Who’s Answering Your Phones? 3 Tips to Improve Your Law Firm’s Call-Answer Process

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Bettering the way in which you reply the cellphone can dramatically enhance the variety of potential new purchasers who rent you.

Have you learnt what number of potential new purchasers store round for a legislation agency?

Fifty-seven p.c.

Have you learnt what number of legislation corporations present all the data individuals need of their preliminary cellphone name?

Simply 7%.

The numbers we quote right here come from certainly one of Clio’s Authorized Traits Studies and their surveys of over 2,000 shoppers and 1,000 legislation corporations. The statistics are sobering … however the potential is big.

For potential purchasers, that first name is the beginning of their buyer journey.

For those who get it mistaken, it could possibly be the tip of it. Bettering your reception course of — significantly how your telephones get answered — can dramatically enhance the variety of potential new purchasers (PNCs) who rent you.

Right here’s Enhance Your Name-Reply Course of

Each month, we share ideas to enhance one course of in your legislation agency. As a result of the cellphone stays the software of alternative for individuals trying to find a lawyer, let’s begin with three ideas to enhance the way in which you reply your workplace cellphone.

Tip No. 1: Have a Actual Particular person Reply the Cellphone

In most small legislation corporations, legal professionals, receptionists, or assistants reply the cellphone throughout the enterprise day. Once they’re busy or the workplace is closed, calls go to voicemail.

Whereas most legal professionals say their corporations reply to voicemails inside 24 hours, Clio’s survey means that’s not normally the case. Our personal Follow Accelerator teaching purchasers admit the identical factor. They’re busy. They will’t at all times return calls inside that 24-hour window.

Your PNCs are additionally busy, they usually’re typically careworn. They’ve an issue they usually need assistance. Relying in your follow space, they might be calling from courtroom, jail and even the hospital. Others could solely be capable to name after work when your workplace is closed. They will’t watch for a callback, and voicemail isn’t going to assist them.

In case your agency doesn’t reply the cellphone, however the subsequent one does, who do you suppose goes to get the work?

To make sure callers communicate to an individual, routinely redirect calls to a different member of your employees or an exterior answering service when your receptionist is busy. Relying in your follow space and the chance of after-hours calls, think about partaking an answering service for while you’re closed.

Tip No. 2: Present Clear Scripts for Answering Cellphone Calls

PNCs have plenty of primary questions: Can your attorneys assist with my sort of drawback? How do the charges work? Can I e book an appointment? What occurs subsequent? Most corporations don’t reply them utterly.

You possibly can stand out out of your competitors just by answering primary questions throughout the preliminary dialog.

Nonetheless, we aren’t suggesting you reply the cellphone your self. For those who’ve adopted us for some time, you’ll know we consider legal professionals shouldn’t be taking preliminary calls from PNCs. As a substitute, a well-trained assistant, receptionist or answering service — armed with a transparent “script” that features solutions to a lot of the preliminary questions persons are prone to ask — can do the job as nicely or higher than a lawyer at a fraction of the fee.

Your script ought to allow anybody who solutions your cellphone to:

Display PNCs by gathering the proper info

Reply ceaselessly requested questions

Set out the subsequent steps in your consumption course of

script isn’t a doc individuals learn word-for-word. Callers can inform if somebody is studying. You need conversations to sound heat, pure {and professional}, so we suggest a collection of prompts and options as an alternative.

With the proper prompts, your employees or your answering service can begin every name with knowledgeable greeting that units the tone on your agency after which pose screening questions that weed out the tire-kickers and people who find themselves not an excellent match on your agency. From there, they’ll transfer certified PNCs to the subsequent stage in your course of, whether or not that’s an engagement letter, an preliminary session with you, or one thing else. On this manner, your script additionally serves as a guidelines to make sure nothing falls via the cracks.

Your script additionally must empower your employees and your answering service to reply widespread questions:

Compile an inventory of issues PNCs ask you and that your employees get requested most frequently.

Embody your very best solutions in your script in order that your crew can reply rapidly and precisely.

Present prompts for well mannered methods to defer to another person if a caller asks a query they can’t reply.

Most significantly, be certain that everybody who solutions your telephones has fast entry to the script and is aware of the best way to use it.

(Editor’s Be aware: If you would like a pattern script and a shortcut to creating your personal, the authors have created a script-builder software as a part of Gimbal’s Final Consumption Bundle, out there to Lawyer at Work readers for $49 with the coupon INTAKEAAW.)

Tip No. 3: Eavesdrop on Incoming Calls

Not everybody was born to reply telephones, however you possibly can practice individuals to reply professionally and supply a superb preliminary expertise for PNCs.

To enhance how calls are dealt with, begin by understanding your present state. How are telephones being answered proper now? What does your employees say to PNCs? What questions are they being requested…and are they capable of reply them?

File incoming calls after which take heed to them. In case your jurisdiction doesn’t allow you to document calls, sit in together with your employees as they reply calls. It’s not good however it should nonetheless provide you with some perception.

When Gary Falkowitz, writer of the wonderful e book “Full Information to Regulation Agency Consumption,” began listening to consumption calls at his agency, he found that each single name could possibly be improved. You’ll possible discover the identical factor.

As you hear, ask your self:

Is the tone proper?

Do I must appropriate any misinformation?

Would my employees profit from phone etiquette coaching?

Do they want gross sales coaching?

Do I must replace the script or change one thing else about my course of?

There are lots of methods to enhance your legislation agency’s consumption and reception processes. These three ideas will enhance probably the most vital parts: how your agency handles incoming calls from potential new purchasers.

Keep in mind That Enchancment Is By no means Accomplished

Make it a daily follow to take heed to calls, replace your scripts and supply coaching to everybody answering your telephones.

And in case your PNCs are among the many 25% that want e-mail to the phone, right here’s a bonus tip: 60% of legislation corporations don’t reply to emails in any respect, so in case you can enhance your e-mail response fee even just a bit bit, you’ll be forward of your competitors!

Karen Dunn Skinner and David Skinner assist legal professionals and authorized professionals construct extra environment friendly, productive and worthwhile practices. They’re the co-founders of Gimbal Lean Follow Administration Advisors and legal professionals with over 20 years’ expertise every in Canada and Europe. Collectively, they’re the unique World Advisors on Authorized Course of Enchancment to the Worldwide Institute of Authorized Undertaking Administration. They write and communicate repeatedly, facilitate authorized course of enchancment initiatives throughout North America, and have taught Gimbal’s LeanLegal® method to hundreds of authorized professionals.