Every year, thousands of law firm partners write a business development plan. And every year, most of those plans are forgotten by March.
The problem is not a lack of ambition. Partners genuinely want to grow their practice. The problem is that most BD plans are written to satisfy a management requirement rather than to guide actual behaviour. They are aspirational documents full of good intentions ("attend more events," "deepen key client relationships," "increase cross-selling") but without the structure that turns intentions into habits.
A BD plan that works looks very different from a BD plan that gets filed.
Why most BD plans fail
They try to do everything
A typical partner BD plan lists 15-20 activities across networking, client development, thought leadership, cross-selling, and profile raising. This is not a plan. It is a wish list. And when a partner with a full client load looks at a wish list, they do none of it because there is no obvious place to start.
The most effective BD plans focus on three to five actions, maximum. Not three to five categories. Three to five specific things the partner will actually do.
They are disconnected from the firm's strategy
A partner's BD plan should not exist in isolation. It should connect to the firm's growth priorities. If the firm is trying to grow its energy practice, partners in that group should have BD plans that reflect specific targets in the energy sector. If the firm is prioritising cross-selling to its top 20 clients, individual plans should name the specific relationships and introductions that will make that happen.
When BD plans are written as individual exercises with no connection to firm strategy, you get 50 partners each doing their own thing and no collective momentum.
They lack accountability
Writing a plan is easy. Following through is hard. And most firms have no mechanism for checking whether BD plans are being executed. There is an annual planning exercise, perhaps a mid-year review, and then silence until next year.
The firms where BD planning drives results are the ones that build regular accountability into the process: monthly check-ins with a BD manager, quarterly reviews with practice group leadership, or peer accountability groups where partners share progress and challenges.
What a good BD plan actually contains
A practical BD plan fits on one or two pages and answers five questions.
1. What is my growth goal?
Be specific. "Grow my practice" is not a goal. "Win two new client mandates in the financial services sector worth a combined £200,000 in fees" is a goal. "Develop three cross-sell introductions from my existing corporate clients to the employment team" is a goal.
The goal should be stretching but realistic, and it should connect to something the firm cares about, not just the partner's individual revenue target.
2. Who are my target relationships?
Name them. A BD plan should identify 5-10 specific people: prospective clients to pursue, existing clients to deepen, referral sources to nurture, or internal colleagues to collaborate with. For each person, the plan should note what the current relationship looks like and what the next step is.
Vague intentions like "network more in the tech sector" become concrete when they are attached to specific names and specific actions.
3. What will I actually do?
This is where most plans go wrong. They list activities ("attend conferences," "write articles," "host a roundtable") without connecting them to the target relationships or the growth goal.
A better approach: for each target relationship, identify the one or two actions that will move it forward. For a prospective client, it might be "invite to our March seminar and follow up with a one-to-one coffee." For an existing client, it might be "schedule a relationship review meeting and bring a colleague from the IP team." For a referral source, it might be "send the article I am writing on ESG litigation and suggest a catch-up."
Every action should connect to a name and a goal.
4. What support do I need?
Partners do not develop business alone, even if it sometimes feels that way. A good plan identifies what the partner needs from the firm: marketing support for an event, research on a target client, an introduction from a colleague, pitch materials for a specific opportunity, or coaching on a particular skill.
This is also where the BD and marketing team becomes part of the plan rather than an afterthought. When they know what each partner is trying to achieve, they can provide targeted support rather than generic programmes.
5. How will I track progress?
Define what success looks like at 3 months and 6 months, not just at year end. Set a rhythm for reviewing the plan: a monthly 15-minute check-in with a BD manager, a quarterly conversation with the practice group head, or even a simple self-assessment against the actions listed.
The act of reviewing a plan regularly, even briefly, dramatically increases the chance of following through. Plans that are only reviewed annually are plans that gather dust.
Making BD planning a firm-wide capability
Individual BD plans are useful. But the real leverage comes when BD planning is embedded as a firm-wide practice where every partner has a plan, plans are aligned with firm strategy, there is coaching and support available, and progress is reviewed regularly.
This is not about creating bureaucracy. It is about building a system where business development becomes a normal part of how the firm operates, rather than something individual partners are left to figure out on their own.
At Beyond Billable Hours, The Growth Programme is a structured development journey that helps lawyers build their BD capability with practical plans, coaching, and accountability. For firms that want to strengthen their BD planning process across the partnership, our BDM Team Future Readiness workshop helps BD and marketing teams design the infrastructure that makes partner BD plans work.
If your firm's BD plans are not translating into growth, let's have a conversation about what needs to change.
Beyond Billable Hours helps law firms rethink how they grow. Explore our workshops or learn more about our approach.