To get into the legal world as a trainee legal executive I sent 62 hand written letters to law firms begging for them to give me a chance.
On paper I had nothing much to offer (that is if they could even read my handwriting), but I have always been a persistent so and so and I had set my heart on a job in the legal profession.
From those 62 letters I had one interview and was offered one job. After taking that job I was offered another interview in Southampton – for a man who loves the water I really missed out there – Reading was where I ended up.
The office I shared with the partner who took a chance on me was above Sweeneys pie shop in Reading. I started early summer, so had to endure the waft of warm, tasty pies and much merriment in the beer garden at the back of the pie shop whilst reading case reports and trying to get a grip on what the heck this law thing was all about.
At first it was a complete nightmare; with no legal training nothing made any sense. I had no 
background knowledge to base it all on. I was completely starting from scratch.
However, within two years I was running a full litigation caseload and billing £150,000, which wasn’t a bad start.
The skills that made me go from having no knowledge of the law to running a full caseload in such a relatively short period of time apply as much to marketing your law firm as they do to becoming a fee earner (and especially to email marketing).
- I was committed to do it. I set out to be a solicitor and nothing was going to stop me. Committing to something wholeheartedly ensures that the obstacles which will inevitably present themselves will be overcome. I frequently meet solicitors who state that they want to double or treble their law firm turnover, yet the slightest obstacle stops them in their tracks. They did not ‘commit’ to the process. Every solicitor that I meet who ‘commits’ to growing their law firm will succeed, even when the inevitable issues such as staff problems, audits, family health issues etc get in the way. We all have them, it is just that some people commit to keep going when they happen, and they succeed.
- I wanted to repay my employer’s investment in me as a complete newbie. When you invest in a new form of marketing, you have to ensure that it repays you too. If you are giving up some of your time and money to test a new form of marketing or to improve an existing one, you need a return on your investment. I only advocate return on investment marketing. If you cannot make something pay, then either improve it or stop doing it. Don’t do a form of marketing for which you cannot track the return on investment. If you cannot measure where clients come from because your receptionist or fee earners don’t ask the question, then outsource new calls to a call centre. In my experience all new calls should come in this way. Very few firms get the initial call handling right. Those firms who assure me that they are the exception to this rule very rarely are when I test them. I can introduce you to a call centre that I recommend if you would like me to.
- By doing the work every day I quickly started to make sense of it all and got better at it. Slowly yet surely, I become a good fee earner. When I didn’t know an answer, I hunted for it in the library, spoke to a colleague or took counsel’s advice. I found the answer though as I was committed to the process of becoming a solicitor. When you commit to undertake a new form of marketing, such as email marketing, you will get better at it, you will find all of the answers that you need (you have me to ask, after all) and you will make it deliver new clients to you, consistently. Don’t let problems stop you in your tracks, head off and find the answers. They are out there and easier than ever for you to find with this internet thingamyjig.
Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing for solicitors. Commit to doing it and you will quickly become very good at writing short, sharp, conversational emails that resonate with your audience, or longer, more story based emails like my one today.
You will find a style that works for you and you will master it, IF YOU START IT.
If you can master the skill of being a solicitor and running a law firm, you can definitely master the skill of writing content to your email list that makes your telephone ring and brings you thousands of pounds worth of new business every month and every year, but you just have to start.
Start writing the content, commit to finding a formula that works and do it consistently and an increasing volume of repeat business and recommended clients will soon be rushing to your door.
If you haven’t yet started an email marketing list and want a comprehensive guide which covers everything from which software to choose to how to write the content, click the button below now: