I ask myself three important questions. First, does the idea align well with our values? Second, will it help us reach our bottom line goals? Third, does it pass the cost-to-benefit test? If “yes” is the answer to all three, I draft it and discuss with others.
Jesse Brodsky is the Head of Membership Services at Lawyers of Distinction. He facilitates the nomination and acceptance process. Together with his team, he decides who is offered a membership based on qualification, experience, and recommendations. Furthermore, Jesse Brodsky is in charge of promotional campaigns that help clients discover lawyers faster. Arguably, he runs the most important sector of Lawyers of Distinction, which is marketing. Lastly, Jesse Brodsky ensures that the current members are well equipped to grow their practices. Lawyers of Distinction is a service organization that connects clients with the top lawyers around the United States. High performers are recognized through a nomination process.
Where did the idea for Lawyers of Distinction come from?
We wanted to connect regular people with some of the best lawyers around. The market needed a middle-man that would provide this service. Also, we wanted to make it easy for initial clients to distinguish the top performers in their states.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
It revolves around member calls, reviews, interactions with our advertising platforms, and so on. I make it productive by drafting a minute-by-minute schedule which I strictly follow.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I ask myself three important questions. First, does the idea align well with our values? Second, will it help us reach our bottom line goals? Third, does it pass the cost-to-benefit test? If “yes” is the answer to all three, I draft it and discuss with others.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Growing popularity of our profession. According to ABA, there were almost 46,500 law graduates in 2013. That means that we were able to accept more memberships during that time frame. Remeber our rule to only hire the top ten percent of all attorneys in a state. As the overall number of attorneys increase, however, so does our membership count.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I write things down. When I attend meetings, I always carry a pen and a pad. Similarly, every client call that I get on is recorded. Afterward, I transcribe the essential parts and use them for future reference.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Start using a detailed schedule. During my law school career, I relied on broad planning. That means that, although I knew what my day would look like, I never had detailed plans.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
I am afraid that I do not experience situations where everyone disagrees with me. A few people might have better ideas, but not every single person involved.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I hear everyone out. When our members have suggestions for improvement, I make it a point to follow up. Although it is impossible to get to every single person, I reach out to a few at least. The same applies to those who hire our lawyers by using the look-up tool on our website.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
We use success stories to demonstrate important practices and ideas. First, we let everyone use our platform for the duration of their membership. Then, we reach out and ask for feedback. Also, we invite to share any positive experience on our forum or website. Our lawyers allow us to do that almost always as it tends to reflect well on them.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Some memberships that Lawyers of Distinction refused were applicants that would be significant assets to our team. On the flip side, there have been those who never did much with the membership. I consider these cases to be failures as our nomination system did not do well. Nevertheless, we always follow up and work on permanent solutions.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Start a platform that connects a service provider with those in need. One nice thing about it is that you can focus on your strengths. So, if you are a businessperson, build a platform or network that connects with investors.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I like to invest in tools that help our business grow and keep our lawyers up to date on news, events, and any other happenings. Recently, I spent $100 on a marketing tool to help communicate with our entire network. Needless to say, I wasn’t the only one excited about it.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Our website is the main driving force for all of our endeavors. We use it to offer a database for customers, take lawyer application, and interact with company’s corporate partners.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing.” Harry Beckwith wrote it, and it does a great job of arguing why businesses like ours are the future.
What is your favorite quote?
“Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Key Learnings:
• Using a detailed schedule is an excellent way to stay productive.
• Every idea should have future implications for the company to succeed.
• Success stories are a great way to motivate people and facilitate growth.
• Attentively listening to feedback is a lot more critical than merely asking for it.
• Taking notes whenever possible is the easiest way to avoid misplacing important information or forgetting it.
Connect:
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Lawyers of Distinction on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
Steve (Stefan) Junge hails from Germany and helps with the day-to-day publishing of interviews on IdeaMensch. While he and Mario don’t share a favorite soccer club, their enthusiasm to help entrepreneurs is a shared passion.