Sarah Parisi:
Don't feel intimidated. I'm not afraid to go up to anybody and talk to them.
Sonya Palmer:
Entering the room is not enough. To succeed, you must own it. And if you're a woman in law especially in a male-dominated field like personal injury, owning the room starts by unlearning the idea that you should shrink.
Sarah Parisi:
Especially for conferences where MTMP, NTL, don't be fearful of initiating conversations or pausing if you see somebody talking and you want to go up to them, small introductions.
Sonya Palmer:
Sarah Parisi doesn't stand behind the camera. She owns what goes on it. As VP of Media for Rankings.io, she's helped shape legal brands that run millions in ad spend. The billboards, broadcasts, the campaigns that make a name unforgettable. She knows exactly what it takes to be seen and more importantly to be remembered. And it all starts right in front of you.
Sarah Parisi:
Put your phones away. The goal is for you to actually make the most out of this networking experience, be present. I think laughing and being in the moment and just acknowledging people directly while removing the distractions.
Sonya Palmer:
Sarah teaches us that taking up space starts with presence, body language, eye contact, the willingness to say hello even when you're nervous, especially when you're nervous.
Sarah Parisi:
But walking into a room and just smiling, looking approachable, how about that? And then having a topic of conversation where if I see somebody, it's, oh my gosh, I've been wanting to say hello to this person for so long. You go up and you immediately, you remember, it's not just say, "Hey, let's do dinner." Don't make them have any other commitments. Have a good conversation with them and ask, "Hey, I'd love to hear more about this." You want to be that person that they see as somebody who has an understanding of the information and the background, the topics at hand. But then also you could have a true, trustworthy, open, honest conversation with.
Sonya Palmer:
This is LawHer, powered by Rankings.io. Each week we explore how women in the legal industry own power faster and keep it longer. I am Sonya Palmer, senior vice president of operations at Rankings.io, where we help you claim your rightful place at the top. For women navigating professional spaces, reading the room is a power move, knowing exactly when your words will land with maximum impact.
Sarah Parisi:
When you go in and you have something you want to say, you better have your five bullet points down and they better make sense. Oftentimes always tie that to a financial element because ultimately that is the bridge for the C-Suite to understand your need. When I started at my first agency, this was 2011, it was newer and there were processes, things that weren't completely, totally put into place, but it was evolving. At this point in time, there were no directors, there were no titles yet. You knew that there was somebody who did production and then you had a CEO and a CFO. Reading the room was something that I really pulled together and started to practice because there were topics that I wanted to address or processes that I wanted to suggest, and you need to wait for the appropriate time and you need to suggest those times. I'm coming in as a young 22-year-old.
Sonya Palmer:
Letting your light shine doesn't mean talking over everyone. It means knowing when the room is ready for what you have to offer and then offering it boldly, not when they let you, when you know it's time.
Sarah Parisi:
I think for me it was difficult because I'm coming from an area of anytime I spoke, people would just turn and listen. But in a job that's not realistic. Everybody's not going to drop everything they do just so they can hear your great idea. So reading a room is something that I've really practiced and now I'm really partial to it. I credit that to as part of my success.
Sonya Palmer:
Sarah didn't grow into her confidence. She came with it. A rainbow dress, a plastic mic and a voice that knew how to carry, but even the brightest lights can be dim when we're told to fit in.
Sarah Parisi:
I grew up in a little tiny town called Orlinda, Tennessee, which is about 30 minutes north of Nashville. Oh gosh, 8-year-old Sarah was full of color. I loved all colors. I had this one rainbow dress that my mom refused to let me wear more than two days in a row and I would throw a fit. I loved jellies, if anybody can remember jellies. I was always very comfortable in front of a camera or a microphone. There's a photo of me where I was probably four years old standing on my parents' fireplace hearth with my Little Tikes microphone and boombox just singing. It's just something that's always come naturally for me and I was just very outgoing. I was a lot.
Sonya Palmer:
What Sarah learned early is that you don't have to contort to be seen. It's tempting to twist yourself to fit the mold, but every time you do, your light dims just a little. Sarah chose to shine instead. Even when it meant walking away.
Sarah Parisi:
When I was younger, it just clicked in my mind instantly when it was, I was always kind of a bit eclectic with styles and outfits in the late '90s, it was super fun. Blue lipstick even came in and they were like, "Oh no, you can't wear that for that." I was like, "All right, well, it was nice knowing you. Nice meeting you guys. I'm ready to go home now. I'm not trying to fit into your little box."
Sonya Palmer:
Success requires commitment to clarity, consistency and confidence. Once you commit to showing up, you better mean it.
Sarah Parisi:
If I was going to ask for something, then I had to be committed to it because if I went to my mom and dad and said, because I did this a couple of times where whether I wanted to, it was the modeling age work. You've got these talent agencies that are coming after you. And I really wanted to go to this one audition that was in downtown Nashville and I had asked my parents, we had to wake up, I think it was like 5:30 in the morning, get ready, go down there. There's hundreds of girls. You're talking parking, and all this expense. And I hadn't really thought or considered, A the expense, but B, the additional time that my parents were going to be putting into it.
I realized, my mom told me the night before, she's like, "If this is something you want to do, just know you have to go through with it all the way. This isn't like where you said you wanted to play softball and then you're like, oh, just kidding. I don't like sports. We will do this for you and we'll support you, but you have to commit." I just really took that to heart. It allowed me to also be skeptical. At a young age, I am scrutinizing the situation. Am I happy sitting here? Which isn't something that I think a lot of kids think about whenever they go into something. I just remember this lady looking up after it was all said and done and she glanced over me and I didn't like the way that felt, which sounds so bratty, but as a child I was like, no, I don't like that woman, so I don't want to do this one anymore. Because once you signed up, there was travel involved, there was all these things.
And so I was taught very early on to be skeptical, but `knowing that I had their supportm but I have to be committed. When I look back on my life and what I wanted... Do you remember the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?
Sonya Palmer:
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Parisi:
I loved that movie for several several reasons. For one, a magazine, being an editor, writing, I've always loved to write, I've always liked to talk, but I also liked the challenge that was presented because he doesn't know that she doesn't know, they don't know that they're both playing a game with each other. She's trying to make him lose his mind and he's just trying to get a deal sign and it's just this thing of, it's like a game and who's going to win? Obviously there's the love story behind it and the beautiful yellow dress, but that was my one indication. I felt, okay, I know that I want to do something where my voice is heard, whether that be writing in a magazine or if it is an advertising like what Matthew McConaughey was doing.
Sonya Palmer:
Sarah didn't dream of media strategy, but she understood the power of a message. Armed with an advertising degree and a clear voice, she took her first agency job and stayed for more than a decade. In an industry dominated by male voices, she became the one shaping what the world sees.
Sarah Parisi:
The first agency was specializing in attorney advertising. I stayed there for 11 years. I really grew into it. I loved it. I think for the most part, it's not so much about the advertising part for attorneys, it's just I understood the media landscape and when you're going in advertising, you can go the route of media or creative. I am a very analytical minded, not so much creative, and I really found my groove. That's what caught my attention first and I learned about the TV stations and the different markets and what all comes together to build a good media buy.
I had that drive that just took me off and I became director of local, and then I started doing Mass Torts, director of national, and then I just decided, you know what? I want to do something different. Wasn't sure what that was going to be. Chris Dreier's just a gem, and he just kept in contact with me and was like, "Hey, what are you doing? Hey, so I'm thinking about adding this to my services menu. Hey, you want to come over here?" And I'm like, let's do it. Let's go.
Sonya Palmer:
In a field where marketing often over promises and under delivers, Sarah's power comes from something rare, transparency. The kind that invites connection, not just conversion.
Sarah Parisi:
In this space, there has been a lot, a lot of trust issues lately. It comes down from the marketing vendors and the attorneys, there's this disconnect of knowledge. There's this disconnect of knowing where things come from and how their leads are being generated, what tools. We don't have to give the playbook out, but I think that the personal connection of talking with them about their campaigns or about what practice, what businesses that you are working with or partnering up with, Torts that you're working on or campaigns which markets you're in, giving credence to the fact that you are indeed the one conducting the marketing campaigns. That it's not some third-party company, and that you do have the ethical notion and you want to provide a service that is by the books because if anything, you don't want them to get in trouble.
And so there's been a big issue with trust lately and I think that that's part of the reason why when I walk into these rooms that I am just so forward and friendly because I don't want there to ever be a situation in which an attorney is hesitant to ask me a specific question about marketing and what something means. Rankings has been truly wonderful because they've actually... And you and Chris initiated this process of offering out a complimentary audit. And so I'm able to sit down with these people and say, "Let me actually tell you what this means." And it's like blowing their minds. It's like nobody has sat down with them and told them before, which is unfortunate. When I look back over my career and how many campaigns that I've done and who I've worked for and who I've represented, to this day, I've still never led or planned a marketing campaign for a female-owned firm, which is wild to think about.
Sonya Palmer:
Wild.
Sarah Parisi:
Now there's been female partners and if you just to throw out some of the big names in the personal injury game, it's never been just one female branded firm.
Sonya Palmer:
That number, again, zero, after more than a decade in legal advertising. According to the ABA, women make up just 2% of sole equity partners in PI firms. But in Mass Torts, Sarah is seeing a shift.
Sarah Parisi:
Then you switch over to Mass Torts and it's like I see a big female shift there, especially when you talk about those that command the room and those who are leading the initiative on some of these new Torts and or old Torts for that matter, anything from roundup forward. So that's a big shift, but it hasn't necessarily evolved a lot. I would say that there's more opportunity here. I don't know if it's because females aren't going into this specific field of law, to which I would encourage them to. I mean, if we're going to be clear here, nursing home abuse, even personal injury. As a natural caretaker as having this a nurturing ability and being a woman, you have the ability to really explode your referrals just by the way that you handle a case and the way you make your clients feel because the way you make them feel, they're going to voice that.
They're going to talk to their family and friends and they're going to make them see how connected you are now, how this was personal and how you really served them. It's not, all right, oh yeah, they got me good money. This is who you need to call. It also just says, oh wow, they care. I would just really encourage those females who are out there thinking about what area of law to go into, knowing that the baby boomer generation is upon us, they're aging. Unfortunately, that nursing homes are a big part of that aging process for the children that can't take care of them. Nursing home abuse, I have witnessed it.
Sonya Palmer:
Behind every statistic is a story and for Sarah, this one is personal.
Sarah Parisi:
My grandmother was abused in a nursing home, although I was younger and I just really found out the horrors and traumatics of it where after college and my parents finally come out and told me. It happens. Those that are aged, they kind of go back in time where their children, they need to be taken care of, they need an advocate. They need somebody to stand there when your kids are in California, but yet your mom's in Pennsylvania in the nursing home because that's where you're from. They need an advocate, somebody to fight for them and to ring the alarm. That goes for auto cases as well. When you've been injured in an accident, I think that women can really, really speak to the damages more so emotionally and mentally than men could.
Sonya Palmer:
From Las Vegas to Tennessee, the legal ad space is crowded. Billboards full of men in suits promising to fight for your rights, but in that sea of sameness, being a woman is a brand in itself. Think Amanda to Demanda, pink heels, fearless messaging and an immediate presence you can't ignore. Visibility isn't reserved for the biggest firms. Even if you are not billboard ready, own who you are and know that your difference is your power.
Sarah Parisi:
How do you get started? Where does the liquid capital come from? How can we help you build a bigger branding empire? It's really stemming back to look around you and see all of these competitors in your market. Use that kind of financial mindset to know that this is an ROI that you can turn that back into. You just keep pushing the machine, throwing it into the machine. Get yourself a good marketing company that sees what you'd be able to do in your market by just presenting yourselves as a woman and just being on-screen as a female. If you have that drive or you have that calling about you, if this is something you've been toying with, just know you're not going to strike out. You're not going to strike out. If anything, your marketing is going to take off because you're rare.
Sonya Palmer:
For the women already doing the work, taking the cases, building the firms, the next step is making sure your community can see you. That's what media and TV especially makes possible.
Sarah Parisi:
I'm big into TV and I obviously local broadcast television is my specialty. That's my jam. It's if I was a restaurant, that'd be my dish that I made. Broadcast, if you look at the ratings and daytime programming, because I know I'd be literally speaking to my audience, to the stay-at-home moms, to the ones who have to deal with not only their children but their parents, their grandparents. Look at everything from a cost per thousand to see how many thousands of eyeballs you can reach. Now that's what you're [inaudible 00:17:28], how much is it going to cost me to reach 1,000 eyeballs? That's cost per thousand. Don't shy away from broadcast television. In fact, if you have any curiosities indication, I know YouTube TV, my parents have YouTube TV now, which is mind-blowing. So that's how they watch their local channels, but funnily enough, go ahead and Google the sale increase of antennas. It's mind-blowing. Best Buy down the road, they were sold out last weekend.
Sonya Palmer:
Practice gives you permission to show up, to mess up, to shine anyway. The only thing standing between you and the spotlight is the choice to step into it.
Sarah Parisi:
A lot of it is fear of public speaking or getting on camera saying the wrong thing. Practice it in front of the mirror, sit down and record yourself talking and speaking to whatever topics it is that either you are wanting to communicate to others or maybe you're like, "Oh, I think I'd be really good at this, but I'm coming in a little bit late." Whatever. Get all the material together, educate yourself and then practice it. Say it out loud. You're not being silly. It's not ridiculous. What you want there is to improve. I had a good partner of mine that once said, "Just like football players, they watch the film." Watch the film, and then that by default it gives you more confidence because you've seen yourselves, you know your cues. I promise you, nobody is looking at you or paying attention for your fault as much as you are. You are your biggest critic.
Sonya Palmer:
[inaudible 00:19:12].
Sarah Parisi:
There's nothing holding you back except yourself. Starve your distractions, feed your focus. Let's play ball. Let's go.
Sonya Palmer:
Your voice deserves the room. Your story deserves the spotlight and your brand deserves to be seen loudly, boldly, unapologetically. Subscribe to LawHer and share the story with those who help you shine a little brighter.
Sarah Parisi:
Always remember that there is somebody right behind you ready to rebuke whatever you're spitting out. For me, it's a not stop learning. I just actually, I signed up for MasterClass two weeks ago and I am loving it. If you don't stop learning and if you commit to learning something new, a new software or a new language or a new area, if you stop, if you stop studying, if you stop learning, then it's not going to be hard to have somebody come up and cut you off because they're going to know more than you. And to be and remain in that power seat, you have to grow and learn. The only thing that's preventing you are your other distractions.
