E335 - PI in the legal space is extremely competitive with many opportunities and needs to be thoroughly diagnosed | with Chris Dreyer

The One Big Tip Podcast with Jeff Mendelson

Chris Dreyer is the CEO and Founder of Rankings.io, one of the most successful SEO agencies in the country that help elite personal injury law firms land serious injury and auto accident cases through Google’s organic search results. His company has the distinction of making the Inc. 5000 list five years in a row. He is also a Podcast Host and Author of Niching Up: The Narrower the Market, the Bigger the Prize. He believes that great opportunities come to those who simplify. Chris reveals ways to continue growth and success by focusing on a streamlined, specialized market and reducing prospects, discrediting the myths associated with selecting a specific target.

Chris has always been super competitive, playing baseball as a shortstop and pitcher, and basketball where he was the captain of their conference. He thought that he was going to stay in the athletic space and be a college coach. But life had other plans, he went to college and the first time he was on his way to the detention room he Googled how to make money online and found Ed Dale's course on how to make your first $10 in the digital market and that got him hooked. He decided to focus on the data-based space as 70% of his revenue was coming from less than 40% of his clientele, which was personal injury. People paid for that expertise as one of the most competitive niches. In the legal industry, there's a lot of money in PI.

Chris knew if he wanted to be remarkable, he had to be focused. He went deeper and saw different opportunities. Increasing his prices and getting better profit margins through efficiencies and illuminating waste. While working with PI attorneys he understood how to provide specific value. As the majority of personal injury attornies get their revenue through auto accidents, that was a serious challenge but because he was in that space he knew how to navigate and recommend it to his clients to pivot to other areas of the law. Being specific is very important as people like to do business with those who are similar to you, but being in a certain niche doesn't mean you have to say no to every single opportunity. It means you have the option to choose those that you can serve with purpose and passion.

Chris didn’t realize that the PI space was so competitive and had so many opportunities until he got into the legal space. He believes the more competent you are, the more your confidence grows and that prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. His company thoroughly diagnoses any opportunity before getting started, getting the deepest understanding so that they can create the most value. Choosing between going a productization route where it's repeatable and you get commoditized, or going deeper and having a bespoke offering that's specific or custom to that individual and that's what they've done thorough diagnosis. Becoming the choice so people intentionally seek their business and expertise.

In this episode:

[02:02] Chris shares how he made a shift from a competitive sportsman to the digital market.

• Playing baseball as a shortstop and basketball as the captain of their conference.
• Sitting in detention and Googled how to make money online, which hooked him.

[04:46] Chris decided to jump head-first into the niche of personal injury lawyers.

• How digital marketers think they can make a mark in that space.
• Increasing his prices and getting better profit margins through illuminating waste.

[07:18] Chris was perfecting his craft while constantly facing changes.

• While working with PI attorneys, Chris understood how to provide specific value.
• Be specific, as people like to do business with those who are similar to you.

[10:15] The PI space is so competitive with so much opportunity, especially in the legal space.

• Your confidence increases the more competent you are.
• Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.

[15:47] How you can flip every downside into a positive.

• The best way to get referrals is to give referrals.
• Don’t dilute your value by segmenting the time you need to be dedicated to your genius.

[20:09] Chris explains how cycles occur in the agency space and treating people with integrity.

• Giving the most truthful information available and the power to say no.
• Being able to serve your clients at a much higher level.