Could you be making foolish mistakes that hinder your law practice success? You do not have time for that.
Law practice success relies heavily on knowing the ins and outs of the industry. This means knowing what is working for you and what is not working for you.
Regardless of the context, it is important to know and learn what you are doing for your firm to ensure the best results are achieved.
Don’t waste your time making the same mistakes over and over. Learn from them so you can grow along with your practice as it succeeds.
Mistakes in your law firm you should avoid.
There are seven common mistakes made by developing legal firms:
1. Wasting time on busy work that can be delegated or outsourced.
Busy work is typically something we do when we do not know what to do. It is important to get these tasks done, however it is best that these tasks be accomplished by an individual other than the person running the show.
Administrative tasks like bookkeeping, website maintenance, and so forth should be outsourced so most important task can be made a priority, which is growing your practice.
2. No Clear Marketing Strategy.
Having no clear plan means no clear outcome. Business is essentially done in an aimless manner.
In marketing, the right strategy is conducive to having goals and knowing how to achieve them. One must know where they to better themselves and essentially grow.
3. Not narrowing your practice focus.
The small firm attorney needs to pay careful attention not only to their area of legal expertise, but also their “vertical market” focus.
This “vertical market” focus allows us to specify who our we want to target as our potential clientele.
The more we narrow our focus, the better chance we have in establishing who we want to serve. Having too broad of a focus only goes so far and can be compared to trying a wide array of cheeses when trying to pick your favorite. You can only hope to find a favorite.
4. Failing to Automate Marketing.
Small firms get busy over time and that is just the reality of it all. Without continuous marketing, one could lose out on potential revenue. By setting up marketing systems that can be executed automatically, the attorney’s marketing message continues to reach prospective clients even when the attorney is too busy to do it on his or her own.
5. Weak follow-up with leads and referral sources.
Weak follow-ups with leads and referral sources are never a good thing because it ultimately makes you look bad. Looking bad because of weak follow-ups will negatively affect your image over time because it can look like you don’t care about the time invested into the relationship.
6. Failing to anticipate the small firm income plateau.
It starts with not turning work around fast enough which gradually begins to limit your income potential. For the lawyer trapped in feast-or-famine economics, it’s hard to commit to the steady payroll of a paralegal or associate. Eventually, a small firm will need extra hands, whether it is for administrative tasks or more legal expertise. The question is never going to be “if you’ll need staffers,” it’s going to be “when you’ll need staffers.”
7. Not having passion for what you do.
Having passion for the profession is ultimately the most important thing when it comes to a career, including law.
You can force yourself to do it, but the energy behind it will fizzle because passion is what truly keeps you going, even when times are tough. Having passion ensures you put everything into what you do and that you do not go about it lazily.
It is always best to check yourself before you wreck yourself, and knowing and understanding these common mistakes will help you to better build a successful firm.
