Chris Dreyer:
Welcome to Gold Medal Moments on Personal InjuryMastermind. This special miniseries highlights my favorite lessons from thetrailblazers and thought leaders who will speak live at the inaugural PIMCon,the Personal Injury Mastermind Conference. Trust me, you don't want to missthem. Join me September 15th through 17th in Scottsdale. I'm your host, ChrisDreyer. Over the next two weeks, I'll be sharing can't-miss insights andbite-sized pieces to help get your firm from good to GOAT.
Few have mastered the art of branding quite like AmandaDemanda. Her journey from Big Tobacco marketing to community-focused law hastaught her an important lesson, working backward from your target audience. Herunique selling position for USP is tailored to connect with her targetaudience. Spanish ads, pink branding, and the high heels won't attract everyclient and that's good. She's focused on serving the Hispanic community andwomen in Miami.
Every move from her daily Spanish language show to hercommunity service initiatives is calculated to serve and engage her targetmarket and it works. In four years, her firm has grown to 25 employees, over1,000 cases won and over 500,000,000 recovered for her clients. Get ahead ofthe competition with highlights from the GOAT of unique selling propositions,Amanda Demanda. To hear Amanda live at PEMCON, secure your spot at PEMCON.org.Use code PIMAMANDA for $200 off your ticket. Let the Gold Medal Moments begin.
Amanda Demanda:
I wasn't one of those people that actually dreamt that Iwas going to be an attorney because I didn't have any attorneys in my family.I'm first generation in Miami, so I kind of always knew that I'd like torepresent my community and be very involved in community service. And I thrivearound people. Because everyone's like, "Well, when I grow up, I want tobe a doctor. I want to be an astronaut." I really didn't know. I love art,I love fashion. I'm very good at marketing. I did marketing before I was anattorney. So all those different careers or past things I took up, I think whatwas the perfect recipe for me to decide to be where I need to be. So I can'tsay it really came from any specific place, but it's definitely my life's work.It's all kind of rolled into this what I... I mean, I love what I do. I love mylife. I love the struggles that even come with owning a business and a lawfirm. I just enjoy it all.
Chris Dreyer:
That's incredible, and it shows. It definitely shows and Ilove your content, your Instagram, your YouTube videos. And in terms of wherethe people are at, so me and my wife were like, "Hey, we need to get outof the bad weather in Illinois." So we went and stayed in Coral Gables inMiami for January to February and is definitely chaos. It went from slow, notraffic to, "Oh, this is where people are at."
Amanda Demanda:
I know. It's so crazy when... So a lot of people say,"I hate Miami." I'm like, "Well, then leave. It's not for you,it's not for you. Go somewhere else." I remember going to law school up inGainesville in Florida, University of Florida, and I lived relatively close tothe law school. I would get in the car and by the time I got to my apartment, Ithink there was only one traffic light and it would be green sometimes, and Iwas kind of upset that I didn't even hit the red light because I couldn't evenhear one song on the radio. I couldn't decompress. I'm used to decompressing intraffic and I was just like, "Okay, I'm home. Now I must go to the gymright away." I had no time to... So I use it to cope. I mean, I love beingaround people. I really thrive around people. I know that about myself, so Iput myself in those situations and it's comfortable for me. That's not foreverybody, I understand that.
Chris Dreyer:
Tell me a little bit about your professional life inmarketing before you became an attorney. You said you had that background. Didthat help you with building the brand? And you've got an amazing brand, verydistinctive. Tell me about that experience.
Amanda Demanda:
Totally. I mean, I graduate University of Miami in threeyears, type A personality, did it quick, going to go work. And I thought I wasgoing to go to law school, but again, I didn't know any attorneys, so Igenuinely did not know oddly and weirdly enough how attorneys made money. So itwas like a foreign concept to me to jump into that because my family worked inlabor and schools and it was just very day-to-day jobs. So I was like,"I'm going to go get marketing work." And I started working indifferent places, but the one that I gained a lot of experience was fromworking for Big Tobacco and just doing trade shows in Las Vegas. Everything ittook from the packaging of the cigarettes to the photo shoot behind thecampaigns, to understanding the target market of who smokes what. Like thementhol cigarettes, if you're competing with Kool, that's in the urban marketas opposed to the old school...The red brands and things like that are more forthe older generation or the farmers.
I mean, it's a crazy industry, believe or not, that I was inthat, but I also did a lot. I worked for a direct sales company that doeswomen's products, oil products and shampoos and things like that way before,and I got to understand how direct sales works, which is kind of like the Avonand the Mary Kay. It's not direct to consumer, it's through your sales force.And then in the tobacco industry, it was more related to business to business.You're selling directly to huge distributors. So the trade shows that werebuilt would be for a guy who owns 200 7-11s, a chain or something like that inthe whole southeast and would he carry your cigarette and what shelf is hegoing to put it at and how much he's going to buy and all that stuff.
But we were very involved from the ad agency to thecreative to the actual finance that's involved in marketing. So I got a bigidea of that and the budgets for marketing and tobacco are insane, but you'realso very limited in what you could say or do. So it was very interesting tohave that background because I said, "My God, if I can brand or marketsuch a controlled substance or product, I can market anything." So havingto do advertising for an attorney brand, which is very limited by the statebars, comes very easy to me.
You actually get away with a lot more than tobacco does. Ialso worked for Assisted Living, it's a big company down here. And they werethe top luxury, very thorough with their services. So I kind of worked inmarketing to consumer products, business to business, and then direct toconsumer and services where there's more of a level of compassion andunderstanding the person element from it, not just getting the factory to putout something on the shelf. So all that background I've taken and kind ofmerged it into what my brand is and make sure that we treat every avenue ofwhat we do with some regards to the concepts learned there. So it really alljust lives in my head now, but that's kind of the background in marketing.
Chris Dreyer:
Basically, in that short clip was like a masterclass ofplanning. You talked about demographics and psychographics and your messagingand creative. I think so many attorneys, so many law firm owners, they go andthey're like, "Oh, I'm going to do TV," or "I'm going to dosocial media," and it's like the creative's an afterthought. They startwith the channel first. Your marketing is very distinctive, but the first thingI wanted to lean into is you said the word community, you've said I think atleast several times so far. Is that one of the reasons that kind of drew you tohave a heavy presence on social media? Because unlike TV, you can actuallybuild a community on social media.
Amanda Demanda:
Absolutely. I think that we are living in a time that it'sso easy to really get to your community without having to maybe physically bethere, even though my... That's one of our core values, commitment tocommunity. Because even in high school, I got scholarships for doing the mostcommunity service hours. I thrive being around people and I don't mind doingthe work. I find it fun. So even though we do a lot of the community service inactual person, like now at the end of July, we're doing this massive backpackgiveaway and we give all these foster kids backpacks, $100 to Old Navy, $100 tothe grocery. So they start school with everything they need, and we do thisalong with a foster charity, which is great, and you'll see more of that stuffon my content.
But reaching your community in a way that they could justget to know you personally, I tell everybody in my generation, "If you'renot on social media, then you don't exist anymore." It's not about,"My business is a little behind on that." No, your business does notexist because what happens is that social media, even though I may not have themost followers or most views and most likes, that's irrelevant. I don't needthem to follow me. If they see my commercial, if they hear about me, if someonerecommends them, that they go and they find me and they say, "Yeah, she'sreal." It's just validation. You don't have to get so hyper-focused on,"Was the content the best? Did it get the most views?" Just have apresence. It's literally a business card on every platform you can have it. Ithink it's short-sighted to not have that. And we can have different brands.
Some people could be like, "I'm more professional. Idon't do the cheeky stuff. I don't do a TikTok dance." That's fine. Thatcould be your personality and your brand. Our brands have a personality. Ialways say I created Amanda Demanda and her persona, and I work for her. So Ican have an off day when it comes to that brand. I think that social media isparamount to really accelerating yourself with your community because theyalso... Just like when you're in front of a jury that they're expectingtechnology, it's like they see it everywhere. Even my grandma's going throughFacebook. If you don't have technology or you're not on the social media, tothem, it's going to be almost like you're lazy about it. You didn't have timeto really just set up a page and show me your picture or tell me who you are.Even when we do with a website, you guys do the websites, you do a great job atit. It all ties in together. We're just in a world of technology and theinternet.
Chris Dreyer:
We're more interconnected, right? It's through the mobiledevice and there is community and it's different, though. I would say if youwere speaking to maybe the old guard, the old guard that got in 20 years agowhen TV was so concentrated, there wasn't streaming and that style ofcommercial. Not to say you can't have fun and introduce a new element on TV,but there's that style and then there's the style personalization, the hooks onsocial media and the trends and things like that. What would you tell the oldguard? Do they need to try to do it themselves and just be authentic? Or dothey get the marketing team? Do they hire marketing specialists to come in anddo it for them?
Amanda Demanda:
You kind of mentioned it before. You can't just say,"I'm going to buy 20 ad spots on TV tomorrow." And what are youputting on there? Who are you? You have to start with brand, and I thinkthere's still very much a space for that boring old guy who's just a trial...Because the same way when you're in trial and you're presenting a case, I couldsee an opening statement by someone, I'm like, "Wow, I got to dothat." But then I go say it and it's not genuine. It's not my story. Idon't have the southern twang. I can't do what that guy did. I have to connectto the jury in my own way. So I would first self-analyze who you are personality-wise,brand-wise, and what do you want to convey? And who's your target? Because tome, it all starts with your target audience and then you work backwards.
If I wanted to target the Hispanic market and the women,it's okay that I want to speak in Spanish most of the time in my advertising.It's not a waste of money because I know who I'm targeting. And it's okay I usepink and it's okay that I dress a certain way, so that's fine with my targetaudience. I just think it takes a lot more of a study than people think.
And if you're just going to spend ad dollars and not dothat exercise, you're just throwing away money and you're going to becomefrustrated with the process because you may need an expert that does the moreclippy type editing for social, or you may need someone who just comes with thenice good lights and cameras and does those serious videos about a wrongfuldeath case.
It goes on your website, but also goes on your social.What's your brand? It really comes down to you understanding your brand first.We have a very clear branding guide, the colors we use, the fonts we use, thephrases we use, how we can use the logos, what modulations, whatnot. Andanybody we work with in creative, which I'm very involved in, has to live bythose guidelines because we have to retarget our audience. It used to be therule of seven. Now I don't even know how many times before they even rememberyou are a brand or a thing.
Chris Dreyer:
One of the things that people undervalue is the frequency.It's not just the distribution, it's how frequent on a particular channel. Howdo you know that it resonates? Do you do focus groups? Are you split testing?How do you know if your brand and your style guide and your messaging isresonating with your target persona, your target audience that you're trying toreach? How do you know? How do you determine if it's working or not?
Amanda Demanda:
Well, I think sometimes focus groups, like paid focusgroups can be a little bit overwhelming and expensive, the real formal ones. Andwe do a lot of... We brainstorm it with a big team and then everyone kind ofgoes out with our commercial storyboards and things of that nature to our owncommunities, be it our church or... My family's sick and tired of being like,"Okay, everyone sit down. I have to get feedback." And I'm talkingabout my family's 25 first cousins and then Tia and Tia abuela, and we're allin the Keys where we all go on the weekends or wherever. And I'm like,"Everyone listen to this commercial." And I get feedback. That's afocus group and that's my target audience. I also feel that social media,sponsored ads on social media are a really easy and cheap way to focus group ifan ad's going to work or not. You could see if it falls flat or not, if itresonated.
So I mean, I think there's cheap ways to do it, but youcould just start with your own community. I mean, we do that as attorneys whenwe mock try something in our office or with friends of ours. You could just doit with, "Hey, I have this idea," with people in your church or atyour grocery store, whatever, without having to do such a formal focus group.But there are things that require being a good focus group. I've just tended todo it more of the grassroots way. I try to find creative ways to save everybuck I can, and I produce my commercials, I do my storyboard. I'm very graphicinclined, so I could do my scripts. I know what I want to say. Some peopledon't have that.
Chris Dreyer:
There's this balance too, right? You've got a dailySpanish language show, you're doing your social clips, you're managing the firmand being a visionary, right? And I know you mentioned, "Well, I lovethis. This isn't a job." So when you're going home, you're still, oh, yousee a commercial and you're like, "Oh, I like that." Talk to me aboutthe other components of it. So from a just leverage perspective, you got tohave people to help execute for you. How do you think about the composition ofan internal team on the marketing side, on the operational side? How do youthink about building that team?
Amanda Demanda:
I reinvest in myself and I mean the firm a lot. I don'tpinch a penny where we don't have to. I'll get the top software. I'll hirepeople at competitive salaries because to us, it's about having the rightperson in the right chair and that adheres to our core values. If not, you'rejust going to continue to have to reinvent the wheel. And I don't believe inmicromanaging. I'm kind of a sink or swim person. That's kind of how I learn.So I almost... When people fail, it's okay. They're doing it on my dime,sometimes you... But if not, then you're just always going to be holding theirhand. So I've now finally been able to get some attorneys under me or workingwith me that I could fully trust, and that really made the difference to freeup my time more for all the other stuff I do.
I still practice because it's just my passion. I like agood fight with an opposing counsel and discovery and things of that nature ortaking a deposition. It's such a creative process for me because I envision thewhole case and the big picture. But when I can't be on the cases, I'm havingthose meetings with my attorneys. So just now, we had our attorney power lunchfor the week. We have one every week and we brainstorm cases. But all theattorneys I have working right now with me, were all my opposing counsel at onepoint, so they all did defense. So they know how I litigate, they know how muchI push or how crazy I am, but I also know that they're able to tolerate it andcan do it. So I think it's sometimes finding people in the places you would notthink, in that regard, is important.
But as far as my team, my admin, my C-suite, so my husbandis kind of like the finance and IT and all that other stuff that is kind ofnecessary to run a firm and I could just be the visionary. So he's watching thetrust accounts and the money, and he's more like my home office. And then mysister is my CEO and CFO really, and she's a CPA from Deloitte. She was apartner there 14 years, and I said, "Listen, I'm going too fast. You needto come." She's like, "I don't know. I'm a CPA. That's myprofession." I said, "It's okay. This is not a downgrade. This ismassive." And she came and it's been three years and it's great, but youhave to build a team that you could trust and that really aligns with yourvision. And I believe my life has a greater purpose than just my law firm and Iwant to live a life of significance.
And the way I feel I could do that through this firm isfollowing the mission of helping people and victims in my community. And it'sjust worked out. We focus a lot on the core values and trying to make it ahappy place for everyone to work on. And I know it sounds cheesy, but reallyhave to work at that. For example, this week on Friday, we're taking the wholelaw firm to a ropes course. Everyone's going together, like team building. Andsometimes we just like to let everyone just let their hair loose and have fun.And I think that's very important. Because if anyone ever comes to you and say,"I don't feel appreciated," or "I don't feel this," andit's like it's nothing you did. You put everything out there.
So I mean, I think building a strong team is the mostimportant thing for you to be able to succeed. I always say that my success, itreally is attributed to all the people that surround me, and I've known thatabout myself. I'm a people person. I like to be around people, and I like touplift those that maybe don't have a specific vision, but if it's not for thosepeople, I can lead. People will make you a leader. So I'm grateful to them andthey really are what's building this. And very important. I think build astrong team is very important.
Chris Dreyer:
People are what make you a leader. That's really powerful.And it's so true, and I think-
Amanda Demanda:
It's true. You can't just call yourself a leader. I'mlike, "Who are we leading? Who's following you?" It's like everyone'san influencer as a profession, but I'm like, "Who are you influencing orwhat's your influence?" I really want to be an influence to all the peoplethat come to my office for help during hard times. That's the influence I wantto leave. I don't think people do the exercise to measure that or understandthat.
Chris Dreyer:
Florida specifically, you've got, I don't know, in termsof capital, Dan Newlin in Orlando spending a ton of money. He spends over20,000,000. And you got Morgan and you got Anidjar & Levine and just abunch of firms that are deploying capital. So do you think if you're talking toanother firm in a competitive market, maybe it's Los Angeles or Chicago, do youthink it starts with what you said, working backwards? Like, "Hey, I'mgoing to reach this audience and then spread out." Does it start small atfirst?
Amanda Demanda:
Absolutely. I think you pick a target, the path of leastresistance. With that, you build your base because you need to be profitable toreinvest. If you don't have profits, you can go, and I said, people take allthese huge loans and go do this huge advisor, do a campaign with an influenceror a celebrity, and that gets you nowhere. I think it's very important that youpick your target audience and cater to them specifically. And Morgan &Morgan, that's not my competition because who hires Amanda Demanda can't evensay Morgan & Morgan. I don't think about that. I put blinders on. I say,"Kudos to you. Do you." Morgan & Morgan kicking ass. They haveawesome commercials, great ad spends. That's great. But I do that in my ownmicro kind of capacity, and it works out because the margins are the same.
Chris Dreyer:
And your creatives is way more distinctive too, I wouldsay, in terms of I've seen Gordon McKernan and other individuals standing onthe truck and you got Adler Yale on a truck, and you have the distinctivecommercial that I saw with the heels stopping the truck. I'm like, "Oh,that's so unique and just different." It immediately stands out and it'smemorable. So I think that goes back to-
Amanda Demanda:
I mean, you study the market and you make it your own. ButI study all brands from Kodak to Yamaha, whatever it is, and you just take somethings and try to make it your brand. But one important thing is Jim Adler, thehammer in Texas. Well, he's the hammer. I'm like, "What am I? I'm like theheel. I'm the heel. I'm the girl." So it makes sense. It's fun. And youcan't be scared to be fun if my brand is what it is. So that's the angle we'vetaken and it's kind of worked out.
Chris Dreyer:
Incredible, incredible. Hey, Amanda, this has been... It'sbeen such a pleasure speaking to you, and I'm so excited to have you as aspeaker at PIMCon. You're given a talk called The Power Uniqueness. One finalquestion. How can our audience get in touch with you to learn more? Maybe theywant to connect and ask questions.
Amanda Demanda:
Well, they can always... My email isAmanda@AmandaDemanda.com. That's my personal email. I check it, and it's prettysimple. Also, you can Google me because I should be the only one. Or else youlet me know, Chris, because that's a problem. But I think the efforts you alldo are great as well, and we do believe a lot in the grassroots and marketingand the SEO and just doing it slow. You don't have to have a huge ad spend tomake a dent. You really don't. So I think that's very important for people tounderstand and feel like they can compete because the services you have tooffer to that community is lacking somewhere.
Chris Dreyer:
That wraps up this Gold Medal Moment featuring the GOAT ofunique selling positions, Amanda Demanda. Visit PIMCon.org to go from good toGOAT and join Amanda and me in Scottsdale September 15th through 17th, just 12days away. Tickets are limited, so secure your all-access pass today. Just headto PIMCon.org, that's P-I-M-C-O-N.O-R-G. I'm Chris Dreyer. Thanks for listeningto these Gold Medal Moments and I hope to see you in the winner's circle atPIMCon. For $200 off use code PIMAMANDA, P-I-M-A-M-A-N-D-A.
