In this week’s edition of Things I Wish I Knew, Solo lawyer Joleena Louis walks us through the key stats she tracks when reviewing her practice.
It’s April and that means the start of Quarter 2 of 2018.
One thing I’ve done since early on in my practice is review each quarter before planning the next. This helps me stay on task with reaching my yearly goals and allows me to adjust my path when needed.
My process has evolved as I’ve gained more experience. This is what I reviewed for Q1 of 2018 in preparation for Q2.
New Clients
I use a tool called Lexicata to help me manage leads. Lexicata has made it so much easier to track data on all my new clients. I can see how many new clients I’ve converted over the past quarter, where they came from, the type of case they had, and how much revenue they brought in.
This is this most important info I collect. By analyzing this information I can see which referral sources and marketing efforts are working best. Which helps me focus my Q2 marketing strategy on those channels.
Lost Potential Clients
Lexicata also helps me track the potential clients who don’t retrain me (or who I reject) and why. Again, this is info is useful for planning my marketing strategy for the next quarter.
Website Traffic
Another thing I like to check is website traffic. I get a lot of traffic from people coming to my site from my social media profiles and guest postings, but the vast majority come from blog posts.
This quarter I did not do as well as I would have liked, and I think this is because I didn’t post as often. Sticking to my posting schedule will be a priority in Q2.
Email Subscribers
I use email marketing as a way to attract new leads so tracking new email subscribers is very important. Along with looking at the number of subscribers I also look at where they came from and if/when they scheduled a consultation.
Part of my plan for Q2 is to run an email campaign, using the Q1 data as a baseline to determine if it’s successful.
Marketing Results
Someone in a Facebook group I’m in cautioned against random acts of marketing. Having a strategy and tracking your ROI is the key to a successful strategy.
This quarter I focused on one-on-one networking meetings. This cost me time, lots of coffees, and a few lunches. But with a return of almost $50k in referrals means I’ll definitely be continuing this strategy in Q2.
Profit and Losses
This is something I track on a monthly basis but it’s also very helpful to look at by quarter. I like to compare the numbers from the same quarter last year and analyze the difference.
Taking the time to review your quarter can help you stay on track, reach your yearly goals and keep your practice moving forward. Take 30 minutes out of your day to see what worked and what didn’t. From this, you’ll clearly see what you need to work on going forward.
