At the latest CMO Series event, cross-selling took centre stage, with a panel of senior marketers and business development leaders exploring one of the biggest growth opportunities (and challenges) for professional services firms.

The panel featured:

• James Davidge, Head of Origination at Taylor Wessing
• Barney O’Kelly, Head of Solutions and Product Marketing at AlixPartners
• Sadie Baron, Interim CMO at TLT
• Peter Skinner, Business Development & Marketing Director at Wedlake Bell

Moderated by Will Eke.
 

Why Cross-Selling Matters

Cross-selling isn’t a new challenge. As Will pointed out, even in 1994, the Law Society Gazette noted that partners were enthusiastic about it but rarely followed through. Fast-forward to today, and not much has changed: in a recent survey, 84% of senior BD and marketing leaders said their firms were missing out on revenue because of poor cross-selling practices.

The main barriers to success were cited as a lack of trust among professionals and awareness of the firms' full offering. 
 

Different Firm Perspectives

During the discussion, James Davidge explained how his role as Head of Origination is about “shaking trees and pushing colleagues to look beyond their own silos.” At Taylor Wessing, cross-selling is seen as central to being a full-service firm, not just a boutique. His approach is often about persistence and “being chief botherer” until opportunities open up.

Barney O’Kelly highlighted that for the consulting world, cross-selling can be even more critical. For him, it’s about embedding collaboration into the culture and investing time in building a mindset where colleagues genuinely look for opportunities to help each other.

Sadie Baron, nine days into her new role at TLT, stressed the importance of key account management and engagement, making cross-selling integral to the culture, rather than a bolt-on initiative. “Cross-selling only works if it’s institutionalised. It can’t be a side project, it has to be part of the firm’s DNA.”

Peter Skinner brought the perspective of a mid-sized firm. Since becoming Wedlake Bell’s first CMO, he has built the marketing and BD team up from 4 to 11 people. He stressed that success depends on leadership buy-in, behaviour change, and focusing on trust. Without these, cross-selling initiatives rarely stick. “Everyone is missing out on cross-selling opportunities – the difference between success and failure comes down to trust and behaviour change.”
 

The Common Challenges

1. Remuneration and incentives: Partners often resist sharing clients if they fear losing credit or revenue.
2. Awareness: Many lawyers don’t actually know what their colleagues do, let alone what they could offer a client.
3. Behavioural barriers: Some partners are natural collaborators, others are not – and it’s a waste of energy trying to force the wrong people.
4. Data overload: Firms often have mountains of client data but struggle to use it effectively to spot opportunities.

Practical Solutions

The panel agreed that while cross-selling is hard, there are practical ways to make progress:

• Small wins first: Don’t try to double revenue overnight, start with incremental growth and build momentum.
• Better data, simply used: Tools like CRM and client mapping are valuable, but only if turned into actionable insights.
• Nudge behaviours: Whether it’s a one-page practice summary, a targeted email, or attending another team’s client event, small, consistent actions matter.
• Trust through service: Internal referrals only work if the receiving team treats the client as well as the originator would.
• Focus on the right people: Identify collaborative, commercially minded partners and build around them rather than trying to convert everyone.
   

The Takeaway

Cross-selling may sound like the easiest growth lever in professional services, but in reality, it requires culture change, persistence, and trust. The consensus from the panel? It’s less about grand strategies and more about consistent small steps, backed by the right behaviours and data.