The Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO) and Hellerman Communications recently announced the winners of the 2019 Sales & Service Awards, which recognizes sales, business development, and marketing professionals who spearheaded initiatives contributing to law firm revenue growth in 2018.
Poyner Spruill LLP Director of Client Service & Strategy Brandi Hobbs was recognized at the 16th annual RainDance Conference in Chicago as the small firm Sales & Service Executive of the Year. LSSO noted that she is “raising the bar on client service both inside and outside the firm.”
To read LSSO’s complete press release on the winners, click here.
In 2018, Poyner Spruill launched an ambitious program, which laid out a set of five priorities that the firm used to make strategic marketing and business development choices throughout the year — the top priority being developing ‘Clients as Advocates.’ With this top priority in mind, Brandi worked with individual attorneys and teams to focus on creative approaches to training, increasing efficiency within the firm, and deepening relationships with clients and knowledge of the industries they serve.
“We admire and benefit from the passion that she devotes to client service and improving the business development culture at our firm,” Poyner Spruill managing partner Dan Cahill said.
Hobbs is also the leader of the firm’s Client Service department, a small but highly effective group responsible for the firm’s client service, business development, programming, and marketing needs. Responsible for strategic initiatives and tactical execution, she works closely with personnel in a variety of roles including firm leadership, other departments, attorneys, and the firm’s clients.
Results of Hobbs’ work include:
- Firmwide training on conducting client service interviews, which launched the firm’s client feedback program, resulted in retained work, and provided new insight for future relationship growth.
- Legal Lean Sigma Yellow Belt® 2-day event that led to multiple “wins,” including work in a new practice area for one of the firm’s largest clients, multiple new projects with other clients, 35 client representatives and over 30 attendees from Poyner Spruill, including approximately 20% of the firm’s attorneys, the head of every administrative department, and several support staff from across practice areas being certified in project management and process improvement, and expanded knowledge of key clients’ business operations.
- The third annual “Building-a-Book Club”; an internal 6-course training academy on business development, sales techniques, and client relations.
In her role as Director of Client Service and Strategy, Hobbs is responsible for setting strategy, promoting brand advocacy, collecting valuable client feedback, and identifying ways to use that feedback to improve service and innovate.
