If you have any desire to sell your law firm and make a profit you must have a strategy in place that will facilitate building equity in the firm.

This goes beyond law firm marketing. This is about planning for the future and aligning your short term goals with long term goals.

Here are the four things to focus on when looking to build equity in your law firm:

1) Build ongoing, predictable revenue in the future. This will show that someone who is purchasing your law firm will have revenue that last beyond your involvement.

2) Develop long term relationships with people who would benefit from purchasing your law firm. People who understand the value of your law firm and people who have seen that value first hand are more likely to pay a premium for it. Identify these people early on in your career and develop and maintain a relationship with them.

3) Build a group of people who can do the work and manage the work flow without your involvement. If all the work is completed by you, and you exit the business, there is limited value in what you leave behind. You must create a law firm that runs without you.

4) Develop systems to automate your marketing. You must have several different ways to source new clients. These legal marketing initiatives must function whether you are involved in them or not. Systems are the key to legal marketing success.

These four elements must all be in place and operating for years before you plan to sell your law firm. When you make the decision to exit, you can market your law firm as a business that generates revenue without your involvement. If that is true, you will be able to command a fee premium when you sell.

By David Lorenzo
Source: www.legalmarketingforlawyers.com