If your practice was a machine you would want that machine to operate at peak efficiency. You’d want everything to work properly, needing little more than routine maintenance.
Your machine would make no sound other than the quiet hum of a well-oiled, finely tuned motor. It wouldn’t need a lot of attention, it would just work.
Your practice should be like that–no snags, no sticking points, no wasted time or money. You should know that everything is working efficiently and not be worried about it suddenly seizing up, and if there is an emergency, you should have a plan in place for that.
You create this efficiency through systems.
Your workflow should have a system. All of the steps should be documented, with all of the forms and procedure you need close at hand. You should have the right software and other tools you need, and know how to use them.
You should have an office manual that outlines all of the mundane functions of running an office, including a process for hiring and training employees, bookkeeping, billing, banking, and replenishing supplies. Your staff should know how to handle nearly everything and not have to come to you for every little hiccup and burp.
When you have all of this in place, when your practice runs efficiently and produces optimal work product and profits, you can focus on the one remaining task: marketing. Because without marketing, nothing else matters.
No marketing, no new clients, and your machine will grind to a halt.
You don’t need to have brilliant marketing, but whatever you do must be done regularly, consistently, and efficiently. You do this the same way you run the rest of your practice–with a system.
Your system should tell you what you will do this week to bring in new clients and serve existing ones. What will you write, where will you go, who will you call?
You should have the forms, the letters, the scripts, and the process at your fingertips so that you don’t have to figure out what to do, you can just do it.
Marketing should never be an afterthought, something you do when the files are running low or when you think about it and can find the time. It should be planned in advance and executed on a regular schedule.
Marketing is the fuel that makes your motor run. Keep your tank full and it will take you where you want to go.
Start or update your marketing plan with this
