General and Solo

Practitioner

Publication of the State Bar of California General and Solo Practice Section

Vol. 7,,No. 3 Fall/Winter 1495

The 15-Minute Marketing Workout

by Robert N. Kahn

32~~~s in small Finns. and 3016 practitioners have a unique problem in marketing. They don’t have the suppQrt orresoumes Qfthelarger. firm that at has name rscsgnition and the bye/ Jt for an in-house mrulceting director or perhapseveu a RR. firm.

There are, cross-selling opportuuities in a ‘large firm, plus other partners can help motivate+ implement or supervise marketing efforts and projects.

Them3 no ba&kp system like this in.a.smaMrm~ LWessyou fti a special niche,[email protected] Lee&hey, yoUhavem,nZUTtencognition litdtkld- get,andnoonetowhomyoucanbe accountable~ or upon who you can rely for hmhrstotmmg and motivation.

What’! a sole practitioner to do?

The Outside Consultant as Coach

For an increasing number of attorneys, the answer is to him a marketing “coach.” Acting as an affordable off-site markeSngdirector+r outside consultant~is paid on an hourly basis (no insurance Wpayroll taxes required!) and wodcs with you one-on-one,

Just as a person & trainer guides and motivates you in a.personalized fitness program, a marketing coach works ,with you to develop-andim~nt-apersonSixedmarketing program.

Start Youi Workout

Just as in a fitness Program, time plays an important factor. You should be prepared to make a six-month-long commitment, as a reasonable amount of time within which to see results and develop productive habits.

Each session with your marketing co&h can be as-short as 15 minutes once ‘or twice’ a month. Obviously, this is flexible. some people prefer weekly sessions, and if their budget allows,. more. can be accomplished.

If you’re worried about finding,a consultant in your area of Frostbite Ealls, California, you needn’t be.

Another advantage to this ty* of workout program, and part of what makes it affordable and eftWive, is that it can bi held via telephone and fax.

Besides reduci~ng geographical limitations, a preset 15-minute phone appointment isboth time efficient and achievableiueveuthebusiestschedik.

E&h “workout” should draw upon a combination of f&e eiements:

. Establishmg n&i& goals

. Creating “doable” strategies for achieving those goals.

. Learning techniques that, provide strategic shortcuts

t As&& “A&

tion Itctm& ~&ii?ix&-down arate gies into.spkific, -a;cce~table tasks

Discussing and problem-solving the “Action Item?’

results from the previous session.

Each session should ~build on the previous one, reinfoming the goals es~~~and~~g*newskills and habitsacquired for marketmg. . .

CRba?eates

‘, iAsclear+ut andbeneficial as’this kind of Fketing workout might appear, the bottom line is that human b&ngs are complex.

Not only are them obstacles within thema&eting,ptWess,buttheattomay~s ownpemnalitymaycreatesomeofthc obstacles:

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