On my walk today I saw a car parked in front of a neighbor’s house. On the car door was a magnetic sign advertising, “Pam’s house sitting and pet sitting” business. Attached to the sign was a plastic business card holder which was filled with her cards.
Many lawyers who saw this wouldn’t give it a second thought. They’re busy thinking about their cases and clients and all the work they need to do. Or they would think about whether Pam is bonded and insured. Does she have employees and are they also insured? Does she supervise them? Did the owner of the house put the jewelry in a safe deposit box before they went out of town?
You know, lawyer stuff.
Enlightened lawyers would look at that sign and think about marketing.
No, I’m not suggesting a lawyer put a magnetic sign on their car. But if you’ve trained yourself to think like a business owner as well as a lawyer, seeing that sign might prompt you to start asking yourself about other ways Pam might be building her business.
Does she rely solely on that sign and word of mouth or does she do other kinds of marketing? Does she have a website? Is she listed in business directories? Does she advertise in our community newsletter? Does she distribute flyers?
Does she network with other business owners who might have customers or clients who need her pet sitting services–pet stores, vets, dog groomers, and kennels for example? For house sitting, does she network with real estate agents and travel agents?
Does she have a mailing list? How much repeat business does she get? How about referrals?
Does she know other house and pet sitters and do they cover for each other when one is overbooked? Has she considered expanding her services to include dog walking or pet food delivery?
This is how a business person thinks. Lawyers need to think this way, too because a law practice is also a business.
Ideas are everywhere. You just have to look for them. You might not be able to use many of the ideas you see (like car signs) but ideas you can’t use often lead to ideas you can use.
You know you want them. Here’s how to get more referrals
