Self-Imposed Legal Marketing

Would legal marketing be easier if you were contractually obligated - to yourself - to do so?  How effective would your client development efforts be if you would be required to pay cash if you failed to meet your marketing goals?  One of the biggest obstacles to legal marketing is is the time commitment it requires.  Attorneys are generally busy, due to billable hours, case demands, transactional demands, and other obligations.  The result is that many lawyers fail to engage in any meaningful business development.  Yet neglecting this aspect of practicing law usually creates problems down the road.  As one marketer has emphasized, engaging in marketing activity every day is crucial - especially when one is busy.  So what is the solution for busy lawyers?

One relatively new company allows you to enter into a contract with yourself.  At StickK.com (founded in February of 2008), you can enter into a "Commitment Contract" - e.g., to obtain a law marketing goal - and create an incentive for yourself to reach that goal by agreeing that a certain entity or individual you choose will receive a certain sum of money if you fail to achieve that goal.  StickK takes credit card information from registrants and will transmit your money to your designated recipient (minus fees and costs) if you fail to keep your commitment to yourself.  According to TechCrunch, (1) users of StickK are on the rise, with approximately 42,000 registrants; and (2) the system of committing, reporting, and putting money at risk appears to be effective, with an 80% success rate.

If you're not currently achieving your law marketing goals, you may want to consider gaining leverage on yourself by putting your money where your mouth is and using StickK.

Disclosure: I haven't personally used StickK, but the concept is intriguing.  Has anyone used StickK or a similar system?