Client Acquisition in the Internet Age, with Harlan Schillinger

Harlan Schillinger has four decades of experience in legal advertising with a passion for legal marketing, intake, and conversion. Harlan is widely considered the Grandfather of Legal Advertising, being the very first in the Legal field to produce and market Television Advertising for the Legal community. Harlan’s commercials started airing throughout the country in 1978-79.

Harlan has worked with more than 130 law firms in over 98 markets throughout North America. Currently, he is consulting privately only with lawyers who share his vision of increasing business, being accountable, and obtaining high-value cases. He takes, perhaps, the most unique and accountable approach to intake and conversion and insists on complete accountability within that arena.

In April 2016 Harlan retired from Network Affiliates of Lakewood, Colorado, the nation’s first and largest Full-Service Legal advertising agency, where he was the leader of their attorney marketing efforts for over 34 years. Before joining Network Affiliates in 1985, Harlan was Vice President and one of the founding partners of Madison, Muyskens & Jones advertising agency in Lakeville, Connecticut. In 1975, along with his partners, Harlan founded the first syndication TV production firm for high-end retailers and Lawyers, creating television commercials that aired throughout the United States and Canada.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Harlan began legal advertising on television all the way back in 1978, and how he joined Network Affiliates and has worked with top lawyers all over the nation
• How new client acquisition has changed significantly over the course of Harlan’s career, and how the internet has completely altered the face of legal marketing
• How few firms are “players” in the internet legal marketing space despite almost all firms having a website, and why “what you don’t know, you don’t know”
• How today’s TV audience is much more fragmented due to the advent of streaming services and the decline of network television
• What key mistakes Harlan sees lawyers often make, and why complacency and following other lawyers’ methods without innovating are critical errors
• Why many firms have significant room to improve their intake conversion processes, and why large and small firms deal with different problems with the same end results
• Why social media is an increasingly powerful platform, especially during the pandemic, and why video content is the key to unlocking social media’s potential
• How YouTube is one of the most powerful search engines on the internet, and why hiring the right people to help you create your YouTube presence is necessary
• Why the secret to reaching people and getting your message across is to understand what content people are consuming and how they consume it
• Why differentiating yourself from your competitors and offering a unique value proposition is a necessary ingredient for growth

Resources:

• Website: www.harlanschillinger.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/harlanschillinger

Additional Resources:

• PILMMA’s Super Summit 2020: https://www.pilmma.org/pilmma-super-summit-2020/
• PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/
• Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/
• PILMMA Join Page: www.pilmma.org/marketing-lawyers-law-firm-management/