You spent years working incredibly hard to earn your J.D., passed the bar, found that great firm or set out on your own venture, developed specific expertise, but you are just not satisfied with the volume, or quality of the work you are doing. Guess what… You are not alone.
Here are 10 handy tips to break out of this situation, attract the work you want and create a thriving, profitable practice.
Be Selfish: You cannot be consistently, consistent (which is critical to effective marketing) unless you are selfish with some of your time each week to just set aside time to think. To think about what is critical to the industries you support, your practice, or where you want it to go; about what is important to your clients, or the clients you want to have, and then selfishly make it all about you and how you can deliver that message to benefit your practice and your clients!
Get Out There: In today’s digital world getting out there is easier than ever before whether you do it “physically”, or “digitally”. You will never stand out unless you make your presence known. We strongly recommend a mix of both to keep you at the top of your game. Physically speaking: Networking events and conferences, speaking engagements, webinars are all excellent ways to stay involved and exposed to the world. Digitally: start a blog, do a newsletter, look for opportunities to identify trends and deliver your unique thought leadership, and always be structured in how your digital footprint interacts between email/web/social.
Be Crafty: Along with being selfish, you need to be crafty with your time because inspiration may strike you at the least opportune moment: In court, in front of a client, at the checkout line. Keep a small notepad, or journal with you at all times to capture that moment of inspiration before it is gone. Also, remember to be selfish in this endeavor. Schedule “You” time.
Be Different: In this incredibly stuffy business world, most professionals have a sense that they must play a certain role. If you look at the body of work from many bloggers, most are dull and boring diatribes that feel like a session with War and Peace. Don’t be afraid to be edgy, concise and speak plainly in the voice your readers will be drawn to.
Look Sharp: In everything you do, whether it is your wardrobe selection (no stains or wrinkles please…) or your digital footprint, make sure the “you” people see is current, compelling and consistent. If you need a personal or digital make-over, it will likely be a valuable investment.
Be Strategic: So many times we see our clients and prospects being attracted to the new shiny thing, rather than staying committed to a structured marketing plan. It is critical to: 1) create a solid plan, 2) execute the required tactics, and 3) measure the results. So many firms do not consider #3. How do you know if you are succeeding if you do not measure your results?
Be Flexible: To achieve maximum success you also need to give your plan time to succeed, time to “evolve” as you learn what is working and what is not. Now we are not saying that your plan becomes a revolving door of disjointed ideas, but we do recommend a regular “check-in” to adjust your tactics/strategy based upon results.
Invest Wisely: From our perspective, executing a profitable marketing plan does not need to be a budget buster and does not require a fleet of human resources either. Our reason for being is to support firms in their marketing efforts affordably, and make it easy to succeed. So, take a hard look at what you are doing and how you are spending your marketing dollars today, measure that value and consider the alternatives. When firms do this, we win and they win.
Never Settle: We are not saying never settle your cases, but referring to a worthy mantra…
1) Follow your passion;
2) Have no regrets; and
3) Never settle.
The “Never Settle” part is simply DO NOT ACCEPT any situation as something you need to bow down to. If you are not fully satisfied with your business… Do something about it.
Just Do It: This a perfect way to end the post, you need to take action. However, just like starting an exercise program: don’t overdo it and try to do all 10 steps at once. If you do that… You will end up sore, likely hurt yourself and undoubtedly fail. So start slow, schedule some “selfish time”, sketch out a plan, identify your gaps and where you need help, get that help, and start working the plan.
Or better yet, contact us today, and we can start down this new path together!
Our business was founded on the premise of saving professional service firms time and money while providing a platform for consistent marketing success and regular communication with clients, prospects and referral sources.