One of my favorite business books is Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. I have listened to the book on my iPod and read a hard copy of the book.
Most law firms are focused on building their brand, but only a few lawyers are focused on it. In chapters 23 and 24, Ferrazzi discusses building and broadcasting your individual brand.
The starting point is to decide what you want people to think when they hear your name? When I was building my law practice I wanted my potential clients to think I was:
- The preeminent transportation construction lawyer in the US
- Innovative
- A lawyer who understood how projects were financed, designed and built
- A lawyer who understood the construction business
- Trust worthy
- Likeable
- Caring
- Focused on helping contractors
For 25 years I wrote a column for Roads and Bridges magazine titled “Law: The Contractor’s Side.” That column enabled me to build my brand more than anything else I did.
So, you have two questions to ponder. First, what do you want people to think when they hear your name? Second, what are you doing to build your brand?