Smart people once believed that it was impossible for man to fly. Most accepted this as truth and never considered challenging it. The Wright brothers thought differently and changed the world.

Orville Wright said, “If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance.”

It got me thinking about what we (lawyers, society) believe is true about the subject of legal marketing.

Not long ago, many lawyers said that other than writing scholarly articles, public speaking, and networking, marketing wasn’t appropriate for an attorney. While this is still true in some places, most of the world has evolved.

Advertising was long thought to be inappropriate, even unethical. Most western jurisdictions now recognize that with certain standards in place, advertising isn’t the stain on the profession it was once thought to be.

Question for you. What do you know to be true about legal marketing? What do you do, or refrain from doing, to market your practice based on your beliefs?

Let’s take the subject of referrals. It is widely understood that you get more referrals if you ask for them. Yet many attorneys don’t ask. They think it makes them look weak or needy, or they don’t know what to say so they don’t even try.

Our beliefs create our reality. If you believe that asking for referrals makes you look weak or is an imposition, you won’t ask. On the other hand, if you believe that referrals are good for all three parties (the referral giver, the client, and you), your entire framework changes.

You’ll ask for referrals because you know that a referral helps the referred client save time and avoid the risk of making a bad decision. You’ll ask for referrals because you’ll know that your clients and contacts want to help the people they know get the benefits you offer and you’ll know they also want to help you.

If your beliefs about referrals currently preclude you from asking for them, changing those beliefs could transform your practice.

It’s time to re-examine all of your beliefs about legal marketing and re-validate them. Are they still true? Has anything changed? Are there any exceptions?

Have you “closed the door” to things you might now consider?

Have you looked at things as black and white and not seen the gray areas within within which you could operate?

Step away from the construct that is your existing practice and look at it from a distance. See your practice and all of your existing beliefs as contained in a giant box.

How can you think outside that box?

Because progress never occurs inside the box.

Marketing is easier when you know The Formula