1.4 Robin van Keeken: The Outbound BD Role

Barbara and Andrew are joined by Robin van Keeken, Senior Business Development Manager at Buren, a mid-size international law firm in the Netherlands. Seven years ago Robin pitched his firm on an idea that still feels unusual in the legal sector: an outbound business development role. Buren gave it a go, and in his own words, "we have proven that outbound for business development can work." Robin talks openly about why sales in a law firm is not a dirty word but a conversation, why pipeline is always a joint effort across partnership, marketing and business development, and why he would rather listen than pitch. He shares the story of a Rotterdam CFO who mentioned in passing that his company was "also doing some work in China," and the acquisition that followed two months later from a single moment of real listening. He walks us through the International Legal Counseling Community Buren is now building, and leaves us with a line about client experience in the legal industry that every firm should hear: the CMO of a major bank whose last contact with his law firm was the invoice.