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Opportunities & BD Activities

The CV Business Development class. Learn to run pursuits as opportunities through their full lifecycle, log BD activities, follow up on outcomes, and read the BD dashboards.

Backbone guide: CV Business Development. (The guide also covers the wider BD app — trips, whitespace, market research; this class focuses on the MVP go-live core: opportunities, activities, reporting.)

Objectives

By the end you can: - Add an opportunity (pitch or proposal) with the right record type and fields. - Complete it properly — classifications, lawyers/contacts, and pitch documents. - Move it through its stages and close it with an outcome. - Log BD activities and follow up on outcomes via reminders. - Read the BD dashboard.

Prerequisites

ClientVerse Introduction, and access to CV BD.

Agenda

  1. Opportunity vs. Activity vs. Campaign — an opportunity is a formal effort (pitch, RFP, proposal, panel); an activity is a BD touchpoint with no formal proposal (meeting, dinner, call); a campaign is a multi-client initiative. Opportunity record types: Pitch (Pitch, Informational Only) and Proposal (RFP–Panel, RFP–Specific Matter, Request for Information). Stages: In Progress → Submitted → Closed (Won / Lost / Outcome Unknown; Proposals add Declined / Withdrawn). (Business Process Library §3.3, §3.5.)
  2. Add an opportunity — New → select type → required fields Opportunity Name, Close Date, Stage, BD Lead (also add Company, Partner Lead, Primary Practice Group, Type, Description). Save, then add contacts, tags, and competitors.
  3. Complete it — the three required steps (an opportunity isn't done until):
  4. Classifications — the primary PGIIGs (Area of Law, Practice Group, Initiative, Office, Industry, Geography) plus secondary practices being pitched (these drive practice-group dashboards).
  5. Contacts — add every lawyer being pitched (used for diversity reporting) plus marketing and client contacts, each with a role.
  6. Documents — attach the pitch/RFP files.
  7. Work the stages & close — move stage-to-stage with the path: click a stage → Mark as Current Stage. To close: click Closed → Select Closed Stage (Won / Lost / Unknown), then edit for outcome reason and competitor. Switch a Pitch to a Proposal with Change Record Type. Marketing-assisted/involvement and diversity flags live on the record.
  8. BD Activities — log meetings, dinners, calls, and speaking engagements. From a contact's Activity History tab use New Task / Log Event / Log Call (or the global + Add menu); BD meetings can also be added from the Opportunities tab. Create a Task with a due date to get a reminder in Alerts.
  9. Follow-up & reporting — outcome follow-up reminders; the BD dashboard (opportunities/pitches/wins; subscribe); the opportunity/pipeline report folders; Export to Excel.

Hands-on (homework)

The real post-class homework (prefix test records with "Test" so they can be deleted later): 1. Enter a new opportunity; complete it — classifications, lawyers/contacts, documents — and move it through a stage. 2. Enter a BD activity (call or meeting) for a client/prospect; review it on the contact record. 3. Enter a Task for an upcoming activity and confirm you get an Alert for it. 4. Review the BD dashboard in more detail and subscribe (optional).

You're ready when…

You can take a pursuit from "we're pitching them" to a fully classified, properly attributed opportunity, move it to a close, and see it reflected in the dashboard.