Why do Lawyers Procrastinate Marketing? Get yourself back into the game TODAY!
by Terrie Wheeler
twheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
In this economy, figuring out how to retain clients, attract new ones, effectively communicate, and build name recognition can be an onerous task at best, and one which is thoroughly procrastinated at worst. I believe lawyers procrastinate on marketing for many reasons:
· Lawyers didn’t go to law school to be salespeople
· Marketing pulls lawyers out of their comfort zones because…..
· Most lawyers are more introverted than extroverted (gaining energy from inward pursuits, versus from interactions with people)
· Lawyers generally learned nothing about effective and ethical marketing strategies in law school
· Lawyers truly hope word of their expertise and knowledge will spread across the galaxy – - and that clients will call (the “If I build it – - they will come” approach)
· They are just too darn busy cranking out billable hours
· They are the fortunate benefactor of a senior partner providing more work than one human could ever do in a year
· Marketing requires a long-term approach to relationship building; lawyers want to see results: NOW!
Many times I have reminded lawyers that if they wait until they have TIME to market, it will likely be too late. It takes years to build and nurture the relationships that will ultimately become your best clients and referral sources. So why do so many lawyers put off until tomorrow what they should be doing today? How can we boil marketing best practices for lawyers down into easy, bite-sized, manageable tasks so the process isn’t so daunting? Here are ten things you can do today – - ok this week – - that will help you weave marketing into the very fabric of your practice – - because marketing is not just something to do if and when you have the time:
1. Call your best client (or two) just to talk about how their business is doing in this economy and to brainstorm ideas
2. Set up a coffee meeting with one of your best referral sources (a banker, CPA, consultant, therapist, lawyer in another firm) JUST to reconnect and hear more about how they’re doing
3. Create some representative experience to augment your professional biography (client type, client issue, your approach/solution, the result)
4. Update your professional biography since it’s likely been years (or at least months) since the last update
5. Project your revenue by creating a simple list of current clients and what you project they will generate in revenue this year (this may scare you into pursuing 1-4 and 6-10)
6. Reconnect with a law school classmate to find out what they are doing these days
7. Outline an article you could have published which would showcase your expertise as a lawyer, and be read by prospective clients and referral sources
8. Make a list of the top three issues facing your clients and send an email putting it all in perspective, reassuring them, and offering to serve as a resource for them to bounce ideas off
9. Join a trade or professional association which attracts prospective clients and referral sources and make a commitment to attend each monthly meeting (also offer to write and speak)
10. Create your profile on LinkedIn which has become one of the premier services for professional social networking. Don’t get left in the dust on this – - it will only take a few minutes – - www.LinkedIn.com
Visit www.MarketYourLawPractice.com
Visit www.PSM-Marketing.com
Visit my LinkedIn Profile
Visit my Facebook Profile
Visit me on Twitter
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About MYLP
Unique Web-Based Tool to Help Lawyers Develop New Business
ESQCoach, Terrie Wheeler has been helping lawyers attract new clients for more than 24 years. In 1996, she founded Professional Services Marketing, Inc. (PSM), helping professionals develop Targeted Strategies for Business Growth. In January 2011 Terrie merged PSM with Ingenuity Marketing Group in Saint Paul, MN.
Launched in 2007, www.MarketYourLawPractice.com (MYLP), is an innovative web-based marketing coaching tool for lawyers which replicates ESQCoach Terrie Wheeler’s individual marketing coaching process. Today, MYLP is helping lawyers across the US and in the UK develop new business, retain and grow current client relationships, increase their name recognition and more effectively communicate with clients.
Numerous bar associations across the country, including New York, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and others, have recognized MYLP as a cost-effective marketing coaching and training tool for lawyers and have partnered with MYLP to offer the tool as a valuable member benefit.
MYLP was recently launched internationally in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Visit www.MarketYourLawPractice.co.uk, developed with our UK business partner, James Dunning of Geotrupes Consulting.
Join our Linkedin Group: The Legal Network - created just for lawyers and in-house marketing professionals to compare best marketing practices.
We have also launched a sister product for financial advisors, www.MarketYourFinancialPractice.com, and are marketing the site nationally to financial advisory firms.
For more information, contact Terrie: ESQCoach@MarketYourLawPractice.com
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11. Hire someone else to handle the bulk of your marketing activities so you can focus on representing your clients. Look for performance-based services that are accountable for delivering value.
[...] Figure out Why You Procrastinate Marketing – I am a firm believer that most lawyers wish they didn’t have to market – - that clients would consistently seek them out. It just doesn’t happen that way in today’s competitive marketplace. Revisit our earlier post on Why do Lawyers Procrastinate Marketing? Get Yourself Back Into the Game Today! [...]