Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC

In 1997, Terrie Wheeler considered her future and made the life-changing decision to leave her job as a law firm marketing director and start her own company.

“I decided rather than finding another job, because I had already worked in three large, prestigious law firms, I wanted to spread my entrepreneurial wings and start my own marketing company,” Terrie says.

Today, 25 years later, PSM Marketing (PSM) has a strong reputation for delivering effective outsourced marketing department services to law firms and many other industries, and personal coaching to professionals responsible for revenue generation.

Relationships that Work

President and Founder of PSM, Terrie attributes the company’s success to a dedicated, fabulous and diverse client service team, and dozens of equally awesome clients. PSM’s emphasis on relationships—both internally and with clients—has created an environment of long-term retention of resources, highly-satisfied clients, and remarkable growth.

Terrie believes that positive interaction with clients and her team translates to better results for everyone. In fact, good working relationships are so important to PSM that the company has criteria for deciding who to work with.

“I wanted clients who were going to be the best fit for PSM not just generate a lot of revenue. So, I came up with my A-Level Client Criteria and have focused every day since on attracting clients I like, trust, and respect, and where the feeling is mutual,” says Terrie.

Building on a Foundation of Experience

Prior to founding PSM, Terrie served in the senior marketing role for three of Minnesota’s largest law firms. This practical experience, combined with a master’s degree in business from the University of St. Thomas, and years teaching marketing at law schools across Minnesota, has given Terrie a holistic perspective on legal marketing, and marketing professional services firms.

Ethical Marketing Strategies

Her dynamic personality and breadth of experience have also made Terrie highly effective at educating lawyers on the ethics of marketing a law practice. For over 10 years, she served as an investigator and as a Minnesota Supreme Court-Appointed Member of the Lawyers Board of Professional Responsibility, and in 2017, received the Volunteer of the Year award.

Thought Leadership Through Writing

Terrie is also a prolific writer and has written a nationally syndicated column for Attorney at Law Magazine, and a bi-monthly column for the American bar Association’s GP / Solo eReport. She also produces a steady stream of blog posts for the PSM website. Terrie also published an eBook on Law Firm Marketing Strategy: A Complete Guide to Grow your Practice.

It’s a Family Business Focused on Balance

With a business built on positive relationships and shared values, work-life balance comes naturally. In fact, Terrie’s talented daughter Michelle is her business partner! And with such a skilled and dedicated support team, Terrie doesn’t have to choose work over life, or vice versa; she has ample time for everything she considers important and meaningful.

Finding a Place in the Sun

You can often find Terrie snowshoeing or communing with nature on her 40 acres of wooded paradise just an hour north of the Twin Cities. An avid downhill skier, she learned the art of ballet skiing (ice dancing on skis) to counter the short ski runs in Minnesota. When a break is needed from the northland’s cold, Terrie and her husband of 34 years—Jim—try to hit a Caribbean beach now and again for the warm sun and the opportunity to bond with fish through her goggles and snorkel.

Whether spending time with Jim, playing with her five grandchildren, delivering results-driven marketing services to clients, or advocating for causes important to her (namely LGBTQ+ rights and the support of Minority and Women Owned Businesses), Terrie doesn’t need to sacrifice one aspect of her life in favor of another.

“What’s that phrase? ‘If you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life,’ right?”