Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys
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$25M
Annual Revenue Increase
Project Overview
Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Alexander Shunnarah has become one of the most recognizable faces in the state and beyond thanks to his billboards — two thousand of them and counting — and his iconic slogan: “Call me, Alabama.”
His firm, Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys, has expanded beyond the borders of his home state to become one of the most dominant forces in the Southeast. Today, the nationwide firm consists of 20 offices and a massive team of 500, all committed to fighting for catastrophically injured individuals and their families.
While this may sound like a glorious success story to some, to Alex — it’s just the beginning.
Challenge
Shunnarah’s entrepreneurial spirit, unfailing humility, and insatiable appetite for success helped him build a $50M business. But these traits also drove him to seek more, to never rest on his laurels, to never settle for less than his full potential.
Despite his level of success, Shunnarah realized that the ever-changing legal landscape would continue to pose new challenges.
First, he looked around and saw competition increasing in markets across the country. Not only was he facing 15,000 lawyers in Alabama or 30,000 lawyers in Georgia; he was also up against national personal injury lead generation companies that would buy cases in any state and sell them to the highest bidder. With the expansion of the Internet, every lawyer in America has the option to advertise in the states Shunnarah focused on.
“There are no borders,” he says. “So now I’m dealing against 1.3 million lawyers in America. They all want a personal injury case.”
And that’s not even taking into account outside capital coming in.
“There’s no law firm that can compete against big business or hedge fund money or VC money,” he says. “It’s impossible.”
That increased competition impacts more than just marketing and advertising. When an industry like legal gains access to a wider pool of resources, everything changes — and fast. Shunnarah’s unique approach to running his practice has always kept him in the CEO seat, but he understood there was much for him to learn about business.
And seek out learning opportunities he did.
“Even though I had a $50 million business, I’d come to conferences, sit in the room, hear people like Michael Mogill speak, and take the most notes of anyone in the room,” explains Shunnarah. “Everything he says is gold. It’s backed up. It’s done by corporate America. It’s done by successful businesses.”
Alexander Shunnarah wanted to run his law firm the same way.
So in 2018, after hearing Michael speak at the inaugural Game Changers Summit, he joined the Crisp Coach program to immerse himself in it all.
Crisp Coach has exceeded all of my expectations. The people that I’ve met there and the things that I’ve learned have gone far beyond anything I would’ve imagined. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.Alexander Shunnarah
Strategy
Humility, self-awareness, vulnerability, willingness to learn, and commitment to actually putting in the work has propelled Alexander Shunnarah far. That coachability got him nearly immediate results as he dove headfirst into all the Crisp Coach program had to offer.
Tapping into the expertise of an experienced accountability coach helped him zero in on the biggest areas for opportunity within his firm, as well as the personal factors that he could control to get better results. Armed with clarity, exciting goals, plans to achieve them, and a dedicated partner to keep him on track, Shunnarah was off to a good start.
Perhaps the most powerful advantage of joining Crisp Coach: connecting with a community of like-minded leaders of law firms at similar levels. Through hands-on workshops throughout the year as well as an online community that kept him in constant contact with the firm owners he met, Shunnarah began networking and cultivating mutually beneficial relationships that would change his firm’s trajectory forever.
“Hearing from people like yourself and being with these smart people, I realized just how much I don’t know – and it’s still an ever evolving thing,” reflects Shunnarah. “Every day we’re learning something new.”
Not to mention, the topics he learned about and tools he was equipped with at each workshop furthered his progress and gave him tangible steps to take in his law firm. The lessons he has learned through his own experience has even opened doors for Shunnarah to step into a mentor role in the Crisp Coach program, leading a full-day Intensive workshop for groups of law firm owners at all levels.
Another pillar of Shunnarah’s Crisp Coach membership: a robust, strategically curated library of powerful legal videos.
Never one to shy away from emerging technology and freshly open to incorporating digital media more heavily into his marketing arsenal, Shunnarah went all-in developing and producing a variety of videos to leverage online.
From a one-of-a-kind brand video to humanize Alex and his team, differentiate his firm from other firms in his market, and reach new audiences with this emotionally compelling medium…
To a series of moving, gripping client testimonials to highlight some of the most impactful stories he has had the opportunity to tell (and connect directly with other people who need his help)…
To community videos demonstrating the firm’s involvement in meaningful causes and building stronger ties to the communities they serve…
To thought leadership pieces centered around building Alex’s personal brand and strengthening personal connections with viewers online…
The Shunnarah video library expanded quickly — and so did its impact.
But if his billboard success taught him anything, it’s that the wider the reach of your messaging, the more eyes you can get on your brand, the faster that brand’s knownness will increase. With Social Stack, the relentless marketing program included in Shunnarah’s Crisp Coach membership, his growing video library received targeted promotion on the highest-traffic social media channels where his ideal clients spent their time and attention.
Shunnarah’s client success team first optimized his most powerful videos in lengths and formats designed to perform best on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Then, they designed and launched relentless advertising campaigns to get that messaging in front of the firm’s ideal audience at effective frequencies for brand awareness. Regular reporting and campaign optimization round out the Shunnarah Social Stack experience, establishing a firm online presence as a branding foundation for Shunnarah.
Bringing in more business, fostering lifelong relationships with law firm owners across the country, and dedicating his time and attention to making high-impact changes in his organization has been the bottom line for Alexander Shunnarah.
I was able to create KPIs, a hiring process, improved my firm’s culture, and rebrand my firm in a way that I never would have had I not put myself in the room.Alexander Shunnarah
Impact
Shunnarah used the lessons he learned from his Crisp Coach workshops, coaches, and fellow firm owners to make major changes in all aspects of his firm.
He expanded more strategically, acquiring other firms and opening in profitable new markets, ultimately expanding into a national firm. He rebranded his organization from “Injury Lawyers” to the more trial-focused “Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys.” He’s started to learn more about the psychological side of business, including what makes people tick and how he can identify patterns to develop more trusting relationships. He’s invested more time and energy into leading himself, understanding that he can’t lead his firm at a peak state without a clear head and a clean bill of health.
“I was able to create KPIs, a hiring process, improved my firm’s culture, and rebrand my frim in a way that I never would have had I not put myself in the room,” he reflects.
“Crisp Coach has introduced me to hundreds of lawyers. It’s helped me learn about how to run my practice more efficiently and how to lead my team more efficiently. I’ve been introduced to the digital space, the social media space, leadership, and finance. Michael and his team deliver on all those aspects, and they really teach you the business side of it, the energy side of it, being consistent, and all the tools necessary to be successful.”
In fact, by leveraging all the tools he’s learned in Crisp Coach, Shunnarah has grown his law firm from an already top-tier $50 million business to one that generates $75 million annually. In addition to growing by $25 million in annual revenue, his staff has also grown 25-30 percent — adding well over 100 people to his high-performing team.
“Crisp Coach has exceeded all of my expectations,” says Shunnarah confidently. “The people that I’ve met there and the things that I’ve learned have gone far beyond anything I would’ve imagined. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
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$25M
Annual Revenue Increase
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100+
Team Member Increase
Crisp Coach has exceeded all of my expectations. The people that I’ve met there and the things that I’ve learned have gone far beyond anything I would’ve imagined. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Alexander Shunnarah
