Having Strong Project Management Skills Will Enhance Your Business Development Performance
Strong business development performance is deeply linked to strong project management capabilities.
The above statement makes it sound like Smithy has finally lost the plot! So for this BD Tips Wednesday post, let me elaborate...
Business development is a process
In the world of busy professionals, business development is often a reactionary relationship-led process. You go to networking events, write the odd legal update, talk to referrals, etc. But rainmakers don't see it like that. To them, winning work consistently, pricing it confidently and delivering it profitably are not intuitive actions; rainmakers apply structure, discipline and repeatable processes to their business development.
To rainmakers, every business development opportunity follows a recognised workflow process:
✔️ Identifying the opportunity
✔️ Qualifying the client and scope
✔️ Developing the solution and value proposition
✔️ Preparing the proposal or pitch
✔️ Managing stakeholders and decision-makers
✔️ Closing, onboarding, and transitioning to delivery
This is not ad hoc, but a multi-step process that involves risk, resources, timelines and decisions.
Project management skills make business development repeatable and scalable
Strong project management capability teaches you how to:
Break complex opportunities into clear decision stages, making earlier and more confident go / no-go calls
Define scope and assumptions upfront, reducing pricing anxiety and preventing margin erosion before a matter even starts
Allocate time and resources deliberately, so business development effort is spent on the right opportunities, not the loudest ones
Set milestones, responsibilities, and decision points, keeping momentum through long sales cycles and multiple stakeholders
These skills shift business development from hopeful activity to intentional pipeline management, allowing you to scale beyond a handful of opportunistic pursuits without sacrificing quality, margin, or sanity.
Clients buy trust and confidence, not just capability
In-house counsel, management teams and procurement are not just assessing your lawyers' legal expertise, they also assess how well the work will be managed. Here, lawyers with strong project management capabilities can more clearly explain:
How the matter will be structured
How communication will work
How changes and scope creep will be handled
How timelines and responsibilities will be controlled
In turn, this builds the client's trust and confidence and becomes a differentiator between you and your competitors.
Process creates better business development assets
When business development and delivery are both process-driven, lawyers generate better inputs for future growth.
Well-managed engagements produce:
Clear outcomes linked to original objectives
Evidence of value delivered
Consistent language for case studies and proposals
Business development becomes cumulative. Each project strengthens the next pursuit, rather than every opportunity starting from scratch.
Takeaway
Strong business development performance is deeply linked to strong project management capability because it:
Turns business development into a disciplined, repeatable process rather than a series of ad-hoc, relationship-driven activities
Improves scoping, pricing confidence and risk control early, before margin is lost and expectations drift
Builds client trust and continuity from pitch to delivery, positioning you as a safe, commercial, and well-managed choice
Need Help With Your Business Development?
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