Help clients experience more of what your firm can do
Law firms have tremendous expertise across practices, offices, and relationships.
The challenge is connecting that expertise in ways that are useful to clients.
People may see an opportunity but hesitate to make an introduction. They may not know enough about a colleague’s work, worry about protecting the client relationship, or simply get pulled back into their own matters and priorities.
PipelinePlus helps firms make collaboration easier, giving people the confidence, skills, and support to bring the right colleagues into the right conversations.
Cross-selling works when collaboration works
Strong cross-selling starts with understanding what the client needs and bringing together the people who can help.
That requires trust. People need to understand what their colleagues do, recognize when their expertise is relevant, and feel confident making an introduction that adds value for the client.
When those pieces are in place, collaboration becomes easier and clients experience more of what the firm has to offer.
Collaboration needs support from the firm
Trust and confidence matter, but the environment around people matters too.
Leadership messages, incentives, client ownership, time pressures, and established ways of working can all influence whether people collaborate. Firms can make it easier by setting clear expectations, creating opportunities for people to know one another’s work, and supporting the behaviors they want to see.
A focused starting point can help. A client team, lateral integration, succession need, or opportunity within a practice can give people a practical reason to work differently together.
Start with what is getting in the way
Collaboration can stall for different reasons.
People may not know enough about one another’s work. They may see an opportunity but feel unsure about making the introduction. Firm structures or incentives may make collaboration harder. Or trust may simply need time to develop.
We begin by understanding where collaboration is working, where it is getting stuck, and what the firm wants to accomplish.
From there, we can identify a focused place to begin and the support that will help people work together more effectively.
We engaged PipelinePlus to deliver a talk on cross-selling at our partner retreat. The program offered actionable advice built on an easy-to-remember framework. Attendees gave strong positive feedback, and I am confident they will be more effective at cross-selling and delivering maximum value to our clients in the future.
- Ron Snitker, Holland & Knight
Collaboration can feel risky
Client relationships are valuable, and people are understandably careful about bringing others into them. They may worry about losing control, making the wrong introduction, or putting a trusted relationship at risk.
The answer is not to push harder. Firms can make collaboration easier by helping people:
Recognize where another perspective could add value for the client
Understand their colleagues’ work well enough to spot opportunities
Make introductions naturally and confidently
Build trust before asking for significant changes in behavior
Clarify expectations around client relationships and collaboration
Follow through without adding unnecessary work
Our approach is practical by design, we help firms take the first few steps with confidence because we have already thought through how those steps connect to the larger journey.
Where firms often start
Increase collaboration across practices or offices
Strengthen client teams
Integrate lateral partners more effectively
Help people make better internal introductions
Build stronger relationships between partners
Support succession and relationship continuity
Break down barriers between practices
Turn more of the firm’s expertise into client value
Help clients experience the strength of the whole firm.
When people know one another’s work, trust one another, and feel confident bringing colleagues into client relationships, collaboration becomes easier.
PipelinePlus can help you find a practical place to start