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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING INSIGHTS

| 15 minute read

CMO Series EP165 - Louise Henkel of Hill Ward Henderson on Building a BD-Minded Firm for the Future

In today’s episode of the CMO Series Podcast, we explore how essential business development is for law firms to build lasting client relationships and how to build a BD-minded firm.

Charles Cousins sits down with Louise Henkel, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Hill Ward Henderson, to discuss the success of their BD training program which Louise has led for the last six years. We’ll explore the impact the BD training program has had both internally and externally, in addition to how Louise has navigated through the challenges she has encountered and the future of BD at Hill Ward Henderson.

Louise and Charles cover:

  • Louise’s background prior to working at Hill Ward Henderson and how that shaped her business development approach
  • What the BD training program entails and how it has evolved in the last six years
  • The importance of proactive business development in legal marketing and how attorneys have come to trust and embrace BD coaching
  • The impact the BD training program has had at Hill Ward Henderson, internally and externally, and the success stories of the training program
  • The challenges during the early stage of the BD training program and how those were overcome
  • The future of BD at Hill Ward Henderson and the initiatives for 2025
  • Advice for other BD and marketing leaders looking to implement a successful BD training program

 

Transcription

Charles: Welcome to the CMO Series podcast. In today's episode, we're exploring the critical role of business development in the legal industry, helping firms build strong client relationships, drive growth and stay ahead of the competitive landscape. We're thrilled to be joined by Louise Henkel, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Hill Ward Henderson. Louise has led the firm's impactful BD training program over the past six years. She'll walk us through how the program works, significant results it's achieved and the challenges she's faced along the way. Plus hopefully, we'll get a sneak peek into what's next for business development training at Hill Ward Henderson. 

Charlie: The CMO Series Podcast is brought to you by Passle. Passle makes thought leadership simple, scalable and effective, so professional services firms can stay front of mind with their clients and prospects when it matters most. Find out more and request a demo at passle.net. Now, back to the podcast.

Charles: So, let's dive in. Welcome to the podcast, Louise.

Louise: Thanks, Charles. Glad to be here. 

Charles: And today, we're talking all about business development and some of the initiatives you're running at the firm. But perhaps before we do that, can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to your current role at Hill Ward Henderson? And how did your prior experience shape your approach to business development here?

Louise: Yeah certainly, so I actually came out of the non-profit world. A friend of mine who I was working with at the non-profit, he knew a director of marketing at a law firm and she was advertising for a proposal writer and I have a degree in journalism and so she's like you really should apply for this job and I'm like I don't know anything about you know proposal writing or legal marketing, but I did apply and actually the the rest is history. Back then they gave me a typing test and I passed. And also I had to write a draft, like press release, if you will. But yeah, I fell into it probably like many people listening to this and it's been, it's been actually a very enjoyable journey. Yeah and like my job at my first law firm, as the proposal writer, I really was a generalist. I mean, I dipped my toe in many aspects of legal marketing. What I was doing at the nonprofit, I was planning events. And so, you know, my first firm was a Florida based firm that merged with a much larger firm. And after four years with them, I came to Hill Ward Henderson, actually through a connection of my husband's. I was not looking to change jobs, but one of the shareholders at Hill Ward Henderson grew up with my husband, and they happened to be talking during a gymnastics practice for our kids. And really, the rest is history. After that, I applied for the job that they had opened, and I've been with Hill Ward Henderson going on, actually, next year will be seven years.

Charles: Wow. So, yeah, a fair shift there. And when we were talking about this podcast and we were exploring topics, we happened upon the the BD training you've been doing and you talked about key initiative has been that BD training, can you tell us a bit about what that looks like in practice? and perhaps how it was when you started at the firm almost seven years ago? And what sort of things you're up to now?

Louise: Sure so actually while I was at my first law firm, I was significantly involved in a sales training program for attorneys, and that experience really helped my approach to business development at Hill Ward Henderson. Right now, you know, we work with an outside consultant and our business development training includes four classroom-style in-person meetings, if you will, along with individual coaching. And then we, as far as participants in the program, we invite attorneys in their fifth year or plus year of practice and any laterals who've joined the firm. And I really want to stress like we invite them because we don't require the attorneys to participate. We encourage them to, but I do lay out the program where the time commitment is and also to give the attorneys the opportunity to decide if the timing is right and if they can commit the time. And so that's really important, you know, because if you force somebody to do something, it won't be genuine and they probably won't put in all of their effort. And so I'm inviting them and saying, you know, this is an opportunity for you. And, you know, no one has deploying outside of maybe it was just a bad time personally for them, but have gone through the program at another time. And so that's how, you know, we framed the training here at Hill Ward Henderson.

Charles: Yeah, that was going to be my question, actually. You mentioned invite. So has the uptake been good? You said that everyone does take you up on it eventually, but sometimes they might say, oh, actually, now's not a good time. But generally, has the uptake been very good?

Louise: Yes, it really has. Because I think, you know, going to the associates that are in your fifth year practice, They know that if they want to become partner one day, business generation is an important piece of that. And so we outlined that this training will give you the tools to start thinking about building your practice and how to do that. And so everyone has been very receptive to it. And so that's been an important piece of our training.

Charles: So is it a hard sell though? Do you have to go to them with, this is the reasons why you need to do it? or are most of them quite switched on?

Louise: It's not a hard sell because we've been doing the program now for six years. Folks in the firm have heard about it. We've shared success stories. We've talked about it in various meetings, whether it be practice group meetings or otherwise. And so by the time I come to them and invite them to the program, they've heard that the firm has some type of a business development program. It's not new to them. And so, when they're invited, I think that they're pleased to be invited and I think welcome that.

Charles: Yeah, that really makes sense. And kind of answers what question I had next was around, obviously, you're trying to coach the attorneys to stay top of mind with clients. How do you build the trust so that the attorneys embrace that coaching? But I guess if you're saying they've witnessed the program happening already, they probably already trust that it works. So maybe there's not as much involved in convincing them and getting them to trust that it's the right thing. Would that be how it is?

Louise: Yeah, I think the more that I'm visible with the attorneys and the more that I can show them that I'm here to help and that I'm a resource for them, I start building that trust with them. And through this program, I've been able to work with attorneys that I had not worked with before. Everyone thinks, oh yeah, marketing's down on the 37th floor. I'm not quite sure what marketing does. But what I've tried to do is promote all of the successes that marketing has had with our attorneys. And with that, the more that I'm visible and that they see me, the attorneys, I think that trust then is just innate and then they're just like okay, yeah, I know Louise and I know her marketing team ,and I'd like you know I can go to them as a resource.

Charles: I think that's really important being visible and and did that involve going around your offices? Because I know you guys have got multiple offices.

Lousie: Yes, so we actually have one primary office in Tampa that houses most of our attorneys and we have a smaller office in Clearwater so we have two offices and yes I mean it involves attending practice group meetings. It involves walking the halls. It involves just getting out of your office and being visible. And so I'm fortunate enough that I have just the two offices here. But a certainly, there's always opportunity, even if you have multiple offices across the country, I'm sure there's opportunities where if you're attending an event or if you have meetings in that other office. Go around and introduce yourself, put a face with the names, and you have to get yourself out there.

Charles: So the fact that the BD training program has been going on for several years now probably speaks that it is successful. So have you got any metrics or success stories that you can share that highlight some of the impact that it's had to date?

Louise: Yeah. I always tell my attorneys, business development is all about relationships. And I often tell them, it's a marathon, not a sprint. So you really have to have patience. But we do attract revenue for attorneys that have gone through the program compared to their peers. And we've seen measurable increase in revenue for attorneys who went through the program, say, four, five, six years ago. So, you know, one success story that comes to mind, you know, I was coaching an associate and he had mentioned that he had a meeting coming up with a prospective client. He knew the general counsel because he was a friend of his, but had never done any work for him. And he really wanted to, you know, pitch him on our corporate work. And I just coached him on making sure to prepare an agenda ahead of time in advance, you know, make sure that you have questions prepared in advance of the meeting so you get the information that you need. And I had not worked with this attorney prior to the business development training. After the meeting happened, you know, the attorney reported that preparing the agenda and the questions in advance really gave him the confidence to go into that meeting. And it was a success, you know, and he said, you know, otherwise I probably would have just gone into the meeting not prepared and really just winging it. And, you know, I consider that a success because honestly, this associate had not had an opportunity to go into a prospective client meeting. He wasn't at that place in his career really to generate business. But this opportunity, you know, he came across this opportunity and it worked out well.

Charles: Those individual success stories are wonderful, but I guess it also helps, as you said just before that, you track revenue and you can see a sort of trend of these folks have been through this program and this is the sort of revenue they're getting. So, I guess that probably helps speak to the value of the program.

Louise: Yes, absolutely and we also survey the participants of the program to make sure we're delivering what they need. And so from those surveys. You know, we tweak the program, you know, based on that feedback. And so I think getting feedback from your participants as well, the feedback from the attorneys who got through the program, making sure that, you know, they found it valuable. I think that's important.

Charles: Can you think of any particular bits of feedback you had?

Louise: You know, one feedback was, can we implement, you know, kind of a panel of past program participants and how did they implement the tools from the program in their own practice? And so, you know, and so we did that. We held a kind of an alumni lunch, if you will and I asked three of our previous participants for the program who had gone through the program maybe three years prior. And each one had a different story because business development is not the same for everybody. It's very individualized. And so you have to take pieces of that and apply that to your practice and to your comfort level, if you will. And so I thought that was a success because the attorneys around the table could hear how others are doing this. It's not one size fits all.

Charles: Yeah, that's brilliant. I'm sure that's really powerful when they're seeing their peers and other people at the firm saying, look, we've done this program and this is the success we've had. This is what we've done off the back of it. I'm sure that's extremely powerful in giving them maybe a little bit of that FOMO, that fear of missing out and motivating them to get involved. 

Louise: I think you're absolutely right.

Charles: So we've talked a bit about the success, but to get there, it probably wasn't a straight line. Were there any challenges you faced when you were rolling out the BD programs? And if there were, how did you overcome them?

Louise: So, you know, I think, you know, having a business development training or business development program, that's one way to share best practices and tools with attorneys, you know and it's all about like how do they use that those tools in practice right i mean we can share this information but if the attorney doesn't use the tools then they may not be successful. And so you know I always think about and one of my monitors is that you have to work with the willing. And so you know some folks may not think that they have the time for business development or they get pressured because they don't see immediate results, but I coach my attorneys that you just need to be consistent and you need to be patient. But it's all about putting those tools into practice. And so I can't control that, if you will. So that might be a challenge. But I just think that for us to convey the information and also to reinforce the information has been valuable. And so I think that that's something to keep in mind with any type of information that you're trying to communicate or any kind of training program.

Charles: Yeah that that that that makes sense you know you if you're working with the willing and giving them everything that they need to be successful that's probably the the limit of what you can do the limit of what you control and it's really up to them to go and implement it so yeah that that makes sense. And looking forward now what's next for your BD programs or BD more generally at Hill Ward Henderson, are there any exciting initiatives for 2025s? Or anything you sort of see in the sort of BD landscape?

Louise: Yes. So, I mean, we're going to look to launch a new class for the business development training program that we've had here at the firm in the spring, probably with six or seven attorneys. You know, something that we will probably implement next year is to check in on the alumni that were through the program and really kind of think about how are they doing. That hasn't happened. I've checked in with some alumni lunches, but really for me to check in with them individually and say, how's it going? And to see if I can be a resource to them and really just check in with them. Something that we're thinking about is, you know, relationships with our alumni here at the firm. And so that certainly is an important connection, is alumni of the firm that are no longer with the firm and now they're other places. So we're thinking about and looking into perhaps implementing an alumni initiative if they better touch with the alumni of our firm. And so that's still in the planning stages. but that I think would be an exciting initiative that impacts our business development here on the floor.

Charles: Yeah, and while it sounds like you're doing some great things, so first and foremost, you want to carry on doing the great things and that's your new intake coming in in the spring, those new batch of attorneys going through that program and then, as you said, you can work on those other projects on top of that. We're now going to jump into the quickfire round. So this is an opportunity for our listeners to find out a bit more about you, Louise. So I'll ask you a few questions and you don't have to overthink it too much. Just think of the first things that come into your head. Question one, what are you currently listening to? This could be music, podcast, or audio book.

Louise: Podcast, criminal and crime junkie.

Charles: Ah, okay. I'm not familiar. I'll have to check it out.

Louise: I'm a true crime junkie, if you will. And so I'm enjoying those types of podcasts.

Charles: Yeah, wonderful. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Louise: Let's see here. Don't take things personally. 

Charles: Don't take things personally. I guess that's very... Where that's very important is I find with emails. It's always hard to gauge the context of emails. So I try and never take emails personally. I'm like, oh, maybe they just were in a rush when they wrote it.

Louise: Maybe not about having a bad day. That's exactly right. 

Charles: Yeah, brilliant. What's a book or resource you can recommend to anyone in your field?

Louise: I would recommend that anybody in legal marketing get involved in the Legal Marketing Association. LMA offers great resources from meetings to discussion forums and you can meet others in your industry. So certainly that's been a resource for me. I got involved in LMA close to 20 years ago when I first started in marketing and I have some great connections.

Charles: Wonderful yeah big shout out to LMA they they've been fantastic with us as well with, and when we expanded into the us so um yeah big fans of those guys and hopefully we'll see you at the big conference in Washington DC this year isn't it in the april it's going to come up very quickly 

Louise: Yes I hope to be there.

Charles: What is your favorite way to unwind after a busy day?

Louise: Probably listening to a true crime podcast on my drive home.

Charles: Wonderful. Where is your favorite place to visit and why?

Louise: Oh, gosh. Well, last year, my family went to Montana and Wyoming, and we visited Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tee Ponds. And it's just beautiful out there. So I would love to go back out west.

Charles: Oh, wonderful. Did you do any horse riding like in Yellowstone, the TV series, ride around on a horse?

Louise: Okay so we did go horseback riding and it was very painful. It was actually an hour and a half horseback ride up a very very steep mountains and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to walk after that because it's very strenuous but it was enjoyable. The scenery was very enjoyable.

Charles: They make it look easy on TV don't they?

Louise: Sure do, they sure do 

Charles: Wonderful. Well, we like to finish our podcast in the same way every time and that's asking our guests for their top piece of advice. So I guess my question to you is what's your top piece of advice for other BD and marketing leaders looking to implement a successful BD training program at their firm?

Louise: Let's see here. I guess as you look to implement a program like a BD program at your firm, I would suggest define what success looks like. Communicate with firm leadership that business development training program, a program like that can help educate the attorneys on what the right steps are. But ultimately, the attorneys have to put these into practice to see results. And also, just understand this is a long game, requiring patience and persistence.

Charles: Yeah, I love that. Define the success and understand that it's not going to happen overnight, you know it takes time to achieve that. Well Louise, thanks for coming on today and sharing about what you folks have been up to at the firm it sounds like you've got a a strong system where you you bring on new attorneys every year and new intake gets upskilled and so it's great that you were able to come on and share a bit about what you do so thanks thanks again.

Louise: Thank you so much for having me.

Charlie: You can follow the Passle CMO Series Podcast on your preferred podcast platform. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.

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