A Closer Look: Cross-Selling Your Expertise Within the Organization to Originate New Work
Last week I published a short article that provided “Five Business Development Action Items for Law Firm Partners" to undertake this summer. Naturally, I tailored it to an industry I know best—big law—but the guidance applies to any business leader seeking to cultivate new leads.
One action item I highlighted—getting to know fellow partners to cross-sell experience—deserves more attention because how you ask to be cross-sold is as critical as making the ask of a colleague.
I stumbled on a great section on “asking to be cross-sold” in Sara Holtz’s book “Bringin’ in the Rain—A Women Lawyer’s Guide to Business Development.” If you’re not a woman or not a lawyer, don’t let the title dissuade you from reading it. It’s an excellent resource for professionals of all seniority levels.
To structure your actions, Holtz recommends the following (and I am teasing this out as not to give away all of the outstanding advice in her book):
Identifying a short list of colleagues who might be able to successfully cross-sell your practice given their client list and your practice type
Helping them to communicate your value proposition effectively and easily by arming them with talking points about your experience, practice and how you can help specific clients
Telling colleagues what’s in it for them, including things like origination credit and a stronger client relationship, thereby incentivizing the colleague to cross-sell
Anyone reading this post at a large firm or organization could easily find five colleagues to educate about their practice. And, if you feel you've done so already, is it time to follow up with those colleagues again to see what additional business you can generate?
The Value Proposition
Articulating what you can offer to clients and sharpening your value proposition is an area where big law lawyers can and should lean on their business development and communications professionals. These teams have significant expertise in brand and individual partner positioning and can help tighten your message.
Of several common types of positioning, problem-solution-based positioning is highly effective and widely used within professional services spheres--for good reason. It blends powerful brand messaging elements that include:
drawing out a client's issue
articulating what qualifies you to help the client (and/or what solution can be provided), while
allowing partners to overlay messages of quality, caliber and excellence that allow for competitive differentiation
What's more, it can often be a reflexive response to client feedback--especially challenges they face--gathered through client listening activities.
A Final Note
Because of the way Holtz wrote her introduction to the book, I assume she intended for her audience to be predominantly early- to mid-career women lawyers interested in building their own books of business. Yet, I’m struck by how the advice she provides applies roundly to even the most experienced partners--even if it serves to refresh their best practices. Holtz hasn’t asked me to promote her book, but it’s available on Amazon. Thanks Jane Eiselein for the reading recommendation.
