Law Firm Marketing

The First Step in Building a Succesful Law Firm as a Solo Attorney

Successful solo attorneys understand that a law firm is a business. 

Building a successful law business starts with setting goals, writing them down, and reviewing them regularly.

The very first question I ask my clients in my coaching practice is:

“What do you want from your business?”

It doesn’t matter if the person across the desk from me is a litigator or a transactional attorney.  It is no different if the attorney in my office is an intellectual property attorney or the owner of a personal injury firm.

Just about every one of them tries to give me a long-winded answer about taking care of customers, giving back to society, and making the world a better place.

After I let them say their piece, I politely tell them that they are full of crap!

Well, at least I hope they are full of crap.

The only good reason to go into business for yourself is to make a lot of money doing exactly what you want to do when you want to do it.

That’s it.

If you went out on your own and started up a law firm and you did not have this thought in your head, then you should go out and look for a job.

You see, without goals, that’s what you probably have with your law business anyway. If you’re currently working 50, 60, or 70 hours a week or more and you’re struggling to get by financially, you’ve got yourself a job that you paid to set up from scratch.

Plain and simple, that’s what you’ve got.

So the next thing the attorney will typically say is:

“Yeah, but I’m building up equity in the law firm and I’m going to sell it someday”.

I then lean back in my chair and I ponder that thought. I respond with:

“Well, let’s think about that for a second. You have a business that is 100 percent dependent upon you.”

You make the sale to the client. And you deliver the product or service.
And then you service the things you sell.
And then you follow up on the invoices.
And then you go out and sell some more. 

What was the common word in all of those activities? YOU.

How much is your business going to be worth without you?

Most of the folks then look down at the floor and shuffle their feet a little. 

That’s when I’ve got them. They know that they have not focused on what their law firm can do for them. You see, if they had goals for revenue, profitability, and numbers of hours they wanted to work—and if all of these goals were in alignment—they would have a reasonable answer.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Most people go out and start their own law firm and then they get caught up in the day-to-day practice of law. What falls by the wayside is the planning. You have to have at least some rough idea for what you want your business to be and then you—personally—need to take responsibility for getting your business to that point.

This is where goal setting comes in. 

Every successful attorney I have ever met, worked with, or interviewed has goals.
And they’ve written them down.

And they review them regularly.

Your goals help you drive your business. It’s that simple. 

What you focus on grows and expands. If you focus on your goals, you will be shocked at how quickly things begin to happen in your business.

After I have this conversation with the typical client and after we wrestle around a little about how they don’t have five minutes three of four times a day to think about their goals, they finally admit to what it is that has been bothering them. They admit that they don’t really know how to set a good constructive goal. 

Since this happens all the time, it is probably a good idea if we take a couple of minutes and review some quick tips on goal setting.

How to Set SMART Goals

A lot has been written about goal development. A quick Internet search will point you to numerous Web sites dedicated to the development and implementation of goals. Having too much information can be as bad as not having enough information. As you develop your goals, you should stick to the principle that less is more. After all, your goal setting should help you grow your business and not become a full-time job itself.

In keeping with that guideline, let’s stick to the basics in effective goal development. Use these basics as a framework for developing your own goals. Feel free to adapt and adjust them as you see fit. They must work for you, so your opinion is the one that matters the most. Here are the two guidelines that you must follow to make goal setting a powerful tool in your overall pursuit of success:

First, the power of a goal comes in writing it down on a sheet of paper and then in reading it every day. The more frequently you read it, or even better, the more frequently you write it, the closer it comes to resembling reality. The power of the commitment that is required to transfer thoughts into action cannot be underestimated. By writing your goals down on paper, you clarify and focus them. As you continually read them and write them, you begin to familiarize your brain with the possibility that these goals can become reality. If you write down your goals daily and envision the achievement of those goals in vivid detail, you will begin to convince yourself that these goals are indeed possible.

The second guideline in making goal setting a powerful achievement tool is to always state your goal using positive terminology. Focus on what you are going to do right rather than what is wrong with your current situation.

The time for developing goals is not the time for problem diagnosis. It is the time to picture this achievement in its ideal and unadulterated state. The reading or writing of a goal should fill you with positive energy that you can focus toward a positive outcome.

I have always been a proponent of setting goals based upon the SMART goal development methodology. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Tangible. A goal must fit all of those criteria for it to make your list.

The first quality of a goal is that it is specific. The more detail you can bring to your goal, the more likely it is that your brain will perceive it as real. A great test to measure the specificity of your goal is in answering the five “W’s.” The five “W’s” involved in goal setting are:

•Who: Who is involved? Can you accomplish this goal by yourself or do you need the help of others?
•What: What specifically do you want to accomplish?
•Where: Is this goal specific to a location? Where will you be when you achieve this goal?
•When: When will you achieve this goal? It is critical that you establish a timeframe for achieving each of your goals.
•Why: Why is achieving this goal important? List the specific benefits of accomplishing the goal.

The next step is to make certain you can measure progress on your way toward goal accomplishment. You know that your goal is measurable when you can apply specific objective criteria to help track your progress toward completion. The best question to use to test the measurability of your goals is: “How will I know that I have accomplished this goal?”

Measurement has a very powerful effect on progress. Simply put, things that get measured get done. To define how you will measure your goal, ask yourself questions that begin with “How much”, “How many”, and “How often”. Set some target dates to make sure you remain on track.

The next quality your goal must have is that it must be achievable. In other words, it must be possible. Initially, achieving your goal may seem like a stretch. That’s fine; you want a goal that will make you reach. When you set a goal that channels your passion, your brain goes to work figuring out ways to make it happen. You develop the attitudes, skills, and knowledge that help you move down the path toward achievement. Gradually, you begin to see opportunities that you may have previously missed. As you begin to take advantage of these opportunities, you bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goal.

You can attain virtually any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a timeframe that allows you to carry out those steps. A goal that initially appeared distant and unattainable gradually becomes closer and more possible, not because your goal changed, but because you grew and expanded to match it. The change occurs within you.

Next, your goal must be realistic given the timeframe you have set. To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective you are both willing and able to spend time and energy achieving. A goal can be challenging and still be realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. You will stretch your goals as your self-confidence increases. It is critical to make sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a less challenging one because a minor goal requires a low level of personal motivation. Some of the hardest things you ever accomplish actually seem easy because you approach them with passion and zeal.

Finally, your goal must be tangible. A goal is tangible when you can experience it with at least one of the five senses. Can you taste, touch, smell, see, or hear the results? If so, then you have a tangible goal. If your goal is tangible you can envision it before it is achieved. This helps program your mind and reinforces the belief that achievement is possible.

Each and every one of the successful individuals I have worked with over the years has had goals that fit these criteria. 

So, what can you do today—right now—to make sure that you get your goals in place?

The first thing I recommend you do is find someone to bounce some ideas off of. Many people struggle with the goal setting process. In fact, many people have a difficult time deciding exactly what they want from their business. Goal setting is difficult, if not impossible to do on your own. It is like cutting your own hair. You may be able to get to everything you can see, but it is the areas that you cannot see that may be the problem. You may have a blind spot, and that may prevent you from accurately setting the proper goals. You may set you goals too high—or more likely; you may set your goals too low.

Making an error in goal setting can be a fatal error and it should not be left to chance.

This is where a coach can be enormously helpful. Your coach can help you clarify your goals and help you get them written properly. You coach can also help remind you to focus on those goals each and every day. My clients will tell you that I’m a broken record when it comes to this point. When they call me between sessions with a question, the first thing I ask them is what they have done to move closer to their goals today.

Taking accountability for the actions that lead to achieving your goals is also critical for success.

What are you waiting for?

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