🚩 The Situation

A leading UK law firm found themselves in a challenging position with their Financial Services (FS) sector. Their internal Business Development Manager had taken long-term sick leave, and this coincided with a change in the sector’s leadership. Despite an enthusiastic away day before Christmas that had generated plenty of ideas, the momentum had all but disappeared.

The newly appointed Head of Sector had a vision that they wanted to implement; creating a sub-sector structure, building market presence, and driving BD activity throughout the team. But without proper direction, the team had fallen into the trap of “busy work” – activities that kept them occupied but didn’t necessarily move them toward their goals. There was no clarity on what was effective or where their time and budget were being allocated.

🎯 The Task

I stepped in as a senior business development consultant with two clear objectives to achieve:

1. Lead the marketing and BD planning for the FS sector and its newly formed sub-sectors. These teams were essentially starting from scratch, with no established plans and a need for both strategic guidance and practical support to transform their ideas into reality.
2. Establish solid foundations for the sector – including budget visibility, internal awareness across the firm, and more effective use of external memberships – ensuring sustainable marketing and BD activities once internal staff returned.

Success in this role meant creating clear, actionable marketing plans, implementing streamlined budget oversight, and defining team roles so that everyone could move forward with confidence and purpose.

🛠️ The Action

Over a focused six-month engagement, I implemented a practical, strategic approach to get the FS sector back on track:

• Building plans from the ground up: I arranged regular meetings with the Head of Sector, sub-sector leads, and the Practice Development Lawyer. Through structured planning workshops, I guided them through the process, constructively challenged ideas when needed, and took ownership of project-managing timelines to build robust, realistic marketing plans that everyone could commit to.
• Creating budget clarity: I developed and implemented a comprehensive budget tracker to understand spending patterns across the sector. This was something that hadn’t been done before, with spending largely happening on a reactive basis. By mapping expenditure against KPIs and aligning it to the P&L, I provided much-needed visibility and control over financial resources.
• Maximising membership ROI: The firm was investing significantly in trade bodies and associations but failing to capitalise on the benefits. I conducted a thorough audit of member opportunities, created a live tracker for monitoring engagement, and initiated strategic activities including:
  • Targeted attendance at industry events
  • Contributing valuable content to member publications
  • Exploring co-hosting opportunities with partner organisations
  • Implementing lead tracking from member touchpoints
• Enhancing internal communications: I launched a focused campaign to raise awareness of the FS sector within the firm, including promoting their podcast series. Additionally, I recommended implementing quarterly social events and cross-sector speed networking to increase collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Establishing role clarity: As my contract neared its end, I led a productive working session with the BD and marketing teams to clearly define responsibilities using a RACI framework. This proved crucial in addressing concerns that the FS team might lose momentum once the internal BD Manager returned.
• Providing focused challenge: Throughout the engagement, I consistently challenged the team to concentrate on doing a few things exceptionally well – and within budget – rather than diluting their efforts across too many unfocused initiatives.

📈 The Result

This engagement was fundamentally about setting the sector up for future success. While there were no direct lead generation or revenue figures to report during my time there, the transformation was evident:

• 📌 Comprehensive strategic plans developed for every sub-sector, providing clear direction
• 📌 Effective budget tracking introduced and aligned to ROI metrics
• 📌 Trade memberships fully leveraged for maximum visibility and lead generation potential
• 📌 Internal visibility significantly boosted through strategic communications and podcast promotion
• 📌 Team roles and responsibilities clearly defined using the RACI framework

💡 Emotional Impact

There was a palpable sense of relief across the team as we progressed through the engagement. What had previously felt overwhelming and unclear became manageable, prioritised, and purposeful. I particularly enjoyed helping the sector step back from the day-to-day, think strategically about their goals, and move forward with structure and renewed momentum.

✅ Key Takeaways

• Establish foundations first: Proper planning, clarity, and structure are essential prerequisites before diving into BD activity.
• Don’t waste valuable memberships: Maximise existing partnerships to drive visibility and extract full value.
• Focus for maximum impact: Do fewer things exceptionally well – and measure everything.
• Define roles early: Avoid duplication and confusion by using frameworks like RACI to clarify responsibilities.

💬 Need to get your marketing back on track?

If your sector or service line needs a marketing reboot – from strategic planning to performance measurement – get in touch. Whether you’re looking for interim support or strategic direction, I can help your professional services team get organized and make an impact that lasts.

👉 Book a discovery call