The New Law Firm Sales Ninja
Last week, True Value Partnering Institute (TVPi), an organization dedicated to education, networking and the professional advancement of legal business professionals, held its Annual Value Meeting in Miami. Most attendees at the Annual Value Meeting are C-level financial, operational, pricing and project management experts at AmLaw 200 firms.
Unlike many conferences today which feature a carnival of vendors and voluminous sales propaganda, the TVPi Annual Value Meeting assembled the best and brightest when it comes to law firm management and economics. TVPi’s leadership also invited a few software vendors which they consider to be legal industry thought leaders to bring some meaningful insights into the conversation, which was very refreshing.
This year’s TVPi conference had the same positive energy, thought leadership and intellectual capital as CLOC, particularly in its early days. To anyone with a remote understanding of how the legal industry is evolving, this should come as no surprise. Why? Because Legal Operations professionals who attend CLOC share the same professional characteristics and credentials (intelligent, forward-thinking, tech savvy, business oriented and data driven) as the law firm professionals who populated the TVPi conference.
Because Legal Decoder serves both law firms and their clients equally, we have a broad frame of reference and a unique perspective having attended countless legal industry conferences geared toward audiences on both sides of the fence. At TVPi, we were full participants in the program; not relegated to a booth or limited to social time. This provided us with a very unique and enlightening look into the roles and responsibilities of financial, operational, pricing and project management experts in the industry. What we learned was remarkable.
Whether you know them as Pricing Experts, LPM Professionals, Client Value Officers, or "TVPi Professionals," (as we will refer to them here), it's abundantly clear that they are the most underutilized, revenue originating secret weapon at Law Firms. Yes, revenue Origination. Their value goes well beyond complex number crunching, process mapping, and RFP pricing proposals. TVPi Professionals are uniquely positioned to originate business. Any law firm leader who can think "outside the box" should reflect on this and realize that the highest and best value delivered by TVPi Professionals is organic revenue origination. Here's why:
1. Competence. TVPi Professionals understand the business of law better than most lawyers. And unlike lawyers whose generic marketing efforts focus mainly on “excellent lawyering,” the business ethos of TVPi Professionals steers them towards qualified client prospects, showcasing competitive differentiators, and taking on profitable engagements.
2. Understanding of Value. TVPi Professionals understand that selling isn’t just about price. They know how to leverage a law firm’s value proposition to its full advantage. They bring data into the equation that their client and prospects are craving. They know that business development is rooted in relational transparency that is demonstrated over time and builds strong partnerships with corporate counsel.
3. Drive to innovate. Unlike most lawyers, TVPi Professionals don’t fear change. In fact, they are calibrated to embrace innovation. For many lawyers, change can lead to setbacks and mistakes which they equate to failure. As such, they tend to stay within an unalterable, “failure-free” comfort zone. TVPi Professionals are wired to view setbacks and mistakes as part of the innovative journey which bring them one step closer to success. Fail fast and keep learning.
4. Compatibility. TVPi Professionals and Heads of Legal Operations share the same goals and skill sets. When it comes to the law firm-client relationship, both groups want to promote quality, transparency, predictability and efficiency in the delivery of legal services. In other words, both constituencies strive to optimize value in the delivery of legal services. Unlike their lawyer colleagues, TVPI Professionals and Heads of Legal Ops can engage in a data driven, de-personalized dialogue exploring ways to improve the relationship between client and law firms.
5. Access. If 100 partners from different AmLaw 200 firms made a “cold call” to a Fortune 100 Chief Legal Officer in an attempt to get legal work, perhaps 4 or 5 partners would get a return call from the CLO. On the other hand, if 100 TVPi Professionals from the same AmLaw 200 firms made “cold calls” to the Heads of Legal Operations at the same Fortune 100 Companies, they would more than likely get at least a 50% response rate. The Heads of Legal Operations are the gatekeepers to legal departments. TVPi Professionals access legal departments via Heads of Legal Operations in a way that law firm partners simply cannot.
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Take heed leaders of law firms, many of you have a very powerful, business-generating secret weapon in your arsenal. Find your TVPi Professional Sales Ninja and get them involved in your business development efforts ASAP.