I got an email from an attorney who has lost his way.

"I’m 47 and have been an attorney for 20 years, the last 15 as a solo
practitioner. I bought your referral magic program in 1997 or 1998, and
started using some of its ideas. I’ve made good money over the years, but I
strayed from utilizing your system consistently. Over the last two years, my
client base has dwindled and I do not attract new clients on a consistent
basis. I’ve been stressed about this and to me, the future looks bleak
unless I change the way I’ve been doing things. I want to refocus and grow
my client base and my practice, so that I can count on it for the next 20
years, as I raise my family ( 3 kids ages 13-11-7 ) and plan for retirement.
Can/will you help me get back on track?"

I replied and asked for some additional information. His practice is PI, criminal defense, and divorce. He’s not doing any marketing now, and does not maintain a list of any kind, but he does get referrals from clients, friends, and professionals. He hasn’t thought about goals. He likes being his own boss but admits that if he could make the same money doing something else, he probably would.

He is at a turning point. He needs to get back on track in marketing his practice. That’s actually the easy part. He just needs to be reminded about what he already knows. First, he needs to reflect on where he wants to go with his practice and his life. If the passion is gone, he needs to find it again or admit it’s gone and consider some changes.

Here is the advice I gave him:

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BUILDING YOUR PRACTICE

1. Pick one practice area. What do you do best, love the most, have the most success with? As a general practitioner, you’re trying to be everything to everybody. Instead, focus. Specialize. Be the very best at one thing, not okay at several. First thing that will happen is you will now be in a position to get referrals from attorneys who are now your competitors.

2. Target niche markets. You didn’t talk about who you represent and I suppose that’s because the answer is "anybody". A better answer is to target a very specific class of individuals. Be a big fish in a small pond. For example, if you chose PI and your target market was Honduran immigrants, you would eventually seek to become the lawyer most Honduran immigrants think of when they are injured. You would have fewer places to network, advertise, etc., and thus, with less effort and dollars, you could dominate that market. You would be using a rifle instead of a shotgun.

3. You need a list and you need it now. Start building it, adding to it, building a relationship with the people on it. Nurture them, communicate with them, stay in touch with them, educate them, and when they need your services (or know someone who does), you will be the one they will call. You can do this online and offline and I would suggest you do both.

4. If you’re not on the Internet, you need to be. Start a web site (or better, a blog) and start harvesting free (and paid) search traffic. You can "ramp up" your practice very quickly this way.

BEYOND MARKETING

1. You need to know where you want to go. Write out what you want your life to look like five years from today. What are you doing (or not), with whom, where, how. What is a typical day? And no limitations. It can be whatever you want it to be. Want to be retired and traveling? You can do that. Working from home? Investing? Teaching? Or, running a huge practice? In five years (or less) you can accomplish anything. I know. I did it, first with my marketing business and then with another business that now provides me with a six-figure passive, residual income, which means I will never have to work again unless I want to. It took me a few years to do this, working part time. (I’m working with other lawyers who are doing it, too, so if you’re interested, let me know and I’ll get you some information.) Once you know where you want to go, you can set some interim goals to help you get there, but start with the end in mind.

2. It’s supposed to be fun. If you are not enjoying what you are doing, you’re doing it wrong (or you’re doing the wrong thing). You can have it all. Really. Life is not meant to be a struggle, and if you are unmotivated and unhappy, listen to your emotions, they are telling you that you are not going in the right direction, you need to change.

3. I’m going to guess that your kids are your motivation. You want to provide for them, be with them, and make them proud of you. Never forget this. Once you know what direction you want to go, whenever you find yourself not doing what you need to do, remember your kids.

I hope this helps. Please keep in touch.