From what we’ve heard, the biggest business development challenge for professional service firms is not, as you might think, a question of how to get onto the shortlist of contenders; it’s how to get off the shortlist and into the winner’s enclosure.  Lawyers, accountants and management consultants purport that their issue is not so much generating interest, it’s turning that interest into a sale once the beauty parade has been selected.

So, we thought we’d find out what the buyers of professional services thought about the pitch process and the proposals they receive from those on their shortlist. “Inside the head of a head of legal” is the research summary of interviews we conducted with the people who decide which law firms to work with. 

Some of the things we found out were, to be honest, rather alarming, as some fundamental rules on selling and information design were being totally ignored.  It’s clear from what we heard that, even though these buyers are extremely intelligent, well-read people, they still respond positively to clear and succinct communications.  They want the elevator pitch, the proposal that has some character and bite and they want to work with people who can confidently explain why they are the right people to do business with. 

For a full copy of this insightful little document, please get in touch with us via hello@givemegoosebumps.com.  And if you’d like to talk to us about how we’re helping professional service firms to overhaul the way they pitch and get off the shortlist, we’re just a call away.