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Every
Attorney Needs A Marketing Plan: 7 Easy Steps
Every lawyer in private
practice should have an individual marketing plan, period. The plan
should be short, specific, realistic and achievable. Think of marketing
as your firm’s attorneys’ investments in themselves. Billable hours are
important for today’s income, but what attorneys do with non-billable
time determines their future…and your firm’s.
Individual marketing
plans should set forth what each attorney will do over the next 12
months to build, enhance and maintain relationships with key clients. It
should also include activities to enhance each attorney’s credentials as
an expert in their chosen area of law.
To be effective, an
individual-attorney marketing plan should…
• Define a
niche…specialists command premium fees and practice law in the areas
they find most challenging and fulfilling.
• Establish expertise…each
attorney’s goal should be to become a recognized expert in their chosen
area of the law.
• Focus on industries and related trade
associations…innovative law firms are setting up industry practice
groups and marketing their services to specific industries. Becoming
active in one or two carefully targeted industry trade associations is
key. Get clients’ input on which group to join, and conduct due
diligence to make sure it’s the right one.
• Include a personal contact
list… starting with existing clients and referral sources. Update and
expand the list continually to include people the attorney knows or
wants to know. • Invest in key relationships…focus on 20 to 30 people on
whom the attorney can spend the bulk of their “networking” time.
•
Include regular visits to top clients… asking smart questions,
listening, learning, and responding appropriately.
• Give first-year
associates a head start…by encouraging them to hone their networking
skills, finding their niche and learning the law that serves that niche.
Pair first-years with senior rainmakers who can act as marketing
mentors.
Remember, clients hire
lawyers…not law firms…and they hire lawyers they know, like and trust.
You want your firm’s attorneys to focus their time and energy as much as
possible on activities that create, enhance and maintain relationships
with individuals in a position to hire or refer you.
Article
Author Paula Black.
05/04/2009
This article has been excerpted from “The Little Black Book: A Lawyer's Guide to Creating a Marketing Habit in 21 Days
” Written by Paula
Black
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