10 signs you are a successful lawyer (marketing edition)

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How do you know you are a successful lawyer? Some measure success in terms of money. Others use milestones like number of clients, courtroom win/loss ratio, or receiving a prestigious award. I knew I was successful when clients sent me thank you notes and gave me hugs.

Today, I want to give you 10 signs of success from a marketing point of view. I got the idea by reading a similar article for small business owners.

  1. Clients send you referrals. The sine qua non of success. Nothing says you are doing things right better than getting most of your clients via referrals from happy clients.
  2. Other lawyers send you referrals. Successful lawyers get referrals from lawyers in other practice areas. The best lawyers get referrals from lawyers in the same practice area.
  3. Non-lawyers send you referrals. Influential people in your community or niche market should have you on their radar and be sending you business.
  4. Clients find you (via search, social, publicity, articles, etc.) You should be getting clients who find your web site through various means and are impressed with your knowledge and experience. The web site should sell them on hiring you or taking the next step.
  5. The media seeks you out (interviews, quotes, profiles). This usually occurs because of a prominent case or client or because a writer or publisher finds your web site and is convinced you are THE subject matter expert for the story they are working on.
  6. You have a list and you stay in touch. Most people who find you don’t hire you immediately. You need to collect their contact information and stay in touch with them. You also need to stay in touch with your clients because they are your best source of new business.
  7. You use strategic marketing alliances. Your client list is paramount. Next best are the client lists of other professionals and business owners. By leveraging the trust they have with their lists, you get exposed to, and endorsed by, those professionals, which should bring you a steady stream of pre-sold prospective clients.
  8. You fire clients. Successful marketing means you have the ability to continually upgrade your client list. You make room for better clients by purging the lowest segments of your client list (lowest paying, least amount of work, slow paying, complainers, etc.)
  9. A publisher asks you to write a book. If your web site (podcast, video channel), has lots of good content, and it looks like you have a good following, a publisher may contact you to see if you want to write a book. They know that book has a built in audience of potential buyers.
  10. Other lawyers ask how you do it. If you are successful in bringing in lots of good clients, other lawyers will ask you to share your secrets.

So, how did you score? Do you some opportunities for improvement?

You may be a good lawyer but are you good at marketing? Here’s what to do.

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Comments

  1. Now that’s the way to start the week. I like this post 🙂