When a general practice attorney named Joan called me about 9 months ago, she was a bit concerned about the future of her small firm. Like many solo attorneys, she left a larger firm to go out on her own, only to find that landing new clients was difficult. Joan had been surviving on some referrals, but didn’t have enough work coming in to make a decent living, and this was undermining her confidence.
She was in the process of hiring someone to create a website, hoping that this would help her generate additional business.
I asked her to describe her practice. She did some real estate closings, a little general litigation, a trademark here or there, some landlord tenant work, had written a couple of contracts and drafted some wills.
We talked a little bit about pricing, and was not surprised to find out that clients sometimes balked at her fees, even though they were under the going rate in her area.
She confessed that she often spent too much time on a case, and felt guilty about charging for it. Because of the diverse nature of her the work she took on, she often had to get up to speed on areas of law that she hadn’t dealt with recently.
We discussed what kind of referrals she was getting, and Joan described a mixed bag of cases. It was apparent that when she spoke to others about her work, that what came across was pretty generic.
I asked her to postpone building a website until we did some work on her marketing message.
Joan’s problem was clear, she didn’t market to a niche. In trying to appeal to everyone, she was diluting her message, and as a result, appealing to no one in particular.
We talked about the areas of law that were most interesting. We discussed the types of clients she liked to represent, and those she didn’t. We spoke about her skills, her passions and her must-haves.
What came across was her passion for helping people and her interest in elder law. She had a giving personality, and enjoyed the work she had done with senior citizens, and was motivated to advocate for them. A niche was born, and things became easier when she engaged in niche marketing.
Armed with that niche, we researched the competition, pinpointed Joan’s USP (unique selling proposition) and developed a targeted compelling marketing message that clearly positioned her expertise. A website and brochure were easy once her message was established.
Today Joan’s practice is thriving. In less than a year she has already started to establish herself as an expert in Elder Law. Her referrals have doubled, and she is able to provide excellent representation for her clients with less work and effort, since she has focused her practice in one area of law. There has been a marked improvement in the enjoyment of her work. And, instead of fighting to be paid fairly, Joan is now billing at a rate slightly higher than average.
Niche marketing works.
If you’re running a general law practice and not getting enough new referrals, set-up a consultation today and find out how you can benefit from carving out a niche.
Susan Martin, Law Firm Management
