Developing lasting and profitable client relationships
Business development is one of the most valuable skills a lawyer can develop. This course gives lawyers, at every stage of their career, a practical framework to attract, convert, and retain the right clients. Because business development covers such a wide range of situations, every engagement starts with a conversation to discuss your needs and identify exactly which area of business development you wish to focus on.
Why It Matters
Business development matters throughout a lawyer's career, in different forms. Junior lawyers need to demonstrate impeccable client care, start networking and develop their social skills. Senior associates need to take on more responsibility for client relationships and build up a business case. And for partners, BD remains a central, lifelong area of attention and effort. Yet few lawyers are ever taught how to do it.
Content
The content always depends on the specific purpose defined for each session. It can range from an overall presentation of the BD journey to deep dives into specific issues: networking, strategy, pricing - and everything in between.
Whatever the topic and the audience, successful business development rests on three levels, which the training always covers:
Mindset. Many lawyers start from a position of discomfort. Business development can feel like an unwelcome, faintly embarrassing distraction from “real” legal work, something to be done “when there's time,” which in practice means never. Becoming good at it starts with becoming comfortable with it: seeing it not as a sales chore, but as a natural and even exciting and rewarding part of the work.
Methodologies. Models to set priorities and organise BD action effectively, covering the six steps of business development (see below).
Practical skills. Concrete tips and techniques participants can put into practice as early as the next day. How to start a conversation at a networking event? How to approach a prospect? How to close a deal with a new client? How to structure the fee proposal? And many more.
The six steps of business development:
Strategy
Before attracting anyone, decide who you actually want as a client. Participants assess their existing portfolio, clarify their business development goals, and define the strategy — market, positioning, differentiation — that will guide where they invest their time and energy.
Visibility
How to become visible to the prospects who matter: publications, speaking, networking, social media, and other channels that build a reputation.
Interest
You may have a good reputation and strong visibility, but prospects will only turn to you if they feel you are highly relevant to their issues. You need to demonstrate relevance to them, not just generic expertise.
Conversion
How to move from conversation to engagement: structuring the sales process with integrity, navigating procurement, and having confident, transparent conversations about pricing and fees.
Loyalty
How to turn a one-time client into a client for life through excellent client relationship management, day-to-day responsiveness, and consistently creating value.
Advocacy
How to turn satisfied clients into enthusiastic ambassadors, and make cross-selling and referrals a natural extension of the relationship rather than an afterthought.
Who Should Attend
Lawyers at every stage of their career:
Junior associates building the client-care habits that create long-term loyalty, and starting to develop their networking and social skills.
Senior associates and counsel developing autonomay in client relationships and starting to develop their own client portfolio - often a defining step toward partnership.
Partners driving business development strategy for their practice, department, or firm, with a focus on the systemic dimension of BD: strategic portfolio development, cross-selling, and deep dives into pricing and fee negotiation.
Format and Options
The training mixes explanations, discussion, exercises, and simulation games to keep the pace lively and the learning concrete.
There are two delivery options:
Generic
A half-day session giving a complete overview of the business development journey and providing many opportunities to participants to share views and opinions. A nice starting point for your BD journey.
Custom
Because business development covers such a wide range of situations, most engagements are custom. We start with a conversation to identify your priorities. A custom session can run half a day or longer, depending on what you need.
Available in English, French, and Dutch.
Fees are quoted individually following a conversation with Antoine.
Antoine Henry de Frahan
The course is delivered by Antoine or trainers he has personally trained in his methodology.
Business development is Antoine's bread and butter. He has made every step of the journey himself: As an entrepreneur in the consulting business, he built his own client base and practice from scratch, eventually winning and delivering complex assignments for leading international law firms and law departments. For more than 25 years, he has trained, coached, and consulted lawyers and law firms on business development internationally.
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