Non-Billable Marketing Hours
Welcome back! On Tuesday we kicked off our weekly poll with the question: How much time do you actually spend marketing each week?
Results
- More than 120 minutes - 32%
- 60-120 minutes - 27%
- 15-60 minutes - 21%
- Less than 15 minutes - 8%
- None - 11%
Thanks to everyone who participated in this week’s poll…
My Thoughts: A big congratulations to the whopping 59% of you who spend over an hour a week on marketing efforts. At first I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers, but I soon realized that even simply visiting this blog shows a dedication to furthering your marketing and business development. Anyone searching the web for education and information is most likely already on a marketing path. Fantastic!
Another congratulations to the 29% who at least make an effort each week. Even the smallest efforts can make a difference and you’re off to a great start.
As for those 11% who do nothing… see above! That’s 88% of your peers who spend time each week marketing themselves. It’s time to ask yourself why you're not on board! Are you developing a practice or do you simply have a job?
But the bigger question is how much time SHOULD you be spending on marketing? The conventional wisdom is 200 hours a year for partners (associates 100). If you are doing that... fabulous! But, I think the most important issue is to FOCUS on consistency, small things over time make a huge difference. Instead of the pressure to carve out 4 hours a week, which may be overwhelming, and virtually impossible, think about doing something every single day. Create a habit... spend 10-15 minutes a day.
Everyone can carve out 10-15 minutes, even on the busiest of days. Call a referral source, make a lunch appointment with a potential client, write a handwritten note, spend time on social media… If you do that you will naturally move into more conversations and meetings that build relationships and develop business. It’s common sense, sometimes we just need a reminder.
How do you compare to your peers? One thing is for sure... to grow your practice you have to invest those non-billable hours. My advice... do something every single day!
Black Pearl: A little something to think about: Michael A. Stelzner, conducted a survey, How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Businesses, and he found that 64% spend more than 5 hours a week using social media. Granted they are not lawyers but it is an interesting benchmark. Maybe for lawyers a reasonable target would be 1/2-1 hour a week. What do YOU think?
