Serve First, Sell Later Marketing
Serve First, Sell Later Marketing
#76 The 80-20 Marketing Hack Your Competitors Wish You Didn’t Know
What if 80% of your new clients were coming from just 20% of your marketing efforts? In this insightful episode of the "Serve First, Sell Later Marketing Podcast," host Sylvia Garibaldi shares a shortcut to marketing clarity. She dives into the art of mastering marketing for legal, mediation and divorce practices using the transformative power of the 80-20 rule. Learn how to identify and leverage the most impactful marketing activities that drive the majority of new clients to your practice. With practical advice and a 30-day action plan, this episode guides you in reclaiming valuable time, reducing stress, and ensuring consistent growth for your practice!
In this episode you will learn:
- [05:15] Applying the 80-20 Rule for Your Practice
- [11:30] Pinpointing Your Most Valuable Sources of Client Acquisition
- [18:45] Maximizing High-Impact Marketing Activities That Brings In Clients
- [25:00] Nurturing Referral Relationships and Client Testimonials
- [31:20] Leveraging Automation and Delegation
Resources:
- Feeling stuck about how to grow your practice, book a free strategy call here.
- #27 Why Referrals Don’t Easily Convert Anymore (And What To Do About It)
- #23 Work Smarter, Not Harder
- #18 How To Fill Your Prospecting Pipeline
- #13 Marketing Marathon: Strategies for Professional Practices
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00:00 - Sylvia (Host)
Hello everyone and welcome back to Episode 76 of the Serve First, sell Later Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, sylvie Garibaldi. So if you've ever found yourself buried in marketing tasks, such as posting on every social platform, writing blog after blog, or just constantly tweaking your website only to wonder is any of this actually bringing in clients so if you're a professional, you're not alone, because I've seen so many talented professionals pour hours into marketing only to feel frustrated by the lack of real results. And here's what I want you to know the legal mediation and divorce services world is changing, and it's changing rapidly. Clients are more informed and have so many more choices than ever before. So what I'm seeing is that standing out isn't just about doing more. It's about doing what actually works, and so not all marketing activities are created equal. Some will bring in new clients and grow your reputation, while others will eat up your time and energy. So that's why, in today's episode, I'm talking about the 80-20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle. So this simple but powerful concept says that 80% of your results often comes from just 20% of your efforts. So for professionals like you, that might mean a couple of referral sources, or maybe one well-crafted social media post or a single networking event could be responsible for most of your new business. Meanwhile, the rest of your to-do list might be just keeping you busy and not productive. So imagine, just imagine what would happen if you could identify those activities that actually move the needle for your practice and then focus your energy all in that area so less stress, more clients and more time to serve the people who need you most. So if you're really ready to stop spinning your wheels and cutting through the noise and finally focusing on what truly grows your practice, then you're going to really enjoy today's episode. So let's dive in and talk about how to work smarter and not harder, all right.
02:35
So now that we've laid the groundwork, let's get into what the 80-20 rule actually looks like in real life, especially when it comes to marketing your legal mediation or divorce-related practice, and I think the core idea here is simple but powerful. About 20% of your marketing activities are responsible for roughly 80% of the results that you see, and so that means that a small handful of your efforts are bringing in most of your new clients. And let that sink in for a moment, because the rest of your activities might just be taking up your time without delivering much in return. So let me give you some examples that are really common in your field. So maybe you've noticed that one or two referral sources, like a trusted family therapist, maybe a financial planner or even a past client, is sending you the majority of your new cases, and so these relationships are your goldmine, and they've already built trust with the people who need your services, and when they recommend you, clients come with a higher level of confidence. Or maybe you have one lead magnet like a downloadable guide or checklist on how to prepare for divorce, mediation or what to expect in your first consultation, and this could be responsible for some or a bulk of your email subscribers and inquiries, and so that single resource could be doing the heavy lifting in attracting the right people to your practice, to your practice, and I think these are your golden 20%. They're the activities and connections that consistently bring in the right clients and help you build your reputation in the community.
04:37
Now, on the flip side, you might be spending hours on social media platforms where your ideal clients don't even hang out, and I can tell you I see that a lot with our clients when they come in to start working with us. So, for example, if you're posting daily on Twitter but your ideal clients are mostly local individuals seeking divorce mediation, then Twitter might not be the best place to focus your energy. Then Twitter might not be the best place to focus your energy. Or maybe you're writing blog posts that get very little traffic or engagement, which means they aren't really helping you attract new clients, and so these efforts can feel productive because you're busy, right, but they might be part of the 80% of activities that don't move the needle much. Okay, I hope this is resonating with you, because this is a fantastic exercise to engage in, to really figure out what's working in your practice.
05:39
So I guess the next question is how do you figure out what your 20% is? And so the first step is to start tracking where your leads actually come from. So, when a new client reaches out, make it a habit to ask how did you hear about us? And keep a simple record of your answers, because over time, you're going to start to see clear patterns emerge. Maybe it's a certain referral partner, a particular workshop you hosted, or even a specific social media post, and, for those of you that have a CRM in place, great place to track that information as well. So once you know what's working, you can focus your time and resources there and really stop wasting energy on the rest.
06:26
So imagine what it would feel like to spend less time on marketing busy work and more time doing the things that actually bring in the clients and grow your practice. And here's the best part when you focus on your top performing activities, you don't just get clients, you also build stronger relationships, you improve your reputation and you really create a more sustainable business, and I think that's what we're all trying to achieve. So it's really super important to focus your energies there. So we've talked about where your best results come from, and let's now dig into the flip side those marketing activities that eat up your time but don't actually move the needle for your practice. So, as lawyers, mediators and divorce professionals, we know that your time is very precious. So, as lawyers, mediators and divorce professionals, we know that your time is very precious. Every hour that you spend on ineffective marketing is really an hour that you could be serving clients, developing your expertise or just simply recharging, right.
07:40
So let's really dig in here and figure out what are some of the biggest and sometimes sneakiest marketing time wasters that I see all the time as a marketing strategist for professionals like you, and so we've touched on overposting on social media platforms where your ideal clients are not active. But I want to take it a step further, because many professionals assume that they need to be everywhere Instagram, tiktok, facebook, linkedin, twitter, youtube and the reality is that most of your future clients they're really only active on a handful of platforms. So, for example, if your practice is focused on high net worth divorces, your clients might be on LinkedIn or Facebook, but probably not on TikTok. So spreading yourself thin across every channel just leads to burnout and diluted results, and we see this all the time with our clients. So it's really, really important to ask yourself that question and figure out which are the best platforms for you to be on that will allow you to reach your ideal clients and your ideal referral partners. So another area that's often overlooked is networking, just for networking's sake. So I see so many professionals attending every local business mixer or a bar association event or an online webinar, thinking that showing up is enough, but if you're not connecting with people who are either your ideal clients or strong referral partners, you're really just collecting business cards and you're not building your practice. It's about quality and not quantity, really. So here's one that might surprise a lot of people Chasing awards and recognitions that don't matter to your clients.
09:45
Okay, so sure, it feels great to be named top 40 under 40, or you get a badge for your website, but you need to ask yourself do your clients actually care about these accolades, or are they more interested in testimonials, case studies or clear explanations of how you can help them? So sometimes what we're seeing is that the time and money spent applying for awards is really better invested elsewhere. Okay, and you know I can get this question from clients. Oh, should I be investing in trying to get this award? And you know the question is how do you want to be seen? Do you want to be seen as someone who has all these awards and accolades, or do you want to demonstrate your expertise through your activities, your social media, how you present yourself, your positioning? All of that stuff will speak volumes, so much more than an accolade would.
10:47
Okay, so let's talk about content for a minute. Writing those endless blog posts is a classic time sink. So you know if you're creating maybe long, detailed newsletters that go unread, or maybe you're producing videos that don't even get views right? So many professionals think, well, if I just create more content, people will find me, but if you're not promoting that content in the right places, or if it's not addressing the real questions and pain points that your clients have, it's just adding to the noise. Okay.
11:25
And so here's a subtle one over-relying on paid ads without tracking results. So I've seen many firms pour thousands of dollars into Google ads or Facebook campaigns, but when we ask, well, how many clients did you get from this? There's often silence. So you know paid ads can work, but only if you're tracking conversions and adjusting your strategy based on real data. And so another hidden time waster is over-automating your outreach. So what do I mean by that? So tools that send mass emails or LinkedIn messages might seem efficient, but they can actually hurt your reputation if they feel impersonal or spammy, and I think that's really important to understand. So, in your profession, you know that trust is everything, and so being genuine, sending personalized messages, is worth so much more than a hundred generic ones, and you know we see this a lot, and it's something that we advise our clients to be very careful about. And so, finally, here's something most professionals don't even think about, and that is spending too much time researching or planning your marketing instead of actually executing. Oh my goodness, this is a huge one. So many professionals spend their time here and it's a very costly mistake.
13:00
I walk a lot of clients through this process of being stuck and getting them unstuck to. You know, getting out of research mode and planning mode and just get into execution mode. Right, just get out there and do it. And it's so easy to get caught up in the reading of the latest trends or watching webinars or tweaking your strategy for the hundredth time, because at some point you have to put your plan into action and see what works for your unique practice. Now you know I get this question a lot from professionals and that is hey, do you think I should get this other certification, or I'm thinking about taking this course?
13:48
Should I do this before I actually put that out on social media? And my answer is always just put it out there, get it out there and stop making excuses for taking another course or another program before you can actually get yourself out there and start the marketing. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I hear this from clients and prospects and they don't quite get that the execution, that the consistency in execution, is going to be so much more important than the research and the planning, because people get stuck in the research and planning and when they get stuck in this phase, what they're really doing is they are underestimating their abilities, they are questioning whether they should do this, whether they have the expertise, and so this is the stage that a lot of people get stuck in, and I think the sooner you can identify that you are in this stuck phase, the sooner you will be able to dig yourself out of it and start taking action. Okay, I hope this is making sense. This piece of advice comes from many, many years of experience in coaching so many professionals in this field to take action and to stop getting stuck in that perfection mode or in that other course or other certification mode, if you will. Okay, I hope this is making sense, making sense. So here's my challenge to you Take a close look at your weekly routine.
15:34
So where are you spending your time? What could you stop doing or do less of without any negative impact on your business? So by identifying and eliminating these hidden time wasters, you'll free up not just many hours, but so much mental energy and focus, and that's what allows you to double down on the marketing activities. That actually brings in clients, builds that reputation and helps you make a real difference in people's lives and really supports the work that you love to do. By the way, if you're finding this episode valuable, I've covered related topics in past episodes that can help deepen your understanding, so be sure to check out those episodes. I'll drop the links in the show notes so you can easily find them All right.
16:25
Now that we've talked about cutting out the marketing time wasters, it's time to focus on the good stuff. So how do you identify your top performing marketing activities? And this is really where the magic happens, because once you know what's working, you can put so much more energy there, and then you can see how your practice is actually growing, expanding, when you're putting your energy in the right places. So one of the simplest but most powerful ways to start this is to do a quick audit of your last 10 clients. Okay, so I want you to take a moment to look back and ask yourself how did each of these clients find me? Was it through a referral? Was it a social media post, a workshop, a webinar? Was it a specific piece of content like an article or a video. Was it a presentation? I delivered, I delivered.
17:31
So you might be surprised by what you discover when you do this research, because sometimes it's not the flashy new campaign that you've just launched, but an old referral relationship or a simple conversation at a networking event that's been quietly bringing in the most clients. So if you don't already have a system in place, I want you to start tracking this information moving forward. So when a new client contacts, you always ask so how did you hear about us? And keep a record right. So over time, this data becomes gold because it tells you exactly where to focus your marketing efforts.
18:13
So next, I want you to look at which types of content are leading to consultations or inquiries. So, for example, do your potential clients respond more to educational blog posts? Maybe videos explaining the mediation process? Is it downloadable guides? So which social media platform gets the most direct messages or comments for people interested in your services? That's something else you can look at. So this is important, because it's not just about how many people see your content, but who takes action after seeing it. Views and likes feel good, but they don't pay the bills. So tracking conversions means how many people did you actually reach out to and book a consultation with? Because that's what really matters, okay, so either you've reached out to them through a certain channel or they've reached out to you and you need to understand where this is coming from.
19:16
So, if you've been running paid ads, this is especially critical. Make sure you're tracking clicks all the way through to consultations or client signups, because if you're not seeing a return on investment, it's really time to rethink or pause those campaigns. And you know, simply being aware of where these leads are coming from, just engaging in this exercise that I'm giving you right now, can actually save you money. Right? Because if you're seeing that your leads are not coming in from your ads, but maybe from a couple referral partners, what does that mean? Does that mean maybe you tweak your ads? Do you turn off your ads? These are solutions or ideas that you need to contemplate to figure out what to do next, because you know, if you're seeing that most of your leads are coming from, for example, these two referral partners, then you know you could actually save some money by turning off those ads for now.
20:18
But the idea here is double down on what's working and turn off what's not working. Okay, another tip is to check in with your referral partners, so which relationships are sending you the most qualified leads. Sometimes a quick conversation or a thank you note can strengthen those partnerships and lead to even more referrals. And please don't forget about your website analytics, like which pages are visitors spending the most time on? Are they downloading your resources or filling out your contact form? Right, that's a really good question, and so these insights can help you understand what's resonating with your audience.
21:01
And once you've gathered all this information, you can really have a clear picture of your top performing marketing activities. That is the 20% that brings in 80% of your clients, and this clarity is powerful because it allows you to focus your time, your energy and budget on what actually works. Okay, now that you've identified the marketing activities that actually bring in the clients that is the golden 20% now it's time to double down on those and make them work even harder for you, okay, so think about this for a moment. What if you could get more clients, build deeper trust and grow your practice, all without working longer hours or feeling overwhelmed? And I'll tell you, this is exactly what happens when you focus on your top performing marketing activities and you use smart systems to amplify your efforts. Okay, and this is something we teach our clients to do is to double down on what's working and to maybe change what's not working and really creating systems that are going to get you traction.
22:17
So let's talk about creating a really focused content strategy for a moment, because many professionals think that they need to cover every topic under the sun, that they need to cover every topic under the sun or be present on every social platform. But here's a wow insight for you, niche content that speaks directly to your ideal client's most pressing problems can consistently outperform broad, generic marketing. And you know, in having looked at many professionals' social media, I can tell you that a lot of their stuff is very generic and doesn't get as granular as it should in order to identify to clients that you know what you're talking about and that you've been where they are in terms of helping people get to a solution. So the challenge that they're currently experiencing you have solutions that you've seen before and you know that they work, but you've got to be very specific about that, and what we're seeing in marketing is it's too broad, right. They're just talking generically about, maybe, divorce, mediation or how collaborative divorce works. So, really getting very specific and even you know, workplace mediation, for example, like talking about workplace mediation in very broad terms is okay as a start, but it's not really going to tell companies how you can help them, right? So when you identify those real pain points that they're experiencing, that's when you get their attention Okay. So, for example, instead of writing a general blog about divorce law, as I've just mentioned, you can create content that addresses very specific pain points, such as how to protect your business during divorce. Okay, and that's a great example. What is that talking about? That's talking to business owners who are, you know, going through divorce. What do they need to think about in terms of divorce and their business, right? So that's a that's a niche in itself, addressing this pain point for business owners. So really, this laser focused approach not only attracts the right clients, but it also positions you as the go-to expert in your niche.
24:36
So next is really thinking about nurturing your referral relationships, and I think this one is so often undervalued. Here's something many people don't realize Referral partners want to feel appreciated and informed. Communication is key. So sending a simple monthly update about your practice, sharing success stories or even hosting a small appreciation event can really deepen those relationships and keep you top of mind, because that should be your end goal. How do I stay top of mind with my referral partners? And so, when you invest in your referral network thoughtfully, those few key partners can become a consistent, reliable source of high quality leads.
25:28
Okay so I want to dive into quickly marketing automation, and I think this can be a real game changer for busy professionals. So you might think automation is just about scheduling social media posts or sending generic emails, but the truth is, with the right tools, you can create highly personalized, client-centered experiences that feel anything but automated. Okay, so let me give you a quick example. Imagine an automated email sequence that not only follows up with someone who downloads your divorce preparation guide, for example, but then also sends tailored content based on their specific situation, so whether they're considering mediation or preparing for litigation, right. So this kind of segmentation and personalization it actually increases engagement and builds trust before you even speak with the client. So here's a wow factor also that I think gets overlooked a lot, and that is using automation to nurture past clients and referral sources. So most marketing focuses on new leads, new clients, right, but automated check-ins, newsletters and valuable updates or invitations to webinars can keep you connected with your existing network, and so this ongoing relationship building often leads to repeat business or referrals down the line, and I think a lot of people forget about this or don't even know that this is something that they should be addressing.
27:09
Another powerful but underused tactic is leveraging client testimonials and case studies in your automated marketing. So when potential clients see real stories of how you've helped people in situations similar to theirs, it actually builds immediate credibility and reduces hesitation. Okay, automate the process of collecting testimonials after a case closes and then integrate those stories into your email sequences, your website and your social posts. So if you make a habit of that of you know automating the testimonials, knowing when to ask for them, sending that email out and then building that into your email sequences so that you're actually updating your email sequences with new testimonials all the time. That becomes an automation that can really elevate your marketing. So automation can also help with appointment management. So tools that send automated reminders and follow-ups. You know what that does is that just reduces no-shows and keeps your schedule full, and all professionals want that right. So some platforms even allow clients to book consultations directly online, really removing the friction from the process and making it easier for them to say yes to working with you. So super important.
28:34
And let's not forget about delegation If you have a team, or even if you're a solo practitioner who's willing to outsource, delegating routine marketing tasks can free up huge chunks of your time. Okay, and this is a service that we offer for our clients all the time like delegating to us to do some of those marketing tasks that will actually move the needle for them. So I think many professionals don't realize how much time they spend on things like social media posting, email list management, graphic design, all of those things, right. So hiring a marketing specialist to handle these tasks for you can let you focus on doing what you do best, and that's serving clients and really strategizing your growth. Okay, here's another wow insight Regularly reviewing and tweaking your marketing based on real data is what separates successful practices from those stuck in the same place.
29:37
Okay, so marketing isn't set it and forget it. It's really all about scheduling weekly, monthly, quarterly reviews of your analytics like, maybe, website traffic, email open rates, conversion rates and you can actually spot trends. You can identify what's working and what you can do to pivot quickly, and so I think this kind of agility keeps your marketing fresh and effective. So let me give you a quick example. If, for example, you are delivering a webinar or you're holding a live event in person, and so you have so many people that have registered and you've sent out an email reminder one week before, and then you start to realize, well, not a lot of people showed up for this event. And then, when you do your subsequent event, you are actually increasing the number of email reminders and, all of a sudden, you're looking at your stats and you're going wow, we had about 10% more people show up to this event. Why was that? Wow? Okay, you go back to your analytics and you see well, we sent out three email reminders, as opposed to that one that we sent out the initial time. Okay, that's looking at analytics. That's what's telling you what's working and what's not. So now for your next event. You know you need to send out three reminders in order to get an improved show up rate. Okay, I hope this is making sense. That's another example of looking at analytics.
31:09
So, finally, remember that doubling down doesn't mean doing more of everything. Okay, it means doing more of the right things, and so when you combine focused content, strong referral relationships, smart automation and strategic delegation, you build a marketing system that works for you 24-7. And I think this system not only attracts more clients, but also builds your reputation as a trusted expert who truly understands and supports people through difficult times. So we've covered a lot of ground today. We've talked about challenging that idea that more marketing is always better and instead explored how the 80-20 rule can transform the way you approach growing your practice, and you've learned how to spot what's really working, how to cut out the busy work and how to double down on the marketing activities that actually bring in clients and the results that you're looking for. So if there's one thing I hope you take away from this episode, and that is that you don't have to do everything. You just have to do the right things and do them well, because when you focus your energy on the 20% of activities that generate 80% of your results, you'll not only see more consistent growth, but you'll also reclaim valuable time and reduce your stress.
32:33
So next question is how do you put this all into practice? So I want to break this down into a simple 30-day action plan that you can start right now. You don't need to overhaul everything at once. Small focus steps can lead to big results. Okay, so in week one you're going to look at doing an audit and building awareness. So that means setting aside one hour this week to review your last 10 to 20 clients and for each one, jot down how they found you Was it a referral, was it a Google search, a workshop, a particular social media post or something else and make a list of all of your current marketing activities. This includes everything from social media and website updates to networking, to speaking engagements, email newsletters and paid ads.
33:22
So in week two, you wanna look for patterns in your client list, which sources show up again and again, and highlight your top two or three lead sources. Review your marketing activities list, circle the ones that directly contributed to bringing in clients, and be honest If something hasn't led to a client or a strong lead in the last six months, put a question mark beside it and decide is this something that I need to continue? Should I monitor it or should I just get rid of it altogether? And don't forget to check your website analytics and your social media insights for your most visited pages, the most engaged posts and the highest performing content. So in week three, you're going to decide which marketing activities you're going to double down on, and these should be the ones that have consistently brought in clients or built strong referral partnerships. So make a stop or delegate list. I love this one. So identify at least two activities that you can either stop doing altogether or delegate to someone else and this could be a team member, an assistant, a marketing specialist but make sure that you are delegating it. And if you're not already using automation tools, research one or two that could save you time, okay. So, for example, look into automated email follow-ups, appointment scheduling or, you know, social media post schedulers.
34:51
So in week four, you want to put your new focus into action, spend more time nurturing your top referral sources, improving your best performing content or investing in the platforms that actually reach your ideal clients, and you also want to set up a simple tracking system. This could be a spreadsheet or CRM tool where you just record every new inquiry and how they found you. I think that's super, super important. And then you want to schedule a 30-minute review at the end of each month to see what's changed. Are you getting more inquiries from your best sources? Are you spending less time on things that don't work. Okay, so really think about that. And here's a last bonus tip I want to leave you with If you want to supercharge your results, reach out to your top referral partners and thank them.
35:43
Ask them if there's anything you can do to support them, or if they'd like to collaborate on a webinar or workshop, because strong relationships are often the foundation of every thriving practice. And remember please remember you don't have to do this alone. If you'd like expert help identifying your top performing marketing activities or building a streamlined strategy that fits your unique practice, I'd love to support you. So you can book a strategy call with me by clicking the link in the show notes. And remember less effort, more results. Focus on what works and watch your practice grow. Thanks for tuning in today and, if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss future episodes packed with actionable strategies to grow your practice. See you in the next episode.