Alistair Beddow, a very familiar face at the PM forum annual conference, kicked off the 2026 edition in style with a great session on what makes a confident firm.  This was set against the backdrop of the Meridian West bench marketing report but also set the theme of the day — confidence. 

Alistair talked the audience through 4 key elements that make up a confident firm.

1/ Clarity: Clear strategy and market position

• A firm with clarity knows how their expertise can benefit clients.  
• Decides what clients it will and won't work with. 
• Is clear about its unique value and position in the market.  Has a clear strategy for growth but can also pivot quickly.

2/ Collaboration: Marketing and Business Development are closely aligned with lawyers.

• A collaborative firm activates marketing and business development as the growth engine.
• Fosters a culture where collaboration matters.  
• Builds a high functioning client account infrastructure.

3/ Client Focus: Culture, priorities and ways of working informed by the voice and experience of clients.

• A client-focused firm brings the client's voice and experience into the boardroom.
• Balances client measurements with financial and other KPI's.
• Is intentional about curating client experience.
• Builds and protects client value for the long term.

4/ Commitment: Effective execution, accountability and follow through.

• A committed firm takes bold positions on the issues that matter to clients
• Navigates trade-offs between people and technology
• Does not shy away from changes ahead
• Focuses on people development as a ‘day one’ mission

With these four pillars in mind, Alistair then suggested how marketing and BD folk could help their firms improve in these areas:

1/ Clarity:

• Prioritise the work types, client segments and markets that will accelerate growth.
• Collate the market data and evidence to give confidence in these decisions.
• Articulate what makes the firm the right choice and ensure clients and the wider market understands this.

2/ Collaboration:

• Build consensus on the ideas and messages that the firm can rally behind.
• Share MBD data and insights across business functions that can support strategic firm goals.
• Activate client insights to refine the firm's go-to market and delivery approaches with targeted investment for key client accounts.

3/ Client Focus:

• Understand what clients say about the firm when you are not in the room.
• Curate an intentional and consistent client experience.
• Align internal structures to support a genuine client-centric approach and remove client friction.

4/ Commitment: 

• Interrogate trade-offs between investment priorities, people and technology to find the right balance to drive growth.
• Partner with L&D and people teams to foster a growth and BD mindset in fee-earners from the start of their careers.
• Keep the firm accountable for following through on client commitments.

An engaging opening session to kick off the 2026 PM Forum annual conference.