Dec. 3, 2014 – Do you market when business is struggling, and stop marketing when business is good? If the answer is yes, you are on the marketing seesaw, according to Tom Palzewicz, a certified business coach at ActionCoach in Elm Grove.

In this video, Palzewicz explains that marketing should be a daily habit for solo and small firm lawyers, regardless of whether the firm is doing well or not.

“The biggest challenge I see with lawyers when it comes to marketing is they usually have not allocated time on a daily basis to marketing,” said Palzewicz, a recent speaker at the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Business School for Lawyers who has worked more than 15 years in finance and small business management. “If you don’t have time for marketing, you probably shouldn’t own a business.”

Palzewicz says solo and small firm lawyers who want to grow the business should take a step back and reassess their marketing plans. That means defining the market, which includes assessing the competition and the type of clients you want to serve (the State Bar’s “Economics of Law Practice in Wisconsin 2013 Survey Report” can help lawyers assess the market).

Once you’ve evaluated the market for your legal services, it’s time to develop a marketing budget and put a marketing calendar together. “Fill it with the marketing strategies that you think can succeed in helping you find more clients,” Palzewicz says.

For instance, can you find ways to create strategic partnerships in your community? If you represent victims of motorcycle accidents, does it make sense to be a sponsor at motorcycling events?

Palzewicz says strategic partnerships can generate referrals from other professionals or businesses that your target clients would typically seek out for goods and services. Other marketing strategies could be tailored to fit budget and time constraints.

But Palzewicz makes clear: the daily ritual is key. So is testing and measuring results. Find ways to measure whether your marketing efforts are paying off. If you don’t have the time or know-how, hire someone who does. “Marketing is math,” Palzewicz says.

“If you are unwilling to do math, you probably aren’t going to be a good marketing person,” he says. “Hire someone who is great at math, get them going on marketing.”

In the end, Palzewicz says a business cannot grow without good marketing habits, and it normally takes businesses 30 days to form one. He says lawyers should allocate time out of every day for marketing, and stop those habits that don’t help the business.

“Riding the roller coaster is fun the first couple times but after a while, it gets old,” Palzewicz said. “We work with attorneys to get time dedicated every day to their marketing efforts, which includes following their marketing calendar.”