There are, at a minimum, more than two dozen excellent marketing tactics you can use to grow your practice. They range from networking to websites to blogs to seminars to promotional pens. They all work to some extent.
However, there’s a way that you can make any of them fail. Many attorneys pick a really good marketing tactic—one that consistently works for others—and turn it into a wasted effort.
Let’s take websites as an example. How can a website become a marketing liability rather than an asset? How can one lawyer create a site that fails when other sites succeed?
Do You Suffer From MADHD?
Here’s why these lawyers fail:
It’s called Marketing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“MADHD”). It’s marked by starting a marketing project, doing some work on it, and then moving on to another marketing project. The project is left in an unfinished state.
Interestingly, attorneys suffering from MADHD repeat the cycle over and over. They fail to finish the website development. They move on to e-mail marketing and, before they finish that project, they move on to the next. Nothing ever works, and they can’t figure out why.
These MADHD sufferers assume that the marketing tactic they’ve been using is flawed. That’s how they rationalize moving on to the next tactic. They see minimal results from project one and feel compelled to start project two.
Of course, it makes sense that project one isn’t working yet. It isn’t finished, and even if it is finished, it hasn’t been given a chance to work.
Develop Some Stick-To-Itiveness
My suggestion to you is to pick a tactic—building your network is one we’ve been talking about a lot here in the past few weeks—and stick to it. Don’t give up. Commit to stick to the project for a couple of years and keep going no matter what your results. It’s almost impossible to undertake an aggressive networking program and fail (unless you bail on it early). Networking is the single most tested marketing approach of all time. It works.
Don’t expect overnight results. You’ll see results, but you’ve got to stick to the plan to see the results you’d ultimately like to achieve. There are no shortcuts. Everything is difficult. Did someone tell you this would be easy?
If you’re feeling frustrated by your results, take comfort in knowing that you’re just feeling the manifestation of your MADHD. Just know that your thoughts sometimes run away from you, but you need to stick to the plan and keep doing what you’re doing. Your results will come if you give the project sufficient time while applying sufficient energy.
Don’t let MADHD ruin your efforts. Don’t allow your MADHD to leave you with half-finished projects. It takes willpower to focus. It takes willpower to stick to the plan. Without focus, you’ll end up with nothing. You’ll perpetually hit the reset button and find you’ve achieved little even after expending massive effort. Pick a tactic and stick to the plan. You’ll succeed if you finish what you started and give it time to work.
