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Are You Really Paying Attention to Your Business? Working in it or On it?

The Only Thing You Have to Lose, Is Money. The Only Thing You Have to Lose, Is Money

What you don’t know, you don’t know. What you don’t know, you don’t know.

Just Results, Just Results. Just Results, Just Results. Just Results, Just Results.

The Only Thing You Have to Lose, Is Money. The Only Thing You Have to Lose, Is Money

What you don’t know, you don’t know. What you don’t know, you don’t know.

Home  >  Blogs & Articles  >  Are You Really Paying Attention to Your Business? Working in it or On it?

February 15, 2018 | By Harlan Schillinger
Are You Really Paying Attention to Your Business? Working in it or On it?

You might be working, but are you really working on what matters to the growth and positioning of your law firm? Probably not. Most law practices, both large and small, around the country put way too much emphasis on reacting—to the phone calls and leads that come in the door—rather than building a forward-looking strategy for the future of the firm. After all, You have so much coming at you. This is no way to become the innovative, thought-leading attorney you once envisioned for yourself. You must turn reactivity on its head—even when you’re making more money than you can count. Why? Because one day that random revenue stream might dry up before your eyes. We see it all the time: Even when practices throw money at marketing, lawyers are far too quick to call vendors out when the advertising program, for example, fails. But that usually happens when attorneys don’t get vested in the future of the practice. Why? Because it takes time, research, relationships—and guts. But the truth is this is low-hanging fruit. The best-positioned law firms in the country are taking action rather than making excuses. And the reality is every law firm can start marketing smarter right now.

Relationships are a requirement.

If you thought you could market without caring and involvement, sorry that game is up. When you invest in your people you are building relationships that pay off. But it’s not just about leading and rewarding your own staff—the people and paralegals who answer your phones, execute on marketing tactics and feed you leads. This also applies to your marketing vendors—the experts and firms who know digital marketing, TV advertising, and media placement. Believe us, they want you to be a partner in the process. They want your involvement. They want your communication. They want your partnership in a team effort. When you hire someone—anyone—you can’t expect that person to do a good job just because you will it that way. You have to get involved in understanding their craft as much as they will rely on you to better understand the legal craft. When was the last time you sat down with your employees and marketing agency to talk about intake? Do you understand how to work with your digital agency toward a common goal for moving the business forward? You can’t expect people to understand what you want and bank on stellar results unless you put the time into building relationships upfront and ongoing. Managing expectations is important. It’s just that simple.

Messaging matters more than you realize.

One of the biggest missed opportunities in legal marketing is messaging. Lawyers are often so focused on the end result—the calls come in the door—that they forget just whom they should be talking to and what those people really want to hear.
  • Are you separating yourself from your competitors?
  • What is the 2% difference between your firm and your competitor’s firms?
Nailing the right message to represent your practice, whether you’re communicating with audiences online or through a TV commercial, is critical. And, again, the success of this message is measured by your involvement in the process. Only you know the history and nuances of your law practice. If you’re not willing to share these stories with your advertising team, there’s a good chance you will never reach the right target market. Or generate the public perception you want. Or attract the high-quality leads and cases your business needs to be sustainable.

Metrics count as an investment in the future.

By nature, attorneys like to count. They count clients, outcomes, cash, and accolades every day. But do they invest in understanding the marketing metrics that really count? Most likely not. In fact, ask yourself when was the last time you really looked at all of your matrix. Do you even have solid matrix tools in place to look at? You might expect your marketing partners to keep track and alert you of how your website is performing, the number of clicks and likes your social media campaign gets, and how many people are calling the office after seeing a TV ad. But this is actually part of your work too if you are truly invested in your practice as a business and not just a job. Learning the basics of Google Analytics, running and reviewing digital and advertising performance reports, and holding vendors accountable based on real-time data—these are the investments you must make to feel confident in future marketing decisions. So, take more responsibility for your business. Don’t expect the people around you to read your mind. Communicate from the top down. Look for an opportunity and cash in on what you’ve been missing. It might require building some better relationships, making your messages matter and looking at the facts and figures. But you’re already pretty good at lots of those things. It’s just time to apply those tactics to your marketing. The reality is, you have to pay attention, be accountable and have tools and software in place to track everything. Communicate this to your staff and to your Vendor Partners. You will get a much better result. After all, “What You Don’t Know, You Don’t Know”! Harlan Schillinger is a Legal Marketing Expert in Paradise Valley, Arizona. He can be reached at HarlanSchillinger@gmail.com and 303-817-7313. He has four decades of experience in legal advertising with a passion for legal marketing, intake, and conversion.

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What People Are Saying About Harlan

I have recommended Harlan on many occasions to our plaintiff attorney clients and he is very responsive to our clients’ needs. He is prompt, gracious and a pleasure to work with. He is a total professional who provides great advice even if it’s not in his own best interest. He is a trusted resource and I count on him.

Nancy Fraser Michalski, RN

Vice President & Founder Med Legal at Elevate Services Inc.

Harlan has been our firm’s exclusive marketing consulting agent for many years. His companies provide us expert advice cost effectively in all areas of marketing including television, billboard, Internet, etc. We could not possibly be more pleased with our results and the value we get for every marketing dollar spent. We have achieved widely recognized success in a very tough and competitive market largely from Harlan’s efforts, knowledge, instincts and expertise.

Melvin B. Wright

Attorney at Colling Gilbert Wright & Carter

I have known Harlan since 1995 when I started working at Network Affiliates as a medical advertising and marketing consultant. I can personally attest to Harlan’s knowledge and abilities regarding legal advertising and marketing. He helped me get started in the business of advertising professional services. He is one of the legal marketing industry icons and genuine “good guys”. He is always willing to share ideas, exchange strategies and develop win-win relationships. I am also happy to call Harlan a friend.

Bill Fukui

Director of Sales & Marketing - Page 1 Solutions

I was very fortunate to meet Harlan when I first started working in the legal industry. Over the past 8+ years he has been a friend, mentor and client. I can say without reservation that there are few people in the entire industry who know more about legal marketing and practice management and/or who care more about legal marketing and practice management. I have had the opportunity to work with Harlan on mutual client projects, have see him speak at numerous events and have contacted him numerous times just to pick his brain and get his expertise. He is always open and willing to share what he knows and help anyone who asks. If you are looking for help, guidance, assistance, expertise, consulting as to how to grow your law firm you would be in GREAT hands with Harlan.

Paul Faust

Owner at RingBoost and Partner/VP Business Development at Primary Wave Media

We hired Harlan (Network Affiliates) to create and manage our marketing campaign about 7 years ago. The result was tremendous. Harlan and all the folks at Network have great ideas, great energy and top-notch execution. They don’t just talk, they walk the walk.

Michele Vaughan

Attorney at Boller & Vaughan, LLC

I’ve known Harlan for many years, almost as long as I was at AAJ (19 years); he was our main point of contact for purchasing advertising and other such services from us. Harlan is a very astute marketing professional, as well as a tough but fair negotiator. When you spoke with Harlan, you had to be on your toes and know your stuff, because he knew every nuance of his business and yours. The best thing about working with Harlan was his incredibly positive attitude about his business, and his excitement over what he did in his job every single day. It’s hard to find someone who is that dedicated to what he does – and I know this carries over into serving his clients of Network Affiliates as well. This is a man you want on your side!

Judy Lewis

Senior Business Development Specialist at American Physical Therapy Association

Harlan is an extraordinary man with big visions. His marketing/business development skills are exceptional. His integrity and dedication is genuine and shines through his professionalism and charity work.

Liz Lujan

Broadcast Media, Print and Digital Sales and Marketing Consultant

If your law firm wants to investigate direct-response marketing, there is no better person to call. Harlan works nationwide, and you can trust he will put your interests first.q

Bob Weiss

Founder and President Alyn-Weiss & Associates, Inc.

He is the “Man” when it comes to advertising. Known him for years, should have hired him a lot sooner.

Greg Jones

Owner, Greg Jones Law

 

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Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.

/ˌblak ˈswän/. noun.

Black Swan: The Impact of
the Highly Improbable.

So, why black swan? The analogy is drawn from the discovery of black swans in Western Australia by Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh in the 17th century. At the time, Europeans had believed that all swans were white, so finding a black variety was a completely unexpected event which had never been experienced before. By extension then, a black swan is used to describe any phenomenon which occurs even though people think it impossible.

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  • The Only Thing You Have to Lose, Is Money ®
  • The Only Thing You Have to Lose Is Profit ®
  • What you don’t Know, You Don’t Know ®
  • Intake is Not just another thing to do. It is a Major Responsibility ®
  • Making a Wrong a Right ®

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