Paying for Respect: Your Firm Should Be More Than Awards on Your Wall

There are a lot of magazines and online databases that will be happy to include your law firm on a list and send you a decorative plaque—most often, for a fee. Whether it’s Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, or another database, you must realize that these companies are not promoting attorneys for free; they have a business to run, the same as you do.

The problems with using these kinds of awards to promote your law firm is that they are:

  • Common. It’s rare to find an attorney who isn’t listed in one of these publications. True, you will look more knowledgeable than those who do not have a listing, but you’re not going to stand out from the large pool of attorneys who have similar accolades.
  • Misleading. Did you have to pay to get your name mentioned? If yes, then you’re merely directing your customer to another form of your own advertising (something you could have done on your website for free).
  • Homogeneous. Remember, the whole point of your marketing is to stand out. Everyone in the pages of the magazine is exceptional, yes—but they are all equal after that. Why would your customer choose you instead of the attorney of the other page?

Whenever you have the opportunity to be listed or advertise in a lawyer publication, ask yourself: are you getting business from them, or are they getting it from you? If it’s a quid pro quo arrangement, that’s not all bad; you’re still getting something out of the deal. Just make sure you’re not giving more than you get.

The key to getting the best marketing for lawyers is to leverage the fame that these awards place on your firm.

 

Starting over can be scary, but it can also be exciting, revitalizing, and motivating. That’s why many people daydream about what they would do if they could “start over.”

In fact, that’s one of the (few) things I enjoyed about golf! You start from zero at each hole and have a fresh opportunity to excel.

This was my mindset when I wrote the report, 10-Step Program for Marketing Success. I set out to answer the question, “what are the steps I would take if I were rebuilding my practice from the ground up.

Inside this report, you will discover everything I’ve learned since opening the doors to my law firm and all the big-picture tactics I teach the attorney members at Great Legal Marketing.

Ben is a nationally recognized expert in attorney marketing and the owner of Great Legal Marketing.

Most attorneys start their firms assuming that being a really, really good attorney should, in and of itself, be a marketing advantage. Those attorneys believe that joining a whole bunch of committees and putting their name in lawyer directories is “marketing,” and they never bother to ask if there is a better way.

Attorneys are catching on, however, and those who succeed learn to leverage their current resources to create effective (and ethical) marketing. What they discover isn’t a magic pill or silver bullet but a different approach to marketing that your competitors haven’t considered.

If you want a peek at what successful attorneys use to market their practice, the HERO Starter Kit is your logical next step.

We’ve put together a FREE (and potentially life-changing) kit for solo and small firm attorneys that will show you a better way to reach potential clients and get them excited to call your firm. Request your HERO Starter Kit from Great Legal Marketing!

by Ben Glass

Ben is a nationally recognized expert in attorney marketing and the owner of Great Legal Marketing.

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  • Ben is a nationally recognized expert in attorney marketing and the owner of Great Legal Marketing.