Just about every lawyer in private practice wants the benefits of marketing—more clients, better cases, enough cash flow to hire competent talent (or outsource) so they don’t have to do everything themself. They all want the benefits of marketing, but don’t always like “doing” marketing.
They have to force themself to do the activities, or they don’t do them at all.
But some lawyers love doing those activities and don’t have to force themselves to do anything. They’re good at them and do them easily. Some lawyers enjoy marketing more than doing the actual legal work.
If you’re not in that group, I have some good news. You don’t have to love marketing to build a successful practice.
You can hire people to do (most) of it for you. You can partner with a rainmaker. You can hire an ad agency and write checks.
Or, you can do what many lawyers do (and I recommend)–you can find one or two marketing strategies you enjoy, or at least don’t hate, and just do those. And yes, you can build a successful practice that way.
Notice I didn’t say you need to love those strategies. You don’t. Any more than you need to love all of your clients.
You may love referrals but hate social media marketing. Stick with referral marketing.
You may enjoy writing articles and blog posts, but hate networking. Guess what? Don’t do networking.
You may be a talented speaker but can’t find enough events in your niche or target market. Perhaps speaking will be something you do when the opportunity arises, but you’ll choose something else as your primary strategy.
But don’t decide too quickly. You may say no to one strategy, not because you hate it, but because you’re not good at it.
You can get better.
Take a course. Even a no-credit CLE class might teach you a thing or two.
Read business and marketing books written for businesses, not lawyers, and adapt.
Hang out with rainmakers. Lawyers, yes, but do you know any successful accountants, investment advisors, insurance reps, or service business owners? Buy them lunch and pick their brain. Go with them to their events. Do what they do, watch and learn.
You also might get better at marketing by doing what you’ve already done (badly, even) but doing it in a different niche—better suited to your abilities and personality. Marketing is easier and, therefore, more successful, when your clients like you and you like them.
Keep trying. Have another go at something you didn’t like before, but this time, look for the rainbow: learn something new this time that might work better if you do it again. Meet new contacts. Or learn some ideas you “never thought about before”.
Try a lot of things, give them a fair run, track your numbers and your time, and you’ll know what works and what doesn’t.
And, let’s be honest, if you’re hungry and determined to make something work, you will.
Because it has to.
That’s how I got started marketing. I was terrible at everything I tried. But I was going broke and had to make something work. So I kept at it.
Mission accomplished.
I’m not promising you’ll fall in love with marketing, or even one or two strategies. You might not.
But you might fall in love with what marketing can do and that, my friend, could be all you need.
