Speaker 1 0:04

From mission to millions , how connecting to purpose drives profits . Most estate planning and elder law attorneys have a mission statement somewhere on their website and it usually says something about caring for clients , helping families , preserving legacies . But not many are really connected to , or behave in alignment with , a clear mission , which is too bad , because your mission is one of your most powerful drivers to growing a seven figure law firm that you love . I'm Jennifer Goddard and you're listening to the Marketing LawCast , where we have real conversations about how estate planning and elder lawyers can grow a seven figure practice that they love while building personal wealth and their own financial legacy . Honestly , I hate mission statements . Usually they're stuffy and meaningless . They're filled with euphemisms that basically restate the obvious . I think this happens because most people see their mission statement as a marketing tool . They're concerned about how it's going to play when a prospect reads it on their website , when really what you should be concerned about is is it authentic ? Is it purpose driven and compelling ? Worry more about how it resonates in your heart than how it plays on the website . In fact , for just a moment , imagine that you don't have a mission statement . If you do have one , just erase it from your mind for a moment . I don't want you to be focused on anything that's been carefully edited or , you know , focus group tested Just a complete blank slate .

Speaker 1 1:56

Now ask yourself why are you doing this ? First time , put the emphasis on the doing . Why are you doing this ? Ask this way the question hones in on why are you lawyering at this , instead of advocating or lobbying or writing books ?

Speaker 1 2:19

There are lots of ways to help families . Why do you choose to give them legal help ? What's the distinction ? When I ask this question this way to my clients , I get some really interesting answers . Some say it's what they know , they are lawyers and so they give legal help . It's what they do . I like to press a little bit further on that one . What's so special or different about legal help , as opposed to , say , writing an article for a major magazine ? Eventually , most of my clients come to the realization that legal help is very different than other types of help . For one , it's personal , it's not just general , it's very specific . You ask a lot of questions in your initial consultation and you think about the answers you're given and you go beyond the general or even the obvious . When you give legal help , it's uniquely tailored for this person , for their loved ones and their business and their unique problems , and legal help is real help .

Speaker 1 3:32

Information alone doesn't solve anyone's problem , it doesn't keep anybody's family out of probate , it doesn't avoid family conflicts and it sure doesn't preserve wealth for future generations . I won't say that information is worthless , but every time a client leaves your office with more information and they didn't get the legal work done , you failed in your mission . That person leaves without the thing that you are doing , which is giving legal help . Can you see how connecting to this purpose of giving legal help could inspire you to get a little better in your sales process ? When you see sales as the fulfillment of your mission , which is to provide legal help , then you start to see how important it is to do it well . You might get some training or coaching around your sales process . You might even consider getting some training or coaching for your staff , and if you did that , the chances are you and your staff will be better at it , which means you'll help more people and you'll make more money .

Speaker 1 4:52

Now ask yourself again Same question , only emphasize the word this why are you doing this as opposed to the million other things you could be , the million other things you could be doing . You could be a Walmart greeter , you could be a social media influencer , you could literally practice almost any other area of law . Why this ? Do you have a special passion for the people you serve or the work that you do ? You know it's okay to be passionate about the law , especially in the areas of estate planning and elder law , where you're working with human beings in all of their Humanity , their hopes and dreams , their failures and mistakes , the people they love , the people they trust , the people they don't trust , the people they shouldn't trust . What is your passion ? To work with these people to solve these problems . I'm a big believer in taking disciplined action , but the truth is that tapping into your passion Will drive you further , faster and longer than logic , reason or discipline . When you are passionate About the people and the work you do , you're driven to helping more people and having a bigger impact . When you do that , it's an unstoppable Driver for your revenue as well . In fact , revenue is merely the byproduct of pursuing your passion . Let me give you an example .

Speaker 1 6:30

When you lose connection to your passion for the people you serve is Easy to demonize them . It's easy to say things like all these internet leads are just tire kickers . Have you caught yourself thinking , or maybe even saying , that ? Have you heard it from your staff ? Do you know where those types of comments come from ? They come from having a connection to your revenue instead of to your passion for the people you serve . When you reduce the collar on the other end of the line to a lead or Worship a tire kicker , it's a good sign that you've lost connection to your mission . You start doing things to put up barriers between yourself and the very people you say you want to serve . You push them off into a voicemail or a lengthy , onerous intake process , or you charge more for an initial consultation because they're an internet lead . You do these things because you don't want to waste your time on the people your mission statement says you want to serve . On the other hand , when you behave in alignment with your mission , you treat every single person like a human being in need . You treat them with empathy and compassion and , even if they do not become clients , you stay committed to leaving them better than you found them . And that is how you win every call . When you are connected to your mission , every interaction with the people you want to serve can be a win , and when that becomes your firm's culture , there's no limit on your impact , there's no limit on your reputation , on your referrals or your revenue .

Speaker 1 8:33

Finally , let's ask it a third time . This time let's make it really personal . Why are you doing this ? When we ask it this way , our clients give us some amazing personal stories about why they chose to practice in estate planning or elder law . I host retreats to help lawyers work through some of these issues and I have to share with you that a lot of the time I am brought to tears when clients tell me their personal story . If your story connects with me on such a visceral level , it is definitely going to connect with your staff , with your clients and your prospects , even your referral sources . Telling this story shows your humanity and it helps prospects who may only know you through your internet presence . It helps them see you as a real person , a human being who could understand their story as well . But there's another aspect of your story that's often overlooked . Your story doesn't just inspire others , though it definitely does do that it inspires you . Remembering , visualizing and connecting with your personal story will change the way you view your practice when you get up every morning , and it will change the way you interact with people , whether they're prospects or clients , staff , referral sources . You'll have more drive , more passion to fulfill your mission .

Speaker 1 10:12

Let me tell you a story about one of my clients . He came to my ranch here for a retreat and I'd known this person for more than 10 years , but I did not know her story . To be honest , her marketing was kind of ho-hum and so was her practice . She was getting by , but she never really had a breakthrough business . One reason was that she never invested in her practice . She was focused on keeping her overhead low , being frugal with her budget , and this mindset of scarcity was ingrained for her from childhood on , and it was holding her business in a culture of scarcity and keeping it small .

Speaker 1 10:58

As we probed into her mission and got to the question of why are you doing this , she began to tell me a story about her parents . She told me they were immigrants to this country and that they scraped and saved and built a business . Being able to pay for her to go to law school was one of their proudest accomplishments , but it came at a great sacrifice to them . She wanted to honor her parents in her law practice and that is why she chose estate planning . She wanted to help other families build and preserve and pass on their legacies , just as her parents had . And then I saw her eyes well up with tears .

Speaker 1 11:47

The weight of her parents' sacrifice so she could go to law school was settling in on her and she felt guilty . She said I haven't honored my parents' sacrifice not the way I should have , because I haven't sacrificed for my business . I've played small , I've kept my expenses low , thinking I was being prudent and frugal as they taught me . But paying for me to go to law school wasn't playing small . For them it wasn't being frugal , it was a big sacrifice because they believed in me . She went on to say now I have to believe in me , I have to make a sacrifice to grow my business and that is the only way I will serve more people , build more wealth for my own family and truly honor my parents' legacy .

Speaker 1 12:44

In that moment she decided to go all in on herself and her practice . She invested in her marketing , in her staff , she upgraded her systems and processes and she even upgraded her office . She grew her business to the high six figures in just a little over 18 months , and that's why I say , connecting to purpose drives profits and it is literally a matter of mission to millions . Don't overlook the power of mission to transform your practice . If you want help in getting in touch with your mission again , or fulfilling that mission in your practice , reach out to me and my team . You can reach me personally this is my personal email , jennifer at estateplanningpartnerscom , or visit our website at wwwimsrockscom .

Speaker 2 13:50

That's a wrap on this edition of the marketing law cast . Thanks for joining us . Head over to wwwimsrockscom for more growth-focused insights . If you're ready to skyrocket your firm's marketing , don't hesitate to book a free discovery call with our team right on our website . Here's to your success . See you next time .