Stop Losing Potential Clients
HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM
As a marketer and fractional CMO for a a host of law firms, I find it especially important to be able to set businesses up for success when it comes to taking revenue goals to the next level and building their brand awareness through real engagement. Based on an experiment doing outreach with different law firms all over the country, I now have a better sense for what their customer service experience is like and have asked myself if it is in alignment with their current marketing strategies. You may be asking yourself what does this mean and exactly why it this important? Let’s explore – A potential client get online and notices that your law firm has some enticing or encouraging ads that say things like, “In a crash, we’ll get you cash. We care.” or “We are your best friend when you need us most”. However, upon calling the law firm they get connected to an intake person who appears cold, lacks knowledge about what you specialize in, doesn’t speak the language of the caller, or does not even engage the caller by answering open-ended questions.
This disconnect during your potential client’s customer journey can cost you and also diminish your brand value. For this reason and many others I feel that it is critical that you monitor, closely, your law firms customer service commitments and ensure that you are aware of any sticky widgets in your processes to avoid losing money, momentum and valued clients. If your law firm specializes in helping people that are in some sort of trouble or seeks to assist clients gain fair compensation for a wrongdoing then you must make certain that a robot attendant is not simply on the other end of the line gathering bare minimum details and incapable of delivering compassionate, informative and timely responses that serve to build impactful relationships. Always remember, when people are in trouble, they want to know that somebody cares.
BOOST YOUR CASE ACQUISITION EFFORTS
I know that sometimes you may need help converting potential leads into clients. Look no further than this effective customer service guide specifically targeted to lawyers! Using these tools you will be better able to harness the power of networking, build strong relationships with your contacts, and watch as those promising prospects turn into real cases.
Your law firm can go a long way if you train your staff that’s answering the phone even if they are not legal professionals to handle questions in a way that communicates that they care, so I’ll give you a common scenario. With immigration, for example. Really, but this can be any law firm, where the collar is distressed about something, somebody got deported, or they need a green card, whatnot and they want information.
So they call a law firm looking for legal information, and the person on the other line says, I’m not qualified to answer that, or I don’t know, you’re gonna have to talk to the attorney. No one wants to hear that. Like, your heart thinks to the bottom of your chest when you hear that you’ve wasted your time. That’s what the person field is like, oh my god I’m wasting my time talking to this person that doesn’t know anything.
Show Empathy
People think that other people make decisions based on logic, but they don’t. They make decisions based on emotion.
Even if you’re not a professional, showing empathy over the phone helps build relationships and put people at ease. Showing understanding with phrases such as “I’m sorry this is happening to you” or “I understand it must be difficult,” can make all the difference in building rapport when answering calls, booking appointments, setting up follow-ups or even signing agreements.
If the person sounds distressed, label their feelings for them. “It sounds like you’re under a lot of stress. I’m so sorry that you’re going through this.” Making a connection and showing empathy when you collect people’s information is very important on every single call. This is what I tell my clients and we teach these techniques in my online courses (Sales and Customer Service Workshop, Sales and Intake For Law Firms Online Course)
Our suggestion is
Try to say something like this: “Hello, my name’s Margarita. What’s your name?” Connect immediately and show engagement by telling the caller your name and asking for theirs. “Okay, Maria what a lovely name. I look forward to assisting you”. Now you can begin the transition into a data collection conversation that feels normal, that feels organic. When you’re at the club or at the bar, you don’t say, what’s your best phone number? No. You say, hey, give me your number. Right? Use that same energy, because by now you should be a bit more relaxed and engaged. “Maria it was a pleasure speaking with you and learning about some of your unique needs. Let me be sure to take down the best number where we can reach back out to you. While you’re at it provide me with the best email address for you also.” The idea is to have a natural, organic and open-ended dialogue that provides for a positive customer experience.
It’s all about energy – protect that energy! When you’re on the phone with somebody, especially if you work at a law firm, and you’re more concerned about checking off all the boxes by collecting all the data in a monotone fashion, asking what you think are all the key questions to qualify them, and selling them on the consultation, or selling them on signing the contract then you’re gonna lose touch with your lead and you’re gonna miss out on an opportunity to convert them. The problem you now have is you’ve lost a potentially great client and you’ve pushed them to call your competition. They will keep shopping, and all that money you’ve spent on your hearty ad campaigns, just a click away, is lost on that phone call – or potentially dozens more!
So if you enjoyed these tips, we’ve packaged them and many more into a few courses. These course will serve to benefit you if you work at a law firm and handle intake. Just the same if you are a law firm owner you can use the tools I have culminated, in my courses, to take charge of your customer experience journey. Check out the Marketing Boss Sales and Customer Service Workshop or Sales and Intake For Law Firms Online Course. These are on demand workshops and courses that your team can take that will walk them through lessons about customer service, sales and intake strategies to help them convert more leads driven by your marketing efforts. The courses also include worksheets that will train your folks how to really think strategically, grow their confidence, make better connections, practice empathy, and bolster their ability to position the sale. Have no fear – We have a money back guarantee. So, if you buy one of our workshops or courses and your law firm sales don’t increase by ten, fifteen, twenty five, or thirty percent after applying these best practices we will give you your money back.
We help your team work through all those emotions and speak with confidence and still create connections.
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