Why aren’t you marketing your practice? Or perhaps the question is: Why aren’t you marketing your practice more?
You have too much money?
You leave marketing to others in the firm?
Or maybe you’re just scared.
Ralph Waldo Emerson Has the Answer
When you hear the name Ralph Waldo Emerson, maybe you think of this 19th-century man as an abolitionist. He was, but mostly he spent his life as a leader in the transcendental movement, which espouses the philosophy that people are at their best when they are self-reliant.
Emerson earned his living as a lecturer. He later turned those lectures into published essays. Maybe you read one in school. He first lectured on “Courage” in November 1859 and 11 years later published it as an essay.
Emerson recognizes that every profession requires courage, whether in business, science, school or as a frontiersman. Courage consists of defining the problem, facing the problem fearlessly, and gaining the knowledge to solve the problem. For example:
The judge puts his mind to the tangle of contradictions in the case, squarely accosts the question, and by not being afraid of it, by dealing with it as business which must be disposed of, he sees presently that common arithmetic and common methods apply to this affair.
Emerson teaches that it is courage that enables you to do something you’ve never done before.
“He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.”
“Knowledge Is the Antidote to Fear”
Feeling timid about marketing your practice? Emerson assures his readers that they can gain courage by acquiring knowledge:
“Knowledge is the encourager, knowledge that takes fear out of the heart, knowledge and use, which is knowledge in practice.”
When you gain knowledge, you raise yourself to the level necessary to face the problem, thereby acquiring “the conviction that the agents with whom you contend [e.g., your competitors] are not superior in strength of resources or spirit to you.”
For every advantage you think belongs to others, there is another side to the coin. For example, a small firm offers clients personal attention that may be lacking in a large firm. There are ways to conquer every challenge.
The more you learn about marketing your practice, the more you shore up your ability to decisively create and execute a plan.
Thankfully, Resources on Marketing Your Practice Are Plentiful
Legal marketing guidance is abundant. Blogs, podcasts, books and webinars are readily accessible. Much of the information is free.
Emerson would tell you that the best person to take control of marketing your practice is you. Purposefully studying the resources will earn the courage to move forward fearlessly.
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