By Becky C. Dowd
Pre-appointment planning is essential if you want to attract new business to your firm. The "Pitch Meeting" is your firm's make or break moment. How you prepare your "pitch" will have a direct bearing on your chance of acquiring a new client. Before representatives from your firm walk in the door, make sure they have the tools they need to position the firm ahead of the pack.
Developing a pre-appointment process for you and your professionals will convey to the prospect that you have done your homework and care about their time and their business. Showing that you care will win you the business and set you apart from the competition.
The pre-appointment planning process can be broken down into the following 6 steps. If followed, these steps will increase your close rate and bring in profitable business for you and your firm.
Step One: Know Your Audience. Arm your firm with information about the prospective client. Your internal and external networks are a good starting point. See if anyone knows this company or their management. Allow yourself time to do a little web surfing as well. Check the Internet to for recent articles. Study your prospects' website and print it for everyone attending the meeting. Use the web to research trends, developments and leaders in the industry. A Google search can yield great results. There are also web-based companies that can give you an overview of the industry, trends, economic predictions, benchmarks, and possible questions to ask. (i.e.1 st Research.com and DNB.com) If you will be working with others from your office, divide the research tasks and compile a pre-appointment report. Remember, you cannot over research a prospect!
Step Two: Tailor Your Questions to the Client. Use the information you have gathered to develop a list of specific questions tailored to the prospect. Don't waste your prospect's time with mundane questions. Your research should have already given you the answers to those questions! Ask the questions that count - those that open doors and dig deeper into the issues at hand. Ask "Why" questions. For example, "Is there anything that another firm you've hired did that fell short of your expectations? Why?"
As you develop your questions put yourself in your prospects' shoes. Consider your audience as well. A CEO will have different considerations than a CFO. For instance, CEOs tend to be risk takers and focus more on the "big picture" while CFOs tend to be more risk-averse, price-sensitive and detail-oriented. These tendencies can influence the way you ask questions. While developing your questions work outside of the "Legal
Questions" you usually ask. You should start with broader questions and then narrow in on the issues as you go. By finding out specifically what the client is looking for, your can better demonstrate your firm's ability to meet their needs and expectations. The following business areas should be covered in your questioning:
Foundation - Why are they meeting with you? What are their current needs? What are their expectations of the relationship? Who is on the selection committee? What is the main criteria & process for selection? Deadlines? Who is the incumbent firm/ lawyer? How did they get your name? Are their other business advisory relationships?
Understanding their Business - Brief company overview (revenue, employees, locations, corporate structure) Their strengths. How do they market their services / products? Who is their main competition? How do they differentiate themselves? Do they have a Board of Directors? Who is on the board? Who are their major customers/ markets? Vendors/ Suppliers? Who is on their management team and their backgrounds? What is happening in their industry? Any trends, new developments? How is technology changing their business? In this section of questions make sure you cover each of the following business areas: Management, Marketing/Sales, Financial, and Industry
Business Growth Strategies What are their goals? What is their biggest obstacle to reaching their goals? Greatest opportunities they see? Key short and longer term plans? Merger/acquisition plans? Internal or external growth? Strategic alliances? New locations/expansion? Major investments in the next few years?
Step Three: Know How to Best Pitch Your Firm. Rehearse what you will say about your firm. Each prospect is different and you should tailor your story to fit their situation. Don't do what a sales person would call a "feature dump." Follow each feature with a benefit statement. Features are merely descriptive facts while benefits are advantages the prospect gains by choosing you and your firm. A benefit statement should answer the "so what" question that a prospect will be asking themselves once you make a feature statement. Saying we have an excellent business litigation practice area is not a newsflash. The prospect will be thinking, "So what, each law firm we are talking with has one." Follow each "feature" with a benefit to the prospect. As you craft your pitch, try to match up the prospects' needs with the firm's solutions. Use war stories to demonstrate how your firm has solved other company's issues. This is a very powerful sales weapon when used correctly. Make sure your story is relevant to the client at hand. Be succinct, concise and to the point, don't ramble about how talented and smart you are without relating why that is a benefit to the prospect. Also, show your personality! Be yourself by letting the prospect learn about who you are. Resist the temptation to blend in with all the other lawyers.
Step Four: Prepare an Agenda . By having an agenda to hand out at the meeting will insure that the meeting stays focused and touches upon all of the areas you have carefully prepared in advance. Make sure the agenda is designed to reach your goals. What do you want to accomplish at this meeting? Is it to gather information so you can develop a proposal or is it to close the sale and have them sign on the dotted line? Structure the
agenda so that the prospect does most of the speaking. The more they talk the more information you will get and more issues may be identified. The agenda may cover the following: Prospective client's general overview of their company and situation, their needs (question list), a brief overview of your firm and qualifications (war stories and benefits), and next steps.
Step Five: Define People's Roles in Advance. If more than one person from you office will attend the meeting make sure you define the role of each person. Who will lead the meeting and when other people will take over or jump in? A coordinated team presentation will reassure the client that your firm operates professionally.
Step Six: Practice! You have done your homework, developed your questions and war stories, and created an agenda for your meeting. You are ready to go, right? Well almost! The last step of planning before the actual face-to-face meeting is to do a dry run of the meeting. It will give you a chance to perfect your questioning and your story. It will iron out the kinks and might identify other important areas that need to be covered that you didn't think of before. It will also build your confidence before you face the prospect.
Remember you can't over research or over plan. Pre-Appointment Planning will help you open doors, win more business for your firm and further develop your own skills as a marketing professional.
Have
Abacus call me 
