Creating and Managing a Sales Pipeline Report for Your Law Firm

Creating a sales forecast, also known as a pipeline report, is crucial for law firm business development as it enables better focus on revenue goals and time allocation. The sales forecast is a valuable tool for tracking revenue opportunities and is relatively easy to generate.

There are two approaches to defining the revenue goal. The first involves calculating the expected billable hours for the current year and multiplying them by the billable rate to determine the revenue goal. The second option is to set a revenue goal that reflects a 10-15% increase over the previous year’s originations, with adjustments made for significant cases or deals.

The pipeline should primarily focus on originations, which can fall into various categories: work where the individual is the originating lawyer, work where they are part of the team and contributed to origination, or work for which they are given partial credit due to their expertise. Some also include “work originated” and “work billed” to build their practice, encompassing work they bill for others and any work they bring.

The next step in the pipeline is to identify active pursuits, such as responses to RFPs, budget presentations to prospective clients, discussions about specific matters that may lead to new business or initial conversations about potential clients or engagements in new areas. It is crucial to stay proactive and regularly connected with these opportunities, as progress is reliant on the individual’s efforts.

Maintaining an active pipeline helps individuals, practices, offices, and the firm as a whole become more proactive and focused on potential future revenue streams. The business can efficiently prioritize revenue goals and investments by adhering to the sales forecast, enhancing overall performance and success.