The Power of PITA

Let's talk about PITA as preemption. What one won’t do tells us everything we need to know. What another person will do that others refuse to do tells us even more.

Anyone remember when the phrase ‘Lazy Man’ was money? Lazy Man’s guide to this and Lazy Man’s guide to that. Legendary direct marketer Joe Karbo made a lot of money making laziness cool.

Inventors simplify things, lighten our load, make it easier to do less and get more done.

In the personal injury law space, “set it and forget it” seems to be the ideal. Less bother, less work, less focus, less energy extended. Efficiency—simplicity! Richard Koch wrote a brilliant book showing that simplifying processes and products is the secret of massive wealth. Ray Kroc, Steve Jobs and Henry Ford were all great simplifiers.

Do less, get more. All good stuff. No flies on any of it.

Oh, but then let's not forget hard work. Nothing beats hard work. Every day, here on Linkedin, John Morgan extolls the virtues of hard work, dedication and persistence. And who dares gainsay him? His firm is massive. If anybody knows what it takes to make it it's got to be John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan.

And yet.

We have simplicity and “laziness” on one side and hard work on the other.

Can I propose a third path—called PITA? It's useful in certain situations. PITA is a preemptive strategy where you differentiate yourself by doing what nobody else is willing to do.

PITA, of course stands for “pain in the ass”, something you will avoid if you can. PITA is a solid form of preemptive positioning, subliminal messaging. It says a lot about you that only you take these actions. That you do certain things the hard way on purpose, shunning the easy way.

I mentioned last week that in the bad ol’ days when lawyers would sign up every case and ignore their calls for months at a time, a client of mine decided to call them first.

That was a PITA and a very powerful marketing distinction. So many powerful messages landed in one second.

Here’s another: sending a letter. Many of us are connected on Facebook. Suddenly you discover that a friend's mother has died. Boy do you see the hearts and "so sorry for your loss" messages by the dozen. What wonderful caring people who clicked that heart button three times. Some people, making sure to show how deeply affected they are and just how much they care hit that heart button five times or more!

Sending a heartfelt letter is much harder. Finding the words can be agonizing. And yet, this is a way of extending yourself that the grieving person might appreciate as compared to rote, easy messages.

Personalized thank you cards are another. So few people bother. It's kind of old school. You have to take pen in hand, think about what to say the person who did you a good turn, hopefully something winning, or funny or heartfelt. Then you have to put it in an envelope, slap a stamp on it and walk out to the mailbox.

Who would go to such bother? Not so many people any more. Isn't an email just as good?

PITA is being willing to do what others won't. How many heartfelt handwritten notes did YOU receive in the mail last year?

Suppose a client sends you a case. Obviously you want to thank them. Tell the truth right now. Would you look for the easiest way to get it across so you know you’ve done it and can cross it off your list?

Or would you say, let me create the most powerful, impactful, meaningful way of recognizing, thanking and acknowledging this amazing person who extended themselves to help another?

What's the mindset? I have the privilege and honor of serving another person. How do I thank them so they know deep inside how much we appreciate them?

Right now, somebody reading this article might be thinking of a mechanical signature machine that creates a quality feel almost as if a real person signed it. Another person might be thinking of getting ten signatures on that card, from the name partner and the lawyer who handled the case to the receptionist and the Connection Superstar.

What about sending a letter a year after your client's disbursal. Saying wow it's been a year. It was a tough fight and we won. So great to have met you and worked with you. All the best now and always.

Suppose the case manager inserted a few details from the carefully curated file showing care and making it personal. That's a lot of bother. You could also send a generic letter or card that is one size fits all and has an almost convincing blue ink mechanical signature.

The person receiving that card might conclude just beneath conscious thought that it's impressive how real looking that fake signature is. They will of course also know that you could not be bothered to send a real signature. Maybe it's worth the PITA to send a real signature. What do you think?

But but but that's hundreds of personalized cards we'd have to send out. Yeah, that's why it's called PITA. Maybe it will be thousands some day. Surely nobody could be expected not to automate such a bothersome bulk action?

What do people say when you shock them with kindness?

"You didn’t have to go to all that trouble."

Exactly the point. What is the subliminal message when you go to the trouble nobody else would go to? And what does it cost you? We all put a lot of time and thought and money into differentiating our business. This is a way to powerfully differentiate yourself permanently, for one person, with a tiny PITA gesture.

What if instead of some off the shelf cards at the business supply place, you found the most talented local card making artist and had them make handcrafted cards just for you.

What if it was a heartfelt message signed by several people? What if the address and return address were written in a neat hand and several beautiful commemorative stamps in various amounts were pasted up in the top right corner.

Would it have visual impact? Would it be memorable? Would they appreciate the card and the sentiment behind it and that you went ahead and took actions nobody else would bother to take? That's a fairly minor PITA to do. Which is more important when appreciating a client—how easy it is for you or how much impact it has?

What about staying in touch after a case closes? You want that person to remember you and all you did for them and all it meant. You want them to come back if—God forbid—they are ever injured again. And you want them to always think of you when they hear of anyone in a wreck.

You want their referrals forever. You can always hope.

So what do you do? Monthly email blasts? Call it a newsletter if it makes you feel better? Does an email blast have the potential to sustain the feelz? Or is it obviously the cheap and easy way for you to cross an item off a list? I'm not saying emails are not ever appropriate. I'm saying if you send nothing but emails they lose all impact.

A different PITA is when a big potential case calls in, meets or talks to the partner, and the prospect says they have to think about it. And then suddenly are unreachable. In a major law firm this happens with some frequency even though the top partners usually have great skill at reeling them in.

But their closing ratio is not 100%. Looking in one side of the telescope, you can say that we are really great at landing the big ones. We get almost all of them.

Looking through the other end of the telescope we ask, how can we get the ones that wiggled off the hook? Each one is worth fighting for.

What do we know so far in a situation like this? They have a major matter worth pursuing, which would represent a significant fee when finally resolved. They talked to you then went away. Now they are not responding to calls, texts or emails.

Oh well, you can’t get them all, right? You’ve done all you can, right?

I was probably the first person to recommend the solution which many law firms now call a ‘shock and awe’ box. Its purpose is to interrupt the current mental focus of the prospective client who is ghosting you and snap them back into openness to working with you. The shock and awe box is dramatic, mysterious, unusual, expensive—and impossible to ignore.

Because from where you stand when the big case is going South, it’s already over UNLESS. What would you be willing to do to pull that case out of the fire?

Maybe you would be able to catch an additional four major cases a year if you went to the PITA of creating a “shock and awe” box.

They are expensive to conceive of and make. You have to work with graphic designers and printing. Maybe put a burner phone in there. Or a video player. It can cost $300 per unit or more.

What a PITA! Yup. It's a hell of a PITA.

But isn’t the real question, who else would go to the trouble? Whereas you have the clear logic justifying the expense and bother, so many others would not be able to commit to sending a $300 box that might do nothing. But, if it works one out of five times it's probably your highest ROI marketing move of all.

So is the PITA justified?

Simplicity and "set and forget it" are perfect where they are perfect. Nothing beats hard work. And, sometimes going against the grain is the way to stand out. Because if your idea of being different is doing what everyone else is doing, you ain't that different.

If you are willing to do what your competitors will consider to be nothing but a PITA, that says a lot about you. And the one who is not willing will never realize the rewards.