The Game Changing Attorney Podcast with Michael Mogill

19. Harlan Schillinger — The Future of Legal Marketing

Aug 4, 2020

44:19

“Brand is what people think of you when you're out of the room." - Harlan Schillinger

Why was Harlan so insistent on monitoring his clients’ calls before agreeing to work with them?
How can smaller law firms compete with the incumbent "fat cats"?
Why won't this legal marketing veteran ever truly retire?
How can brand and communication take you from churn & burn to referral role model?

Why There's No Substitute For Focusing on Your Firm as a Business

Legal industry veteran Harlan Schillinger has weathered more than a few market downturns, and he believes right now is a fertile ground for great growth. His advice? Don't panic — get crystal clear.

Harlan explains what law firms need to be doing now to thrive, from hacking your internal processes to kickstarting your cash flow and settling cases in the most productive, absolute manner.

Make Your Brand Deliver: How To Turn the Client Churn and Burn Around

For Harlan, brand is everything: it's what people think of you when you're not in the room, it's what you stand for, and it's a lot more than just a logo. In fact, he goes as far as to say your message means NOTHING if you can't properly express it.

Michael and Harlan explore concrete tactical approaches for branding and marketing for firms of all sizes, including building a steadfast company culture, crafting your messaging, and transforming client churn and burn into real referrals.

Why Attorneys Need to Get Over Their Social Media Phobia

Attorneys have been looking at social media all wrong, and Harlan's here to tell you why (your transactional mindset might have a lot to do with it).

Social media is here to stay — so if you haven't got your head in the game, then you need to call on some experts to show you the way. Harlan explains the truth about tracking your intake, why your vital social media presence is the key to delivering credibility day in & day out, and why you should never ask, "How did you hear about us?"

Key takeaways:

Your problem isn't your leads. Poor knowledge of your own case management system and a lack of intake and conversion metrics might be the real reason why your leads seem like duds! Harlan gives us his insights into what the best firms do right.
Team above all. Particularly in times of adversity, you need to pull your key people together, listen to your team, and let common sense rule. As Harlan says, you'll never win the Superbowl unless you have a great team and they're all working together.
The power of word of mouth. Good news for the up-and-coming firms: according to Harlan Schillinger, if you haven't got a huge marketing budget, word of mouth still rules. He details how to craft a message of compassion, drum up more business, and keep in touch with people strategically — all in the pursuit of great cases.

Links And Resources