INSIGHT: Three B2B Sales Strategies Can Help Law Firms During Covid-19

As the pandemic lingers, law firm business development largely remains in a wait-and-see mode. Firms that decided to wait the quarantine out, touching base with their clients over the phone, shifting to virtual events, and hoping to retain relationships remotely, are missing an opportunity.

Now is the time to go on the offensive by embracing innovations adopted by other business-to-business (B2B) sales industries. Some firms are adapting sales strategies to meet the market in a more modern way than the conventional live attorney pitch and focusing on long-term client growth rather than near-term billings.

These firms are poised to take advantage of the new reality. It will be a long time until clients or potential clients feel comfortable going to live events, baseball games, or golf outings that firms have traditionally depended on for business development muscle.

Law firms should consider three B2B sales strategies, welcoming this time of forced change as a chance to rethink how they go to market now and into the future.

Optimize Pitch to Video Presentations

Don’t think of Zoom or Webex technologies as temporary accommodations. For the past decade, most sophisticated B2B industries have conducted first pitch conversations via videoconference. Video pitches are low cost, avoid the inefficiency of travel, and allow for crisp conversations to make introductions and assess a potential client’s needs.

Law firm clients are accustomed to video pitching, since some alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) and many legal technology vendors have long regarded video meetings as the best medium for communication. In addition to the benefits of avoiding unnecessary travel, clients appreciate the respect for their time offered by the video presentation.

Other elite B2B industry sales teams have also discovered that the video conference format enables presenters to create a richer experience. The multi-media format allows the presenter to flash interesting data on screen, with more slides at the ready if a conversation takes an unanticipated turn.

Successful video conference pitches require more than a neutral backdrop or the curated appearance of the attorney on the call, it will require a commitment to improving how video conferences are executed long term.

To optimize the video conference pitch, firms should invest in videoconferencing hacks, such as thoughtful infographics, microsites, and diagnosis slides. By embracing virtual presentations and optimizing the video pitch, firms can take advantage of a cost-efficient and dynamic model to obtain and maintain client relationships during Covid and beyond.

Shifting to Product Sales From Solution Sales

Most attorneys default to a “solutions sales” pitch when meeting with existing and potential clients. A solution sales model is based on an open discussion about the kinds of problems the client may be facing. This enables the firm to configure a specific and often large solution based on the firm’s breadth and depth of experience.

These sales have their place, but are problematic in a down market. First, they have a longer cycle because they focus on bespoke, comprehensive solutions that cost a lot, forcing the client to put the work up for a competitive bid.

Second, in a saturated legal market, differentiation is almost impossible. Many firms can provide “breadth and depth” of experience.

In contrast, product sales start by identifying a problem facing multiple clients and then adapting the firm’s services and expertise into a product that can be easily packaged and applied to individual clients. Product sales conversations revolve around how the firm’s product can address the client’s problem. These are faster cycle conversations, with a higher volume of deals per salesperson across a given year, albeit at lower price tags per deal.

Many law firms mistakenly believe that the product sales model is ill-suited to the legal industry. But other firms have recognized the possibilities of the product sales model. These firms offer assessment type-products, repackaging work they execute anyway in the course of an engagement. These products are easy to buy, and importantly, easy to sell.

The product sales strategy is a foot in the door with the client, to experience the firm’s services, and develop a relationship that can expand down the road.

Increasing Number of Clients Long Term v. Increasing Billings Near Term

In an ideal world, law firms are both increasing the number of clients and near-term billings. But that is not always possible in a recession. A smart sales strategy for economic downturns focuses on bringing in new clients through a high volume of smaller engagements. This creates a foundation that can be grown to include larger matters through excellent client service and dedicated client-relation teams.

This strategy requires investment in new clients and account managers who focus on growing and maintaining relationships. Law firms will have to think of the cost of acquisition in the context of lifetime value of billings, rather than just current year billings, to measure the strategy’s success. In other words, partners have to look beyond the billing line item to see the total volume of new clients.

These three strategies comprise an integrated short- and long-term client acquisition strategy. Optimize pitches by embracing a contemporary and cost-efficient video medium, develop and offer easy-to-buy products that the firm can deliver, and invest in onboarding and client services to identify new relationships and capture lifetime value.

Through these three steps, firms can adopt techniques that work in other complex B2B industries and use the current Covid recession dynamics to develop strategies that will improve sales now and into the future.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. or its owners.

Author Information

David B. Hirsch is a sales consultant with 20 years of experience in leading B2B sales teams targeting sophisticated clients in elite industries.