The challenge

A leading international law firm was experiencing difficulty recruiting for a senior Marketing & Business Development role supporting its Real Estate practice.

Rather than allowing key projects to stall while the recruitment process continued, I was brought in on an interim three-month contract to provide senior marketing and BD support and maintain momentum.

The Real Estate practice had an ambitious BD Partner and had recently introduced a new asset class approach, breaking the practice down into eight distinct areas. The priority was to turn that structure into something practical that could support both marketing activity and business development.

My role was to help move this programme forward while also supporting wider strategic priorities across the practice.

Developing the asset class plans

A key part of the assignment was helping to develop marketing and BD plans for each of the eight Real Estate asset classes.

This meant moving beyond broad ambitions and helping each group think more clearly about its individual market, opportunities and priorities.

I worked with the teams to develop greater structure around areas such as:

• their key objectives and areas of growth
• priority clients and prospects
• market opportunities and issues
• marketing and thought leadership activity
• business development priorities
• actions, ownership and next steps

The aim was to give each asset class a practical framework for activity while ensuring the individual plans supported the wider direction of the Real Estate practice.

Strengthening the website content

The introduction of the asset class structure also needed to be reflected externally.

I helped the firm review and develop website content for the eight areas so that the way the practice presented itself online better reflected its capabilities and the markets it wanted to target.

This involved looking at how each asset class was positioned, identifying the capabilities and messages that needed greater prominence, and helping to ensure the content was commercially focused rather than simply describing the legal services available.

Creating practical sales tools

Alongside the plans and website content, each asset class needed a sales placemat.

These were designed to turn the strategy into something much more usable for partners and lawyers in their day-to-day business development conversations.

I helped develop the content and structure of the placemats so that the key messages, capabilities and areas of focus could be captured in a concise format.

Together, the plans, website pages and sales placemats created three connected elements: the internal strategy, the external market positioning and a practical tool to support BD conversations.

Kick-starting a European Living campaign

During the assignment, I also helped initiate a new European asset campaign focused on the Living sector.

The first stage was about understanding where the strongest opportunities might lie rather than immediately jumping into campaign activity.

We began by looking across the different Living sub-asset classes, considering the firm’s existing capabilities alongside their potential for commercial growth.

From there, I helped identify and explore potential themes and topics that could provide the basis for a European campaign.

This created the strategic groundwork for the programme so that, when my permanent successor joined, there was a clear starting point from which they could continue developing the campaign.

Supporting wider practice priorities

My role wasn’t limited to the asset class programme.

I also worked with the Head of Practice to help shape themes for the Real Estate Partner Conference, providing marketing and BD input into the issues and opportunities that would be most valuable for partners to explore together.

This meant I could provide support not only on the immediate deliverables, but also on some of the wider strategic conversations taking place within the practice.

The result

In three months, I was able to step into a senior role quickly and help keep a significant programme of Real Estate marketing and business development activity moving while the firm continued its search for a permanent recruit.

The eight asset classes had greater structure around their marketing and BD planning, website content and sales materials, while the initial strategic work for a European Living campaign had also been established.

Most importantly, the recruitment gap didn’t have to mean a loss of momentum.

When my successor joined, I was able to hand over the work already underway, giving them a stronger platform from which to continue.

Need senior marketing or BD support while you recruit?

A vacancy doesn’t have to mean putting important projects on hold. I provide interim senior marketing and business development support to professional services firms, helping to maintain momentum, progress strategic projects and provide experienced support until the permanent person is in place.

Get in touch if you have a gap in your marketing or BD team and need experienced interim support.