Lawyers Don’t Need More Business Development: They Need a Plan That Fits (Minis with Megan)
“Do more business development” sounds like advice. But what does more actually mean?
In this mini episode of So Much To Say: A Legal Podcast For People, Megan Senese, business development coach and co-founder of stage, looks beyond the usual business development advice for lawyers to post more, network more, and schedule more coffee meetings. She explains why effective business development has to account for your billable requirements, compensation structure, capacity, internal relationships at law firms, career stage, and actual life. Because the best business development plan isn't the one with the most tactics, it’s the one you can realistically execute and that helps you get where you want to go.
Who this episode is for:
Lawyers who know they “should” be doing business development but don’t know where to start
Attorneys struggling to balance billable work with building a book of business
Lawyers whose current business development plan feels overwhelming or unrealistic
Firm leaders and legal marketers supporting lawyers at different stages of their careers
Episode takeaways:
“Do more business development” isn’t useful advice without defining what “more” actually means.
Your billable requirements, compensation structure, seniority, and capacity should influence your business development strategy.
Sometimes the right strategy is bringing in new clients; other times it’s building your internal network and getting more of the right work.
Time management, delegation, systems, and efficiency are part of business development too.
A sustainable strategy should evolve as your career, workload, and priorities change.
How to build a business development plan you can actually use:
Start with where you are right now: Your workload, billable hours, compensation, career stage, and financial goals should shape the plan.
Understand how you get paid: Know how origination credit and compensation work before deciding where to invest your time.
Don't overlook your internal network: If your immediate goal is hitting your hours or getting better work, relationships inside your firm may matter more than finding a brand-new client.
Make sure people know what you do: Your bio, LinkedIn profile, and content should reflect the work you actually want people to associate with you.
Create capacity before adding more: Look for administrative work you can delegate, automate, or streamline so business development isn't simply another task piled onto an already-full schedule.
Build for sustainability: Choose activities that fit your life well enough that you can keep doing them instead of constantly pushing business development to the bottom of your list.
Related Minis:
Bring these types of conversations to your law firm.
These podcast conversations are the same ones happening quietly inside law firms.
Through stage, we work with lawyers at every level and with legal marketing teams on client service, business development, and growth built on real relationships. If these themes are coming up inside your firm, let’s chat.
