If I am in trouble, "I'll have a Pepsi" is the codeword for I am doing this under duress. Sometimes it's more about the polar bears (brand) and less about the taste (actual service)

1,300,000 million lawyers. 400,000 firms. Why are you the best choice for anyone?

And to make matters worse, no one ACTUALLY wants to hire us.  They have a legal problem they want to have go away/resolve as best as possible.

 Please don't take my prior two lines as a direct attack - they apply just as much to me, my firm, you, your firm, the firm next door or down the street, etc.

 So seriously, how do you stand out?

 Before I answer that rhetorical question, I have one more - Coke or Pepsi?

 Please tell me you have a preference between the two and cringed when the other one was mentioned (Pepsi made you cringe, right?)

Why?  Why do we care about the difference between two carbonated sodas that should be the same or very similar?  Sure they taste different (Pepsi is gross, Coke is good with alcohol).  But because of their BRAND!

Maybe you love Santa and the Polar Bears, maybe you love the world's hatred being ended by sharing a soft drink...but again...they have BRANDS! 

So, you get people to want to work with you and know that you're their best attorney, by building a brand.  You turn yourself into a magnet that attracts the RIGHT client and repels the WRONG client (or maybe it pushes away the right people too...grammar...)

And here's the tough part - how do you figure out your brand?  I have no trick or magic bullet. Every time someone talks about branding, I ask this question and guess what?  Different answers EVERY TIME.

So I am going to give you 2 options:

1) Carve out some time to be super introspective.  Really look at: 

• Who you are?
• What makes you likable?
• What the people you like have in common?
• What are you interested in?
• What about people you enjoy connecting with and vice versa?

or

 2) Just freaking be you and see what happens!

And I will bet you had ANOTHER reaction to those options, with one sounding much better and one sounding much worse!

Look, I don't need 1,000 photos of you in your office.  I don't need to know every Perfect Lawyer who Lawyers Good and Does Other Things Good too award that you've won.

I want to know what YOUR "Other Things Good" thing are!

I wear Hawaiian Shirts and Sandals most of the time.  If you think that makes me unprofessional and you don't want to work with me because of that...that's totally your right.  

Or maybe it will make you like me more. 

 But even if it's bad, it's better to know that now before you spend a bunch of time getting to know me and we do a full consult and then during our marketing work together we realize we are a terrible fit for each other then because my team is "unprofessional," "not aggressive enough" or whatever else.

 Yes, I repel people, but guess what, I also (I hope) build raving fans.  If 5,000,000 people think you're their #2 favorite attorney, you're only getting the business if #1 says no.

Someone posted about what they should wear in their content, and I stand by what I wrote:

If you want a fat white guy in a suit you've got about 1,000,000 options.

But if you want a fat white guy in a Hawaiian shirt - you've got me.

And important caveat - this is all REAL and GENUINE.  I hate dressing up.  A good friend had me in his wedding, and I had to wear a tux...I did it, but man was it a whole thing.  I cannot imagine having to put on the monkey suit each day.

If I was truly all about being GQ and fancy and such - THIS WOULDN'T WORK FOR ME.

So don't be someone else...be YOU!  Some people will not like it, and that's okay.  Haters are literally wasting their life trying to pull you down.  Instead find your tribe, your herd, your blue flame, your raving fans, your apostles and just be happy and successful. 

Seriously - email me your thoughts on what you should do, let's chat about it.

Because next week we are talking about HOW you implement this brand.  Hint it's not by following the crowd.

 Until then - keep rocking!