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A view of the strategy, marketing, leadership, and competitiveness of professional service firms and those in knowledge intensive industries globally, and in Asia By Robert Sawhney, managing director, SRC Associates Ltd www.srchk.com

40 things senior partners need to know about strategy and marketing…and the application to professional service firms
Yes, both need your full input as well as the input and buy in of others in the firm No, you can't avoid discussing the issues with other partners No, marketing is not BD and promotion, it is about creating a culture that excels at delivering client value No, culture is not a gooey abstract that stinks of consultant speak-a marketing culture has the most significant impact on firm performance of any variable No, you cannot fix your problems by hiring marketing or other admin staff Yes, your clients do care about service and you should 'trouble' them to get...
Winning Legal Business from Medium Sized Companies
Recently, I was fortunate enough to be given a review copy of my good friends new book: Winning Legal Business from Medium Sized Companies (Ark, 2011). Silvia Hodges, PhD, teaches marketing and management at Fordham Law School in New York and in fact, based this book on her PhD research into the legal buying behavior of medium sized companies. The book covers 8 chapters: Chapter 1 – Introduction Chapter 2 – How do medium sized companies know what legal advice they need? Chapter 3 – How do medium sized companies search for law firms? Chapter 4 -How do medium sized...
Asian Legal Market Entry Strategy for Law Firms
Chapter 2 from my new book, Developing a Profitable Practice in Asia (Ark, 2010). Follow the link to read this chapter which describes: Various entry strategies and their pros and cons Examples of what other firms have done A decision making framework for entry choice Things to consider when entering the Asian market Feedback always welcome!
Differentiating Your Audit Services and Achieving Premium Pricing
A copy of a presentation I gave at CCH Singapore in April 2011
Building client relationships in the Asian context - presentation to the HK Institute of CPAs
HKICPA building client relationships feb 2011 View more presentations from Robert_Sawhney
How Do In House Counsel in China and Asia Select Law Firms?
Part of this post is excerpted from my new book: Developing a Profitable Practice in Asia There is a growing base of in house counsel within Asia and the greater influence of this group in the purchasing of legal services is certainly growing as the key role they play as a business partner is more widely accepted by organizations of Asian origin. In China recently, the profession has gained considerably more credibility through the instigation of formal associations and training programs. An increasing number of companies have more in-house counsel as part of their senior management teams, and some companies...
Relationship Marketing & Service Quality in the Asian Context (excerpt from Developing a Profitable Practice in Asia, Ark Publishing 2010)
Relationship marketing is a relatively new domain of study within the services sector but is growing increasingly important. Firms from every industry are attempting to build closer, more collaborative relationships with clients to better understand their needs in order to provide greater value and hence a greater share of wallet from the customers spending. The landmark deals between Pfizer and its 17 law firm panel members is a pertinent example of the lengths that law firms will go to in order to retain key clients. A larger number of law firms now taking a serious look at their base of...
Developing a Profitable Practice in Asia (an excerpt of my new book)
Developing a Profitable Practice in Asia (excerpt of the new book published by the Ark Group and written by Robert Sawhney of SRC Associates Ltd, Hong Kong) Details of the 230 page report/book can be found at the Ark Group web site here. Why Asian Legal Markets? The onset of the global financial crisis (GFC) has been a wake up call for many law firms. The declining legal markets in the West are now making many Asian markets look very attractive for Western law firms. There has been a relative explosion in new law firms coming to Asia from the...
Strategy and strategic planning in professional service firms: what is it and do I need it?
Corporate strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategic marketing, vision, and mission – quick, can you tell the difference between them. OK, perhaps it's an unfair question but it seems that many writers and consultants use these words so freely and without adequate explanation that most managers probably feel somewhat foolish for not knowing. In reality, many of these concepts are overlapping and are extremely relevant to the PSF if one accepts the context of the PSF and its unique nature. The word strategy comes from the Greek word 'strategos' and refers to the art of the general. In modern business,...
New Service Innovation and Success in Professional Service Firms
Innovation and creativity are perhaps words that do not easily fit with the traditions of the PSF. 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it', are the words that most professionals live by and if customers are not complaining, then everything must be fine. Hopefully, if you have got this far in the book, that myth has been firmly laid to rest. The late Peter Drucker once said that a firm has only two functions: marketing and innovation, the rest are costs. This book has already laid out the importance of marketing as the lead driver of firm performance and innovation...

Click here to contact Sean Hocking and SRC Associates

About SRC
Based in Hong Kong and working throughout Asia (with a worldwide office network of over 50 countries), SRC Associates is a consultancy that provides strategic management, marketing, and leadership advisory services for Professional Service Firms (PSFs) and SME’s.

Traditional strategic management and marketing methodologies do not fit well within professional service firms and require significant modification that suits the unique operating nature and cultural context of such firms.

About Robert C. Sawhney
Having worked with dozens of PSFs, many of whom are law firms,in Asia and Europe, conducted training for many more, and written numerous articles (see our recently published book: Marketing Professional Services in Asia by Robert C. Sawhney, published by Lexis Nexis) for various professional publications, we are one of the very few consultancies internationally that have a deep understanding of the management of PSFs and are able to provide advice that is both tailored and actionable.

Robert C. Sawhney is the founder and Managing Director of SRC Associates Ltd, a pioneering Hong Kong based firm in the areas of marketing and management of professional service firms. The author of numerous articles for a wide variety of publications, he has consulted and provided training for dozens of professional service firms across Asia and Europe. He is also the author of ‘Marketing Professional Services in Asia’, published by Lexis Nexis in 2009.

Having been based in Asia since 1995, he has developed a deep understanding of the Asian business culture, in particular, how marketing must be adapted not only to the specifics of professional service firms and SME’s but also within the context of the unique Asian business environment. A firm advocate of marketing’s role in firm success, he believes that marketing must be embraced on a firm wide level which abolishes the idea that marketing is about promotion and handled only by marketing people and be accepted by the most senior partners and executives on a truly strategic level

Robert has provided continuing education courses for lawyers and accountants in Hong Kong accredited by both the Hong Kong Law Society and the HK Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has also taught marketing and management subjects at institutions such as HKU SPACE. He has a bachelors degree from Brunel University (London), an MBA from the University of Lincoln, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).

SRC Associates Global Network
SRC also works with the internationally recognized authority on law practice management, Patrick McKenna has, since 1983, worked with the top management of premier law firms around the globe to discuss, challenge and escalate their thinking on how to manage and compete effectively. He currently serves as co-Chairman of the Managing Partner Leadership Advisory Board (the LAB), a forum for new firm leaders to pose questions about their burning issues. McKenna has authored a pioneering text on law firm marketing, Practice Development: Creating a Marketing Mindset (Butterworths, 1989), recognized by an international journal as being "among the top ten books that any professional services marketer should have." His subsequent work includes Herding Cats: A Handbook for Managing Partners and Practice Leaders (IBMP, 1995); and Beyond Knowing: 16 Cage-Rattling Questions To Jump-Start Your Practice Team (IBMP, 2000), both of which were Top 10 Management bestsellers. One of the profession's foremost experts on practice leadership, his book (co-authored with David Maister) First Among Equals: How to Manage a Group of Professionals, topped business bestseller lists in the United States, Canada and Australia, has been translated into nine languages & is currently in its sixth printing.