The Toughest Challenge in Law Firm Business Development – And How to Overcome It
Business development (BD) in the legal industry is a complex game. While firms recognize the need for strategic growth, MBD (Marketing & Business Development) professionals face persistent challenges that slow progress.
Recently, we ran a LinkedIn poll asking legal marketing and BD professionals about their biggest roadblocks. The results were clear:
40% said getting attorney buy-in is the toughest challenge.
40% struggle with proving ROI & tracking success of BD efforts.
20% find balancing multiple priorities to be the biggest hurdle.
With these insights in mind, let’s explore how to tackle the top challenges and accelerate business development in law firms.
Winning Attorney Buy-In on Business Development
BD professionals know that even the best strategies won’t work without attorney engagement. Yet, resistance remains. Attorneys often prioritize billable hours over BD, seeing it as a secondary concern rather than a necessity.
How to Overcome This:
Make BD Tangible & Rewarding – Turn BD into a game with clear milestones, leaderboards, and recognition. Incentivize participation and create a culture of friendly competition.
Provide Actionable Data – Show attorneys real-time insights on how BD efforts impact revenue and client growth. When they see results, they’re more likely to stay engaged.
Simplify BD Efforts – Provide easy-to-use tools that integrate BD into attorneys’ existing workflows without adding extra work.
Proving ROI & Tracking Success
MBD professionals often struggle to demonstrate the value of their work. Without clear metrics, convincing firm leadership to invest in BD becomes an uphill battle.
How to Overcome This:
Use Real-Time Reporting – Leverage technology to track BD activity, client engagement, and revenue impact in one place.
Set Measurable Goals – Define clear KPIs, such as meetings set, new client conversions, or revenue growth tied to BD efforts.
Automate Data Collection – Reduce time spent on manual reporting by using a platform that tracks progress and delivers insights effortlessly.
Balancing Multiple Priorities
Legal BD teams juggle marketing, client engagement, networking, event planning, and firm strategy. Without the right system, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
How to Overcome This:
Streamline Processes – Use an integrated platform that consolidates BD activities and automates repetitive tasks.
Prioritize High-Value Tasks – Focus on BD initiatives with the highest return on investment rather than trying to do everything at once.
Encourage Collaboration – When MBDs and attorneys work together efficiently, the workload becomes more manageable.
How INform54 Can Help
At Society 54, we understand these challenges—and we’ve built a solution to help legal BD teams win. Our INform54 platform transforms BD into a gamified, results-driven strategy, helping law firms:
🚀 Engage Attorneys – Make BD fun and rewarding through gamification.
📊 Prove ROI – Track and showcase BD success in real-time with automated reporting.
⚡ Simplify BD Efforts – Streamline priorities with an intuitive platform designed for law firms.
The legal industry is evolving, and firms that embrace innovative BD strategies will thrive. If you’re ready to level up your firm’s business development, let’s talk. Contact us today.