When we were faced with the question of whether or not to hire an IT consultant for our company, I did some thorough research on the benefits of hiring a consultant versus employing an IT specialist. One of the many articles I read on the subject was this one. The clear list of reasons to hire a consultant won us over and we hired someone who did a great job, helping us find the solutions we needed.
Since we are also a consultancy (in the legal directory sector), I was left thinking that many law firms (whether they have a BD and marketing team or not) must face the same question. So, to help you make an informed decision on whether or not to hire a legal directories consultant, I compiled this short list of the benefits they bring:
1- FOCUSED EXPERTISE – Good legal directories consultants will have at least five years of experience working exclusively with legal directories and awards. Ideally, they will have been a researcher at one of the best publications, such as Chambers and Partners or Legal 500. They are focused on this very particular niche of the legal marketing field and know how the main directories work from the inside out. Good consultants will create the best submission for your law firm because they have seen the other side of the game: they know what the researchers are looking for.
2- TIME EFFICIENCY – One of the biggest pains of engaging with legal directories is the time it takes to put a submission together. Consultants will save both partners and BDs a huge amount time. How? They know exactly where the blockers are because they have seen it all before, they can anticipate problems and bring solutions quickly. They will liaise directly with the right stakeholders and collect the right information efficiently. They will also write a good part of the document and review it (in some cases even translate your write-up into English). Consultants will do the bulk of the directories work and free partners, BDs and marketing staff to focus on other important tasks. They will also organise the workflow considering the specificities of your firm and will make sure you never miss a deadline again!
3- RELEVANT NETWORK – Consultants have an extensive network and the right contacts within the legal directories and in the legal market more broadly. They will be the first to know about relevant changes in any legal directories and all the new publications.
4- OBJECTIVE VIEWS – How many times have you faced the difficult decision of which partners to mention in a submission? Or thought that you should not be submitting for a particular practice area, but some partners insisted it should be sent? Consultants will be able to tell you things as they are. They are not involved in the office politics and can bring a fresh, objective view to your firm’s directories strategy. Consultants will make the difficult decisions for you. And, on the positive side, it may be that you had an overlooked partner or practice area that you should have been putting forward already but weren’t. They will identify that and perhaps even bring you a new, unexpected ranking!
5- TEACHING POWER – Good consultants have a knack for explaining things. They have worked with many different law firms, so they know how to work with all kinds of people. They know what techniques to use in order to improve engagement. They also can provide formal internal training. But, more than that, a good consultant will show you their thought process, so you will be constantly learning from them.
All in all, a legal directories and awards consultant saves you time, guarantees that you present your work in the best possible light and does it all in a way that will feel easy and seamless to your team. You provide them with the materials and they will create a superb submission that paints the best possible picture of your department for any legal directory.
[DV1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140918173243-71658667-top-10-reasons-organizations-hire-consultants/