As a newly licensed attorney who just passed your state bar exam, the last thing you are probably thinking about is marketing. The ironic thing is, as a newly licensed solo practitioner, you need to understand the term “marketing” doesn’t just refer to hiring an overpriced “Mad Men” wannabe advertising firm. Nor does it refer exclusively to the yellow pages or search engine optimization (SEO) or pay per click advertising.
As an aspiring solo practitioner attorney who wants to build a successful solo practice, most of your marketing will be face to face. Most of your marketing will occur in your initial consultation with a prospective client. The dirty little secret about “marketing” in an aspiring solo’s life is that you have to convince your prospective client that you are trustworthy and competent to efficiently and successfully handle his or her case.
In most scenarios, you are asking a complete stranger to entrust serious legal matters with you and pay you money up front….YES, ENTRUST SERIOUS LEGAL MATTERS TO YOU AND PAY YOU UP FRONT….EVEN THOUGH YOU’VE NEVER HANDLED A CASE BEFORE!!!!! For that reason, its crucial you understand how to “market” yourself successfully in a consultation without creating unreasonable expectations for the client all the while gaining their trust.
So when you think of the word “marketing” as it relates to your solo practice… understand that there are two important branches of marketing… marketing face to face with prospective client… most importantly…..and then the marketing that you do outside of the consultation, both online and offline.