Greetings everyone,Constantly asked, "How do you market for attorneys?" My cookie cutter answer is, "I grassroots market by using direct mail and community marketing." Now the cookie cutter answer is not working anymore.I practice guerrilla marketing strategies to make the phones ring for law firms that need it the most. Lucrative firms use a few guerrilla marketing strategies, however they are financially stable to market the "RIGHT" way. Which I whole heartedly agree is the best way in the correct circumstances.The heart of Guerrilla Marketing is fighting to protect a way of life. Everyone is quick to share with you the right way to market business for law firms, however when there are bill collectors knocking on an attorneys professional and personal life it is time to look for alternatives to traditional or the right way to market. Keep in mind, law offices have staff employees and their way of life is also in question.Law firms are businesses just as others. They flourish, have rocky times or close. The bottom line is do you give up or throw that Hail Mary pass? When I am contracted, I understand what is at stake.There are rules of advertising that attorneys must abide in marketing clients. I know them like the back of my hand. I explore alternatives marketing to people who are need of legal services, that have not been used, that are within the realm of those rules.Along with being a legal marketing virtual assistant, I am a strategist. For example, for direct mail startegies, names from various county and city jails are collected and then mailed. There were about 5 of us from different firms that showed up like clock work to view and write down the names from the jail docket book. This is a log of all people who have been arrested. That means that there were 4 to 5 letters hitting those mail boxes at the same time. I needed those names first, remember I am protecting a way of life, I wrote a letter to the Sheriff asking if the firm could get a print out of the jail docket after 3:00 daily at a cost that he deemed appropriate for paper, ink, and the time of his staff.Notice the time frame. In this jail, the book was put out at 10:00am daily and taken by 2:00pm that means that we were not getting some names until the next day. The sheriff agreed to twice a week after 3:00 at 25.00 a docket, that was 50.00 weekly. This freed me to capture the names from the city jails. Not everyone arrested made it to the county jail. It took the other firms almost 3 months to catch on. For three months we had that area on lock down. I also doubled back to jails after 5:00 and included those names in the days mailing. What time do most offices close? I dropped the mail at the main branch at the post office dock because we were usually past the regular time.My services are not long-term, once the firm or attorney's quality of life is secured, I take my leave. Usually six to eight months. During this time I spend one on one time with each staff member sharing instruction of management of client-relations. The attorney must be walled in by a trained staff to realistically and suceessfully keep up this pace. A trained staff is key when marketing in this manner.I agree with marketing the right way, however there are instances when it is appropriate to throw that Hail Mary pass.It is Always a Blessing to Share, Dream a World!Lisa Henry, "A Real Guerrilla Marketer"www.SweeThorn.com
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