• Are you unsure how to develop the next generation of rainmakers?
• Do you wish you had more contacts/leads?
• Are you meeting prospects but having a hard time converting them into clients?
• Do you have an account management strategy to grow your top 20 clients?

Akina is a consulting and training firm that helps law firms and corporations improve sales productivity.

What We Do

Akina helps law firms become more profitable by teaching attorneys to be better at selling their firms' services. These services positively impact firm profitability by increasing firm and individual revenues.

Akina has a proven sales methodology that demystifies the sales process and helps attorneys sell as professionals. Some of Akina's services include:

• a 90-day training and coaching program focused on execution of sales tactics that accelerate results.
• client service (account management) projects and Client Value Assessment engagements.
• consulting engagements targeted for cross-selling/team selling effectiveness.
• leadership, mentoring and coaching programs for career development and talent retention.

Results Akina clients can expect

• increased revenue
  • acquisition of new matters and new clients
  • finding additional sources of business from existing clients
  • an improvement in individual sales productivity
• lower cost of sales
  • more focus on qualified opportunities and eliminating time spent with unqualified prospects
  • more cost effective lead generation
• shortened sales cycles and improved close ratios
  • attorneys will build relationships with real buyers of legal services
  • attorneys will have a goal and task oriented marketing plan with accountability for performance.
• improved revenue forecasting visibility and accuracy
  • the use of objective criteria for qualification
  • accurate reporting processes and tools
• return on investment (ROI)
  • revenue pay-back on fees, generally within 90 days
  • anecdotal ROI in culture, helping plant seeds that will
    • bear fruit over the course of a lawyer's career
    • provide a "retirement" plan for current leaders

A Changing Legal Landscape

The legal marketplace is undergoing a significant change. Traditionally, lawyers have only needed to rely on "good lawyering and a solid reputation" to develop business. But today, those attributes are assumed basics, and increased competition and client expectations are driving law firms to adopt many of the best practices of successful corporations in order to maintain competitiveness.

In particular, selling has become a necessary function for law firm growth to combat the fact that:

• client loyalty is at an all-time low.
• clients are becoming more discerning in how they outsource legal services and are narrowing the number of providers through convergence contests, RFP requests and approved provider processes.
• clients are under increasing pressure to justify the value and benefit in their legal purchasing decisions.

Sales is shifting from a 4-letter word to a 5-letter word for those who "get it." Today, lawyers need selling skills for firm survival and individual career advancement, yet many have never been provided any training or skill development in this area. Competitive law firms understand that acquiring resources to augment new skills, such as selling, are signs of strength and a commitment to future growth as they equip lawyers to compete and survive in the new legal landscape.

Lawyers embracing these new changes in culture are learning two important things from Akina:

1. Selling is the natural outcome of authentic relationship building and problem solving.
2. Attorneys do not and should not have to resort to "cheesy," manipulative sales tactics to win new business as a lawyer.

How We Do It

Akina's offerings and programs teach lawyers how to acquire new business from existing clients and prospects.

We work on a one-on-one basis with attorneys selected by their law firm to teach them how to:

• approach prospective clients in authentic, genuine ways that build relationships.
• articulate a message to a prospective client that distinguishes who they are, what they do and how that is helpful or solves a specific problem.
• manage a sales process and how to close a higher ratio of prospects.
• get more business from new and existing clients without jeopardizing a relationship.
• cross-sell all of the services offered by their firm.
• organize business development activities and establish a regular discipline.
• create effective personal marketing action plans and monitor performance against plans.

Akina's Unique Approach. We are often asked, what makes Akina unique or different?

Expertise: Akina blends the best of corporate best practices for selling with a thorough understanding of the practice of law. Akina Partners and Principals bring 25+ years proven best practices in corporate and have translated those practices specifically for law firms. We also have an attorney and former law firm marketing director on our team who know first hand the unique challenges law firms face in the marketplace.

Execution: Our consulting and training are wholly biased toward execution - rather than telling attorneys WHAT to do, we specialize on showing attorneys HOW to do it.

Pragmatism: Akina clients consistently describe our approach as refreshing, direct and extremely pragmatic. We meet each attorney "where he/she is" to customize an individualized approach that results in consistent and successful execution.

Who We Help

Akina has worked with law firms of all sizes and at different stages of growth. Akina can help individual attorneys who:

• Are unsure where to begin to develop their client base.
• Wish they had more contacts/leads.
• Are meeting prospects but who are having a difficult time converting them to clients.

For more information on Akina Legal's services, please contact Deborah Knupp at 312.235.0144 or deb@akina.biz.

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