by Stephen Fairley, CEO, The Rainmaker Institute
When attorneys ask me if having a law firm marketing plan is really necessary, I always have the same answer: Anything is possible, but the real question is—is it probable?
There are no successful businesses I know of that don’t market their products or services. And if most startups don’t have a marketing plan in place at the beginning, they do once they start getting some traction.
For law firms, marketing is the only part of your business that is responsible for bringing in new clients. The success or failure of your law firm marketing program determines the value of your business and your income!
If that’s not enough to convince you, let me give you a few of the major reasons why you need a solid marketing plan:
A Law Firm Marketing Plan Increases Your Chances of Long-Term Business Success.
It is possible to succeed without a marketing plan, but having a solid marketing plan that you can follow will significantly increase your chances of success in your business endeavor. A solid, well thought out plan keeps you from making serious mistakes later than can quickly sink your practice.
A Law Firm Marketing Plan Gives You Structure in an Otherwise Unstructured Business.
One of the major reasons why people start a new law firm is to achieve a sense of independence and freedom—taking charge of your own destiny, setting your own schedule, and not having anyone tell you what to do.
This can be a great feeling, especially when you know exactly what to do every day, month in and month out, year after year, or if you already have so much business you can’t keep up. However, most attorneys don’t know exactly what they should be doing on a day-to-day basis to keep the momentum moving forward.
On the other hand, many business owners are so overwhelmed with the daily activities that they don’t take time to think strategically about how to grow their business.
If this is your first try at building a business or if your business is relatively new or you’re struggling to find new clients, you need to create a solid, well thought out business plan. Having a solid business plan can help give you structure and a context for your everyday activities. Your plan will help you put these daily activities into the context of a larger, more strategic plan of how you are going to grow your business.
A Law Firm Marketing Plan Keeps You on the Right Track.
One of the best reasons to develop a business plan is to help you stay on the right track. It is so easy to become distracted by problems that arise, new opportunities that sound great or the daily grind at the office, but don’t exactly fit with your long-term goals. A marketing plan is not designed to be unduly constrictive, but to provide you with freedom within defined boundaries, the “boundaries” being your short (3-6 months) and long-term (1 to 3 years) goals and reaching financial independence.
A Law Firm Marketing Plan Helps You Count the Cost of Creating Before You Start Building.
Critical to any marketing plan is an outline of your anticipated expenses, your marketing budget, your sales goals, and a clear path to profitability. Knowing your financial costs and risks ahead of time can be invaluable in planning your growth strategy and managing your financial budget.
You must have a clear idea of what kind of costs are associated with starting up a new business in your field, along with realistic expectations of how long it will take to obtain enough clients or sell enough products to cover your overhead and provide some profits.
A Law Firm Marketing Plan Helps You Create a Vision for What You Want in the Future.
Where do you want to be in 12 months? How about 3 to 5 years? Ultimately, your business will be driven by your vision and the process of developing that vision is critical to your long-term success. The real value of a marketing plan is not just having it done, it’s all the time, energy, and research you put into thinking about your business in a strategic way and then implementing those plans.
So how do you go about developing a law firm marketing plan for your firm?
We can teach you how at a Rainmaker Retreat. Everyone who attends our two-day law firm marketing boot camp leaves with a customized Marketing Action Plan that includes all the marketing strategies you learn about during the two-day session.
Get you law firm on track for 2020:
- December 6-7, 2019 — Los Angeles, CA/The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey
- January 17-18, 2020 — Miami, FL/Double Tree by Hilton Ocean Point Resort & Spa
- March 20-21, 2020 — Scottsdale, AZ/Talking Stick Resort
- June 12-13, 2020 — Charlotte, NC/Hilton Charlotte Center City
Plan ahead and take advantage of the Early Bird pricing, where you can save 30% off the regular price. You can register online or get more information by calling 888-588-5891.
Want a Sneak Peak at what you will learn at a Rainmaker Retreat, listen to this free fast-paced on-demand webinar that is jam-packed with strategies to grow your law firm.
