Now that you’ve decided to write a 2010 marketing and business development plan,( I did convince you last week… didn’t I?) the question becomes where and how to start? First think about your personal brand; that is your vision for your practice, your expertise, your experience and your strengths. Every great brand has an idea or focus that sets them apart from everyone else, so what’s yours? Look at the big picture when it comes to expanding and building on your personal brand and it may spark ideas for your plan.
A few categories for you to include in your legal marketing plan:
- Focusing on your Internet presence
- Developing and nurturing your referral base
- Upping your involvement in organizations
- Defining a niche (maybe an industry)
Now think about the specifics of what you will do. My friend Gail McQuilkin, from Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton, has some great advice…
We have individual lawyer marketing plans that everybody is required to follow as part of their leadership responsibilities. In that marketing plan, you’re required to set forth specific things you’re going to do during the year. You can’t say ‘I plan to build a referral base for myself.’ You have to say you’re going to to do ten dinners a month, what I call ‘touches‘. Then you’ve got to say you’re going to have four dinners with people that you know, three dinners with people that have been referred to you, and so on. Whatever it is, lunches, dinners, or plane rides to visit a client out of town, your marketing plan must be specific as to how you’re going to do it.
We have two questions this week… they will give you some insight to what everyone has spent time on in the past AND what the focus for 2010 will be. Answer both questions and check all that apply.
Question #1:
Question #1: In the past I spent time on: (check all that apply)(polling)
Question #2:
Question #2: In 2010 I plan to spend time on: (check all that apply)(survey)