing Time and Billing Qualified News Feed Time and Billing / Website CRM CRM Experience Proposal System

43 What else is out there? Choose the right internal team Ask all the right questions Pick the right development team Strategy first, technology last

44 Question and Answer

45 Thank you! Christina R. Fritsch, JD, ClientsFirst Consulting Jasmine Trillos Decarie, Foley Hoag LLP JTrillos Nicholas N. Varzandeh, Foley & Lardner LLP Keith N. Wewe, Content Pilot LLC