When law firms take the initial step in ramping up their marketing momentum, oftentimes they come across the challenge of sparking that same marketing initiative and drive within their individual attorneys. Given the constant pressure of billable hours, devoting time to marketing can be overwhelming and time consuming for attorneys. They have a preconceived notion that writing articles, presenting webinars, and interacting with the media is just not a workable priority. So how do law firms make marketing appealing to attorneys? Learn to unleash their competitive nature.
Lawyers are inherently competitive, always striving to be better than the attorney next to them. One approach for awakening the marketing instincts of your firm’s attorneys is to make “local heroes” of them by prominently highlighting and internally sharing their marketing results. By calling attention to an attorney’s accomplishments—whether it’s a media quote, published article, or ranking—through an internal email blast or newsletter, it generates interest, excitement, and most importantly a little bit of competition within the firm.
Once attorneys see that their colleague has been featured, this sparks their competitive instinct, which is strong in this particular group of professionals! Other attorneys want to be highlighted and given a public pat on the back for taking that extra step by publishing an article, doing an interview, teaching a seminar, or talking to the media.
Introducing marketing accountability transforms a daunting chore into an effective business development tool. Not to mention, a little competition never hurt anyone!
