A lot of lawyers are enamored of technology these days.
You hear them on podcasts rhapsodizing about some “cool new thing” they’re experimenting with “because Bobby Whackamole tried it and thinks it’s amazing.”
Yeah, bloggers and podcasters seem to think that we need a steady stream of new ideas when in fact the opposite is true.
What we need are tried-and-true strategies and tactics that have been working for a long time, and will work for a long time to come.
You know…the timeless stuff.
Fundamentals that move the needle and don’t stop moving it.
How many of those things have you been ignoring?
Well, I’ll give you one that you’re probably ignoring if you’re like most people (especially most lawyers).
Referral marketing.
If you want to get more clients, more easily without spending a ton on a fancy website or Google Adwords, then referrals are your Golden Ticket.
But, if you’re like most people you dismiss the importance of referral marketing or devalue it.
This is an unfortunate mental block.
A blindspot, if you will.
How often do you find a useful fundamental that’s easy and inexpensive to do, but also powerful in the results it provides?
Rarely, right?
It’s funny because now that I’ve begun creating a program for lawyers who want to do “referral marketing by email” (which is the absolute most ridiculously easy way to do referral marketing)…
I see lawyers EVERYWHERE who are only dimly aware of the power of referrals.
For example, the other day I was listening to the latest episode of the Maximum Lawyer podcast (a podcast I HIGHLY recommend, by the way)…
And on the episode the hosts were interviewing a Florida lawyer named Nick Ortiz who at one point was talking about his marketing strategies. He said that, from the day he opened his firm, he’d been focused 100% on Google Ads etc.
BUT THEN…(cue the dramatic music)
At the 22” minute mark Nick explained how he had recently been awakened to the power of referral marketing.
Here’s what he said…
“When I went to MaxLaw 2018, John Fisher, during his presentation, asked a series of questions of where do you get your biggest and best cases from. And he started off with asking about traditional media: billboards, yellow pages, things like that…
Very few people raised their hands.
And then he asked about the Internet…
And a few people raised their hands.
And then he asked about referrals.
And the vast majority of people raised their hands. “
Nick then described what John Fisher said to the group of people with their arms raised…
“That’s true…your biggest and best cases always have and always will come from your referrals”
So…
Fundamentals, my friend. Yes…
Fundamentals are the key to the biggest and best success in marketing.
So always keep in mind that…
The biggest results come from the timeless fundamentals.
And guess what?
The really successful people know this. And they act on that knowledge.
For example, Jeff Bezos often gets asked what he thinks is going to change in the next 10 years.
Bezos replies, “I don’t know. But people always ask me that.”
Then he goes on to say that no one ever asks him “what’s NOT going to change in the future.”
Of course, they should…
Because that’s the ONLY thing you can count on…
Fundamentals.
Bezos says, “I know that 10 years from now, or 25 years from now, people will want as wide a selection of products as they can get. They’ll want to get them at the lowest price that they can get them, and they’ll want them as fast as they can.”
That’s why everything Amazon creates is in service and support of those three things.
Fundamentals.
The basic stuff that matters most, and always will matter most.
Fundamentals are what you should be focusing on in your practice, especially the marketing part.
P.S. If you're a practicing lawyer, check out this Law Practice Assessment . After answering a few questions, you'll get detailed recommendations for improving five key areas of your practice.
