How can you build a practice if you are a hermit?
We're not talking full-bearded or Hobbit-like hermit. But let's talk about attorneys who are more comfortable working at home or shutting out the world behind an office door.
Those kinds of hermits can make more money than you may think. Here are some pointers for the hermit-lawyer in all of us.
Own the Pond
Not everybody is a shark, and even a little fish can rule a pond. Most sharks can't survive in fresh water anyway.
Morra Aarons-Mele, writing for Entrepreneur, says you can make more money "when the pool is smaller and your expertise is greater." It's about having a niche.
"You can control your category with less effort, and your clients will come to you for exactly what you offer," she says. "That's less selling for you -- and clear-cut expectations from them."
Another key for those who eschew sales -- keep track of the hands that feed you. If you want repeat business -- especially in your Hobbit hamlet -- stay in touch with your best clients.
Watch the Fish
Somebody said social media was invented for hermits. Well, that's probably not true but lawyers really need to learn how social media helps them get clients.
Lawyer-blogger Carolyn Elefant says they can learn from the hermit approach by sorting their clients into categories. Then focus on the long-term and high-margin clients, not so much on the short-termers.
"It's important to take the time to assess which of these baskets your clients fall into so that you can focus your marketing efforts on bringing in clients who will diversify your firm's portfolio," she wrote for MyShingle.
In other words, sort the fish, put them in baskets, and make them friends on your social media. So yeah, that would be pretty much make you a hermit-lawyer.
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Related Resources:
- Is Your Solo Practice a Dead-End Job? (FindLaw's Strategist)
- A Lawyer Looks at 50 ... And Buys a Motorcycle (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Your Client's Thinking About Divorce, But ... (FindLaw's Strategist)
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