Having a solid marketing and business development plan is a good start but law firms won't feel the benefit until that plan is put into practice so here are some practical tips to help you successfully implement your marketing/BD plan.

1. 25 things law
firms must
remember
when
implementing
their marketing
plans
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2. Do any of the following 10 ½ situations apply to you?
1. You know that if your firm is going to grow, you're going to have to do more business development but aren't sure
how to get the ball rolling
2. You have lots of good marketing ideas but aren't sure how to translate these ideas into plans and then into action
3. You want to change the focus of your marketing but aren't sure how to introduce the fresh initiatives you’ll need to
4. Your time is taken up with fee earning and feel unable to balance that with the time required for marketing
5. You want to redistribute individual responsibilities to take your plans forward but don't know how
6. You have communicated your plan, assigned responsibilities and set deadlines but need help monitoring progress
7. You have a hardcore of 'rainmakers' within your firm but too many fee earners hide behind them without making a
direct contribution of their own
8. Many of your fee earners pay lip service to business development but you are unsure about what is really being done
9. You want to increase buy-in across the firm but are finding it difficult to generate enthusiasm from certain fee earners
10. You have tried to push business development before but, after an initial flurry, activity faded
10 ½. Too many see marketing as just a 'bolt-on‘. You need to reinforce that it’s pivotal if you’re going to be successful
If 1 or 2 ring true, this report should help. If more than 2 ring true, this report is essential reading!

3. So what are the 25 tips…?
1. Open lines of communication
To start with, bring everyone together
(support and fee earning staff) and
go through your plan explaining the
reasons behind each line item and also the
benefits to the firm as a whole.
Then invite:
1. Feedback
2. Suggested refinements
3. New ideas that could help you achieve your objectives
and then acknowledge and distribute all answers – however
irrelevant you consider them to be.
From there make sure the senior partners and heads of
department are always available to answer questions and
provide progress reports and significant updates.
Also, communicate horizontally. Every practice area and
every office needs to know what their colleagues are doing.
All too often we hear “I had no idea they were doing that” or
“I went for lunch with a prospect last week and David from
Commercial Property had been out with him the week
before”.
Or there’s the classic “I tried the local professionals
networking evening last week and there were six of our
lawyers there – I had no idea they went!”
If you can’t establish open lines of communication both
vertically and horizontally, implementing your marketing plan
effectively is going to be tough.
2. Inclusion, involvement and other words beginning
with ‘in’
A fait accompli does not work.
Throughout the design process make sure everyone who will
be involved in implementing your plans are involved in
designing them. This definitely doesn’t mean management
by committee or the necessity to learn how to ‘herd cats’.
The old adage of ‘too many cooks’ still applies.
However, there are other ways to ensure people feel
involved throughout the design process that won’t cause
unnecessary delays but will ensure people feel that they have
been listened to and included within the planning process.
3. Horses for courses
For some reason when you mention
‘business development’ in a legal context,
your audience will immediately think
‘networking’. There are in fact a wide range of activities fee
earners at all levels can get involved in.

4. One of the fundamental ways to aid successful
implementation is to make sure people are responsible for
the activities best suited to them, the activities they will be
more comfortable delivering.
Identify who likes an audience, who prefers to meet 1on1,
who likes to crack a new target and who prefers to deal with
clients they already know. Some may prefer not to make
personal contact but enjoy writing or participating in
recognised online forums.
While the ‘horses for courses’ strategy may not sound
scientific, it is effective and has been proven to engender
much higher levels of engagement from even the least
enthusiastic and, as a result, deliver much higher levels of
return.
4. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail
While this may look like one of those dreadful management-
speak clichés the truth is it only became a cliché because it’s
so true.
Marketing plans don’t just fall together.
In the same way their successful
implementation won’t just happen.
We’ll come onto the practical side
(assigning personal responsibilities and measurement) later
in the report but that doesn’t overlook the need to pre-
prepare before you even set pen to paper.
.
If you are going down the sector route (another conversation
entirely) then know what’s going on in the industries you’re
targeting. If you’re concentrating on providing more of a full
service practice to your region, then know what’s going on
locally.
Know where the opportunities are and address them in your
plan and make sure you are prepared to take full financial
advantage of them.
5. Desired outcomes - what does success look like?
It was while working with a forward looking firm of patent
attorneys that I first heard the term “start with the end in
mind” and was unwittingly introduced to the
concept of desired outcomes. It was nothing
I didn’t know or in fact nothing I hadn’t been
doing but it just brought the obvious into
sharp focus.
Before you even look at writing let alone rolling out a plan
know what you want it to do, know where you want to be
once you’ve implemented it.
The outcome could include financial goals, increased
headcount, an increase in local market share or the launch of
a new sector team or even new practice area.
List out what you want and work backwards.

5. Just being able to see what you want will help you articulate
it. From there it’s easier to write your plan and generate a
higher level of engagement amongst your fee earners. All of
a sudden you have real goals rather than just words to aim
for.
6. Keep everything joined up
If you are to implement your plan successfully it needs to be
directly relevant to every part of your business plan.
Your fee earners need to see all of your key objectives are
tackled and that departmental objectives match the firm’s.
Your fee earners need to see the overall
financial targets match the sum total
expected of each department and that
departmental targets are directly linked to
individual billable targets.
Your fee earners need to see that the required activity
targets match the financial targets.
Your fee earners need to see all of the firm’s practice areas
are involved.
Most importantly, make sure your fee earners can
understand they are expected to act in the interest of the
firm, not to work in their own silos.
7. Nobody escapes!
One of the easiest ways to derail the implementation of any
plan is to leave yourself open to being asked “Well, they
don’t do it so why should I?” There’s no credible comeback
and once that particular elephant’s in the room, it’s nigh on
impossible to persuade it to leave.
In short, everyone has to be involved
in the implementation process in some
way. Everyone has to be accountable
for delivering their part and the openness
with which those accountabilities are
measured has to be the same for everyone.
If you make any special dispensations to save difficult
conversations or to preclude potentially difficult colleagues,
you are only creating an excuse for some to dip in and out as
it suits them which in turn will mean you will not enjoy the
level of success you should.
8. Clear personal accountabilities
To implement a plan properly everyone involved needs to
know exactly what they’re responsible for and that means to
the letter, not woolly suggestions or intimations but clearly
spelled out targets, sectors, activities and timelines.
Create a working environment without any confusion and
you will create an environment that works.

6. 9. SMART targets
The last thing I want to do is teach granny to suck eggs or
whatever that appalling phrase is – in fact let’s just say I’m
mindful of stating the bleeding obvious but feel duty bound
to remind you that if you are going to set goals they need to
be:
 Specific (as in clear personal accountabilities)
 Measurable (up next!)
 Achievable
 Realistic
 Time-bound
I won’t labour the each point because they’re completely
self-explanatory. Let’s call this point a quick half-time
refresher!
10. What isn't measured isn't done
Alongside financial targets there need to be performance
indicators. What do you need to do, how often do you need
to do it, how many times are you going to need to repeat
those activities if they are to bring in the levels of success
required to realise your financial targets?
If it takes 10 phone calls to fix 3 coffees to get one pitch
opportunity then the targets need to start with the 10 phone
calls, not with the proposal and definitely not with a number
preceded with a £.
Those performance indicators then need to be added to a
simple dashboard, somewhere your fee earners can record
their activities quickly and easily. This will allow you to
monitor progress continually and satisfy yourself that the
building blocks to achieving your financial targets are being
put into place and everyone on the team is fulfilling their
personal responsibilities.
11. The carpenters' rule: measure, then measure again
Once you have your measuring tools in place – use them!
Again it all sounds obvious but if you keep checking things
are on track you are alerted to any potential shortfalls while
they’re just a blip in need of attention rather than a black
hole in need of disaster recovery.
Once you identify a missed deadline or a
drop in activity, address it. From a
management perspective it’s so much easier
to broach the subject with those involved
informally, in fact it often allows you to use
the opportunity to motivate and
reinvigorate. This type of meeting is also
much more productive than having the
performance led meetings that could occur
further down the line.

7. 12. Written commitment beats spoken intention
It’s all very well people nodding and even
smiling in meetings as they agree to the tasks
assigned to them but what happens when
you ask for a catch-up or progress report?
How many of the individual tasks have been
forgotten or overlooked? How many weren’t
totally acknowledged at that first meeting?
This isn’t done on purpose. This is the result of having loads
of other things to worry about as soon as you get back to
your desk.
If you want to make sure your team knows exactly what’s
expected of them, make sure you drop each team member a
short email – and bullet points will suffice – summarising the
key actions. This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes …
even less if you do it straight after the meeting when
everything’s still fresh.
Better still, design a template outlining the key activities and
get your fee earners to fill it in before you meet. Having
them commit to certain activities without having to be
volunteered makes it more likely the activities will be
completed. As a manager it also gives you a template to
chart progress on during future meetings.
13. Names and numbers
Don’t swim against the tide. You will move further faster if
you use the contacts and potentially warm introductions you
already have in the building.
Once you have your objectives on paper and have agreed on
the tactics you need to use to achieve these objectives, have
a look at who you actually need to meet to make things
happen. Once you have identified who you need to know,
ask your colleagues who on that list they know so you can be
introduced personally.
Taking the time to conduct this
exercise properly both speeds up
progress and makes it much more
comfortable for fee earners to get
in front of their key targets.
Likewise, how many people you want to influence (referrers
or prospective clients) are already on your database? A call
out the blue is as hard to take as it is to make but if you can
soften your targets up with relevant, valuable
communications over time they will be more disposed to
taking your call and letting you follow up that call with an
offer to meet face-to-face.

8. 14. It's not just a fad
Here comes the pulpit moment … the brimstone and treacle!
If you’re going to really make things move forward you need
to be totally consistent and not dip in and out as and when
time allows.
I know that may look a bit blunt in black and
white and I’m hoping you’re thinking “Why
would we kick off a marketing push without
the commitment to see it through?” Well
the truth is the amount of times I’ve heard a variation on
“well we tried it before and the launch went fine but then it
kind of just ground to a halt” is frightening.
Effective, focused, systematic business development will
grow your business. This isn’t an opinion, it is a fact.
However it has to be structured and you have to be
disciplined. If you approach it as a quick fix or the latest in a
long line of ideas of the week, it won’t work. Worse still,
your fee earners will be left feeling doubtful or even negative
towards business development when you try again next time
around.
15. The law of little and often
You and your team aren’t salespeople. You have your legal
work to do and nobody’s underestimating just how hard it is
to balance that with your marketing responsibilities – in fact
sometimes it’s hard to find any time to market at all.
That is why any activities you look to implement have to be
designed under the auspices of ‘little and often’.
Find time for an email or phone call in between files. Go for
a quick coffee to break the day up but have it with a client or
referrer rather than a colleague (unless you’re exploring
cross-selling opportunities of course).
Choose two networking groups that suit you and go every
time to get the best return rather than dipping in and out of
ten, going when work allows and not get anything back.
Use ‘dead time’ like train journeys to put articles or blogs
together or time in receptions waiting for meetings to update
your LinkedIn.
Doing a little bit all the time will ensure you build a decent
pipeline without having to throw the kitchen sink at your
marketing at the expense of your billable work during the
troughs.
16. Meetings don't move
Business development meetings aren’t at the top of many
solicitor’s lists of things they most like to do and it’s natural
once they’re in the calendar they may simply have to be
moved – don’t! This is a dangerous precedent and will only
lead – albeit over time – to them disappearing completely.

9. Treat your marketing/BD meetings like you
would a partners’ meeting or a client
meeting. They’re in the diary. They’re
central to your continued and even increased
success. Leave them in the diary.
You will be astounded how much more effective your
marketing becomes just by sticking to this one simple rule.
17. Meetings don't overrun
People will soon find reasons not to attend any marketing or
BD meeting if that meeting has earned a reputation for
overrunning. Some will blame the pressures of billable hour
targets but the truth is they won’t come because they know
the probability of them being bored rigid as you enter the
third hour is dangerously high.
Also meetings that overrun seldom overrun because of the
quality of the discourse, it’s usually because people are using
the forum to push a personal agenda or because you’re going
into too much detail on certain points.
You’ve no doubt come across the KISS acronym in another
guise but it has relevance here too – keep it short, son!
18. Adopt an open door policy
Arguably this could fall under the open lines of
communication we started with but it’s more than that.
If you aren’t available and willing to answer
questions and discuss ideas or pass on a
quick update, the message you’re unwittingly
giving is that you’ve got better things to do
and this isn’t a priority. The knock-on effect
is that subliminally marketing loses some of its priority in the
mind of the solicitor who came to talk you.
I’m not suggesting you can’t ask for a more convenient time
if you’re engrossed in the detail of a particularly spikey
matter but make sure you acknowledge the need to talk and
either set a time to continue or a diary note to go and see
that person at their desk as soon as you can.
19. Conduct a skills audit
Any plan requires the right skills to put it into
action. While not everybody needs all of the
skills it is essential somewhere in your team
you have the skills to successfully progress
each area of your plan.
For example if your team doesn’t possess an enthusiastic
presenter then the seminar and trade association speaking
initiative probably won’t bear fruit … or happen at all!

10. A simple way to conduct a skills audit is simply to draw a line
vertically down the middle of a sheet of common or garden
A4, list the skills you need on one side and then the best
person’s name on the other!
If you can’t place a name next to some of the activities you
want to implement, you have a gap in the skills available to
you.
20. Fill any gaps
Training isn’t an expense, it’s an investment.
If you weigh up the cost of any skills
training in terms of each candidate
bringing in one new client per year
on the back of their new skills,
suddenly you can recognise the
potential returns. And let’s be honest,
one new client per year must be well
under the market average for any capable fee earner.
The important thing is that any training you do invest in must
be relevant. We’ve heard too many horror stories about
firms who have brought in generic sales trainers and the
entire programme’s backfired. You need someone who
understands law firms, someone who can use relevant points
of reference and introduce best practice.
21. Internal support vs. external help
Ensuring your plans really take hold and
generate the right level of success may
not be possible with the management
resource you have available – especially
if the senior partners and heads of
department have their own fee earning
responsibilities.
If you do leave the starting blocks without being able to
provide the right level of direct management, you may find
things don’t progress as you wanted them to.
While buying in sales management may initially look
expensive, it will cost far less than the time you’ve already
invested in putting your plan together and rolling it out.
Then add in the creation of the supporting brochures, online
resources and association memberships you’ve had to buy to
support your plans...!
Yes, you can play the self-interest card against us here (one
of Tenandahalf’s key strengths is our success record of
providing exactly this type of sales management for law firms
of all sizes) but the flip side is we really know how it works
and how to make it work.

11. 22. Communicate success
When you have a win let your team know. And make sure
you name the successful person, the client and the fees.
More importantly tell people which
marketing activity generated the
success.
Many solicitors quite understandably
consider marketing to be just another
onerous add-on to an already hectic schedule and need data
to underline just why investing time in business development
is so vital.
What better way can there be than to see marketing in
action?
23. Celebrate success
That’s right. Get your hand in your pocket and give your
lawyers tangible recognition.
We’re not talking about a champagne
reception at Claridges. Maybe a glass of
wine in the boardroom after a particularly
successful week on the WIP? Maybe you
could stick a card behind the bar for a few
pints?
Maybe you could go to the dogs (racing rather than
figuratively); most tracks have a lucky 6 promotion where 6
people can get in free with a free drink and a free bet. Nose
around your local attractions you’ll be amazed at the variety
of promotions on offer.
One firm we know delivers ice creams to the desks of the fee
earners who have brought in some work or successfully
referred a client to another practice area. It goes down a
storm and there’s probably change from a tenner but the
goodwill the ice cream generates has really seen BD take
hold which has in turn increased fee levels.
24. Look at next year half way through this year
You are in this for the long haul.
One of the easiest ways to ensure long-term success is to
make sure that what you’re implementing is actually working
and delivering the level of financial success you want it to.
This requires a little tweaking along the way but it also
requires looking at the year ahead once you have meaningful
data on the results each initiative is generating.
Make sure your future plans contain realistic and achievable
(and that doesn’t mean unambitious) targets to keep staff
motivated. Make sure the activities that aren’t working are
dropped to ensure cost-efficiency and staff engagement.

12. Make sure any new opportunities that arise throughout the
year are factored in so you’re in a position to move ahead of
your competitors and take full commercial advantage.
On a more practical level, paying attention to the next year
also makes the planning process that little bit quicker and
easier when it comes around.
25. Stretch yourself
Lastly, the ‘last year + 5%’ approach to
setting financial targets is dead.
Your plan needs to be ambitious and deliver
not only financial growth but also the means
to personally benefit your partners and your fee earners.
That benefit may be increasing personal earnings, job
stability, future career opportunities or new challenges.
Without pushing yourselves these benefits won’t be available
and the likelihood of getting the people you need to get
things moving fully engaged will shrink.
Be ambitious! Many firms are just looking to consolidate or
even minimise shrinkage in these tough times. If you put the
right plan together and build up the level of enthusiasm
required to implement that plan you will be surprised at
what you can achieve.
This report is the latest in a long line which
includes …
… if you would like any of these reports please
email douglas@tenandahalf.co.uk or go to
www.tenandahalf.co.uk/resources/
special_reports

13. Alternatively, let us know exactly where you need advice
What is your biggest headache when it comes to marketing
and business development?
There are many reasons why people aren’t totally confident when it comes to
marketing their firm.
To make it a little bit easier, we would like to give you an opportunity to ask us about
any areas you’d like a bit of practical advice on.
Just write down your marketing and BD headaches and email them to us at
info@tenandahalf.co.uk. We will give you some tips on how you can work around
these obstacles and make marketing and business development that little bit easier.
1.
2.
3.
Email your headaches to Tenandahalf at
info@tenandahalf.co.uk or tweet us
@sizetenandahalf and we will give you
some practical, straightforward ideas
If you would like some more detailed
advice in the form of a first free 45 minute
consultation please email
douglas@tenandahalf.co.uk or call us on
0115 969 9817

14. If you would like to discuss how we
can help you implement your
marketing and business development
plans, please choose one of the
following 3 options …
call Tenandahalf on
0115 969 9817 to arrange
your free 45 minute
consultancy
email
douglas@tenandahalf.co.uk
to ask for the next 10 tips on
how to implement your
business development plans
phone Bernard on
07771 897772 to ask how
your attorneys could
measure their successes
more effectively
“The advice was commercial and
demonstrated a genuine understanding of
professional services and the real issues that face us in the
current market place. They were easy to talk to and ‘jargon
free’. He added value over and beyond the brief.”
Richard Field, Managing Partner, Rollits
“What struck me most about
Tenandahalf is their clear, uncomplicated
approach. For many in professional services engaging in
business development is daunting but Tenandahalf’s clarity
of strategy coupled with their infectious enthusiasm
empowered the members of our team.”
Ben Lowans, Partner, Addleshaw Goddard
“Tenandahalf provide refreshingly
down-to-earth advice.”
John Haresnape, Head of UK Business Development,
Taylor Wessing LLP
“I have an ever growing number of
marketing consultants beating a path to my
door but what I've found in Size 10½ Boots is a deep
understanding of legal BD and an uncanny ability to provide
insightful advice and add value, every time.”
Nick Symington, Business Development Director,
Langleys Solicitors