I was sitting in a break-out session at a very prestigious law conference when an older lawyer asked, “what is marketing? I just don’t get it.”

Out of my mouth, faster than than I could think, I said, “it’s just like dating.”

And it is.

Marketing is like trying to get that first meeting to turn into a lasting, committed relationship.

Go ahead, chuckle, but it is true.

Think back to when you started dating. You went places where you knew you would meet eligible partners: parties, social events, church. Any where that you thought single, eligible, like-minded people would meet. Even online, right?

Then when you saw someone you were interested in meeting, you tried to figure out an opening line–a common interest. You started a conversation, listened intently to what that person was interested in and then if you asked them to go on a date and begin to develop a relationship.

Well, some of us are better at dating than others.

And that’s what legal marketers do: we are legal matchmakers. We give you the place, the date, the list of common interests. We will even teach you how to ask someone out on that second date.

But we can’t guarantee that you will end up in a long-term committed relationship.

That’s up to you.