There’s no substitute for Experience. Think about it:
Would you hire someone who’s never driven a car to teach you to drive?
Or hire someone who’s never played the piano to teach you how to tinkle the ivories?
Of course you wouldn’t! Why?
Because they can’t teach you what they don’t know.
When you want to learn HOW to do something well- you turn to someone who has: “Been there and Done that.”
When it comes to building a successful law firm- look for mentors who have been in your shoes.
Look for people who know what it takes to try a case- who understand what it’s like to practice law and build a law firm at the same time.
Look for someone who “gets” what a good case looks like and understands the dynamics of paying associates- who appreciates what if feels like when associates walk out with your inventory- and can show you how to protect against it-
Look for someone who really understands the unique requirements of the practice of law- as well as the unique challenges and relevant ethical constraints existing in both marketing and managing a law firm.
This kind of understanding is only derived when someone has “been there, done that, and- done it well.”
Now I’m not saying you can’t learn marketing tactics from a non-lawyer marketer- of course you can.
But the deal is- as with any thing you want to do in life- the best way to learn and grow is to draw upon the experiences of others who have blazed the trail before you and can give you the advice- the strategies, the short cuts and the wisdom that only comes from experience.
Building a multi-million-dollar law firm isn’t easy- but it can be done- I know, because I’ve “been there, and done that.”
I built two 7-figure law firms from the ground up, so I understand the unique challenges, frustrations, and the learning curve involved in building a law firm from scratch.
Law School teaches us the law- but it doesn’t teach us how to build a law firm. And anyone who tells you a law firm is like any other business, just doesn’t know what they are talking about.
I ‘ve been right there in your shoes- trying cases all day and trying to figure out how to grow my law firm at the same time.
And even if you’ve figured out how to make the phone ring and aren’t struggling for new cases, there are a litany of new management and scaling challenges that arise- and many are unique to the practice of law.
When I was first building my law firms, there really weren’t many opportunities to spend time with more experienced attorneys who had “been there, done that
and who were willing to take the time to share their inside secrets or experience.
I didn’t have a mentor- or group of experienced attorneys who were willing to “open their books” or take the time to spell out what I needed to do next to grow my firm or differentiate myself from the other law firms in my area.
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There weren’t any attorney groups I could join that would give me the inside scoop on when and how to leverage TV advertising- or digital advertising…
And certainly no one who had built a strong and consistent Referral network that was generating increases of 50% or more in sign-ups.
Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way- through trial and error.
Some things I tried worked like gangbusters while other strategies were failures. But here’s the key- I learned what to do and just as importantly- what not to do. I had to learn it the hard way-
My learning curve was successful, BUT- it cost me years and hundreds of thousands of dollars along the way.
But you don’t have to grow your law firm that way- You can seize the opportunity to learn from other lawyers who have “been there and done that.”
IN fact- that’s really why I started PILMMA in the first place over ten years ago- to give lawyers the proven strategies and tactics in Marketing, and Management that I had to learn the hard way.
I’ll say it again:
The best way to learn and grow is to draw upon the experiences of others who have blazed the trail before you and can give you the advice- the strategies, the short cuts and the wisdom that only comes from experience.
The power of learning from other lawyers is also why the Mastermind Effect is so powerful. Although a lot of people these days are throwing that term around, the truth is that a “real” Legal Mastermind is a small group of like-minded and successful lawyers who share their experiences and knowledge with each other- in closed door roundtables. These groups are comprised of lawyers who are from different geographical markets- so none of them are in competition with each other, and each member is free to share what’s working and what’s not working in terms of both marketing and managing their law firms- IN this way- each member draws upon the “been there, done that” experiences of one another.
Over the years of facilitating these powerful groups I can promise you that there is rarely a problem that one member is struggling with that at least 2-3 other members can’t weigh in on- and provide critical insights- including the quickest way to implement the strategy and a list of pitfalls to avoid. It’s for this reason that Mastermind members typically grow their firms exponentially faster than attorneys who stick to themselves and grow by trial and error or rely on non-lawyer Marketing vendors for guidance.
If you aren’t ready to jump into a good Mastermind group, then seek out an experienced mentor- to consult with you regarding your firm’s unique position and challenges.
Just the other day a lawyer contacted me because he felt his firm just wasn’t growing despite his best efforts and an inventory of good PI cases.
In the course of the conversation, I suggested that he stop turning away the good but small cases he didn’t want to take, like slip-n-falls, and soft tissue PI. Instead, I encouraged him to establish a referral relationship with some other young lawyers in his market that were just building their practices and eager for new work. By referring them out (and implementing a simple follow up system with an admin asst.) he could start increasing his revenue without doing any extra work! He was thrilled with the advice and thanked me profusely.
With this one simple Strategy he now had a significant way to increase his income stream with an impressive ROI- and without any additional expense.
I’m not a genius- but I am an experienced attorney who has “been there and done that.”
So, start looking for your own mentor- someone who understands the unique challenges you face as a law firm owner-
And if you want to reach out to me- just call 1-800-497-1890 or shoot me an email at info@pilmma.org.
Remember: Nothing Changes Unless You Take Action.
