Lawyers who do not refer clients to colleagues for fear of appearing pushy are costing their firms millions in lost revenue, a new study has found.
Cross-selling is the biggest missed opportunity to boost profits, according to three-quarters of senior law firm marketers, with almost half (49%) claiming that lawyers don’t try because they don’t want to seem too forward.
Lack of interest or incentives was an issue for a third (33%) and 28% said their fee-earners preferred to refer work to contacts outside the firm.
Disinclination to share clients, uncertainty about how to approach them, a lack of time and also a lack of understanding about the different services their firm offered were also listed among the reasons.
The study by Passle spoke to marketing and business development heads at 150 law firms – half in the UK and half US – and found that if each were to maximise cross-selling, they believed they could boost their bottom line by an average 12%.
Based on the latest available figures for the annual revenue of the top 100 law firms, this works out at an estimated average of £44 million per firm in the UK* and $190 million per firm in the US.**
The AI-powered thought leadership platform for professional services, which is launching Crosspitch AI, a new tool to help lawyers source and share insights with clients about other relevant services within their firms, found that 80% of firms said there were missed opportunities to cross-sell services.
Connor Kinnear, Chief Marketing Officer at Passle, said: “In today’s competitive legal market, firms must demonstrate their full value. Failing to cross-sell means losing revenue to competitors. Rather than seeming pushy, cross-selling highlights a firm’s broad capabilities and strengthens client relationships. New data shows firms are missing out on millions—an avoidable loss. To stay ahead, marketers must get lawyers on board.”
Following increased demand from clients for help with thought leadership generation, Passle developed Crosspitch AI to help lawyers instantly tap into their firm’s full expertise, cross-referencing content with the profiles of lawyers across the firm and alerting them to relevant insights to share with their clients.
The AI-powered search, designed specifically for the professional services market, will also enable law firms to improve their website’s lawyer search, using a combination of AI and Passle’s own data to deliver much more accurate results for those looking for legal services.
Trials of the easy-to-use tool by several large law firms have already proved successful, with Crosspitch AI rolled out in as little as two weeks.