CONFRONTING THE CLIENT VALUE REBELLION AND HOW YOU CAN PROSPER IN 2010
$150.00
Based on the economy, budget pressures and the ACC Value Challenge impact, there have been some wide-ranging, fundamental and long lasting changes in the ways clients retain and hire attorneys. This seminar details how to adapt today so you won't lose your top clients and be locked out of many opportunities. Business development expert Michael Cummings prepares you for changes you need to make now in your business development plans for 2010.
The nature of business development is undergoing fundamental change due to:
Clients demanding greater value and performance for the money they spend
Clients changing the ground rules for how engagements are scoped, staffed and managed
Clients choosing to work with fewer firms and doing more work in-house
Clients insisting on alternative fee structures
Clients bidding more work out via RFP’s
This transformation in client value is not a temporary shift; it is being fueled by the tough economic times, the hyper-intensive competitive climate among law firms and frozen legal budgets.
Purchasers will receive a .WAV file of the original live presentation and a PDF copy of the slides used in the program.
Don't miss out! Order your copy now.
The recent study of 400 general counsels illuminated the depth and breadth of these changes. Here are a few highlights:
In-house counsel are terminating relationships with underperforming outside counsel in record numbers Approximately one-half of in-house counsel now state that they have terminated relationships with some of their outside counsel during the prior year. Given this year’s focus on reducing legal spending, the top reason for termination was "fees and costs that are too high," followed by "lack of responsiveness," and "poor work product or results." Other areas of dissatisfaction leading to termination are communication and personality issues, now cited by more than one-third of in-house counsel as a reason for termination.
Counsel see lower value in the services they purchase In response to new questions this year related to the ACC’s Value Challenge, a majority of in-house counsel state that the value of services provided by at least some of their outside counsel declined during the past year, and more than two-thirds said that they had made specific suggestions to their law firms to increase the value of their services. In what should be a wake-up call to law firms, more than one-third of in-house counsel said that 10% or fewer of their firms implemented their suggestions.
Budgets have stagnated For the first time since this survey began, the reported rate of increase in hourly rates (4.76%) was less than predicted the prior year (5.02%). This is consistent with a record low increase in spending on outside counsel, which for the first time was unchanged. Also for the first time, the projection for next year is that there will be no increase in hourly rates (the lowest prior prediction was 2.95% in 2004), as well as no change in outside counsel spending for the coming year.
Competition and reliance on RFP’s is at a record high Increasing competition among law firms has also led to a record number of responses to requests for proposal (RFPs), another factor that could keep hourly rates flat.
Don't Miss Out...In this timely seminar, we discuss what these new realities mean for you and your firm as you head into 2010...and what you can do about them.
This web seminar focuses on the specific challenges that you will face in this changing climate. By leveraging the best practices among both law firms and the advanced practices used by other professions, you will learn how to adapt and change – and leave your more rigid competitors behind.
Topics to be covered include:
You have to market intensely to the clients you already have
Your ability to scope, budget, manage work flow and report progress is now your most important professional skills
You must have best of breed approaches to securing client feedback
You must be selling the value of the work as you are doing it
Everybody must be building personal relationships with the client
You must learn how and when to use alternative fee structures
Your approach to proposing and selling has to emphasize value
You must excel at surfacing and delivering a client’s conditions of satisfaction
Who can benefit:
• Experienced attorneys who want to ensure they retain the clients they want and get out in front of the rapid shifts in the market • Young attorneys eager to take advantage of the changed playing field • Managing partners, practice leaders and marketing partners seeking to steer and support their attorneys for future growth
Gain the insights and practical lessons you need to master the challenges of your legal practice in the coming year...with this Best Practices Seminar for attorneys:
What clients are looking for in every matter
What factors either make or break perceived value in the eyes of your clients
How to extract and measure your clients' satisfaction
How to be continually selling the value of the work you do
How to get to know the client’s business better than the competition
How to discuss fees and value
How to propose in a value-based fashion
How to separate yourself from the competition
Purchasers will receive a .WAV file of the original live presentation and a PDF copy of the slides used in the program.
Don't miss out! Order your copy now.
About the Speaker:
Michael G. Cummings has been a marketing strategy and business development consultant for over 20 years. He is a founder of Apollo Business Development training and coaching and the managing principal of SAGE PDI, Inc. (SAGE Professional/SAGE Law Marketing), based in St. Charles, IL. He is co-author with Allan Boress of The Best Practices of Legal Marketing & the Best Practices in Building Your Personal Network - for Attorneys.
Prior to establishing SAGE, Michael was a partner at Mercer Management Consulting - a leading business design consulting firm. At Mercer, he was responsible for new business development, managing client relationships and delivering business design engagements in the communications, information and industrial industries
He was an account leader of Mercer’s top account: IBM. Using his account planning, relationship management and selling skills, Michael helped Mercer to create over 300 senior executive relationships and a sustained base of business. He also led account teams aimed at expanding relationships with Motorola, Siemens and NCR.
Early in his career, Michael was a member of the team that established the marketing function at Andersen Worldwide (Arthur Andersen & Accenture).
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