TRP 344: Cross-Selling in Professional Services Firms with Rebecca Hnatowski

Most law firms say they want to cross-sell. Few have the internal foundation to actually make it happen. Rebecca Hnatowski is the founder of Edwards Advisory and a specialist in cross-selling strategy and lateral integration for law firms and professional services organizations. In this episode, she joins Scott Love to break down why cross-selling initiatives stall — and exactly what has to be in place before the first client conversation ever happens. What you'll learn: Why "let's cross-sell" without internal groundwork almost always fails The trust problem at the root of most cross-selling breakdowns — and how to fix it Why partners refuse to share clients (and how origination credit structures make it worse) How to build a manageable cross-sell target list from data your firm already has A gap analysis framework: how to identify which clients have unmet legal needs in other practice areas How to use AI (including Claude and ChatGPT) to research target clients and identify opportunities in minutes When to bring in an external consultant vs. handle cross-selling initiatives internally How a post-merger integration timeline affects cross-selling readiness — and when to wait How to turn a target list into actual client strategy conversations (including the perfect year-end ask) Why leaderboards and internal competition keep cross-selling initiatives alive past the first six months 3 action steps to start building a real cross-selling program at your firm today Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/ YouTube: https://youtu.be/7dBb6ypgRvU ---------------------------------------- If you are a successful law firm partner or law firm founder and want to hear about other options, please book a time on Scott Love's calendar here: https://calendly.com/scott-736/half-hour-phone-meeting-with-scott Or email Scott to connect with him at: scott@attorneysearchgroup.com ---------------------------------------- 🎙️ The Rainmaking Magazine helps lawyers, consultants, and professional service providers build thriving practices through smarter business development. 📖 Subscribe to Rainmaking Magazine — free complimentary subscription: https://www.rainmakingmagazine.com ---------------------------------------- This podcast is sponsored by SurePoint Legal Insights (formerly known as Leopard Solutions)–turning legal intelligence into opportunity. For a free demo, visit this link: https://surepoint.com/legal-insights/ ---------------------------------------- About Rebecca Hnatowski: Rebecca Hnatowski is the founder of Edwards Advisory, LLC, where she helps law firms and lawyers turn relationships into opportunities for growth. Drawing on nearly 20 years of in-house legal marketing and business development experience, she helps firms put cross-selling into practice by strengthening internal relationships, identifying client needs, and connecting colleagues' capabilities to those opportunities. Through tailored strategies, interactive workshops, and coaching and accountability, Rebecca helps attorneys follow through — and helps firms make more of the talent and relationships they already have. Links: Learn more at: edwardsadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccahnatowski/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices