As the legal services market moves through a period of change, the phrase (or curse) 'may you live in interesting times' seems appropriate for solicitors. Panels of solicitors are being chopped and changed as organisations look towards the future of legal services in LDPs and ABSs.From a marketing management perspective, this is a problem that we see with many firms that have an over-reliance on sourcing work from one or two external sources and panels. You know the position – while the work comes in, everyone in the department is busy and there’s little time, effort or perceived need for developing other sources of work. But the risk of losing one major source of work puts a whole department or even the firm at risk.

The solution is obvious: widen your firm’s referral or enquiry sources. But this is often difficult to obtain. Occasionally it’s a waste of time when new alternative sources don’t live up to expectations. But time is a key part of the solution. Those often-envied relationships competitive firms have with valuable sources of referrals have taken time and a careful approach to develop. There are no ‘quick wins’ in developing high value sources without paying larger fees for it.

Basic marketing techniques can help in generating alterative enquiry sources. Initially it's worth looking at how many ‘raw’ enquiries are needed each month to keep the department busy. It’s understanding the ‘enquiry-order’ ratio that drives many businesses. Next, what type of enquiry are you looking for and do your promotions ask for this type of work? Then, who and where are your typical clients and are they receiving your promotional messages?

This then highlights two internal management issues to consider. Is your firm or department set up to easily gain enquiries? Try the ‘mystery shopper’ approach and see if you get the response you expect. And is your department spending a lot of time dealing with low quality enquiries that don’t lead to profitable work? Here try reviewing how enquiries are handled and weeding out the waste at an earlier stage.

Addressing these questions and putting in the time to look at the medium- and longer-term development options will help everyone feel a little more secure in 'interesting' times.