By: Steven H. Heisler, Esq.
“The Injury Lawyer” & Publisher of Plaintiff Attorney Marketing
I have been practicing law for nearly thirty years and am blessed to have built a successful law business.
There are two events that have had a profound impact on my road to business success.
The first was the day I bought and listened to a cassette tape by Al Ries and Jack Trout, titled “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.”
On that tape, the authors advocated that business owners narrow the focus of their business to a particular niche. I decided the next day to stop being a “jack of all trades” ( I had a general practice) and became “The Injury Lawyer.”
The second event that helped propel my law practice was the day I made an in-person cold call to a chiropractor.
This goes back to the early 1990’s when I was just starting out. The chiropractor’s office was near my favorite pizza joint and I would pass it on a consistent basis. Every time I passed that office I remember thinking how natural it would be for a lawyer to strike up a relationship with a chiropractor.
I had met several chiropractors while working as an attorney for my first law firm and it stuck in my mind how friendly and approachable they were.
Additionally, most of the clients that came to see me for accidents had neck and back injuries. Chiropractors are experts in spinal injuries. It made sense to refer my clients to these experts.
So I decided one day to walk into the chiropractor’s office and introduce myself. It just happened on the day I visited the chiropractor was in between patient hours. The chiropractor came out to greet me and we started talking. I told him that I was just starting out and was looking to develop a relationship with a competent chiropractor.
He was very interested and before long I was sending clients to him and he was sending his unrepresented patients to me.
My positive experience working with that chiropractor gave me the confidence to develop relationships with many other chiropractors. To this day I have received hundreds and hundreds of chiropractor referrals
EYE OPENING STATISTICS:
Various studies have revealed that roughly 10 – 11% of American adults are treated annually by chiropractors. That adds up to tens of millions of people that are getting their necks and backs cracked by the chiropractic community.
The Insurance Research Council estimates that approximately one-third of all motor vehicle accident victims seek treatment from doctors of Chiropractic. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), there are nearly 12 million motor vehicle accidents every year. That’s a lot of accident victims who are getting their medical treatment at the local chiropractic office!
Four Reasons to Target Chiropractors
- If you’re looking to build the personal injury part of your law practice, GO WHERE THE INJURED PEOPLE GO!! Tons and tons of individuals involved in car accidents, slip and falls, and job related accidents treat with chiropractors.
- Many of the injured people who choose chiropractors do not have representation. That, my friends, is an opportunity.
- Chiropractors are, for the most part, open to developing relationships with competent attorneys. They get paid more with accident cases and are eager, unlike traditional doctors, to expand their practices.
- Establishing relationships with competent chiropractors is LOW COST MARKETING. It’s old-fashioned relationship building my friends and it costs less than TV, billboards, and pay per click.
In conclusion, a successful and profitable law practice involves incorporating many different marketing strategies. For the aforementioned reasons, relationship building with competent doctors of chiropractic should be one of them.
