Among other things, I’m a huge fan of M*A*S*H. As a child I’d sit glued to the television each week to watch Hawkeye and the rest of the cast go through their storylines. It was my dad’s favorite TV show as well, so I guess it gave me common ground with him as well.
Charles Emerson Winchester III gave me one of my most profound legal marketing tips, and I thought I’d pass it along. At the beginning of his run with the 4077th Charles was operating in a very methodical manner – quite unlike the “meatball surgery” practiced in wartime Korea. When told to hurry up, Charles replies as follows:
“I do one thing, I do it very well and then I move on.”
What does this mean to legal marketing, you may ask?
It means that the face you put forward to clients and prospects must reflect a singular focus in your practice – even if the firm does lots of stuff. Nobody goes to a podiatrist for a headache, a motorcycle repairman when the Benz breaks down, or a plumber to fix the roof.
Got a website? Rather than stuffing it with every single type of law you practice, split up into a bunch of sites – one for divorce, one for personal injury, one for bankruptcy, one for … well, for whatever. Your prospects want to see someone who is a specialist (even if you aren’t certified and cannot call yourself a specialist, that’s OK – just look the part) rather than a dabbler. Jack of all trades, and all that.
Showing only a single field of expertise will inspire your prospects to believe in you, and to trust your word as valid and valuable. You position yourself as a specialist, someone who is not distracted by other fields of law. You’re laser focused, ready to tackle the challenges of any case in that field without distraction.
You’re a hero.
Be that hero.
This is great advice. Information is so easy to find online, that we often suffer from information overload. But focusing on specific areas makes the white noise disappear.
On the other hand, the lesson that Dr. Winchester needed to learn is that he needed to adapt to the realities of “meatball surgery”. While Charles was plodding along as outlined above, other patients were waiting in the triage. The other M*A*S*H surgeons had learned how to do things well in a timely manner so that other patients did not suffer unnecessarily.
Dr. Winchester was a skillful surgeon, but he was not very efficient. Doing one thing very well is fine…but doing things efficiently, even if you have multiple practice, can be fine too if the message is focused and the client understands the benefits.
On the other hand, the lesson that Dr. Winchester needed to learn is that he needed to adapt to the realities of “meatball surgery”. While Charles was plodding along as outlined above, other patients were waiting in the triage. The other M*A*S*H surgeons had learned how to do things well in a timely manner so that other patients did not suffer unnecessarily.
Dr. Winchester was a skillful surgeon, but he was not very efficient. Doing one thing very well is fine…but doing things efficiently, even if you have multiple practice, can be fine too if the message is focused and the client understands the benefits.
Excellent point, Carl. Mine was about focus only. And Winchester did become more efficient with time while retaining his skill set. As opposed to Frank Burns, who was quick but a terrible doctor. He also had no chin, but that's another post entirely.
Excellent point, Carl. Mine was about focus only. And Winchester did become more efficient with time while retaining his skill set. As opposed to Frank Burns, who was quick but a terrible doctor. He also had no chin, but that’s another post entirely.