Challenge: Several partners of one of the state’s largest law firms were looking for assistance to improve their business development skills and increase opportunities to develop business for the firm. The firm’s leadership agreed this was a critical issue. They wanted to expand cross-selling opportunities and to develop individual business development plans to better organize these efforts to work in conjunction with the firm’s overall marketing efforts.

JCS Solution: Johnson Consulting Services developed a three-part program incorporating lecture, group discussions and individual consulting to assist the 18 participating partners in developing their own business development plans designed to increase the firm’s market share. The program was designed to focus on practical applications, maximize results and increase efficiency.

Results: The partners viewed the program we developed as a result of our professional services consulting as being “very productive” and our plans were successful in increasing firm revenues. This law firm is now regarded as one of the major law firms in the nation. Individual partners that participated in this engagement have gone on to become highly regarded industry experts. One partner became the head of the firm’s marketing efforts and because of our recommendation that she engage in internal business development activities, she was eventually elected as a member of the firm’s management committee.

Challenge: A CPA firm was transitioning from the management and business development expertise of its founder to his daughter. They needed assistance in enhancing their marketing and business development strategies to ensure a smooth transition and to ensure the longevity of the practice. It was essential to enhance the community profile and business development skills of the daughter so that the firm would not have to rely on her father’s reputation after his full retirement.

JCS Solution: We worked with the client and her staff to develop an integrated approach to business development and linked this effort to their revised long-range business plan. Our work focused on helping them develop a marketing plan that was realistic and worked to enhance the understanding and support of everyone in the firm about their role in this process. Our efforts concentrated on gathering information, directing the research efforts of staff, reviewing data and information gathered to assess marketing opportunities, working as a facilitator in the development of the written marketing plan and in providing training to staff on their role in business development.

Result: This CPA firm successfully made the transition from the founder to the next generation of his family. More than 15 years later, this CPA firm is still successfully servicing its clients.

Challenge: A 5-year old law firm was growing more rapidly than expected, the firm’s target markets were not clearly identified and the firm was struggling with how to control and focus their future growth. The partners did not enjoy engaging in business development activities, however, the expertise and reputation of one of the partners provided an opportunity to position the firm and its attorneys as national experts in this field. They needed assistance in developing a marketing plan for the firm and a clear delineation of responsibilities for business development activities.

JCS Solution: We reviewed the information the firm’s representatives had gathered on business development options, assessed the impact of the various marketing opportunities the firm was already engaged in, and identified other opportunities to leverage the strengths of the various partners. We developed a detailed marketing plan that set out specific strategies and tactics designed to position the attorneys to their key target markets and leverage their personal strengths.

Results: The firm implemented the focused business development plan and the book they published gained national notoriety for their professional expertise.

Challenge: The founder and Chairman of the Board of a nationwide environmental engineering firm was engaged in negotiations with a global entity that was interested in a possible acquisition or entering into a mutually beneficial contractual relationship with his firm. Central to these deliberations were questions regarding whether the firm’s success in developing a profitable consulting practice in a niche market could be replicated within the various domestic profit centers of the larger organization. The founder was struggling to come up with a way to explain how his firm’s strategic approach to lead development could be effectively integrated into the larger firm.

JCS Solution: Johnson Consulting Services was engaged to assist the founder in refining his concept for developing an Information Center that could help the domestic offices of the larger firm expand their service offerings to the target market. We worked with the founder and his key staff to better clarify their lead generation process and conducted research to identify other resources that would allow similar lead generation research to be replicated on a national basis. We conducted an initial review to identify possible research tools, websites and databases that could be used to develop leads, and to obtain insight regarding potential client needs for environmental consulting.

Results: The founder was relieved to have a workable idea to present to the larger firm and he used our written report to move the acquisition discussion forward.

Challenge: The founder of a graphic design firm was struggling financially and had minimal revenues. The founder and owner lacked any sophistication regarding business principles but was ready to make a major transition to move to a new level of business operation and real success.

JCS Solution: Johnson Consulting Services has provided on-going business consulting services for over 20 years to this graphic design firm. These services have included review of growth strategies for this firm, consultation regarding employee issues and recruiting, as well as assistance in managing overall operations as the firm has grown and evolved.

Results: When the owner began working with Johnson Consulting Services, the firm was in its infancy. Today the firm is a multi-million dollar enterprise creating international award winning graphic designs and the owner has been honored as Minnesota’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Working with Johnson Consulting Services “was a turning point” for the owner because she finally was able to develop a focused business plan and the skills she needed to develop long-term business success for her professional services firm.