By marketing to everyone you are marketing to no one
I can’t get that line out of my head after hearing it from Cordell Parvin during his presentation to Seattle lawyers last Friday in a LexBlog business development program.
Parvin, who practiced nationally as a construction litigation lawyer for 36 years and now coaches lawyers on business development, says all to too many lawyers are afraid to focus on a niche for fear it will it will limit their practice. Parvin cited lawyers who trying to grow their business by calling themselves commercial litigators.
“What does that mean? Does publishing a commercial litigation blog enable to you to build a name for yourself? How are you going to break out of the pack and get known by calling yourself a commercial litigation attorney? Unless you focus on a niche and make yourself remarkable how are going to grow your book of business? Parvin asked all these questions, and more, of the lawyers attending.
Kevin McKeown, LexBlog’s President and a business development expert, made clear to the lawyers and legal marketing professionals that a lawyer does not limit their practice by having a niche focused blog. Such a blog opens doors to relationships and expanding work — doors that would have never have been opened before.
When Parvin was invited to speak at an ABA conference years ago, he was asked what he was going to speak on. He responded, “Highway construction litigation.” When he got the response that no one wanted to hear someone speak on that topic he knew he had the right topic and niche.
It was Parvin who was called a few years later by the Washington State Secretary of Transportation’s office which asked him to fly to Seattle ASAP to advise the State regarding the sinking of the I-90 floating bridge that was under construction.
It was Parvin who was asked to write a regular column for Roads and Bridges magazine. A column that made him remarkable, helped establish his national reputation, and brought in years worth of legal business.
When Parvin is coaching lawyers he says “Why not a equine law blog? Why not a mining law blog?” If he hears that a lawyer is afraid that their niche will sound funny, he knows they are onto something.
Telling someone you are a lawyer or a commercial litigation lawyer or a criminal lawyer is not all that remarkable. How will people remember you? How will you stand out from the pack of the tens of thousands of lawyers in your market?
Consider focusing your practice on a niche — or at least market to a niche as a you grow your reputation and your book of business in that niche.
In a world where people have so many choices as to a lawyer and too little time to determine who is the best, you may wish to focus on making yourself remarkable.