David Craig:
There was a time where 80% of my business was from referrals and now I can tell you that my business is 80% from the consumer and 20% from referrals.
Chris Dreyer:
That's David Craig, managing partner and co-founder of the Trucking Powerhouse, Craig Kelly, and Faultless.
David Craig:
I can tell you I've not had a client not hire me after using books. In board certified, there's less than 100. I think there's less than 80, board certified lawyers in the whole country. And in Indiana, there are four. Two of them are in my law firm. We've dominated Google and Indiana, but now we're seeing that those dividends pay off.
Chris Dreyer:
For 26 years, David has outpaced the competition and now AI is recommending his firm over everyone else.
David Craig:
I think it's mainly because...
Chris Dreyer:
Most PI firms survive on referrals. David Craig pivoted hard. Now 80% of his cases come directly from consumers. That shift made him the go to trucking lawyer in his state. This is Personal Injury Mastermind, powered by rankings.io, the legal marketing agency that delivers proof over promises. I'm Chris Dreyer, founder, CEO, and your host. David embodies what we mean by proof over promises. Doesn't just say he's the best. He proves it. Today, he breaks down the three pillars that shifted his pipeline from referrals to consumers and how you can build the same momentum for your firm. Let's go. Most firms claim they're the expert. David went further. He built proof the consumer couldn't ignore. That's pillar one, proof of expertise.
David Craig:
My marketing is geared towards the consumer. You want to give consumers what they need, what they want? I wrote the first book, Semi-Truck Wreck as a guide for victims and their families. And I'd send a free copy to them.
Chris Dreyer:
Taught me about your new book. It's never been easier to hire the wrong attorney. It might rub people the wrong way. So tell me about why you wrote it, the process, everything you went through in regards to this book and what it means to you.
David Craig:
Everybody is advertising that they're truck wreck lawyers. And some of them have never handled truck cases. Some of them have never tried a truck case. And so with all this advertising, all this marketing, great companies are ranking higher, and some of them are good and some of them aren't. Some people put themselves on billboards. Some of them are good. Some of them aren't. People lose tens of millions of dollars by picking the wrong attorney. People need to know how to go about picking a lawyer. And so that's why I wrote the book. Most states have adopted part or at least follow some of the guidelines pushed out by the ABA. I would go there and say, "Okay, is there a board certification?" I think there's less than 80. Board certified lawyers in the whole country. Two of them are in my law firm. So half of the board certified lawyers are me, my partner.
Something as distinguished as my firm than other firms in Indiana or some of the other markets that I practice in or that I have lawyers licensed in. If I was going to a surgeon, I would pick a board certified surgeon because I know they've done that extra to get that board certification. And that's the same way I would, whether it's in a divorce lawyer, personal injury lawyer, truck accident lawyer, whatever it is.
Chris Dreyer:
The books were just to start. David doubled down with his podcast designed for consumers, not colleagues. He brought in the exact experts who would later appear in his client's cases. That kind of positioning builds rock solid trust.
David Craig:
My thought was, you know what? It makes a lot more sense if I want to be a truck accident lawyer to do podcasts with guests that can explain things to ordinary people that they may not know. When I'm competing with somebody for a case that I say, "Well, the team I'm putting together will involve a reconstructionist, a heavy mechanic. And you can go on episode 14, episode 21, and you can see who I'm going to use." Those are the folks that I'm hired. And that's going to be part of your team. Every episode is nothing but truck accident stuff. And I do one a month, and then I cut it up every week. We send out his clip, a different clip. We promote it, we push it.
Chris Dreyer:
Most PR firms live and die by referrals. For the years, David was no different. His pipeline was full, his reputation strong. But David saw a challenge coming that forced him to pivot, and that decision changed everything.
David Craig:
There was a time where 80% of my business was from referrals, and I used to try cases. And in every county when I go try a case, we would present a good trial. And so the judges, the lawyers, the local lawyers, they would refer cases to me, and then ask to speak at a national level. And I was getting a large referral, 80% of my business. Over 80. But I looked at it and said, "What happens when the local lawyers no longer get cases? What happens when the marketers start getting all the cases and those local folks can't refer cases to me?" There's more people trying to niche and get into that area. So there's going to be fewer cases because of the amount of competition. They love people, ordinary people. And so we shifted gears and now I can tell you that my business is 80% from the consumer and 20% from referrals.
Chris Dreyer:
Most firms measure value by who brings in revenue. David flips that idea. In his world, the investigator, the social worker, even the rapid response team matters as much as the trial lawyers. That's pillar two, proof and performance. Excellence as the standard.
David Craig:
I have these young lawyers in my group. I have 10 lawyers. The reality is you don't get to try that many trucking cases. Still take other cases just because I want my lawyers to get in the courtroom, and get experience and try cases regularly. Every one of my lawyers was identified as a super lawyer by the state of Indiana. I was fortunate enough to be one in the top 50, but I got more satisfaction out of every one of my lawyers. And there's not a whole lot of personal injury firms in Indiana where every lawyer is identified and recognized. I have a content writer within my office, a lady that has an MBA in journalism. She does research deeper into whatever subject I'm podcasting about. And then we push that out and we distribute that as well.
Chris Dreyer::
So talk to me about how you're doing rapid response. I think you've even done some drones and some other just very technical stuff. Talk to me about that component of the delivery of the op side.
David Craig:
Question is, how do I provide a better quality service to my clients? And so time, and as I've gotten more successful, and rather than taking the money out, it's like, okay, let's invest. Let's figure this out. And so I had a rapid response team. The guy that has my rapid response team has been with me for over 20 years. He is really good at what he does. He finds the vehicles. I have a private investigator who was a firefighter, was in military, and he goes out. And so as soon as we get hired, and I've got these guys on the road, I just had a case in Florida. We flew down there. They immediately started looking. They start doing their stuff. As soon as I get hired, I send out preservation of evidence letters, and then I put the boots on the ground to find the vehicles, to locate it, to guard it.
I had a truck, a load fell off. And the truck that driver only had a million dollars worth of coverage, but the case was a wrongful death case. My rapid response team found the vehicle, and then they guarded because it was just in the field. And because the other people that owned it said, "We're going to unload it tomorrow at one o'clock." Well, lo and behold, at eight o'clock in the morning, I get a phone call. My investigator says, "Hey, Dave, they're here." And I'm like, "Okay." I called the lawyer and said, "What the hell?" He told me, "Well, I don't know. I don't understand." I said, "Well, I had an investigator sitting out there all night watching." So we zoomed in. One of my experts, I had to do a cell phone and show them what they're doing. I had my video crew there, and it turns out that the load was unsecured. And we never would have found that out had that truck been unloaded and we couldn't have seen the base of that truck.
And so that difference, just having that rapid response team, having a group of people that got to the scene immediately, and I was one of the ones that rushed out there. And I'd say, "Here, videotape this, do this, do that. " That made all the difference in the world because the shipper had a lot of insurance. And so I was able to help that family out by getting to the shipper, which I never would have gotten, at least in Indiana without that evidence. So rapid response team is extraordinarily important. And if you're a lawyer out there, it's like, "How do I help my clients?" And the more you focus on how do I help my clients, then I honestly believe the more successful you will become, not only as a marketer, but as an attorney. I just hired a woman who has a social work degree. Having those type of people who can listen, who can problem solve, who aren't necessarily drafting legal documents, that's the future.
Chris Dreyer:
Most firms guard the numbers like a secret. David does the opposite. His attorneys see the books, share in the equity, and know exactly how the business runs. That's pillar three, proof of leadership.
David Craig:
So I have a process that I stole from one of John Morgan's early books, and I took the model that he has and I said, "Here's how we're going to value the firm, and we're going to sell the firm based upon this model." Years ago, I thought, what happened when venture capital comes in? This is 26 years ago. So I have a CFO and I said, "Look, just in case I want to sell, I don't think I do. But in case I ever want to sell or I want investors, I would like to have audited financial statements. Most personal injury firms don't run their firms as businesses. And I have a business degree, and so I would like to run it like a business." And so we started doing that. And so therefore, I don't have anything to hide. And so I'm an open book, whether you own 1% or 10%, you're going to get to see all my financials.
And so I think then people can say, "Okay, Dave's not running off the Tahiti. The people I want need to be motivated by making a positive difference in the lives of someone else, and then in their own families, and in their coworkers, and their clients." So that's huge to me. And so compensation, I'm sure I could make more money if that was important to me. It's not like everybody else where you get a percentage of the cases you bring in, or you get a cost, you get a certain amount of stipend for your staff. I bankroll the whole staff, except for pre-lit. And I have a pre-lit person who, Pre-lit just messes up lit, so I have a pre-lit department. She gets one third, I get two-thirds, and she has to bankroll the employees. They're still part of my team, but she has complete control. She just has certain KPIs she has to meet with me, but everybody else is part of the firm.
Chris Dreyer:
You're publishing bestsellers, you're hosting a podcast, you're leading national seminars and you're trying cases. What's lightening you up right now? What are you most excited about?
David Craig:
My law firm is 26 years old. And then all of a sudden you get those momentum, just keeps building, and building, and building. And then it's like you're a success overnight.
Chris Dreyer:
David Craig shows us what proof over promises really looks like. Books to close clients, non-revenue hires that change outcomes, open books to keep a team invested for decades. That's proof over promises framework, expertise, performance, leadership. If you want more strategies to dominate your market, hit subscribe. We've got new episodes every week.
