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The Renegade Lawyer Podcast
I am more convinced than ever that nothing that traditional bar organizations are doing is going to move the needle on the sad stats on lawyer happiness ...
The root cause of all lawyers' problems is financial stress. Financial stress holds you back from getting the right people on the bus, running the right systems, and being able to only do work for clients you want to work with. Financial stress keeps you in the office on nights and weekends, often doing work you hate for people you don't like, and doing that work alone.
(Yes, you have permission to do only work you like doing and doing it with people you like working with.)
The money stress is not because the lawyers are bad lawyers or bad people. In fact, most lawyers are good at the lawyering part and they are good people.
The money stress is caused by the general lack of both business skills and an entrepreneurial mindset.
Thus, good lawyers who are good people get caught up and slowed down in bringing their gifts to the world. Their families, teams, clients, and communities are not well-served because you can't serve others at your top level when you are constantly worrying about money.
We can blame the law schools and the elites of the profession who are running bar organizations, but to blame anyone else for your own woes is a loser's game. It is, in itself, a restrictive, narrow, mindset that will keep you from ever seeing, let alone experiencing, a better future.
Lawyers need to be in rooms with other entrepreneurs. They need to hang with people who won't tell you that your dreams are too big or that "they" or "the system "won't allow you to achieve them. They need to be in rooms where people will be in their ear telling them that their dreams are too small.
Get in better rooms. That would be the first step.
Second step, ignore every piece of advice any general organized bar is giving about how to make your firm or your life better.
The Renegade Lawyer Podcast
Ep. 193 – Renegade Lawyer Marketing (Audio Book) – Chapter 18: Steal My Referral Strategy
In this episode of the Renegade Lawyer Podcast, Ben Glass shares a grassroots referral strategy that brought in a 5,900% ROI—and invites you to steal it.
In Chapter 18 of Renegade Lawyer Marketing, you'll hear how a $600 direct mail campaign to local chiropractors turned into $36,000 of revenue in the first week alone. Ben breaks down exactly how he:
- Identified referral partners' biggest pain points
- Launched a targeted, personalized outreach campaign
- Built trust over lunch—without pitching
- Created scalable, repeatable direct mail systems
- Maintains referral relationships with zero digital ad spend
This isn’t theory—it’s a step-by-step playbook you can implement right now to create or grow your own referral engine.
💡 Next episode: Chapter 19 – What You Can Learn From My Attorney Mastermind Groups.
Ben Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury and long-term disability insurance attorney in Fairfax, VA. Since 2005, Ben Glass and Great Legal Marketing have been helping solo and small firm lawyers make more money, get more clients and still get home in time for dinner. We call this TheGLMTribe.com
What Makes The GLM Tribe Special?
In short, we are the only organization within the "business builder for lawyers" space that is led by two practicing lawyers.
One thing we're sure you've noticed is that despite the variety of options within our space, no one else is mixing
the actual practice of law with business building in the way that we are.
There are no other organizations who understand the highs and lows of running a small law firm and are engaged in talking to real clients. That is what sets GLM apart from every other organization, and it is why we have had loyal members that have been with us for two-decades.
I started by identifying the common problems that our current chiropractors who refer to us told us they had with injury lawyers. This included a lack of communication, delayed case resolution, and fee disputes. I arranged lunches with other local chiropractors to discuss their issues without promoting our practice, and this fostered trust and understanding. I created a direct mail campaign targeting chiropractors within a 10 mile radius, addressing their specific problems and offering our services as solutions. Out of the 60 letters sent, 12 chiropractors responded and met me for lunch, resulting in three new referrals worth approximately$36,000 in the first week alone, thus an immediate 5,900% ROI.
SPEAKER_01:Welcome to the Renegade Lawyer Podcast, the show that challenges the way lawyers and professionals think about life, business, and success. Hosted by Ben Glass, attorney, entrepreneur, coach, and father of nine, this show is about more than just practicing law. For over 40 years, Ben has built a law firm that stands for something bigger. He's helped thousands of lawyers create practices that make good money, do meaningful work, and still make it home for dinner. Each week, Ben brings you real conversations with guests who are challenging the status quo. Lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, thinkers, and builders. These are people creating bold careers and meaningful lives without burning out or selling out. If you're ready to stop playing small and start thinking like a renegade, you're in the right place. Let's dive in.
SPEAKER_00:Hey everyone, welcome back to the Renegade Lawyer Podcast. This is Ben, and today's episode is Chapter 18 of Renegade Lawyer Marketing. Again, we're making this book available, the audio version of it available to you for free via this podcast. Chapter 18 is Steal My Referral Strategy. Let's look at a grassroots referral-based marketing strategy of mine that's earned an astounding 5,900% return on investment. Nope, that wasn't a typo, and by all means, I'm inviting you to steal it. I spent$600 on a targeted mail campaign to local chiropractors solving their common problems with injury lawyers to generate valuable referrals. My campaign can demonstrate the power of relationship building over traditional digital marketing efforts. As we write this, as I broadcast this, then Glass Law spends zero money on digital advertising. We invest a lot in our SEO. We invest a lot in relationships, but in terms of buying local service ads or pay-per-click ads or anything else like that, pop-up commercials, zero, zero dollars on it. Let's not get into the knee deep weeds. I'm going to sum it up here, and I want you to follow these steps and let us know how it worked for you. Let's start with number one, understanding the referral partners' problems. I started by identifying the common problems that our current chiropractors who refer to us told us they had with injury lawyers. This included a lack of communication, delayed case resolution, and fee disputes. In other words, we've been on a listening tour. Number two, personal engagement. I arranged lunches with other local chiropractors to discuss their issues without promoting our practice. And this fostered trust and understanding. You know, when you're a marketing expert and a business building expert, like you can help a lot of small businesses in your area. So why not start with those guys and gals who are referring you cases, no matter what your practice area is? Like there's things you know just because you're reading this book that they don't know and that you could share with them. Number three, direct mail campaign. We are big on direct mail at Ben Glasslaw. We love Jurassic Marketing. They do handle a lot of our direct mail pieces for us, and we mail a lot. I created a direct mail campaign targeting chiropractors within a 10 mile radius, addressing their specific problems, again, that they had told us about on their listening tour and offering our services as solutions. My team ensured letters bypassed gatekeepers by personalizing them with the assistant's name. Again, it takes a little bit of work, but this is all very doable. This is grassroots marketing at its core. Next, generated generating responses. Out of the 60 letters sent, 12 chiropractors responded and met me for lunch, resulting in three new referrals worth approximately$36,000 in the first week alone. Thus an immediate 5,900% ROI. Ultimately, this campaign generated four new consistent referral sources, and we have it on rinse and repeat twice a year. Now listen out, like we set up the system, we created it, we did all the work at the beginning, and now we just push go twice a year. Next step, leveraging relationships. I emphasize maintaining and expanding these relationships through continuous engagement, including the follow-up communications and value-driven interactions. Next, scalability and adapt adaptation. I suggest that this referral strategy can be adapted to other legal fields and service-oriented businesses by identifying and solving referral partners' problems. Next, shifting the marketing focus. I highlight the strategy shift from digital marketing to personalized relationship building, which significantly bolstered my firm's referral network and revenue. That's it. That's the whole strategy. Steal it. Then contact me to show you to show us how you made it better. This was for us and it should be for you. A compelling reminder that understanding and addressing the specific needs of your referral partners can yield incredibly high returns. This is marketing. This is like advanced marketing 101. I'll tell you that. When you lead with value and personal engagement, you develop robust referral networks that far surpass traditional marketing efforts. All right, next time, chapter 19, what you can learn from my attorney mastermind groups.
SPEAKER_01:That's it for today's episode of the Renegade Lawyer Podcast, where we're rewriting the rules of what it means to build a great law practice and a great life. If something sparked a new idea or gave you clarity, pass it on. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who's ready to think bigger. Want more tools, strategies, and stories from the trenches? Visit GreatLegalMarketing.com or connect with Ben Glass and the team on LinkedIn. Keep building boldly. We'll see you next time.
