How to Overcome Barriers With Effective Legal Marketing Strategies with Kenneth Hardison

legal firm legal industry legal marketing Jan 20, 2022

There is no hard and fast rule in building a successful law firm. Understandably, it's inevitable for a firm to make rookie mistakes in the early stages of operation. Nonetheless, business owners should develop effective legal marketing strategies that cater to their firm after a series of trials and errors. Without dependable and enduring tools, a business may suffer a huge loss.

In this episode, Kenneth Hardison joins us to talk about his experience in establishing PILMMA and teaches us how lawyers can create a profitable practice for themselves through legal marketing. He also discusses the common mistakes entrepreneurs make that can hinder business growth.

If you want to know about building a successful law firm through effective legal marketing strategies, then this episode is for you!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode

Uncover the secret in creating a profitable practice.
Understand why capital is necessary to grow your business.
Learn the top three mistakes in establishing a law firm.

Resources

New! Download the Action Guide for this episode
Episode 65 - Culture Not Important? Guess Again! with Eric Farber
Join the Law Firm Growth Summit’s Facebook community.
Connect with Kenneth: LinkedIn | Email
Grow your law firm with PILMMA.
The Grow Your Law Firm Podcast
Under Promise Over Deliver by Kenneth Hardison
The Infinite Game by Simon Sineck
Lawyer Ghost Calls

Episode Highlights

How Kenneth Built PILMMA

Kenneth financially supported his college and law education by being a butcher.
He later returned to his hometown and became a partner with a law firm.
He decided to establish his own firm and took advantage of advertising and legal marketing to promote his practice.
The publicity got him more cases than he could handle. However, Ken and his team figured ways to manage the cases effectively.
After his retirement, many lawyers were still asking for his business advice. This was his starting point for establishing PILMMA.

The Secret Sauce to Starting Your Firm

There are multiple ways to gain publicity, so it’s hard to crack what will work. Spend your money wisely.
Asking for expert advice and checking your firm’s financial status can help create a contingency plan.
Taking big cases means spending more money. Listen to the full episode to know how Kenneth manages this problem.
Businesses fail because they mishandle their cash flow.

Kenneth: “There's two ways to learn: trial and error or learn from somebody else's mistakes. It's a lot cheaper if you learn from somebody else's [mistakes].”

A Business Needs Capital

Capital is essential in building a successful law firm.

Moshe: “When you want to consider any sort of investment in your firm, whether it’s [spending on] marketing, hiring an employee, adding office space — whatever the investment is — there’s going to be a level of commitment that’s required.”

Sweat equity alone does not drive progress in the company.
Growth can only happen if you properly invest in your firm.

Define the Game

There are a lot of reasons why lawyers establish their own law firms.
Define the terms on how you’ll build your business, and it will give you the direction on how to succeed.

Kenneth: “The real reason to start a business is to sell it one day. You need to run it and keep your books in your records like you're going to sell it.”

Entrepreneurs will only acquire worthwhile businesses, so you must find ways to increase profit.
To make proper adjustments for your firm, you must understand your financial situation.

Top Three Mistakes

Don’t sign up for cases you can’t handle.
Don’t exchange talent for cheap labor. Invest more in Grade-A lawyers.

Kenneth: “You cannot do it by yourself. I don't care how smart you are because you're not going to be great at everything. You’ve got to let your ego down and hire people that are smarter than you are.”

Don’t get easily distracted by other viable business strategies. Focus on one idea at a time.

The Key to Success

Kenneth: “I think the key to success is being very laser-focused and disciplined to get shit done.”

You will lose your team’s trust if you don’t finish what you’ve started.
Set quarterly goals instead of annual goals. Tune in to know how Kenneth focuses on achieving his company’s targets every quarter.

Offer the Full Package to Your Clients

Set aside money for marketing to attract potential clients.
Once people are at your door, find a process to convert them into customers.
Serve your clients well. They may refer your firm to other potential clients.

Tracking Your Success

Know your average fee per case so that you’ll know how much you’ll spend and earn from the transaction.
The baseline of your return should be six-to-one.
If you strive for a 95% conversion rate, you're on the right track.
Track the average time a case is resolved. It gives you an idea of how much it costs to work the suit.

Importance of Cash Flow

Predicting your cash flow helps you identify if a case is profitable or not.
Hiring a fractional CFO can offload the administrative tasks.

Kenneth: (Regarding cash flow) “What I found in PI is it's kind of like a roller coaster sometimes. But if you plan for the roller coaster, it’s okay.”

Maximize Advertising

Every dollar spent on advertising must bring $6 worth of revenue to the firm.
The goal of running a firm is to make a profit and not make the staff members busy.
Honing the efficiency of employees is necessary for your firm’s growth.

Kenneth: “If you're not in the top three on Google Maps or the local businesses, you're missing out on stuff that you can do that will not cost you a lot of money.”

Keep posting content on your Google business page. Google Maps reviews are essential to get publicity.

Why Discipline Matters

Kenneth: “The key to success or building any kind of business is focus and discipline.”

Kenneth admits that it’s difficult for him to maintain discipline because he’s easily diverted to the next attractive opportunity.
Persevering on your goals without being distracted is easier said than done.

About Legal Marketing Expert Kenneth

Kenneth Hardison is a lawyer, mentor, speaker, and entrepreneur. He has over 40 years of experience as a personal injury lawyer. Kenneth is committed to leveling the playing field for unfortunate families who were taken advantage of by others through the social security disability law.

In 2009, he established Powerful Innovative Legal Marketing and Management Association (PILMMA), a marketing and management firm that helps lawyers build a profitable practice.

When he’s not busy with his speakership engagements, Kenneth hosts The Grow Your Law Firm podcast. In this channel, he and well-known experts share their insights into effective tools and strategies to create a successful business.

Kenneth finished his law degree at Campbell University and established two multi-million dollar law firms before retiring at age 52.

You can reach Kenneth through his LinkedIn account. To know more about PILMMA, check out their website.

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