Ready to Set Your Law Firm Goals for 2023?

It can feel overwhelming to think about where you want your firm to focus in 2023. Clearly, some things don't change, like client retention, law firm growth, profitability, and time management. What's most important to your firm may be one of those big categories, but the devil is in the details. Saying you want to improve profitability is a big statement. What will you actually do? Let's review the process of setting yourself up for success when creating these goals.

Break It Down

Start with a big goal, like increasing the number of new clients. Then think about the steps you are already doing to achieve that goal. Are you advertising? Promoting your firm and services on social media? Then think about how those efforts are going. This is a step that is often missed. But it's critical to think about what you are already doing and deciding if it's producing the results you want. 

Then think about other things you can do to achieve the goal. If you are out of ideas, consider connecting with fellow attorneys, your Bar Association (we are big fans of them as a great resource for you!), or any number of marketing blog sites. In this step, you are solely focusing on listing all the options you can think of. This is all about creating ideas, so don't hold back. 

Prioritize Realistic Options

We talk about this a lot. We can all come up with great goals for the year and see ourselves sending that weekly newsletter, calling ten clients a week to just 'check-in', etc. The reality is you don't likely have time to keep that up over the course of the year. Consider your list of options - including the actions you are already doing - and pick the top one or two. Remember, you aren't going to be creating time this year, as much as all of us could use a few extra hours a day. And the time demands only seem to grow. 

When looking at the things you are already doing, take the time to review the outcome. If you have been blogging, did you see any upticks to your website or calls to your office? Ideally, you have access to the detailed information, like number of view or clicks, etc. If you don't, well, that's a great goal for the year - to start gathering the information you need to assess the outcome of your actions. 

Set Reasonable Expectations

How do you know what is reasonable? The best place to start is with your current results. If the goal is to see an increase in new clients, do you know how many new clients came to your firm in the last year? Start with that number and depending on your action plan, a 10% growth may be reasonable. Maybe it's a 5% growth. You get the idea. Start with where you are, consider your plans and what each of them may produce, and set that goal.

It's tough to estimate new client growth from a blog. A quick search can give you some ideas. The point is to start with a rough estimate. Keep it realistic - nothing over 10%. And then monitor your results. If after a quarter or six months you aren't seeing the growth, consider adjusting your approach a bit. If after six to nine months you aren't seeing any results, consider switching to a different activity.

Monitor Results

The key to understanding the impact is to monitor the results. Be sure to set SMART goals for each effort: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based. Going with the blog idea, here is an example of a SMART goal: Write a new blog entry weekly, published every Thursday by noon, on topics that will attract new clients, and see an increase to website traffic of 10% in six months. 

Once you have set the goal, you need to monitor the results. Are you publishing weekly? Maybe you publish on Wednesday some weeks and Fridays on others. Are you seeing an increase to your web traffic? To know that, you need to know what your traffic is now. 

These types of goals need some time to develop. It isn't going to change in a few weeks. At minimum, give it at least three months. If you aren't promoting the blogs on social media or in a newsletter, well, you are going to need a lot more time to determine if the blog is driving traffic. 

Be Adaptable

Maybe you don't have the time to commit to a weekly blog. Or maybe the results just aren't there. It's smart to change your tactics when they aren't working. No need to wait for the calendar to flip to the next year. Remember that list of ideas you created in step one? Revisit those ideas. Maybe you got some new ideas by watching other law firms or any other small business. Nothing wrong with getting ideas from the local boutique or other small business. Not everything works for every type of organization, but inspiration can come from anywhere. Don't be afraid to change tactics at any point.

We are big believers in setting goals and monitoring them at any time. While sure, the start of a new year lends itself nicely to a time of consideration, you can do any of this at any time. Make it a priority to be an expert on how your law firm is performing. Understand what's driving success. and don't be afraid to try new things. What have you tried in the past?