Turning prospective clients into clients is essential to a firm’s growth. Obvious as that is, many firms lose them to poor follow-up and disorganized intake. An organized, repeatable intake system fixes it. Use the following to review your own.
A Swift Response
When a prospective client sends an email or leaves a phone message, they have already jumped the first hurdle, not only recognizing that they need legal help, but also reaching out to a firm. They want to be heard promptly. Responding within twenty-four hours is crucial, and many firms put it on hold while they deal with current clients, meetings and court appearances. In fact, according to Findlaw, more than 30% of firms fail to respond promptly, losing not only a prospective client but also professional face. Designate a window of each day and appropriate staff for responding to any inquiries.
A Listening Ear
The client experience is what decides whether a prospective client goes forward with you, and word of mouth is still among the best marketing a firm has. Start well by listening. Ask open questions: “What brings you here today?” “Is there anything else you would like to tell me?” “What do you hope to accomplish?” Be present, remove interruptions, and leave the jargon out. Sensing what a client is feeling, and responding to it, matters most at the first meeting. If they ask something you cannot answer, do not bluff. Explain what makes it complicated, say you will come back to them, and then do.
A Potential Conflict
Once you have the substance of the matter, check for conflicts before going further. Run the prospective client and any connected parties through your system. Has the firm acted for anyone else connected to it? This is the point at which a conflict is cheap to find.
An Organized System
Define the intake process and support it with current software, so that you can see both what the client has returned and what the firm still owes them. It should track appointments and deadlines, pending retainers, payments and the rest of the detail.
A Consistent Communication Process
Consistent, clear communication is an attorney’s best tool for retention, and how you communicate during intake sets the tone for the whole matter. From the first call to the conclusion, keep the client informed. Say what is finished and what comes next. Send reminders. Answer questions. Use the medium the client prefers. An informed client is a satisfied one, and a satisfied client stays.
A Time to Say No
Sometimes intake ends in a no. The matter may sit outside your practice, or a conflict may surface, or the expectations may be ones no firm could meet. Whatever the reason, decline kindly and professionally. Treat the prospective client with respect, and where it is appropriate, refer them to another attorney.
Summary
From the first response to a retained and satisfied client, these points make for a smooth, repeatable intake system. A better process wastes less time, converts more of the people who call, and lays a foundation for growth.
More business eventually means more attorneys, and a firm’s success rests on the ones it has. OnBoard Legal finds them, combining in-depth knowledge of the legal industry with decades of experience conducting high-level searches.