We begin every Great Legal Marketing conference with a look at what it is that successful entrepreneurs do in businesses outside the practice of law. We are continually asking ourselves this question: when I see something that someone else is using to build and grow a successful business, something that satisfies both the business owner’s goals and provided something of real value to customers, client or patients, how can I use that in my practice?You see, I steadfastly reject the notion that my business is different. You should too, because it is true.
I believe that true growth in a law practice does begin with looking at the practice of law in a completely different manner. Yes, some people are turned off by my business and profit first approach. It’s controversial, I know. It’s contrary to what you heard about in law school and what you hear from most every other law practice management or marketing seminar on the planet. All I can tell you is that there is a reason that most lawyers struggle with average, frustrating practices. I believe that it does start with how you view what it is you do when you hang up a shingle, hire employees and start looking for clients.
Can I ask you a question: how is it really going? Are you honestly better off today than you were at this time a year ago? Based on new client inquiries that you are getting right now, are you confident that 2010 will be a blockbuster year for you?
Nationally recognized attorney marketing guru announces the opening of general registration for the Great Legal Marketing JumpStart 2010 Two Day Marketing Conference. (The event is 50% full based on advanced registration for private clients, coaching members and past attendees.)
If your answer is not 100% YES to the question above then check out our legal marketing conference. No, its not for everyone (and when you read the entire story behind the conference you’ll see why some people just don’t like what I am doing) for those who come, listen and DO–it can be life changing.
Sure, some people don’t like it that I’m a realist. That I talk about capitalism and “profit” and things like that. They don’t like that I make fun of some of the ethical theorists…or that I “call out” frivolous lawsuits… That’s OK…Life is but a series of choices….
Whether or not you think that Great Legal Marketing is your “cup of tea” I encourage you to read our full information and honestly answer for yourself the questions I raise.
I can’t believe how many attorney websites I see where at least 1/3 of the top of the screen is taking up space with the firm name and usually some photo like a gavel or the skyline…. this is silly…
The “above the fold” section of your website is where the eyeballs go first. The consumer is looking for answers to their questions, not your firm name.
Think: “what would be an interesting headline that would grab attention and compel further reading?”
The really advanced web marketing attorneys have compelling video in this space but you don’t necessarily have to have video…but gosh…you should have some sort of compelling headline.
At the Virginia Woman’s Law Association Webweavers event this weekend, one of the speakers was Leslie Haley of the Virginia State Bar ethics division.
There was a panel discussion about social media and ethics and, when talking about Facebook, Leslie, said “what’s the point?”
This was a great question. Not that lawyers can’t use Facebook to get cases-they do. But MOST lawyers have no “point” in their marketing. They have no plan.
They learned somewhere that they should spend XX percentage of their budget on marketing and advertising and they just do it. They buy some advertising piece without ever thinking about a plan.
Here’s how you should be thinking:
1. what do you want your life to look like
2. how do you design your practice to support your life
3. who is that perfect client that you LOVE who supports what you have designed your practice to be
4. Now, lets go out and design marketing FOR THAT PERSON, not for everyone
5. Figure out what you want THAT PERSON to do to respond to you
6. Develop a system to handle the leads/cases.
By the way, the Webweaver’s event was terrific. If you are interested in marketing your practice and you saw the ads for the event and didn’t respond…well…you missed something really good.
Solo and small law firms who are profitable find themselves right in the targets of Congressional Democrats as they push for their we’ll pass it before anyone can read it health care reform bill.
I talk to lawyers who run these firms all the time. Many, if not most, fall into the we don’t provide health benefits coverage to our employees. Companies and their employees ought to have free choice about the terms of engagement. In these firms the employer has made a choice to limit his prospective employees to that pool who don’t need insurance from THAT employer and employees have made the free choice to go and work for that firm, knowing full well that there is not health coverage available.
Congress is hell bent on upsetting that balance by suggesting that a penalty tax will be imposed on those small businesses, including law firms, who don’t’ provide health coverage. Under the House proposal, law firms with payrolls exceeding $400,000 per year would pay a whopping 8% penalty tax. The tax would ratchet down as the payroll decreases, but its still a penalty tax.
So, I ask you. What do you think these law firms who are near the penalty tax thresholds will do? Hire more people?
Congress wants to pass a health care bill before the American people knows what’s about to hit them. Just who is in favor of this stuff? This bill alone will lead to more unemployment.
Its funny to watch the big silk stocking firms fall all over themselves in a recession. They start throwing what little money they have left at ad designers to build their “image.”
The “marketing committee” was probably thrilled to see that the ad designers came up with a headline for a law firm that said “we solve legal problems.” Wonder how much work they can directly trace to this ad.
I know, I know…”we are building our image.”
Wow!!!
Big Firms--Happy to Keep Throwing Money at Marketing
In order to be successful at our style of “outside the box” marketing you have to accept:
1. You are 100% responsible for outcome, stop blaming others or “tort reform” or anything else.
2. It’s important to look to find “commonalities” amongst good marketers and then to “steal” those ideas and ask yourself “how can I use this in my business?”
3. If you don’t know what to do, and you have no mentors, the best thing you can do is to look around, see what everyone else is doing, and do the opposite.
4. If we are unable to make and keep commitments with ourselves, then forget about it… because if we aren’t good to ourselves and don’t function “right” then how can we be good to our families, clients, and partners?
5. It’s not only “OK” but vitally important to spend a good portion of your time working on, not in your business.
6. Finally, there is a huge power in the “mastermind.” You don’t need to know much of anything, you just need to know where to go to find the information.
Join a mastermind group and start making promises to other like-minded entrepreneurs.
