Make Money Mondays: Buddy Up for Marketing

This article by Carol Roth, Use the Buddy System to Market Your Small Business is geared towards small business  – but a couple of the tips apply equally well to small law firms. Moreover, because these practices are often overlooked by small firms, they can provide a quick path to success.

Roth’s first tip is to pair up with complementary businesses to reach a customer base that might be interested in your services but who are not currently served by direct competition. For instance, a law firm that handles estate planning could pair up with a financial planner to to write articles for local publications relating to saving for retirement and maximizing assets that can be passed on a spouse or children. Financial planning fits equally well with family law as newly single spouses or parents may need assistance in planning for the future.  Pairing works particularly well for lawyers working in newly emerging industries – a marijuana dispensary or a tech company using blockchain technology can write about the benefits of their businesses for potential investors, with a lawyer covering potential legal risks.

Another suggestion that Roth offers is for lawyers to pool their resources to expand their collective marketing budget. For example, the $1500 cost of sponsoring an event at a trade show or advertising in a popular industry publication may lie beyond your budget, but spread three ways, comes to $500 per person. Alternatively, you could get together with a few other solos and host an open house or picnic, or chip in for season tickets for a sports team where you can entertain clients.

Of course, when teaming up with someone else, keep ethics rules in mind. Avoid any ventures that involve fee splitting with non-lawyers, payment of referral fees or that have the look of a partnership and could put you on the hook for someone else’s liability.

Solo practice can be a lonely road, not to mention, an often disproportionately expensive one due to the solo tax . Buddying up for marketing addresses both of these problems – and best of all, can make you money in the process.

 

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