One of our lawyers hates it when “they” talk about us.

It makes her feel weird when we stand out. She doesn’t like being different.

She’s pretty typical of lawyers. Many of us are conformists. We like fitting in. Appearances matter to us.

When we’re doing something that makes us stand out, she gets uncomfortable. She worries that we’ll appear unprofessional, out of sync, different, or weird.

Yep, she’s right. “They” are talking about us. They’re talking about how the thing we’re doing is “weird.” It’s “crazy.” It’s “odd.” Of course, it’s got to be a little odd, or “they” wouldn’t think it worthy of discussion.

• When we built a 100-page website giving away free information, they talked about it.
• When we went paperless (in 1995), they talked about it.
• When we moved our lawyers from individual offices to a single big room, they talked about it.
• When we ran tons of TV ads, they talked about it.
• When our divorce lawyers gave away marriage licenses on Valentine’s Day, they talked about it.
• When we published our own version of the statutes, they talked about it.
• When we switched from hourly billing to fixed fees, they talked about it.
• When we held a funeral for victims of domestic violence with a casket and all, they talked about it.
• When we moved our data from servers to the cloud, they talked about it.
• When we hired lawyers in India, they talked about it.
• When we outsourced our bookkeeping, IT, and support services, they talked about it.
• When we got rid of telephone handsets in our conference rooms, they talked about it.
• When we eliminated office space for attorneys and had them work from home, they talked about it.
• When our team spread out across the globe, they talked about it.

I could go on with example after example of things we’ve done that got them talking. Each of the things we did—the things they talked about—made her uncomfortable.

But getting them to talk about us is the goal. That’s the plan. That’s what we’re doing—deliberately.

Lawyers have a pretty good, built-in barometer of marketing success. If it’s comfortable, is easy, and feels right, then it’s probably not working. When it starts to feel uncomfortable, you’ll know you’re likely heading in the right direction.

Marketing is mostly about getting “them” to notice. It’s about getting them to pay attention and talk. If they’re not talking about you, it’s not working. If you’re uncomfortable with standing out and being talked about, then you’re doing it right. The question is, are you willing to be uncomfortable?