Best Tips Lawyers Can Use to Retain More Clients

Client acquisition in the legal field has fundamentally changed, and the expectations of clients have changed with it.The concept of the networking luncheons is waning, the probability of receiving a walk-in to your law office has diminished, and let’s be realistic, measuring the return on ad spend for a billboard or magazine article is unclear at best. 

 Maybe you know this instinctually, and have already adapted to digital lead generation, but take it a step further, and deep down you also know it’s more than just a numbers game.  If you are receiving legal leads for lawyers, but getting poor results, doing more of the same won’t improve the situation.Sure, you can return the legal leads for attorneys to your lead generation partner, cancel the service, switch to another, repeat, but this won’t help you achieve your goal of financial success and earning more money. 

 You need sales strategy, and you need your whole team on-board.  My name is Rebecca Evers, and I work in digital lead generation.  I work with hundreds of lawyers and legal associations generating clients’ from internet sources.  I also work with a call center, and spend countless hours listening to clients and lawyers negotiate over the phone.  Below are a few insider tips which can give you the edge and make you an expert digital lead closer.

  

1.     Work with a marketing specialist and optimize your digital lead-gen campaign

 

The number one mistake that I see lawyers make when they launch a lead generation for lawyers Campaign is they sign-up, try it out, and immediately cancel.  This will not produce results, and it doesn’t matter how many lead generation companies you use, it’s unlikely that this will provide you the long-term sustaining income you’re looking for.  This practice is for people who are playing a numbers game, and not for people who are strategically refining their digital campaigns to be high performing.  If you want to be successful at monetizing the best legal leads for attorneys, you need to communicate with a lead-generation specialist.  If you receive a lead which is vastly different from the client’s you’re looking for, tell your digital lead-gen account manager.  Expert legal lead specialists are working with legal bloggers and web-optimization experts from all over the internet.  They can fine tune your specific practice area like motor vehicle accident leads for lawyers campaign with unique sources of web traffic, additional filters, and qualifying parameters.  Seeing your lead generation representative as a partner in adapting your campaign will give you long-term results.  Canceling the first time you receive motor vehicle accident leads for attorneys that don’t meet your qualifications, will leave you burning through a short list of specialists.

 

2.     Refine your in-take strategy

 

Law firms should consider the customer journey when crafting the customer’s initial experience with your company.Some potential clients were referred to you because they filled out an online questionnaire like social security disability leads for lawyers. Others may have been referred to you after speaking with a qualifying agent.  Avoid asking questions that you already have the information for.  When obtaining a qualified lead, the in-take specialist (whether it’s a paralegal, associate lawyer, or receptionist) should properly brief the lawyer on the details of the case and client before transferring the call.  Many clients become frustrated and exasperated when they have participated in a lengthy and structured pre-qualifying process, only to be asked by the lawyer, “ok, so what is your name, and what happened to you?”  Make sure the handover is complete from the In-take specialist to the lawyer, or all will be lost in the transfer.  The final transfer from in-take specialist to lawyer is so important.  It is not unusual, for a client to become tense, and make the wrong impression on the lawyer, only to be quickly dismissed.  Consider the customer journey; and ask how we can make this the best possible experience.

 

3.     Optimize your Phone Lines

 

Working with call centers, and lead generation companies we are innately aware of the need to optimize our phone lines.  However, many lawyers may not be aware of all the changes that have taken place in recent years by telecom companies.  If your law firm frequently makes solicitation calls, several phone applications and cell phone carriers may flag you as potential spam.  If a client receives a message that says “Most Likely Spam” when you’re calling, there is a high probability that call will go to voicemail, repeatedly.  You may believe it’s the lead, but more often than not, it’s a phone application that is blocking you.  While there is no easy way to tell if a client’s phone applications are affecting you, there are a few best practices you can use to have your law firm performing its best?  The first is to select a Caller-ID to appear in cellphones, rather than leaving your chances to the default.  The other best practice is to monitor the results of your in-take specialist.  If a disproportionate number of calls are automatically going to voicemail you may be flagged with one, or more telephone companies.  Have your team working smarter, by understanding this important first impression. Create a phone-line for out-going solicitation calls that can be changed occasionally without impacting your core business.  Choosing a VoIP phone number is an inexpensive and easy option to implement.  Another important tip to convert more digital leads into paying customers is to respond quickly and effectively when you receive the lead.  The old adage “The early bird gets the worm” is still relevant today.  Work with your team and your phone capabilities, to respond to clients as quickly as possible.  Reaching them, while this is a top priority in the client’s mind, will improve your results.