The Lawyer Life Podcast

How to Find Your Clients & Build Your Legal Brand

• Autumn Noble • Season 2 • Episode 64

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In this episode we dive into one of the most overlooked—but most important—parts of building your legal brand: identifying your ideal client. Autumn shares her own journey of figuring out who energized her practice (and who drained it) and how that clarity not only shaped her workload but also grew her practice more strategically. 

You’ll learn: 

  • Why not every client is your client (and why that’s okay).
  • How to define your client avatar and ask the right questions.
  • How clarity about your ideal client helps you build meaningful relationships, tailor your marketing, and make the right pitch.

If you’re ready to stop chasing “any client” and start attracting the right clients for you, this episode is packed with strategies to help you build a thriving and authentic practice.
 


Free coaching consult/coffee and more!: https://autumnnoble.as.me

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THE LAWYER LIFE COLLECTION on Etsy

Autumn Noble (00:00)

You are listening to the Lawyer Life Podcast, how to find your people and build your legal brand.

 

Welcome back to the podcast, my friends. I know it's been a hot minute since I have released an episode that is exclusive to this podcast. I have been really focusing a lot of my energy on my new podcast, Lady-ish, where wellness gets unfiltered. That doesn't mean that I'm abandoning you here. I continue to be inspired by the lawyers that I work with and the presentations that I'm giving to law firms all over the country. And it makes me wanna come back here and offer some of those teachings and insights that I'm having.

 

on an ongoing basis. So you will continue to hear from me, maybe not as regularly, but hey, I am still here and I'm so glad that you continue to listen.

 

with the fourth quarter in sight, many law firms are kind of regrouping, getting their people back together and scheduling speaking engagements and training sessions from me to help their lawyers get those year end continuing legal education credits in or just to provide some additional training before year end chaos sets in.

 

Two presentations that I have been giving a lot these days relate to building your legal brand and selling your services to your clients. How do you close the deal? And I was thinking about my latest presentation and just realizing that I wanted to come on here and share with you one of the more important elements that I think we sort of lose sight of as attorneys when we're building our brand and trying to build our practices. And that is this idea that

 

Not everybody is your client and that's okay. But the sooner we can figure out who our clients are, the faster we're gonna be able to build a meaningful brand and a thriving practice. So when I think about branding, I actually talk about how there's three pillars of a brand as attorneys. And one of those pillars is your ideal client or your client.

 

avatar. So I want to take some time today and just dig into that particular element of building a legal brand. You how do we find our people? Who are our people? And why is it so important to know about them?

 

Odds are pretty good that if you ask your colleagues and friends who are also attorneys, who is your client avatar? They're gonna look at you like you're a maniac. Many of us that are attorneys, we just want clients, we need revenue, we have overhead, we have demands and bills to pay. I get it. But when it comes to ourselves as individuals and the practices that we want to build, it is really important that we have some line of sight

 

as to who our ideal client is and what that ideal work would look like coming from that ideal person. Many of us don't have a lot of clarity around this particular issue, which is why I wanted to talk about this one element of branding today.

 

When I talk about client avatars, I mean imagining the type of person or type of client that you want to work with, that you enjoy working with. An easy way to figure this out is to ask yourself, what clients do I enjoy day to day? Which clients energize me and get me excited about doing the legal work? And then think about those projects that just get under your skin, that you're not excited to do, you procrastinate or you

 

put off. There's always something there to teach us about our likes, our dislikes, or where we have room to grow. Sometimes those projects or those clients have a lot to tell us about the type of people that we want to work with and the type of meaning we get from doing particular types of work. When I was a young attorney and I was building my practice group,

 

I came into a firm that had clients that were pretty different than the clients I was used to. I was used to working with multinational corporations and really large, sophisticated organizations. And I had come to a mid-size firm and they worked with clients that were all the way down to solo CPA firms or solopreneurs or individual business owners. And the types of questions and needs that they had were very different.

 

And furthermore, their legal budgets were tremendously different. And it really kind of opened my eyes to, wow, there's a whole different kind of realm of client possibilities available to me here. And it helped me really get clear and understand the types of clients that I wanted to work with. And what I quickly realized is that I wanted to work with clients who were sophisticated.

 

enough to understand the nuances and sort of nuts and bolts of my expertise. I didn't enjoy having to explain the basics again and again, day in and day out. I loved getting on a call with a client that had read the same regulations and releases that I had and had that foundational knowledge and we can kind of have that intellectual discourse.

 

about what that meant for them and how it fit into their business and maybe where there were gaps in gray areas. That was really where I wanted to live. In contrast, what I also realized was that young associates that I was working with and hiring, they loved having client interaction and being able to kind of teach the basic stuff over and over again. Not only did they enjoy it, but I think it really helped them to understand

 

the information in different kind of a way. And so with that information, I was able to start tailoring my own workload and practice and workflow to ensure that I got the type of clients and work that meant more to me, that resonated with me, that allowed me to make my greatest contribution. And I set my associate up in a way to ensure that she got the kind of work that really resonated with her and the types of clients that she wanted.

 

And all of this sort of came about because I had that moment of just self-reflection of, why am I so frustrated with this particular client? And I realized I just wasn't enjoying that type of legal work. And so that type of client, that solopreneur, that, you know, single business owner, they really weren't the type of client that I enjoyed working with. And that says nothing about them, but it was an important information for me to have in crafting my practice moving forward.

 

So as you think about what work energizes you and what clients energize you and kind of start to hone in on that client ideal, start asking yourself more in-depth questions about that client so we can create a client avatar. Questions you might consider are asking what does their day typically look like? Are they in board meetings all day? Are they in committee meetings all day? Are they running around like a maniac because they're just an entrepreneur and they're doing all of the things and they're wearing a lot of hats?

 

What do they worry about? And this one is really important. What keeps them up at night? Are they worried about running out of money? Are they worried about getting sued? Are they worried about getting fired or getting yelled at by the CFO of their company? What is it that bugs them day in and day out and really trying to understand more about their psyche, their feelings, their thoughts and emotions day in and day out? Along those lines, asking yourself, what is it that they really want? Because it's not often

 

good legal counsel or good legal advice. I think that goes without saying. But really asking yourself, what do they want from their legal counsel? Is there more there than simply having someone to call and get the answers from? Lastly, who do they go to for advice? Are they going to other professionals in their organizations? Are they going to trade organizations? Are they utilizing certain types of consultants?

 

Are they using other kinds of outside counsel? Do they go to their CPAs for everything? Because that's the person that they trust the most. Having the answers to these questions is so crucial because it's gonna provide you the data to figure out where these people are and how to put yourself in front of them. And once you put yourself in front of them, you can start getting to know them and understanding them in a different kind of a way.

 

and get a different line of sight into what they're worried about and what they ultimately want.

 

So I'm tell you a little story about how having this clarity around a client avatar and my ideal client really changed the trajectory of my legal practice. So once I realized that working with solopreneurs and really, really small businesses really didn't light me up, but my associate really enjoyed it, I started thinking about, what is it these people worry about? What is it that they want and who do they go to for advice?

 

And the answer to that question with respect to those small businesses that weren't my ideal client, they wanted quick, easy answers. They wanted things broken down for them very simply in bite-sized pieces. They didn't want the whole thing kind of thrown at them. They wanted piece by piece to kind of chew on it and process it as they develop their own understanding. Who do they go to for advice? Most of them went to their accounting firms or their accountants for advice.

 

This was really good to know because what that meant was if I could start getting in front of them at accounting seminars and accounting events where they would attend and try and get information and guidance from their accountants, I could probably intercept some of that and maybe even team up with some of those accountants to capture that work.

 

Why am I capturing that work that I don't want? Because as a practice group leader, I understood that that was something that my associate was really interested in and it would be good work for them to cut their teeth on, to learn on, and potentially could grow into something really great for them. So knowing this, I signed up to speak at every accounting firm seminar I could get my hands on and get in front of. But I always did it in bringing along an associate.

 

And I tried to use those events as an opportunity to really spotlight their knowledge and their ability. And I would be there supporting them, kind of lending help in the background, but really letting them shine. So that when those businesses would come to us for legal support, it wouldn't surprise them when I would give their work to my associate, because they had just seen that associate sort of leading and speaking with me. And they saw us as a package deal and as a team.

 

This also called me to change the way I was sort of showing up and acting day in and day out. Instead of taking all those phone calls and taking all of those emails, I stopped, stopped responding to them and I would kick them off to my associate. And eventually over time, they would start contacting our associates directly and leave me out of the loop. And I could kind of open up that space, that time, that energy to focus on the clients that I really cared about. And that was those large.

 

sophisticated companies. So with that in mind, I applied the same types of questioning. What does their day look like? What do they worry about? What do they want? And so I started looking at the types of clients that my firm had and I identified a few really large sophisticated organizations that I wasn't currently working with. And I found the attorney that they go to for advice. And in this instance, the attorney I think was an environmental law attorney, which is very different than what I do.

 

And working with that person, I said, you need to get me in front of them. I want to meet this person. I want to meet the HR person because I know that they get it I know that they're in the weeds on this stuff. I don't want to talk to the CFO. I don't want to talk to the general counsel. I want to talk to the person that really gets this information and show them that I get it too. So I went and I met the VP of HR with this organization and in speaking with her, just getting to know her. wasn't even trying to pitch her yet.

 

I start to understand that she has a very interesting and slightly contentious relationship with the CFO of the organization. And there was a big part of her that really wanted to prove herself to him. And what's more, wanted to wrangle in the budget and prove to him that she could kind of manage the finances as well as the liabilities within her area. And at the time, I also discovered that she was going to these large

 

Coast firms for legal support. So knowing all of that, I knew that all I had to do to say to her to sell her was say, I can help you prove yourself to your CFO. I can do the same work that this other organization is doing for you at Midwestern prices and I can cut your budget in half at least for the next couple of years for sure. And that was it.

 

I didn't need to prove to her how much I knew. I didn't need to explain to her how long I've been practicing or how sophisticated the firm was. I knew what was bothering her at night. I knew what she worried about and I knew what she wanted. And all I had to do was speak to that. But I was able to do that because I was clear about who my client avatar was and I put myself in front of them. And so similarly, I started speaking at HR conferences to try and get in front of these people.

 

In this particular instance, I had an in with a firm colleague that put me in front of her, but putting yourself in front of them, making that connection allows you to get to know them so that you can understand what do they want? What do they worry about? Who do they go to for advice? With that information, you can tailor your pitch to speak to those issues, making it much more likely that they're going to buy for you.

 

Similarly, knowing all of this, you can tailor all of your marketing, your speaking engagements and presentations to speak to those worries. you can tailor whole presentations to, does your higher up, your,

 

General Counsel or CFO not understand the complexity of your area. I'm here to tell you that that's common and I can help you break down those barriers and not only that, I can help you reduce your budget and kind of get some good faith internally in your organization, help you review your spending and show you places where you can save money. If you market to that along with your expertise,

 

when those individuals go out to the internet and they search for, you how do I reduce my legal spend or my legal budget or how do I, you know, trim the fat or analyze a budget or whatever it may be, when they go out to the internet and they start looking for answers to these things, you're the first thing that pops up because you know what they worry about and you know what they want. It's so important for us as attorneys to spend some time thinking about who our ideal clients are, what they want, what they worry about, who they talk to.

 

so that we can start finding ways to put ourselves in between those people and those organizations and them. From there, we just get to know them and we work on that final pitch. And as I said at the beginning, I speak a lot on how to actually make that pitch and how to sell yourself and what is that whole process of when you put yourself in front of them, like what do you do from there? What does that look like and what do you say? I have a whole presentation that I do on that.

 

pretty regularly and there's a lot to it but there's also not a lot to it. It's not that complicated because it's really at the end of the day about relationships and getting to know people. And that's why having this client avatar is so essential because it forces you to try and understand them in a different kind of a way. We just don't want the sale. We just don't want the legal revenue. We wanna build a relationship and you can't do that without trying to understand your people before you sell to them.

 

As I said, this is one of three pillars that I talk about in building your legal brand. It's your practice, you as an individual, and your clients. And so today I just wanted to pop in here and talk a little bit about the client pillar of your brand. Because I think as attorneys, we just don't start thinking about this stuff early enough. And branding and marketing, takes a long time to nurture and grow.

 

And so the sooner you can start getting clear on what do I like? What do I not like? Where do I want to focus my energy? What would my ideal practice look like? The sooner you start answering those questions, the sooner you can start laying the groundwork so that when you start to have more control over your practice and over your career, you've planted the seeds already. It's never too early to start thinking about your ideal client and your personal legal brand.

 

All right, my friends, that is all for today. If this topic interests you, don't hesitate to reach out to me and schedule a presentation on the full branding, building your legal brand presentation, where I go into the other pillars associated with legal branding. And if you want the full kit and caboodle, I have that additional seminar on how to authentically sell yourself and close the deal in getting new clients.

 

So really popular topics right now. So I wanted to hop in here and just tell you a little bit more about them and offer you some things to think about in building your own legal brand. For any questions or to reach out and schedule your own private session on these topics, send an email to autumn at the lawyer life collective.com. And for those of you interested in a little bit more holistic wellness and kind of the other parts of us as lawyers, don't hesitate to head over to my new podcast called Lady-ish where wellness gets unfiltered.

 

Until next time, my friends.