The Client Intelligence Hiding in Plain Sight
Your firm may already have the information it needs to strengthen client relationships and uncover new opportunities…
A relationship partner knows a client is considering an acquisition. An associate knows the client’s legal team is stretched thin. A paralegal hears that the company is expanding into a new market. Marketing learns through feedback from a webinar that the general counsel is paying attention to AI.
None of these pieces of information may seem particularly significant on their own. But what if the firm could connect them?
Law firms gather an incredible amount of information about their clients every day. It comes from partners, associates, paralegals, legal assistants, client teams, marketing and business development professionals, client feedback programs, pitches, RFPs, and countless informal conversations.
The challenge isn’t necessarily collecting more information. It’s connecting what people already know and turning it into action.
Client Feedback Is Only One Piece of the Puzzle
Formal client feedback interviews are incredibly valuable. They give firms an opportunity to hear directly from clients about what’s working, what isn’t and what matters most to them. But some of the most valuable client intelligence doesn’t look like “feedback” when it happens.
Once when I was involved in a client conversation, the client raved about how much she loved working with the firm and complimented the outside attorneys on how seamlessly they collaborated with her internal team. It was everything the firm was hoping to hear. Then, as the interview began to wind down, she mentioned, almost in passing, that her finance team had recently implemented a new threshold rule for approving vendor invoices. Any invoice over that threshold triggered another layer of administrative back and forth that she had to deal with, and it had become a huge headache.
We could have simply acknowledged it with a “Oh wow that sounds frustrating and especially during busy season!” But instead, we got curious. Could she share the threshold amount? When the firm knew the invoice was going to be over that threshold, if they broke the amount up over multiple invoices, would that help eliminate extra steps for her? Her answer was an enthusiastic (and almost relieved) yes! We immediately shared what we had learned with the relationship partner and the firm’s accounting department, and the change was quickly implemented.
It was a relatively small administrative change, but it sent a big message: We heard you. We understood the problem. And we did something about it to make your life a little easier. That builds trust and strengthens the relationship.
And the same principle applies to the informal conversations happening every day.
Listen to learn, not just to respond.
Attorneys are trained to solve problems. When a client raises an issue, the instinct can be to immediately offer a solution—or start thinking about what other services the firm could provide.
Sometimes, the better approach is to listen.
Give yourself time to understand what the client is actually telling you. One simple follow-up can help: “This is what I heard. Is that about right?”
When the conversation allows, have a few questions ready that encourage the client to share what’s really going on:
What’s getting the most attention internally right now?
Are there any changes happening for you or your team?
Have priorities from leadership shifted?
What’s coming up that you’re starting to think about?
The goal isn’t to interrogate a client looking for a cross-selling opportunity. It’s to understand what matters to them and the challenges they’re facing.
Sometimes that information is professional. Sometimes it’s personal.
One time in a coaching session I had a partner casually mention that client A was a diehard Buffalo Bills fan. He also knew client B was equally passionate about the team, and both would be at the game that weekend. The partner had a great relationship with both and had frequently talked football. I suggested he introduce them.
His email was simple and personable: He knew they both loved the Bills, knew they would both be at the game and thought they might enjoy connecting. Their response was appreciative, and it started a dialogue between them that was all business…. the business of football.
Nothing was sold. No business-development pitch was made. He connected two people based on something he had learned about them. That’s genuine relationship building. It also illustrates why listening matters. Clients want to know that their attorneys listen to more than just the legal issues.
Connect the Dots
Knowing something about a client is only the first step. The real value comes from connecting that information with what others in the firm know—and then deciding what to do with it.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve seen is that valuable client intelligence often gets trapped with individuals. The relationship partner knows something. An associate knows something else. An assistant hears a passing comment. Marketing learns something at an event. Another practice group has a relationship with a different executive at the same company.
Everyone may have a piece of the puzzle, but no one has the full picture.
This is where your firm’s marketing and business development (MBD) team can be your biggest ally.
MBD professionals are often the unsung heroes of a firm. They may not be the ones sitting across the table from the client, but they are frequently the people connecting the dots across relationships, practices and opportunities. They see what is happening across the firm and can help attorneys turn good intentions into a coordinated plan. The opportunity is to make sure they’re part of the conversation.
For example, I’ve worked with client teams (made up of partners, associates, paralegals, and business professionals) that held monthly or quarterly meetings where everyone shared:
Recent client interactions and BD activity
Key developments or news
Feedback they had received
New contacts or relationships
Potential opportunities or concerns
Ways other attorneys or practice groups could help
By being part of the conversation, the MBD team could then take those individual updates and turn them into something useful: What are we hearing? What patterns are emerging? Who else needs to know? And what should we do next?
During one meeting, the team learned that the client had recently experienced significant turnover among its junior associates and was having a hard time getting its new hires up to speed. The group discussed how the firm could help and decided to offer a series of complimentary training sessions focused on key issues, processes and players. The client loved the idea, the sessions were a hit, and the relationship grew.
That same collaboration can change how attorneys approach business development as well. I’ve often seen multiple attorneys independently identify the same client or prospect as a relationship they want to develop. Once everyone knows what everyone else is working toward, those individual efforts can become collaborative ones.
And that’s where your MBD team can really shine. They can help identify the overlap, bring the right people together, develop the plan, provide the resources and—perhaps most importantly—help keep the momentum going.
Attorneys bring relationships and the client knowledge. The MBD team can help connect it, organize it and turn it into action.
One relationship. Multiple attorneys. One coordinated approach. That’s the power of connecting the dots.
Don’t Overlook the Intelligence in RFPs and Pitches
RFPs and pitches are another often-overlooked source of client intelligence. Yes, the firm needs to answer the questions. But pay attention to the questions themselves.
What is the client asking about?
AI and technology
Pricing or alternative fee arrangements
Staffing and efficiency
Industry experience
Geographic expansion
Client service expectations
Areas of anticipated growth or concern
Those questions can tell you a lot about what the client cares about right now. And once the work is won, that information needs to make its way into the firm.
I’ve had attorneys ask months after winning an RFP what billing arrangements and rates were agreed upon with a client and if that information was shared with the finance department. In one case, a new rate structure agreed to during a pitch wasn’t properly communicated to finance, and the firm undercharged the client for more than a year. That made for an uncomfortable conversation all around.
Capturing the information isn’t enough. The right people must know about it.
A Signal Isn’t an Insight
AI can make it easier to monitor what’s happening with clients—leadership changes, acquisitions, industry trends, regulatory developments and more. But a signal isn’t an insight.
AI can surface information. The people closest to the client provide the context. And the MBD team can help connect the dots and determine what to do with it.
That’s where technology becomes truly useful: not replacing relationships and judgment, but helping firms make better use of what they already know.
Know. Connect. Act.
Law firms already have an incredible amount of client intelligence. The opportunity is to make better use of it.
Know what matters.
Connect the people and information.
Act on what you learn.
Everyone who interacts with a client has a piece of the relationship. When firms create a culture where people share what they hear, and where the MBD team can help connect the dots, that information becomes much more valuable.
Because the next business-development opportunity may not be something your firm needs to discover. It may be something your firm already knows.