How To Market Without Being A Pest

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers How to Market Without Being a Pest One question I am frequently asked is how to market without coming across to the potential client as a pest? The question is natural because most lawyers have financial advisors and life insurance salesmen and women hustling their business. Seth Godin  wrote a blog several years ago Permission Marketing  (He also has a book by the same name). Even earlier, in 1998, he was interviewed in an Fast Company Magazine article titled Permission Marketing. In the blog he defines permission marketing this way: Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. Your potential clients have less time to choose their lawyers and there are more lawyers from which to choose. So the question is how can you get them to pay attention to you? How do you get potential clients to listen? If you are a regular reader you likely can think of how I would respond to my questions. Potential clients will listen when they believe you know and understand their industry and business,  and you provide information that is important to them. If you anticipate your potential client’s problems or opportunities before other lawyers, and before the potential clients, I can assure you they will listen.  I like to put it this way: Your potential clients could care less about what you do. But, they care deeply about how what you do helps them achieve their business goals and/or avoid or deal with problems that arise. I spent my career identifying potential client problems and opportunities, creating a solution and giving it away. I wrote a monthly column, I gave presentations, and I created guides (See my post: Create Something Your Clients will Value  for many examples.) Make it easy for your potential clients to access this important information. So, now that you know the secret to marketing without being a pest, what will you do to get your potential clients to listen to you?   I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.