If you run a law practice, you know that the first contact point with a potential client is key to a successful long-term relationship. First impressions go a long way to creating trust, which can make all the difference in landing a new client. But answering every incoming call can be an impossible task for your team, particularly if they are also handling other tasks, working with existing clients, and ensuring the office runs smoothly. The American Bar Association estimates 42% of leads have to wait 3 or more days to get a response to their voicemail from law firms. That’s a long time for a caller to wait when they are dealing with a legal problem or seeing legal advice. This delay can make clients feel unappreciated, or even lead them to call one of your competitors while they wait for their call to be returned. So, how can this issue be addressed? How do you find the balance between answering every call and giving the proper attention to callers who have the chance to become a qualified lead? The answer may be a combination of hiring additional staff, training your team, implementing tech-drive solutions to prioritize calls, and ultimately considering the use of answering services that can respond to inquiries promptly, especially during non-business hours.
Common Client Intake Challenges
If you manage a busy law office, you are familiar with the challenges of client intake. Law firms cater to clients with a diverse set of needs: from personal injury claims to family law disputes, from real estate transactions to criminal cases, from business and corporate matters to class action suits, law firms receive a myriad of calls. While some calls may represent a unique legal challenge, others may be solicitations or non-viable leads. For instance, a distressed victim might call seeking guidance on a recent car accident, a worried parent may be inquiring about child custody issues, a prospective homebuyer may have questions about a contract they are about to sign, or a business owner might need counsel on a patent. Each of these may or may not be a fit for your law firm, particularly if you only specialize in a particular area of the law, such as probate or intellectual property. Some of the top challenges faced by law firms when it comes to answering the phones are:
- Call Volume Surges: Imagine your law firm just launched a high-profile advertising campaign, and suddenly, your phone lines are flooded with calls. This type of increase in call volume may wreak havoc on your existing call flow, unless you have staffed up. Your in-house receptionists may struggle to answer all the calls promptly, which means long hold times and frustrated potential clients. Even worse than long wait times, some of the calls could go unanswered or be misdirected, which means your firm could lose out on valuable clients.
- Wide Range of Legal Inquiries: Law firms may deal with a wide range of legal matters, from personal injury and family law to real estate and criminal defense. Not every caller is familiar with the area of law they need to address their particular situation. Some callers may not be able to articulate their request; after all, the legal world is full of jargon and specialized matters. Each area of law has its unique requirements, and firms specializing in a certain area of the law have their own criteria for evaluating potential clients. Does your team have the expertise to qualify each caller and route the call according to their area of the law? Without a standardized process in place, you run the risk of failing to identify promising leads.
- 24/7 Availability Expectations: Legal issues don’t follow a strict 9-to-5 schedule. Clients needing help with legal issues may need assistance at any hour of the day or night. Looking for a lawyer is stressful for an average caller, and some only have time to call around after hours. But 24/7 availability can be logistically challenging or simply not practical if you rely only on your in-house staff. This means after-hours callers would need to leave a voicemail, which is not something they may be comfortable with, due to privacy concerns. When it comes to building trust with a potential client, there is simply no substitute for speaking with a real person, even if the call comes in after hours or on a holiday.
Overcoming Client Intake Challenges in the Legal World
If the challenges above sound all too familiar, we have good news: an answering service for lawyers can help. Beyond just answering the calls, specialized legal answering services can be an extension of your team, handling call screening, intake, and more. With today’s sophisticated telephone technology, partnering with a professional answering service can be a seamless experience. Let’s go over how an answering service can revolutionize your legal intake process, creating a win-win solution for your callers and your team.
- Better Client Experience: The first impression a potential client has of your law firm can make or break their decision to hire your firm. When clients call with legal concerns, they seek reassurance and professionalism. An answering service trained specifically for the legal industry can provide just that: a professional and empathetic voice on the other end of the line, 24/7, any day of the year. Would your callers prefer a long hold time or an immediate answer from a courteous telephone agent?
- Better Availability: An answering service can be available round-the-clock to handle incoming calls, which means every caller gets to speak with a live person. Picture a holiday weekend when your team is enjoying their well-deserved time off. Or, let’s use the example of an all-hands lunch meeting during which no one in the office is available to answer calls. When you choose a 24/7/365 answering solution, your law firm can stand out from competitors who may only answer calls during business hours.
- Better Call Handling: It’s not just about the volume: law firms can experience a high volume of calls, but it’s how they are managed that makes all the difference. An answering service is equipped with advanced call routing and filtering systems. This means that each call is directed to the appropriate department, attorney, paralegal, or assistant based on the client’s needs. By mapping out the call routing protocol, you reduce the risk of calls being mishandled or lost. This means less time wasted on misdirected calls.
- Call Screening and Lead Qualification: Not every call results in a viable client. Did you know a legal answering service can screen and qualify leads for you? By gathering key pieces of information from callers, such as their legal issues, location, and urgency, an answering service can help your firm prioritize inquiries and allocate resources. You can set your own criteria for lead qualification and train the answering service to follow your custom protocol. Let’s say you can only take on cases from clients residing in a particular state. A call screening service can quickly find out whether this criteria is met, before forwarding the call to your team. This helps your attorneys focus their time and expertise on cases with the highest potential.
- Appointment Scheduling: Setting up appointments can be time-consuming, but how else can you turn inquiries into actual clients? Fortunately, this is another task that an answering service can take on. They can even manage your appointment calendar, allowing potential clients to schedule consultations at their convenience. Another win-win: you avoid scheduling conflicts and missed opportunities, and callers save time by booking their appointments faster.
Missing client calls and potential leads is not an option, but hiring additional staff to manage the intake processes can be expensive and difficult. Today’s labor market is tight and the process of hiring and training an employee takes a while. An answering service offers a cost-effective alternative that is the best of both worlds: you only pay for the services you use, and you can scale up or down as needed. This flexibility allows you to be smart with your budget, without sacrificing the quality of service your callers receive.
So, if you’re ready to improve your law firm’s client intake process, don’t hesitate to explore the benefits of an answering service. You will find that it is a strategic investment: not only does it improve your operations; it also helps grow your potential client base. Take action today and see how you can shake up your client intake process. Your clients—and your bottom line—will thank you.