Career Clinic: My small firm employer won’t take my BD efforts seriously

Lead by example?

I'm assuming you're in a fee-earning role, rather than a dedicated BD or marketing one?

People sometimes have a hard time imagining new things, and in our business we find that simple working prototypes or examples can work wonders.

Can you spend some time actually implementing one of your ideas? It takes away some of the cognitive workload from those who's approval you seek. Instead of having to think about how your idea might materialise, they just have to agree or disagree with the concrete example that is in front of them.

For example, if one of your ideas is to start a client newsletter, can you go away and actually write the first issue? If you've got buy-in for some of your no-cost ideas, why not start there. Instead of waiting for someone else to be proactive, just plough ahead yourself.

I think it unlikely that anyone would complain about you getting on and and being resourceful about developing the firm. If it all goes well you'll get support for your ideas, and if not you'll have learned something in the process and it will help you make your decision to move on.

Go for it!!

Mike Bean -22 Jul 2010 | 11:34

I worked at a small family-run firm that was quite similar to this. Unfortunately, some people just won't listen or do anything even if there are clear opportunities to save money or create new business.

I made a couple of cost-cutting suggestions that would have made the firm more efficient but they were disregarded as a small number of incompetents wouldn't break with the rigid processes they had memorised.

The best thing to do is move on and find a firm that will actually listen to you. Or even set up on your own.

IHateBPP -22 Jul 2010 | 12:55

You need to leave the firm!

I understand your frustration, I had the same problem albeit in another country. I worked with a law firm that refused to appreciate business development. I had no choice but to leave and start my own firm and it has been great!

Kunsky -22 Jul 2010 | 16:01

I work in a High Street firm in the West Midlands and your experience sounds similar to mine.

Your reaction seems a bit extreme - you have lost a job, had a child, work part-time and now you are talking about leaving because you don't think they want to follow through your BD ideas. Why don't you just do some of them anyway? You might enjoy that more and at least it will give you something to boast about when you look for the next position.

I bet the firm is finding it tough, hence no BD budget. Also, I bet some staff and partners will say they are too busy to do BD and don't have time to follow through your suggestions.

I work in a firm which has a very small budget for 'marketing'. In these kinds of firms you often have to grab opportunities and take them, otherwise the BD does not get done. Also, you have to spend time convincing partners that BD does not just mean lunches, golf rounds, booze ups and other entertainments.

The firm I work for did not sack me for agreeing to talk to the press about Princes Trust business mentoring I do in my spare time. Au contraire, when the piece got printed in a regional daily with a big picture of me that the paper had in its library for an AWS event I have been to, they thought it was a lovely piece. They said it was great publicity for the firm. They told me to do that sort of thing again if I ever get the opportunity.

The key message is, what can they do to you for doing BD at no cost? Get on with it and enjoy it. If they don't appreciate that, then OK, that's the time to start thinking of leaving. But get some achievements under your belt first; it might help you make your next move. Good luck!

high street solicitor -23 Jul 2010 | 14:04

It’s really simple. It’s about understanding organisational behaviour. Most companies or law firms are fairly efficient at doing a few things that they are set up to do and rubbish at doing anything outside their normal habits. Start from that basis and you won’t go far wrong.

So work out what you want to do. Then work out what out of that list you need the approval or funds from the rest of the business to accomplish. Then banish all that stuff from your mind - it’s not gonna happen. What you are left with is whatever you can do off your own bat or via getting informal co-operation of co-workers. Just go and do that. You’ve got the advantage that you can work in a fast and streamlined manner and just get on with it. If it begins to work, the chances are you will get brownie-points for initiative and it will also be a lot easier to get firmwide support for more formal efforts to built upon your foundation. But sitting around waiting for some rubber stamp for what you want to do is a non-starter if the will isn’t there from on high.

Hmmm -28 Jul 2010 | 12:04

Blockbusting tips for you

What are your objectives from your marketing and who are you marketing to? A lot of marketing doesn’t need to cost. You don’t say what legal specialism you are, but my free Career Success report: ‘Energising secrets of successful lawyer promotion’ might be useful as it explores not only insights and tips about how to do marketing, but also how to make time for it and how to overcome the blocks to it happening. Co-operation from partners can be a block! Click on this link :http://www.lawyerpromotion.co.uk/ PS it’s only available until the end of this week until 30 July.

Rachel Brushfield -28 Jul 2010 | 14:31

need small firm

Hey. Can any of you suggest the names of some small but efficient legal firms in UK. Big firms tend to ignore my problems cause according to them it not profitable.
Please help. Contact me at i.sid.am@gmail.com. Thanks.

siddarth biswas -06 Aug 2010 | 14:13

Get On With It

I have worked in a high street firm and am now in a national firm. At high street level there is no budget, you are the one-man marketing department for your practice area. You are just going to have to get out there and start networking, and that means joining every rotary club, local business group/networking and 'getting out there' It is an illusion that high street practice is easier than national firms... it isn't it is far more cut throat. The reason your partners aren't doing it for you is because they are running to catch up for themselves.

EMD -03 Sep 2010 | 16:30