Proactive marketing and business development executives

December 5, 2023|Kim's Blog, Marketing, Relationship Management|

In November it was a full house for the PM Forum’s Proactive marketing and business development executive online workshop. It was on budget day so those from accountancy and tax practices had a lot going on. These sessions are experiential – with much use of social learning so many insights are generated during group discussions. Proactive marketing and business development executives – CRM, internal engagement and career insights.

What CRM/systems would people recommend?

There was much discussion about the different systems that were used – and people’s views on whether they were good, bad or indifferent. Many reflected that it is rarely the system that is at fault if there are issues. The firm’s culture, business development processes, adoption by fee-earners and support staff and the quality of the data are key success factors.

A variety of specialist (to professional services) and mainstream CRM systems were explored. The pros and cons of standalone vs integrated (with the firm’s overall data architecture) was considered – especially with regards to user adoption and data duplication.

CRM and Marketing Automation Software for SMBs | Act! UK
BoardEx Discovery – BoardEx
Streamline Your Entire Business with a Free CRM | HubSpot
CRM for Law Firms | InterAction+ by LexisNexis
#1 Customer Intelligence Platform | Introhive
Marketo Engage – Marketing Automation | Adobe (Marketo is a marketing automation solution rather than a CRM, though it offers native integrations with top CRMs, including Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365)
Maximizer – Comprehensive CRM Software Solutions
What is CRM? | Microsoft Dynamics 365
CRM Software | Infor CRM SLX (In 2014, Infor acquired Saleslogix from Sage)
What is Intapp CRM? – Intapp University Training
Professional Services CRM | Salesforce for Client Management – Salesforce
#1 Rated CRM Platform | CRM Software & Tools | SugarCRM
Zoho CRM | Top-rated Sales CRM Software by Customers

There was an article in The Professionals (November 2023) about a new fully managed CRM for small and mid-tier law firms called Promptr®. It works as an add-on to Outlook and was developed by Simon McNidder (previously at PwC, Pinsent Masons and Gowlings). A new fully managed CRM launched for small and mid-tier law firms – PSM The Professionals (psm-theprofessionals.com).

In design, Canva: Visual Suite for Everyone was found “to be really useful for the less detailed documents that can be designed in-house rather than sending out to external designers”. Others commented that those who already have Adobe Creative Cloud | Details and products | Adobe, can also look at Free Design, Photo, and Video Tool | Adobe Express as alternative to Canva it’s already part of the package. However, there are limitations compared to Canva.

For events, one delegate asked about LinkedIn Events | LinkedIn Marketing Solutions and whether others experienced problems with bots and a lack of control over who registers. Others asked about platforms for event invitations. Marketing, Automation & Email Platform | Mailchimp was used by some. Others commented on the value of Home – Vuture – a system designed for professional services – for event marketing and noted its facilities to retain dietary requirements and other preferences. Email Online Invitations that WOW! | Greenvelope.com was mentioned for invitations and RSVP tracking.

Another delegate suggested using monday.com | A new way of working to integrate all action lists and help avoid being overwhelmed by so many tasks.

Enhance internal engagement (and obtain sales information from fee-earners)

Most firms have systems that gather data on front-end marketing activities such as web visits (Google Analytics), social media management, mailings and events. However, some lack systems and data for monitoring activities once leads are passed to fee-earners for follow up and nurturing.

Sometimes marketing and sales system are not integrated. So there were questions about how to persuade fee-earners to provide information on how they were progressing with leads (to monitor lead nurturing and supplement attribution and cost per lead calculations) and their conversions (so that ROI could be calculated).

Some firms were fortunate to have integrated CRM systems (such as InterAction and Salesforce) that incorporated opportunity and sales tracking information so this was not a problem. Others had difficulty with this as the fee-earners did not have a systematic approach to pursuing leads and opportunities. And there was the added complication of long sales cycles. Four themes in the art of selling – Integrating marketing and sales (kimtasso.com)

A creative exercise on engagement generated some interesting metaphors – for example, a brick wall suggesting a lack of communication, a carrot considering motivation and a Leonardo di Caprio shrug suggesting indifference. This ignited ideas on how to address some of the issues.

There were comments that it was unusual for people to be in the office so face time and in person meetings – where it is easier to develop rapport, trust and solid working relationships – were rare. Geographical and psychological distance can seem larger when in a digital space. Finding ways to meet with people in real time (such as at social events) can help.

Ideas to enhance internal engagement

To reduce “us and them” (fee earners and marketing) feelings we can try to invoke a sense of ingroup and a shared social identity. Leadership and the In-Group/Out-Group Phenomenon (blanchard.com)

Create a sense of unity by reminding people we are on the same team and all striving for the same results (happy clients and increased profits). A similar approach would be to unite people behind the need to focus on client interests and overcoming competitor activity. And it is hard to argue with evidence of client sentiment or competitor action.

Other ideas to increase engagement included:

Be visible Be visible, assert and challenge and remember your goals (kimtasso.com)
Develop empathy An introduction to emotional intelligence (EQ) and empathy (Video) (kimtasso.com)
Develop a strong track record
Be assertive Assertiveness skills – getting what you want and saying “No” (kimtasso.com)
Sell the benefits Why fee-earners should let marketing help develop campaigns (kimtasso.com)
Be patient
Collaborate and co-operate
Win trust trust for better business relationships (kimtasso.com)
Learn about products and services
Offer ideas and suggestions
Attend team meetings and socials
Save them time and make their lives easier
Show results and ROI

Marketing and business development executive career insights

There was an even split between delegates who were new to the role and others who were more established. Between 1% and 20% of their time currently spent being proactive – with a median of 10%. Ideas on how to spend any “free” time ranged from competitor and analytics analysis to business plans for teams although some mentioned getting up to date on admin.

We shared questions and reflections half-way through the day and at the end. Key insights raised by delegates included:

View marketing qualifications from a professional services perspective – Half the delegates had marketing qualifications. The early quiz on key marketing concepts prompted some to reflect that their studies had concentrated on consumer marketing (B2C) which made it challenging to apply to B2B professional services marketing. New CIM professional marketing qualifications – 2020 (kimtasso.com)

Be proactive – Recognise the need to move away from simply responding to requests and providing a service. Participate in more proactive and strategic approaches by anticipating and responding to client needs and market changes become a more proactive Marketing and Business Development Executive (kimtasso.com). One delegate reflected “Moving from reacting to managing requires structured foresight – seeing the bigger picture and planning long term goals whilst also having the ability to delegate with full understanding of the roles within the team” Delegation for leaders – a how to guide (kimtasso.com)

Develop relationship skills – “We need to acquire and develop many relationship skills in order to form strong relationships with internal and external clients” Better Business Relationships book by Kim Tasso (Bloomsbury)

Obtain client feedback – There was a realisation of how important it is to tune into client needs and obtain client feedback. “I’m going to ask about how my firm does this – particularly with regard to measuring client satisfaction” Client satisfaction benchmarks – How do you measure up? (kimtasso.com)

Demonstrate the value of marketing and business development – Sometimes, M&BD is seen as a last resort to “jazz things up”. “We have to work hard to show how we can add value if involved at an earlier stage (e.g. analysis, brainstorming, strategy and planning)“ Modern marketing: What it is, what it isn’t, and how to do it | McKinsey

Collaborate – If you can demonstrate to fee-earners that you are approachable, knowledgeable, helpful and get the job done they are more likely to be engaged. Working as part of a team – across marketing and business development specialisations and with fee-earners from across the firm – was more important for today’s more complex projects. Collaboration is one of the four human abilities that can protect us from being automated The Human Edge – How curiosity and creativity are your superpowers (kimtasso.com)

Value different approaches – “It was fascinating to hear how different teams and firms tackle similar issues. And to see how different strategies might be used to achieve the same or better results” Be more strategic – Eight insights (February 2022) (kimtasso.com)

Hone thought leadership skills – There are many skills required to support thought leadership projects including: internal relationships, collaboration, influence, persuasion, research, analysis, creativity, campaign planning, project management, content development, analytics and performance measurement Campaigns, thought leadership and project management (kimtasso.com)

Accept resistance and push back – We all experience some push back from fee-earners. Sometimes this is because of the constraints fee-earners experience – too little time, pressure to serve clients, fear of failure. Sometimes it is because we need to find better ways to communicate. Sometimes we need to refine our ideas and present better evidence. Dealing with resistance to change (kimtasso.com)

Look beyond marketing communications – Many of the delegates’ roles focused on marketing communications and some were keen to understand the broader business development activities. “It was interesting to learn how Business Development Executives work with managing client relationships”.

Conduct a personal gap analysis – “By considering all the things that a proactive marketing/BD executive could do and talking to other delegates I have discovered some gaps in my knowledge and skills that I aim to remedy”. Taking responsibility for your own personal development is particularly important for those in smaller firms where there is perhaps a less developed career development process.

Harness social learning – Whilst in person and online training have a lot to offer, sharing with peers remains a powerful way to learn. “It has been really interesting to hear the different platforms others use for events and social media and how they work for their firms”. Another delegate commented “Be confident, have a solid plan and solid support from a colleague outside of marketing/BD i.e a partner”.

Acknowledge some challenges are universal – Delegates felt relieved that they were not alone in experiencing some issues. “Listening to others it seems that we all face similar challenges – particularly with regards to internal engagement. It’s reassuring to know that it isn’t just me and my firm!”

Delegate planned actions

Be more confident when talking to fee-earners and take control of my role
Perform a ‘personal audit’ and improve my knowledge in the areas of marketing/BD where my confidence and experience is lacking
I will be more assertive and convey confidence when working with client facing teams.
Make myself more visible in meeting with fee earners.
Build relationships with fee-earners
Build my knowledge of the sector
Write a SWOT analysis of my progress so far and cross-reference it against where I want to be in future
Build a future plan and organise steps of actions on how to grow
Carve out more time to think before I just do
Anticipate needs of the fee earners and be more assertive in my approach
Ask for more feedback from fee-earners and managers on where I can improve or what I can do to help them engage more
Look at the BD plans for each team more regularly to remind myself what we’re trying to achieve
Do some further reading and research to increase knowledge and keep up to date with an everchanging market (more knowledge will lead to more confidence in role)
Use the rock, pebble and sand method to prioritise and not become overwhelmed
Keep aware of new tech changes – especially AI