To make the time or not make the time, that is the question.
We have centered many of our recent blogs on new business and the importance of a seamless intake call experience. The initial attorney communication is a crucial component of this process.
As your firm grows, it is necessary to delegate some responsibilities. As the attorney/business owner, your time is stretched between working on cases, personnel, audits, office management, and everything in between.
An area many attorneys choose to offload is the intake. Intakes are unpredictable and interrupt the flow of your day, so it is natural to want to delegate or eliminate the attorney role on the initial intake call.
Some reasons an intake may not include an attorney are:
- The prospective client is scheduled to come to the office and will meet the attorney at that time.
- The prospective client didn’t have more time to spend on the phone call.
- The attorney is unavailable or out of the office.
- The attorney hasn’t instituted a policy to speak to every viable intake inquiry.
But no matter how tempting or convenient it may be to delegate intakes to non-attorney staff, DO NOT DO THIS!
Around 99% of the time, the firm must have an attorney speak to a prospective client in the first interaction – so make the commitment! The attorney must establish the attorney/client relationship, answer questions, and explain the process, including the fee agreement (at a minimum). This conversation should complement the interactions the prospective client has had with the receptionist and intake screener prior to speaking with the attorney.
The most successful PI firms have processes, audits, and specialized training to handle all aspects of the intake, including the attorney portion. During the intake process, an attorney should:
- Exude professionalism and confidence throughout the interaction.
- Hit the marks the caller has mentioned as concerns.
- Promote the firm’s successes and experience.
- Be efficient with time (not wasting or pontificating about matters irrelevant to the call).
- Explain how the firm works and what to expect during the case.
- Explain the CFA and utilize an electronic CFA to sign the client immediately.
- If the attorney accepts the case, consider having a complete intake conducted to solidify the relationship and begin working on the case immediately.
- If a call is not the profile of a claim the firm handles, always offer assistance and thank the caller for thinking of the firm (“it never costs anything to call us” attitude).
If you have associate attorneys, you need to audit their intake performance regularly.
Remember, you are spending marketing dollars to generate new business for your firm. The initial contact from a prospective client is just the beginning. You must do everything right from that point forward to keep that client.
Set your service apart from the competition. Be the firm that sets the bar. Make the time. Commit to this philosophy, and you will convert more inquiries to cases.