Reaching New Heights Through One-on-One Business Development Coaching!

WMC's unique leading-edge learning opportunity is designed to sharpen the business development skills of the attorneys within your law firm: Reaching New Heights Through One-on-One Business Development Coaching! This unique coaching program explores the essence of business development knowledge and skills needed in the legal environment-a must for the ongoing strength of any law firm. The program is driven by business needs; specifically, it is designed to enhance the capabilities of associates or partners to develop new business, and to enhance client relationships.

The program is designed to work one-on-one with lawyers. By participating in the program, attorneys will not only be investing in the success of the firm and its clients, they will also be investing in themselves, by developing a crucial set of business development skills that every effective lawyer must have.

The one-on-one coaching program will be made up of individual monthly coaching sessions to address the needs stated above and each targeted at a particular skill/knowledge area.

The purpose of the coaching program is to build and/or enhance the business development capabilities of the participants. Based on our experience working with law firms, WMC believes the following attributes must be inherent in any business development coaching program:

• The focus has to be on practical skills. Concepts alone will not result in the desired outcome of the program.
• The coaching needs to provide skills in both the "mechanics" (strategies, processes) and the "soft" (communication, relationships) sides of business development.
• Knowing how/where to get new business
• Ensuring mutual understanding of client needs, problems and business environment through effective listening techniques
• Describing the services of the firm in the context of the benefits those services provide for the client
• Confidently asking for the business at the appropriate time
• Creating a win-win approach to developing new business-one in which the client and the firm both benefit.

At Wolf Management Consultants, Inc., we are convinced that effective and practical business development skills can be learned and developed through effective coaching.

Benefits derived from this program are multidimensional:

• Through building practical business development capabilities, your firm ensures an enhanced position and reputation in the marketplace-resulting in both new and sustained client relationships.
• Both existing and prospective clients gain true strategic partners-resources that understand and effectively help them address their business problems and concerns.
• Attorneys benefit by developing a crucial set of skills that will enhance their individual success in the years to come.

Business development behavior change that is sustainable and dependable requires consistent encouragement, practice and feedback. Behavior changes also need time to develop, time to be tested in action and time to be refined. This cannot happen in a vacuum. Development occurs out loud, in relationship with others.

A quality coaching relationship will encourage key factors for developing business development skills. Behavior change occurs when the following are present:

1. Awareness and ownership of the need for change
2. Action taken to effect change
3. Repeated action and practice in real-world situations
4. Feedback that is trusted and accurate (from the coach and others)
5. Time for new habits to develop
6. Skilled coaching in recognizing competing values and commitments as well as underlying assumptions and governing variables to mental models

Business development coaching will help attorneys develop skills of self-confidence, self-awareness, self-responsibility and self-mastery. These skills allow lawyers to continue to grow long after the coaching relationship ends.

Good coaching provides thought-provoking questions, personal exercises and assignments to help attorneys maximize their business development talents. Coaching develops extraordinary business developers and extraordinary business developers produce extraordinary results.

At WMC, we believe that business development coaching is a highly interactive process built on rapport, trust and mutual respect. Our approach is an action-oriented process that fosters self-discovery and leads to behavioral changes that meet individual and firm performance needs. Attorneys must take "action" in order to change their approach to business development. Behavioral change is not a passive process. We focus on helping attorneys develop self-awareness regarding business development skills and then work to achieve individual performance objectives that are aligned with firm goals.

The coaching model we have found to be very successful is as follows:

1. Determine the need and the context: Here the focus is on determining what needs to be accomplished and why. The goal is to understand all the relevant factors including why business development is so important.
2. Build rapport and trust: At this step we typically meet with the attorney to clarify the purpose of the coaching assignment, what will happen as a result of coaching, and what the person hopes to get out of it. The focus is on building trust by talking about how coaching can help the person and listening to the individual about his/her concerns and views.
3. Contract for results: In order to change behavior, the attorney must have clear goals. We work with the individual to develop a set of business development goals or results they are committed to achieving. This becomes an agreed-upon contract on what outcomes are judged and how progress is assessed.
4. Determine what actions to take: Here we work closely with the attorney to determine what needs to be done, including when and how. This step results in a specific action plan for achieving desired business development outcomes.
5. Support actions taken: We meet with the attorney to review progress on action plans and to work through any obstacles or doubts. We strive to serve as a sounding board, cheerleader and coach to help shape and sustain movement in the desired direction.
6. Provide time for reflection: After the attorney has begun to make progress, it is important for him or her to reflect on the business development behaviors or attitudes they are trying to change. People need time to reflect on the change plan if they are going to successfully and effectively make the changes required.
7. Evaluate progress: How has the person changed? Has the change had the desired impact to generate more business? Are the attorney and firm satisfied with the results?

The typical coaching relationship extends over a six to twelve month period of time. Our coaching sessions are customized in terms of frequency, length of session and duration to meet client unique needs. The length of the coaching relationship as well as the timing of each session is generally dependent on both individual and firm needs. While the above process appears to be linear and sequential, it isn't that way in practice in every situation. Effective business development coaching is a dynamic and highly interactive process that must be tailored to the needs of the individual and the firm. Coaching can be an effective means to help attorneys achieve desired results in a timely and efficient manner.