New Partners: Why aren't they being trained on marketing/sales for professional services?

Sure, rainmakers in professional services firms have those all-important relationships.  But, they had to do something, in fact a lot of things, to build those relationships. 

As a ghostwriter/scriptwriter I assist with some of those things. They include the articles published in trade journals, opinion-editorials in brandname media such as THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and THE WASHINGON POST, keynote speeches for conferences, blog posts, talking points for media interviews, topics for special events such as seminars provided in-house to corporations, books, white papers, ad copy, and profiles for  websites. 

None of this is rocket science.  Most of it is necessary.  Buyers of professional services need reassurance that they are making the right purchase.  The lawyer's personal branding provides that.  Work in itself is a defensive strategy.  Self-promotion puts the partner on the offense.

Yet, as THE AMERICAN LAWYER points out, new partners haven't been trained in what are even the very basics.  They should have know, for example, that shoppers for legal services will go to the websites, hunting for the specific experience in legal expertise and evidence of success in it.  However, too many new partners do not pay attention to how they present themselves on the firm's website or about keeping that up-to-date.  Websites aren't a form of vanity press.  They are the materials which factor into decision-making by purchasers.  

Also, they should be mentored in the delicate art of publicity.  Too much and they can become a joke.  Too little and they lack that all-important personal branding. 

There are also nuts and bolts realities.  For example, they should be aware that they might encounter more potential buyers for their services on Amtrak than by taking a plane.  So many of my clients hop the train for that reason when they travel the northeast corridor. 

The next item in the new partner's development is how to ask for the sale, close it, and ask for referrals. The irony is that not doing that, since it's expected, lessens their credibility.  Prospects wonder: Why aren't those partners hustling me for business?  Do they lack confidence?

If new partners aren't provided with the training they need and wind up getting the boot for not bringing in enough business, one wonders if they have grounds for suing their employer.  Making it as a partner, garden-variety or equity, demands creating a book of business.

 

Comments

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Companies try everything they can to reach out to customers and keep them happy. Many times, these companies hire highly skilled managers who fulfill a variety of duties related to the services that the company provides. In addition to performing managerial duties, these managers often make decisions that change the entire policy of the company.