Page 22 - Minnesota Vol 8 No 3

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make and How to Avoid Them
BY TERRIE S. WHEELER, MBC
Iam convinced that every lawyer is well-intentioned when it comes to having a desire to market and grow their practice. I also know the only way to turn good intentions into success is to act. Over the past 25+ years, I have seen lawyers thrive and grow. I have also seen lawyers with good intentions stagnate
into a perpetual state of wheel-spinning. As a result, they get discour- aged and convince themselves if they do good work, clients will nd them. e proverbial easy button, right? Please consider the top mis- takes I see lawyers making, so you can avoid the pain, expense, and frustration of pursuing marketing activities that don’t work.
“I’M TOO BUSY TO MARKET”
ere is an inherent disincentive to follow up with your contacts or write the article you’ve been meaning to write if you are working 12-hour days. Remember that if you wait until you have time to mar- ket, it will likely be too late. Marketing is something you must weave through the fabric of your practice. Avoid this mindset by doing one small thing every day to build your practice. Update your bio, check LinkedIn, outline a blog, send an email to a contact to plan lunch. Just one thing. Every day. It works!
NOT NETWORKING CONSISTENTLY
It’s easy when you have a brief lull in your workload to dive back into networking activities – full throttle. Maybe you can make up for lost time? Probably not. Always remember, the best networking is done consistently over time. Pick one association (not ve) that attracts cli- ents or referral sources within which you want to increase your name recognition. Identify your top 10 list of prospective referral sources and contacts and reach out to one person per week. In order to suc- ceed in networking, it’s more important to be consistent on a smaller scale, than to conquer the world.
FOLLOW UP ... OR LACK THEREOF
For some reason, even deadline-driven lawyers with iron-clad tick- ler systems can struggle with a lack of follow up. If you meet someone when you’re networking and o er your assistance in any way, even if it’s a referral to a lawn care company, or (especially in Minnesota) a snow plowing service, make good on your o er. e moment you are back in your o ce, follow up on anything you said you would do, send or email to your contact.
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA· VOL. 8 NO. 3 22