It is a simple fact of life that humans like to reciprocate. When someone gives you something for free, the natural instinct is to return the favor. This morning, I went to my local tailor/dry cleaner to get a pair of shorts repaired. The hem needed to be resewn and it wasn’t a big job (in fact in only took 2 minutes). When I first walked into the shop, the owner must have been downstairs because no one was behind the counter. I waited a minute or two and then walked out to do a few more chores. I briefly considered going into another shop around the corner, but I have always liked this dry cleaner and I prefer to do business with them.
When I returned, the shopkeeper took the shorts, fixed the hem, and quickly announced “no charge”. I asked 3 times “are you sure?” But the shopkeeper insisted that it was okay. While I am not a big user of dry cleaners or tailoring services (like most of us, I haven’t worn business attire in a very long time), I will surely be returning to this shop the next time I have sewing or dry cleaning. Through a small, simple act of generosity, the shopkeeper
Yesterday was not a great day. I was driving on the highway and a car in front of me hydroplaned. In a matter of seconds, I smashed into it and then into a concrete block on the side of the road. You can see that the result in this picture. The car is probably totaled.
You don’t have to be a professor of English literature to come up with language that communicates what you do. In fact a complex message is likely to get lost. We are bombarded all day long with marketing messages. The ones that stick (and the ones that will lead to quality referrals–i.e. work you want to do), should be understood by a child in elementary school.
Some of my best (and worst ) inspirations come to me at 4:30 a.m. That happened to me in early February when I woke up thinking about all of the creative marketing ideas I’ve heard about in the last 12 months. Some of them have come from clients, some from fellow ProVisors members, and some from lawyers and other professionals I meet who have a flair for garnering attention.
I’ve always made a habit of responding to email messages within a day (even if just to say I’m sorry but I’m busy right now and will try to get back to you next week–or something like that). While I don’t always live up to this standard, I believe it is common courtesy to acknowledge that someone is trying to communicate with me (unless they are simply trying to sell me something).
For many lawyers, carving out time for marketing activities is challenging. When there is billable work to do, spending time on things that don’t immediately generate revenue is hard to prioritize. Of course as I’ve written many times, making marketing a habit will ensure more marketing success in the long run (see 
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If you want to grow your law practice, having a good strategy is important. Figuring out who are your ideal clients and what are the ideal matters you want to work on is an important first step in building a marketing plan. Creating a niche practice area is an important way to ensure that you have differentiated yourself from the competition. Mapping out who are your key referral sources and how you can build relationships with these referral sources is essential. The process of coming up with a marketing plan is anything but mindless. A scattershot approach that lacks focus is far less likely to be effective.