Core concept

The essential elements of effective client development are simple in theory yet difficult to execute in practice, shown below:

1. Understand clients and prospective clients intimately: researching what they do as a business and how they source legal knowledge; assessing their business needs/risks and any gaps that you might be able to fill; anticipating their needs; and understanding the characters of key people so that there is absolute clarity of how and when to interact with them.
2. Connect with clients and prospective clients: adapting behaviour and interaction style/frequency as appropriate; being aware of their character preferences and how best to adapt behaviour to effectively leverage the interaction(s).
3. Add Value by going beyond narrow legal advice by offering added value advice: proactively marrying together gaps they have with solutions; differentiating yourself from the competition by providing advice from past experience.

These may seem straightforward yet many partners fall short of excellence on one or more of these steps.