The Firm Identity

I had dinner with one of my favourite (and most talented) marketing consultants the other night. We were discussing law firm business development (as you do…). I was saying I found it amazing that law firms were the only multi-million pound businesses without sales directors.

‘Oh, yes they do have sales directors,’ she said.

‘No they don’t,’ I said.

‘Yes they do,’ she said, naming several.

‘They’re Business Development Directors,’ I said.

‘Same thing,’ she said.

Technically, she may be right; to a law firm, a BD director may get around having to use that ugly, ghastly, unclean word: Sales.

But to me, it is not the same thing. Law firms, whether they like it or not, have to sell all the time; but avoiding using the word itself allows them to believe they’re not, and, I would argue, allows all sorts of bad behaviour to take place at an individual level, as well as creating an ‘unclean’ feel to the whole sales process, not, I would suggest, the right attitude to inculcate in young lawyers coming through the firm.

BD directors are also, more often than not, responsible for the brand, which mashes up marketing and sales in a way that does not take place in the ‘real’ world, in sophisticated companies. Brand management deserves its own delineation; the brand should drive opportunity to those responsible for sales (lawyers) and should underpin sales activities; having a marketing and branding strategy is not the same as having a proper sales strategy.

I could be wrong; it may be that some law firm which has escaped my regard as yet has a Sales Director, at Equity Partner level (why bother otherwise), who is responsible for driving revenue growth, for crystallising sales opportunities for the lawyers and interfacing with the brand in the way most companies do it. I’d love to hear from you!!