Proving you are a great attorney is actually easier than it seems, but it’s not a step that can be skipped. The good news is that you can generate referrals from people who’ve never hired you as an attorney. There are many ways to build authority and goodwill to the point where someone wants to hire you. It’s all about positioning and teaching.

First, you need to identify a group that you already have strong ties with (or can build strong ties with). These will most likely be a local group where you can install yourself as part of the community, for example:

I’m sure you may be able to think of other examples, but the point is to look for a social circle that you can join and make an impact. This does require that you show up to events and make in-person connections, which may be difficult for certain personality types. The key is authenticity and consistency; you have to put forth your true self, be more than “just an attorney,” and you have to show up to more than one meeting.

While the post-COVID default is to keep your social interactions on social media or online, please remember that online relationships don’t have the same potency as in-person connections. If you are unwilling to connect with people outside of social media, this strategy probably won’t work for you.

Let’s be honest, if you’ve cross-examined someone in a trial, then you are prepared to be a speaker. Even so, some attorneys are completely comfortable speaking in front of a judge and jury, but they shy away at the idea of speaking to an auditorium or small group of people.

If you are willing to speak on legal (or non-legal) topics, you can become a sought-after authoritative speaker. Attorneys who are willing to put themselves out there will usually find speaking engagements that put them in front of new people.

What is wonderful about this strategy is that you don’t have to speak on the law to build your authority! Attorneys who have special interests or hobbies can usually find an audience and casually mention their practice and what they do.

There are two key important factors to remember when using this strategy.

If you don’t fear the stage, the biggest obstacle to using this strategy is finding places where you can share your knowledge. Fortunately, it is ridiculously easy to find local speaking opportunities!

Each of these marketing channels are trackable and profitable, provided you know how to communicate effectively in each medium. However, like every marketing strategy, their effectiveness depends on the details of your practice. Personal injury attorneys can (and have) used each of the marketing channels above with great success.

While it takes a massive budget to show up everywhere (particularly billboards and paid search), omnipresence should be your goal if you want to generate seven or eight figures in revenue. For law firms on a budget, here are the places you can get started and still keep your costs low.

When you look at the history of the highest performing personal injury firms, you will notice that the biggest firms increased their marketing budget year over year until they dominate the market.

The story of Cellino & Barnes is a great illustration of this point. As soon as they won a case, they reinvested some of their profits into more marketing. Eventually, their firm reached a point where their ads were universally known in Buffalo and New York as a whole.

In our experience working with many high-performing law firms throughout the country, the law firms who broke the seven-figure revenue barrier were the types who always invested in marketing and made bigger investments each time.