Back when I started my bankruptcy practice, life was simpler. I rented an office in downtown Manhattan, contacted a company called All-State Legal Supply for some embossed business cards and letterhead (Crane’s off-white heavy stock) and put an ad into the local classified ads section.
Then I got a Yellow Pages ad. Well, I got five of them. One for each borough of New York City.
My rates were low because I was new and trying to make a name for myself. So I charged $25 less than the other guys in the newspaper.
I joined a networking group and got myself out of bed at 6:30am to trek to a breakfast meeting every Wednesday, where I glad-handed with a bunch of other professionals who seemed only to want to trade leads. The pressure was unbearable.
I sent letters to every lawyer I could find in the phone book, begging for work.
I “got myself out there” on a regular basis.
I wore a suit and acted the way I was told a lawyer should act.
Each month, I wrote out huge checks for advertising.
Each month, I worried that I wouldn’t have enough clients to make payroll. Sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong.
My office was open early, open late, open weekends. I didn’t want to take a chance that a potential client would go elsewhere.
My phone was picked up on the second ring because I didn’t want to take a chance that a potential client would go elsewhere.
People chose lawyers based on the loudest voice – the biggest ad, the biggest budget, the lowest price.
Why?
Because they had no other basis upon which to make a choice.
But things changed. The consumer has options, and a voice that is just as loud as the lawyer’s. They demand information, ratings that mean something, and are more informed now than ever before.
What do you think makes someone choose one lawyer over another? How are people in your area communicating?
If you had it to do all over again, what you do to make an impact?
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