Thirty minutes, an agenda you can see in advance, and a real answer at the end
Tell me four things before the call and it starts at minute three instead of minute twelve. If I do not think I can improve your cost per signed case, I will say so on the call rather than send a proposal afterwards.
What to bring
Nothing formal. If you can lay hands on last quarter's inquiry count, signed case count, and total marketing spend, I can compute your actual cost per signed case live on the call, usually for the first time. If you cannot, that is itself the finding, and it is the most common one.
What I will tell you that a proposal would not
Whether your constraint is marketing at all. Frequently it is screening capacity, first-response time, or a case-management system that cannot join an inquiry to a signed matter. All three are cheaper to fix than a media budget, and none of them requires hiring me.
Prefer to do the homework first?
| Not this | Because |
|---|---|
| A discovery call that leads to a second discovery call | One call, one answer. If I need data I do not have, I will tell you exactly what to pull and book the follow-up on the spot. |
| A deck | A generic deck tells you about me. Your numbers tell you about you. I have thirty minutes; only one of those is worth spending them on. |
| A pitch for the largest band | Roughly half the firms I speak to should start at Foundation or at the diagnostic, and some should not buy anything at all. |
| A place where anyone gives you legal advice | I run a marketing agency. See the disclaimer. |
| What I ask | Why I ask it | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Attorneys in the firm | It sets the realistic scale of any programme, and which price band is even relevant | Stops me describing a Market Leader programme to a four-attorney firm |
| Current monthly spend, all in | Fees plus media is the real denominator; fees alone hides half the cost | Lets me compute a rough cost per signed case before I speak |
| Case mix | A firm with birth injury as its core practice and one exploring the area need opposite advice | Decides whether the call is about acquisition or about whether to enter the practice area at all |
| Inquiries reviewable per week | It is the constraint that sets the ceiling on everything else | Frequently reveals that the problem is not marketing, which is the most useful thing I can tell you |
| Outcome | What it means | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| I propose a diagnostic or a retainer | I think I can materially improve your cost per signed case | A written scope inside two business days, at a published price |
| I tell you to fix something first | The constraint is response time, screening capacity, or attribution, none of which needs an agency | You get the specific thing to fix, in writing, and no follow-up sequence |
| I tell you not to hire anyone | Your programme is working, or the practice area is not the right expansion for your firm | Nothing. That is the whole outcome, and it is a legitimate one |
What I would actually build → · What I have and have not done → · Or just email →
Authorship & review
- Author
- Kevin Schwaner, Founder; Chief Marketing Officer. Credentials.
- Last reviewed
- Corrections
- Found an error? Tell me and it goes in the dated corrections log, whether or not it flatters me.