The Passle Podcast - CMO Series

Developing a joined-up approach to legal business development is essential for any firm. On this episode of the CMO Series, Brad Vynalek, Firm President and Executive Committee member, and Jennifer Rupkey, the Director of Business Development at Quarles & Brady LLP, join Ed Lovatt to shed light on the critical nexus between firm leadership and business development. Together, they illustrate the transformative impact of their collaborative approach, emphasizing its pivotal role in driving overall firm success. Brad, Jen and Ed discuss:

“Delivering value” is a core talking point for all legal marketers, but how much value are firms delivering in their marketing and BD efforts and how can they ensure each client interaction delivers on that promise of value? Today, Cam Dobinson welcomes Brenton Anderson, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Dentons Australia, to the CMO Series Podcast to dive into what might be the biggest missed opportunity for professional services firms. Brenton and Cam discuss:

Earlier this month, Alistair Bone joined Erin Stone Dimry, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at DLA Piper, on stage at the Legal Marketing Association’s Annual Conference in San Diego. We’re excited to bring you that conversation in this special episode of the CMO Series Podcast recorded in front of a live audience. Drawing on our 2023 General Counsel research, Erin and Alistair delve into how marketing teams can align their activities with client expectations. Erin shares the successes and challenges of creating and implementing an effective brand and marketing strategy that differentiates the firm and delivers for its clients. Erin and Alistair discuss:

In today's professional services marketing landscape, AI is the hottest topic, leaving many marketers pressured to keep pace with the rapid advancements in their firms' AI strategies. In this episode of the Passle CMO Series Podcast, Cam Dobinson has the privilege of hosting Gina Connell, Chief Marketing Officer at B P Collins, to offer a practical look at navigating the AI journey within a firm. Join us as we delve into how Gina spearheaded the firm's AI policy, offering insights on collaboration, agility, and fostering firm-wide engagement to ensure the effective use of AI. Gina and Cam explore:

From employee engagement to recruitment and retention, there are many benefits to building a successful employee brand. On this week’s episode of the CMO Series, Vicky Hanks, Head of Marketing at Blake Morgan joins Will Eke to share the key projects she’s delivered to enhance the employee brand across the firm and the importance of effective internal communications. Vicky and Will discuss:

Dubbed by The New York Times as “The Prosecutor Who Stared Down Bill Cosby,” and internationally recognized as a leading litigator in the #MeToo Movement, on this very special live recording of the CMO Series REPRESENTS Podcast, Yasmin Zand welcomes Kristen Gibbons Feden, Shareholder at Anapol Weiss. This special episode recorded at the #FollowFriday Conference on International Women’s Day delves into Kristen’s passion for advocating for abuse and trauma survivors and why she’s focused on harnessing empathy and understanding to support the people she represents.

In today's competitive landscape, fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion isn't just a moral imperative — it's a strategic advantage. Fresh off the back of our International Women’s Day episodes released on CMO REPRESENTS series, today, we’re shining a spotlight on the crucial importance of BD coaching for women. Our guest, Deborah Farone, Founder of Farone Advisors, joins Will Eke on the Passle CMO Series Podcast to share her extensive expertise as we discuss the unique challenges women face in honing their BD skills and the transformative impact of tailored coaching programs. Deborah and Will explore:

Training and developing the next generation of lawyers is a key driver for a firm’s long-term success. Investing in new talent is often overlooked, but today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Sheenika Gandhi, Chief Marketing Officer at Greenberg Glusker, to understand how she is reimagining business development training, for the future success of their associates and the firm. Sheenika and Ali discuss:

Mapping the clients’ buying journey is key to successfully aligning content to meet their needs. Someone with extensive experience across multiple industries in doing just that is Vicky Cunningham, Marketing Director at Efficio Consulting. Vicky joins the CMO Series Podcast today to discuss her approach to aligning content strategy with the client buying journey to drive business growth. Vicky and Will discuss: Transcription: Will: Welcome to the Passle CMO series podcast where we discuss all things marketing and business development. My name's Will Eke and today we are going to be talking about aligning content with the client journey. Mapping the client's buying journey is really key to successfully aligning content to meet client needs. Someone with extensive experience across multiple industries including law, consulting, and various other areas, is doing just that. And I'm really really happy to have Vicky Cunningham, who's the marketing director at Efficio Consulting, join us today. Vicky is going to discuss her approach and Efficio’s approach to aligning content strategy with the client buying journey to drive business growth. Welcome Vicky, how are we doing? Vicky: Hi, Will. Thanks for having me. I'm doing very well, happy to be here. Will: Good stuff. Some people will recognise you and your voice. We were just talking about that from your Freshfield days, but we'll come on to maybe how you got to where you got to on one of the questions today. To start off with- be good to set the scene in terms of your career. What- at what point did you realise the importance of mapping the client buying journey and, and aligning it with you know, a really robust content strategy? Vicky: Well, I think the seeds of that come from the fact that I started out in a sales route and if you get closer to the coal face, it, you know, it focuses the mind. It's always- I've always had to stop and say, you know, what's a customer or client need first? What is it that, what is it that they want? How do you put yourself in their shoes? I also spent a number of years as a journalist, so you, you know, you get the understanding of storytelling, the importance of storytelling for different audiences and that, you know, takes you right into what do you- what stories do you need to be telling to your potential clients and your existing clients to, you know, to keep them focused, to sort of help them along their buying journey or to, you know, nurture them once they have bought. So it's sort of- it's kind of in my professional DNA, I think from the, you know, the background that I've come up through. Will: Makes perfect sense, especially, yeah with the journalist background as well- Vicky: -and part of, you know, part of that route from a marketing point of view, i've also spent time in consumer marketing, and that's very very different clearly to B2B and professional services. So, consumer marketing, you're getting much much closer to your potential customer and again, that teaches you to think customer first, maybe doing much more sort of persona based marketing and B2B tends to approach that differently. Will: Yeah, and I suppose you- with that you're used to actually having this tangible outcome often with a consumer as well. You can actually link it back sometimes to a transaction type. Vicky: Yeah, and you know, in professional services, I think people still- marketeers and I've been guilty of this too, still often think of their clients as job titles and the practitioners think of their clients sometimes as job titles and not as humans, which is crazy because, you know, we're in a professional services, it's a people led business, your clients are, you know, they, they are also humans. What are they going through on their journey, you know, in a law firm, and what's the general counsel thinking about? Not, what for us, what's the Chief Procurement Officer thinking about? Will: You mentioned it there, you...

The landscape for professional services business development is changing. Clients are less loyal to firms and individual fee earners, and strong relationships are no longer enough to guarantee repeat business. These are just some of the insights that have recently come out of research conducted by DCM Insights, published in the Harvard Business Review. Today, on this special episode of the CMO Series Podcast, Will Eke welcomes founding partner of DCM Insights, Matthew Dixon, to discuss the highlights of the study and delve into the key characteristics that today’s most successful rainmakers all have in common. Matt and Will discuss:

This year we’re celebrating International Women’s Day by shining a light on the experiences of incredible women across the industry. In this second installment of Inspiring Inclusion, we uncover the personal stories of our guests and the inspirational people who have influenced their journeys. From creating safe spaces to the power of putting words into action, this incredible lineup share their insights and perspectives on the role of firms and their leaders in inspiring inclusion. We’re so grateful to hear from Julie Chodos, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider, Sandria Lherisse, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Groom Law Group, Emily McKeown, Business Development Director at Godfrey and Kahn, Sarah Short, Business Development & Marketing Manager at McLennan Ross, Angela Quinn, Chief Client Officer at Husch Blackwell, Christie Cáceres, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, Sarah Kempsey, Chief Marketing Officer at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, Laura Long, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Finance Officer at Hanson Bridgett, Liz Bigham, Chief Marketing Officer at Burford Capital, Marianne Talbot, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Bailey & Glasser, LLP, Gina Connell, Chief Marketing Officer at BP Collins, Diana Courson, Chief Marketing Officer at Wiley Rein, Nicole Miles, Chief Marketing Officer at Dentons, and Despina Kartson, Chief Marketing Officer at Baker Hostetler.

To celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day 2024, we invite you to join us as we talk with marketing and business development leaders from the world’s best law and professional services firms. This special episode of CMO Series REPRESENTS shines a light on leaders as they share their personal stories, best practices and the inspirational people who have influenced their career journeys and inspired inclusion in their firms. Join us for part one of this special series, as we uncover the transformative power of recognition and role modelling in fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion. First up, we speak with Deborah Fleming, Marketing and Business Development Director at Walker Morris, Alison Reynolds, Digital Marketing Director at Vinson & Elkins, Julie McConnell, Associate Director of Business Development for Global Industry Groups at White & Case, Liz Gooch, Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer at McDermott Will & Emery, Vicky Hanks, Head of Marketing at Blake Morgan, Lisa Azzuolo, Chief Marketing Officer, Bennett Jones, Evette Pottinger, Head of Marketing at AA Thornton, Sheenika Gandhi, Chief Marketing Officer at Greenberg Glusker, Gemma Vaites, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Capsticks, Karen Snell, Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer at Kennedys, Naomi Butson, Corporate Communications Manager at Marks & Clerk, Vicky Elliott, Group Head of BD & Marketing at Memery Crystal and Rosenblatt Law Firms, Deborah Farone, CEO of Farone Advisors, Jean-Marie Campbell, Head of Client Development at Baker McKenzie, Cynthia Howard, Chief Marketing Officer at Greenspoon Marder and Lora Wegman, Marketing Director at Thompson Coburn.

For any seasoned marketing and BD professional, it can be tempting to make the move into the world of consulting and set up as a sole trader. While there are rewards to be reaped, there are also many factors to consider before you take the plunge. Today, Will Eke has the pleasure of sitting down with someone who has successfully made the leap. Susanne Pugsley, Founder, Managing Director and Consultant at Pugsley Sidwell Business Development, joins the CMO Series Podcast to share the highs and the lows and what it really takes to become a successful Marketing & BD Consultant in the professional services industry. Susanne and Will discuss:

Across the legal industry, firms are seeing the increasing need for a professional and high-performing business development function. Today on the CMO Series Podcast, Cam Dobinson is joined by Hugo Peña, Director of Business Development at Gonzalez Calvillo, to discuss the change he has witnessed throughout his career and what the formalization of legal BD means for firms and business development professionals. Hugo and Cam discuss:

Ensuring that clients align with a firm's values is vital for a successful legal rebrand. Actively listening to clients, crafting compelling brand narratives, and fostering a cohesive firm culture, all contribute to a brand that resonates and reflects a firm’s long-term strategic direction. Today, Will Eke has the pleasure of speaking with Noni Garratt-Wall, Head of Marketing at Charles Russell Speechlys, about her journey through the rebranding process as she joins the CMO Series Podcast. Will and Noni discuss:

Developing an effective bid strategy is key to the success of any legal business development function, yet the process often goes into a black box and isn’t fully leveraged by firm leaders. On this episode of the CMO Series Podcast, Will Eke is joined by Deborah Fleming, Marketing & Business Development Director at Walker Morris, to discuss the critical role of a winning bid strategy and its impact on marketing and BD. Deborah and Will explore:

The role of Communications is the linchpin of effectively managing a law firm’s brand and reputation, not to mention being a key player in the development and success of a firm’s culture. Today, Will Eke is lucky to welcome Allan Schoenberg, who is celebrating 3 years as Chief Communications Officer at Vinson & Elkins, to the CMO Series Podcast to discuss his unique career journey, and the pivotal role communications plays in today’s firms. Allan and Will discuss:

While remote and hybrid working has become the norm for many, establishing real human connections can be a challenge. Creating a culture of meaningful connection and collaboration in a law firm requires intention. Eugene McCormick is lucky to welcome someone who has not only created a culture of human connection within the legal marketing and BD team, but across the entire firm and multiple geographies. Melodie Tilley, Chief Client Development Officer at FordHarrison, joins the CMO Series Podcast to share her insights on how to do it effectively. Melodie and Eugene discuss:

On this episode of the CMO Series REPRESENTS Podcast, Yasmin Zand is lucky to sit down with Terra Davis, Chief Diversity & Talent Development Officer at Knobbe Martens. Terra joins the series to share her journey, why she started advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion, and the critical role of psychological safety in law firms. Terra discusses the strategies and programs she is working on to drive change and innovation to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone belongs, as well as advice for others looking to promote psychological safety within their firms.

The Business Development function is becoming more professional and more valued by services firms, but there is still a need to modernise and bring global teams together to develop best practice approaches. On today’s CMO Series Podcast, Charles Cousins welcomes Karen Snell, Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer at Kennedys to discuss how she and her team are becoming more effective as a modern global BD function. Karen and Charles discuss: