You are starting your own practice or finally (on the side or as your full-time dream) pursuing the business of your dreams. And, you are successful!! Your business is starting to build momentum … clients/customers are beginning to come in. Then, one day you realize that you have accidentally built your professional brand without much thought …and your “brand” makes you a success in area different from where you started and what you want for your business.

There is an amusing blog post on Freelance Folder by Bob Younce called “The Violent Truth of Branding” that lists the following violent truths about branding (which are slightly modified for you, my fabulous readers):

· Branding yourself can force you into a niche you might not want to be in three years from now.

· Just because you want to develop a particular brand doesn’t mean there’s money in it, or that you’re good at it.

· Branding can be a process of trial and error. If you can survive the errors, however, your potential for success grows exponentially. (Hmmm…sounds like The Dip (LINK HERE to other blog post)

· The truth of personal or professional branding is that you have got to approach it systematically, taking into account market factors, ability and desire if you are going to be successful and happy in your new endeavor.

Ability and desire…

One difficult thing about developing your professional brand (and not falling into the trap of accidental branding) is the challenge of focusing on what you are good at versus what you think will make money, but you are not interested in doing.

Invest time in determining what area of practice are most to you and which two or three of those areas are needed in a great enough quantity to support a full practice or other service business. Then, develop a specialty in this area of the law. For example, if you enjoy real estate issues - consider specializing in this area and make real estate the cornerstone of your professional brand. Drill down even more to discover your niche in this area and own it! I discourage you, however, from making real estate your specialty area because you’ve fallen into a practice of doing this kind of work and you have been successful at it – but hate the work and practicing law has become a drain because you spend so much of your time on this work you had. Falling into a practice specialty in this way is an example of branding yourself accidentally.

It is possible to successfully merge what you love doing with what you are great. The two are usually connected; however, sometimes is it difficult to connect the dots. Coaching can help you make the connection and successful develop a lucrative and fulfilling business. If you need help, feel free to contact us at UpwardAction.

Expect the best!

Coach T.C. Coleman

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The very essence of law firms is the business of providing highly valuable and specialized advice, guidance and information to our clients that is specific to their particular needs. 

Law firms are in the business of service. 

As law firms are in the business of service, it is important for entrepreneurial lawyers to realize that business is the result of relationships.   People buy from those they know, like and trust.   Business relationships can be iniatiated in many ways that range from personal interaction to articles to public speaking.   Social Media is a powerful medium that supports both small and large law firms alike in iniatiating and supporting powerful relationships in mass … thus facilitating the opportunity to create more meaningful connections leading to increased business opportunities. It is important to note that while social media is a great place to begin relationships, it does not replace the need to follow-up with folks in your target audience in a more personal way.   There are many ways to effectively follow-up.   At UpwardAction, we can certainly help you out in this regard. 

Professional service providers who are serious about becoming more powerful rainmakers understand the importance of leveraging the power of social media (as a part of your comprehensive interactive marketing plan) to build strong relationships that result in increased pre-qualified clients and a stronger referral base.   

When you understand how to use social media platforms for business, you have a tremendous opportunity to experience accelerated business success through the initiation of relationships that begin (but should not end) with *small* group or mass interaction.  

In fact, effective use of social media platforms is a powerful way to execute our
UpwardAction® Relationship Principles for Business Success:  Listen ~ Assess ~ Share ~  Learn ~ Receive!

Let’s explore a few ways to effectively use the most popular social media platforms. 

• Facebook and Myspace are two examples of platforms providing an easy non-obtrusive way to share photos from your life (best to use photos from vacations or events that tastefully give a sense of your personal interests); lists of your favorite books and music; your favorite motto or quote.  This type of sharing allows your ideal clients to connect with you through shared experiences and interests.  Connections that are born of shared interests are powerful because people by from those they know, like and trust.

• LinkedIn, Twitter, Yahoo Groups and Ning social networking groups are examples of platforms that provide an opportunity to “listen” in on conversations happening in your industry.   People who use Twitter (which includes a number of CEO and high profile business people) often give amazing insight into their worlds in just 140 characters.  

• LinkedIn Answers is a great way to monitor the type information your target audience is requesting and determine what products are missing from your industry and needed by you prospective clients.  LinkedIn also provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase your expertise through posting thoughtful questions and providing thoughtful answers to the questions posted by others.

• Twitter is a great tool for gaining insight into what your “ideal client” is working on, listening to and who they consider influencers - and visable in your comunity.  Just be certain that you are thoughtful about your Twitter “Tweets”.  Twitter is also great for monitoring marketplace buzz.  You can gain valuable information about what is being said about your industry, competitors and you.  

• Blogs are a great medium for providing useful information about your areas of expertise, services and client success to your target market in a way that provides value and encourages *conversation*.   Powerful blog posts and articles that effectively use “Calls to Action” will establish you as an industry leader and help you enhance your services and/or financial products to meet the needs of the market.   Such enhancements can be in areas ranging from customer service, follow-up and status reports to substantive information.

• Electronic newsletters and Client Alerts are fantastic ways to send articles, case studies, new legal happenings and client success stores to your audience. This is another great way to establish yourself as an expert and your firm as a resource of authority.

As we have just discussed, social media provides an excellent way to start and strengthen relationships while learning valuable information for improving your law practice or other services business.  

Just as with all other forms of interactive marketing, you will experience maximum success from your social media efforts when you engage a professional in developing clearly define social media goals and creating a strategy designed to make the goals a reality.  

If you are ready to use the power of Interactive Marketing and Social Media to expand your business and build your professional brand , I invite you to visit our website and sign-up for an introductory coaching session.  We can help you develop a custom UpwardAction® Interactive Marketing Plan for your accelerated success.

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