Welcome to DemandTrigger, our new blog. The name refers to our belief that that concept (explained below) and its many applications serve as the central organizing principle in both marketing and sales, and as such should serve as grist for a robust and sustained conversation with those of you invested in the emerging “sales” debate, either from within law firms or from the perspective of having law firms and lawyers as clients.
The Demand Trigger concept was born by accident ten years ago. I was advising a firm’s Product Liability practice group when the head of the Banking/Finance practice asked if he could spend a few minutes telling the PL group members what the B/F group was doing these days. [This is what passed for cross-selling in 1995. Hmm, I guess not much has changed, really.]
The B/L head explained four or five recent developments, the expectation clearly being that the PL lawyers would respond with, “Oh, I should intro you to client XYZ.” Unfortunately, at their conclusion, his remarks were met with silence from his colleagues.
I was seated immediately to the B/L lawyer’s right, and was feeling uncomfortable on his behalf, sort of the way you feel when an earnest, likable comedian bombs. My innocent attempt at a rescue prompted a naïve question: “I don’t know anything about banking/finance or product liability. How would someone like me recognize who needs your services?”
Off the top of his head, the B/F lawyer immediately cited a handful of business problems or circumstances that, if present, reliably suggested the need for a B/F lawyer. To my pleasant surprise (and his, I’m sure) the PL lawyers around the table began chattering, mentioning this client or that, to whom they now recognized they should introduce the B/F lawyers.
Thus was born the Demand Trigger, i.e., the underlying business problem, circumstance or opportunity that triggers demand for your category of service. [The run-together form, DemandTrigger, is our brand and trademark.] We now had a simple way for lawyers to recognize opportunity within their clients for other practices in their firm, and to quickly qualify a sales Suspect and eliminate dry wells: No Demand Trigger, no sales conversation.
Some of our clients now organize all their marketing decision-making around the Demand Trigger, leading us to conclude that this may be a beneficial basis for the vibrant sales conversation that is just picking up steam in our industry.
We will use this forum to vent, opine and occasionally provoke stimulating responses from others in this biz. Please join us, and take the opportunity to do so, too.
Mike O'Horo
The Coach
