Professional Services Accounting ARTICLE -
Grabbing the Cross-Selling Bull by the Horns

Target Audience: Law Firm Professionals, Lawyers, Cross-Sellers, Law Firm Networkers, Partner and Associates, Law Firm News and Trend Updates Interest

In theory, cross-selling is simple. When your clients need additional services, you refer them to a lawyer in the firm who can provide them.

Yet, in practice, things aren’t so simple. Clients may not be able to effectively communicate their needs or confidently turn over their business to a new attorney. Or they may feel more comfortable keeping that aspect of their business with the firm that’s been handling it for years. There are also internal issues: Lawyers typically dislike sharing their clients, and some aren’t comfortable with selling.

But there’s good news. You can make great strides in this area by training associates and partners for cross-selling success and rewarding their achievements. This will enable you to keep more business in your firm and enhance client relations.

Who’s Capable?

Don’t limit cross-selling to partners and senior lawyers. But before letting an associate loose cross-selling services to your clients, your firm’s partners and senior lawyers must be confident of the associate’s capabilities. You must have complete peace of mind that he or she won’t damage the relationship. Striking up conversations in the elevator, at lunch and after meetings can help you learn more about the associate, both personally and professionally, and ease any concerns you may have about entrusting your clients to them.

Encourage associates to speak up about any interest they may have in working with a client. They should feel comfortable making partners and senior lawyers aware of their skills, experience, specialties, achievements and attributes.

How Do You Teach This?

Selling can be a foreign concept to many lawyers. So before you involve them in cross-selling, be sure they have the necessary experience and training to build their confidence and technique.

Train associates and partners about your firm’s specialties and services so they can easily identify cross-selling opportunities and promote the services effectively. A one-size-fits-all sales pitch is usually less effective with clients, so be sure to specify which services to promote and to which clients.

Practice makes perfect. You can help your associates and partners become better at cross-selling by having them role-play real-life scenarios at department meetings. This will prepare them for the various types of situations they’ll encounter and give you the chance to evaluate their cross-selling techniques.

Which Incentives Work?

The saying goes “what gets rewarded, gets done.” An effective cross-selling program for associates should increase their confidence and provide a supportive environment where they can try out new strategies and methods. It also should have a strong incentive system based on recognition and financial reward. Here are the key elements:

Cross-Selling Objectives are Evaluated in Annual Reviews. Make sure associates understand their cross-selling objectives and how they fit into your firm’s overall plan. Objectives should be spelled out in their performance goals, and you should work with them to develop a plan to achieve these objectives.

Cross-Selling Results are Tied to Compensation. Be clear about your firm’s method for calculating compensation — whether it involves a bonus structure or a merit-based percentage that’s built into associates’ annual increases. To foster cross-selling as a team effort, recognize the entire team’s contributions. This may include dividing the bonus among all of the lawyers involved in achieving a cross-sale.

Don’t Forget About Your Partners. Tie compensation or bonuses to performance based on, for example, the number of clients partners introduce to other associates. Also, provide incentives for partners to identify backup partners for major clients, and assess their clients’ current business situations and future legal needs.

Cross-Selling Successes are Celebrated. In addition to receiving monetary rewards, your associates will appreciate being recognized for their cross-selling achievements. So feature news about successes in your firm’s newsletter, annual report and internal e-mails. You can also promote them on your firm’s Web site — but be sure to get the client’s permission first.

Cross-Selling Results are Documented. All results should be tracked and benchmarked. Doing so will allow you to make changes as necessary. Also, store case histories in a centralized database or knowledge management system.

How Can Clients Help?

Client feedback is invaluable. It lets you know what you’re doing well — and not so well — and provides insight into your clients’ needs and challenges so that you’re able to provide solutions.

So when it comes to developing your firm’s cross-selling program, be sure to talk to your clients. Ask them:

In what areas are we excelling?
In what areas can we improve?
Have there been changes in your business or industry that we should know about?
How else may we be of service?
You can get client feedback formally by sending a survey or informally by having your lawyers talk with clients when they meet on other matters. Putting a questionnaire in each client file is a good reminder for lawyers to bring up the subject.

One way to track client feedback is to use a knowledge management system, which involves accessing, evaluating, organizing, filtering and distributing information. In addition to helping you consolidate this information, it reduces the time it takes to perform various functions, such as drafting documents, conducting research, and accessing work products and information.

What Change is Necessary?

If your firm isn’t successful at cross-selling, some changes are likely in order. Begin with how your firm thinks about its clients and compensation. Focus on team-based strategies for generating business — rather than relying on individual rainmakers — and effective ways to encourage and reward team successes. Your firm will also need to help associates become better cross-sellers and encourage partners to do their part by introducing associates to clients and trusting in their skills and abilities to service them.

Sidebar: Attract New Clients

Some of the strategies you use to cross sell your firm’s talent and services to existing clients can also be used to attract new ones. If you’re not already implementing these techniques, consider them for future marketing efforts:

Send marketing newsletters to clients and prospects,
Publish articles in law journals,
Provide e-mail alerts,
Conduct seminars on services you want to emphasize,
Speak at industry engagements, and
Participate in association conferences.

Find out how our expertise in professional services accounting can add value to your business. Email us or call us at 1 (888) 875-9770.

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