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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MASTERCLASSES
The full list of masterclasses plus details on their delivery and pricing can be found here.
Our business development masterclass offering includes the following:
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The holy grail for all professionals is to become a trusted advisor. Marketing teams often turn to this phrase on websites, in marketing literature and in proposals and pitches. However, what does this really mean? Are we achieving it in reality?
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We think about The Trust Equation and explore why it is as relevant today as it was when it was devised.
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We will provide some tools to help increase the two parts of the equation that are often the hardest for professionals – intimacy and self-orientation.
As business services professionals we are often required to persuade and influence the lawyers, accountants and consultants we work with. Sometimes it is an easy sell - with others it can seem we are swimming through treacle.
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Being able to influence is a skill. As with all skills, it comes more easily to some than others. That doesn’t mean it can’t be taught. 
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Claire Rason, founder of Client Talk, is going to explore the way we can use questioning and active listening to influence.
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This course is ideally suited to those who need to influence and affect change within the firms they work for. It would also suit those looking to step up into these roles.
Presenting is something that many people fear and shy away from. Notwithstanding, it often forms an important part of our roles. Whilst we might not volunteer, nor need, to stand up and speak in front of hundreds of people, we might need to present our conclusions to the board or make a presentation to our team to get buy-in for a change of direction.
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Presentation skills matter and this training aims to give you some tools and techniques to make your presentations better.
Firms are a group of individuals professionals who come together as one. They are often supported by a strong firm brand. “I am a partner of a Big 4 firm” or “I work at one of the Magic Circle” helps position professionals in the mind of clients. However, often work is one or lost as a result of individual relationships. Professionals are increasingly encouraged to use social media and to create a profile for themselves and “be known” in the market.
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This masterclass explores what it means to build a personal brand and considers why it is never to early to start. We consider how a personal brand can co-exist and even strengthen a firm brand.
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Learning objectives:
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What a personal brand is
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How to use social media to build a brand
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How to align a personal brand with a firm brand and when not to
This course is suitable for professionals who want to explore what personal branding is. It is suitable for younger professionals thinking about how personal branding can help develop careers. It is also ideal for partners who want to become thought leaders. The course will be tailored to the level in the room.
Content is King!
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This is something that all marketing and business development teams inherently know, and with the Covid-pandemic and the rise of different types of content increasing in popularity (for example podcasts and social media) there is an increased pressure to stand-out from the crowd and produce even more content.
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In this masterclass we will be exploring:
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The importance of thought leadership
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What thought leadership is and the characteristics of a thought leader
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The relationship between thought leadership and influence
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Thinking about the type of thought leader you are and how to develop your style
This masterclass is aimed at professionals who want to become thought leaders. It can also be adapted for business development teams who want the professionals in their firms to make more from the thought leadership they are producing.
Networking is often marmite to professionals. Some live and breathe it, and others suffer through it. All recognise the need for it. Networking means different things to different people. For some it is showing up at events, for others it is all about strategy relationship building.
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In this masterclass, we will think about what networking is and how to be successful at it. We think about physical networking – including how to get the most from events. We also explore how networking can be translated into an online environment. How do we network when people aren’t always in the office and it isn’t always possible to meet “in real life”?
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Learning objectives:
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The meaning of networking
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How to get the most from events
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How to be successful in a hybrid world
This course is suitable for professionals who want to find out more about networking. It is particularly appropriate for younger professionals who are unsure what this means for them.
Organisational buying can involve many different functions within a business. Identifying key stakeholders and decision-makers can be critical to effective marketing and business development. Offering a good customer experience during both the selection process as well as during service delivery can ensure the effective acquisition and retention of clients.
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In this Masterclass, we will explore organisational buying behaviour for professional services and aim to understand the complexity of decision-making. We will give clarity to the difference between customer engagement and customer experience and explore why both are essential to the retention of a client.
Learning Objectives:
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To understand B2B organisational buying of professional services.
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To be able to distinguish between customer experience and customer engagement.
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To explore the components that lead to an excellent B2B customer experience.
Who is this suitable for?
This Masterclass is intended for anyone who is responsible for client relationships in a
professional services firm, as well as those involved in marketing or business development
with corporate clients.
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When individuals or families need the help and Support of a legal firm how do they go about finding and selecting one? Knowing more about the process they go through will help you to know how to present your firm to the market which is an essential aspect of the marketing and business development process. If you want to understand more about how consumers make decisions about using professional services such as from a legal firm then this Masterclass will be helpful.
In this Masterclass we will explore the mindset of the consumer when looking for legal services. We will do this by examining the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural responses of an individual and how these vary depending on the context. We will use models to
explore how you should present your firm in a way that fits with the customer mindset at the ‘point of purchase’ and how to ensure an effective customer experience.
Learning Objectives:
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To recognise the key components of consumer purchasing behaviour
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To understand how to promote your firm’s services to fit with the consumer mindset
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at the point of purchase.
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To know the key elements of a good consumer/customer experience.
Who is this suitable for?
This Masterclass is intended for anyone who is responsible for or involved in, the marketing
of professional services firms to individual consumers.
Sometimes we think we know our customer and how they make the decision to purchase, but do we perhaps just make assumptions? Assumptions about how they select the legal firm to work with and the basis upon which they assess us. Understanding the actual process your customer goes through when deciding to use a legal service is essential to effective marketing and business development for your firm but also essential to creating high quality service delivery.
In this Masterclass you will learn about customer journey mapping and why it is essential to building an understanding of the process your customers follow to engage with you. You will take part in an initial mapping exercise in which you will explore the thinking, feeling
and behaviour of your customers at different points in their journey when working with you.
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Learning Objectives:
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To understand what customer journey mapping is.
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To recognise how this may be useful to improve your service delivery.
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To know how a customer journey mapping exercise is conducted and the benefits it provides.
Who is it suitable for?
This Masterclass is essential for senior management, administration and anyone who is involved in service delivery, marketing or business development for a professional services firm and who wants to better understand the journey that their customers take when dealing with you.
Having fee earners engaged in business development helps firms outperform the market. A recent Client Talk survey found that 100% of high-performing firms said that their fee-earners were actively engaged in Business Development.
As professionals navigate their careers they are going to be increasingly encouraged to take part in business development. We often find that training is left too late and bad habits have set in. Worse still, skills haven’t been developed which means that a lack of confidence can get in the way.
In this masterclass, we introduce young professionals to Business Development. We help them understand what it means and how they can take part in it. We help them to understand how developing skills early in their career will help support them on their journey through the firm.
Learning Objectives:
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What the difference is between marketing and business development
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How to be productive and support the team
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What makes a good business developer and how to develop those skills
This course is suitable for: trainees and newly qualified/young professionals
Having fee earners engaged in business development helps firms outperform the market. A recent Client Talk survey found that 100% of high-performing firms said that their fee-earners where actively engaged in Business Development.
Often “stepping up” means providing a business case. Senior associates need to show that they are able to win work and grow the firm. Some associates will have skills that they have developed throughout their careers, regardless of that though, they may be lacking the confidence to make the next step and worried about what business development looks like when they are out on their own.
In this masterclass we start to get senior associates thinking about what it means to be a rainmaker. We will teach them to focus on their strengths and show them that rainmakers come in many different shapes and sizes.
Learning objectives:
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What does it mean to be a rainmaker
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Individual assessment of strengths and focus on how to leverage them
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Building confidence
This course is suitable for professionals who are thinking about the path to partnership.
Having fee earners engaged in business development helps firms outperform the market. A recent Client Talk survey found that 100% of high-performing firms said that their fee-earners were actively engaged in Business Development. This isn’t news to many partners who have got to where they have got to through skillful business development.
However, it’s tough at the top. Whilst partners will have areas in which they excel, there will be other areas that they find difficult and they might not be in a position to ask for help. Maybe it’s a fear of presenting, maybe it's negotiating fees and closing the deal, whatever it is, we find that it can be lonely at the top.
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In this masterclass, we explore limiting beliefs and how they can be overcome. We also think about how being a good advisor can sometimes get in the way of being a good business developer.
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Learning objectives:
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The difference between being an advisor and being a business developer
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Influence
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Overcoming limiting beliefs
This course is suitable for partners who want to think about things a little differently and who want to move from advisor to trusted advisor – and in so doing, win more work.
MASTERCLASS FACILITATOR
Our Business Development Masterclasses are facilitated by either Claire Rason, an accredited coach and experienced client listening consultant or Dr. Susan Rose, an experienced coach, facilitator, educator, and researcher.
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Claire founded Client Talk after working in, or alongside, professional services firms for over 20 years. Claire is passionate about bringing the power of active listening and diverse thinking to professional services firms.
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Susan is the founder of Rose + Bloom Coaching and an experienced coach, facilitator, educator, and researcher. She brings knowledge and experience in female leadership and business management from a career in industry and business education at Henley Business School. Her business focus is on consumer behaviour and customer experience and she coaches clients to improve workplace performance. Susan is a strong advocate for change in gender equality and female empowerment in the workplace.
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