By Terrie S. Wheeler Professionals are busy – there’s never enough time to really do marketing. But we know that everyone has small bits of time each day to implement just one small, high-impact strategy – particularly if it will take five minutes or less of your time. So keep this document handy – copy it and mark each number to track your accomplishments.
- Phone a Friend – Think of a client or referral source you haven’t talked to recently. Pick up the phone to offer a friendly hello, to see how the person is doing or to schedule a coffee or lunch.
- Make a Post – Find a link to an article you find interesting and post it on LinkedIn with your message about why you think your connections would find it interesting.
- Send an Article – If you are reading a business, trade journal or the newspaper, send a link to someone you know would appreciate it with a short note that you thought they would find the article interesting.
- Ask a Referral Source to Coffee – Make a list of your top five referral sources. Reach out to one of them to schedule coffee, lunch or drinks after work.
- Make a Referral – Think of two people you know who should meet. Write a quick email introducing them to one another and include links to their LinkedIn profile or their website biography.
- Elevator Speech – Write down your elevator speech and practice it a couple of times out loud. The more you practice, the less rehearsed it will sound.
- Show your Appreciation – Remind your assistant and paralegal(s) how much you appreciate their role in helping you serve clients. Be genuine. It will make their day!
- Take a Lawyer to Lunch – Schedule lunch or coffee with a colleague to learn more about the work they do for clients.
- Review your Biography – Check to make sure it is current and not missing any of your recent articles, presentations, awards or case summaries.
- Client Focus – Call a client for whom you have recently completed a transaction or matter just to see how well the firm met their expectations.
- Bill your Time Daily – Don’t leave time ($$) on the table. Enter your time into the system each day (don’t let it accumulate).
- Create a Rough Outline – Think of a topic you have a higher level of knowledge in and what type of audience would be interested. Create a rough outline. Use the outline to write an article, do a presentation, write a blog post or self-publish on LinkedIn.
- Learn your Strengths – Learn your inherent strengths; take the Gallop Organization’s Strengths Finder assessment (Note: taking the Strengths Finder Assessment will take approximately 40 minutes and will cost $9.99).
- Your Email Introduction – Create a one paragraph introduction of yourself you can send to a LinkedIn connection willing to make an introduction of you to someone you want to meet. Save and reuse.
- Association Involvement – Consider one trade or professional association you are in. Visit their website and add their next meeting to your calendar. Then, attend.
- Sales Pipeline – Review your sales pipeline. Look at one of your hottest prospects, and take action to move that relationship forward (email, phone call, private message on LinkedIn).
- Engage with your Contacts on LinkedIn – Go to your LinkedIn Home page and scroll down the list of content and activities your contacts have posted. Engage with a couple of them (nice article, congratulations on your promotion, etc.).
- Like and Engage on Firm Posts – View the firm’s LinkedIn company page and engage with posts the firm has made. If you like their post, it will appear on your personal profile.
- Proactive Client Status Update – Think of one client you can update on the status of their case. Call or email them with a proactive update (even if something is in a holding pattern).
- Non-Billable Client Meeting – Consider it building good will. Schedule time to meet with a client at their offices for a non-billable status update or to address any concerns your client may have.
In Part II, we will offer another set of quick and easy tips for marketing your law practice that have a high impact yet require a limited investment of time and effort. The key to success is to maintain a consistent presence with your marketing activities and to keep marketing top-of-mind in your daily work.