By Elizabeth M. Miller, MBA bio
Every law firm invests firm profits on client development and marketing, no matter how large or small the firm or the budget might be. The goal of investing those revenues in marketing is to make your law firm phone to ring—with a potential client holding a retainer check on the other end of the line. This phone call in turn generates additional revenues for the firm. And so the cycle continues.
Remember: Getting that phone to ring is not the end of your marketing plan. Throughout the attorney/client relationship and even after, your marketing strategy never really ends. Instead, it morphs into a retention strategy. And part of that retention strategy, starts with answering the ringing phone. If the staff member answering the firm’s phone sounds like they have been interrupted doing something more important than answering the phone, are overstressed, or are unable to connect with the caller, then your marketing and retention strategy as it relates to that potential new client is over.
Show the caller some respect
Your potential client does not want to talk to someone who:
- is distracted because they are doing something else;
- forgets the client’s name during the brief call;
- does not know how to transfer the call without disconnecting the caller;
- cannot set up a consultation; or
- takes too long to answer the phone, resulting in the call going to voice mail.
Each of these indicate to the person on the other end of the phone that their call is simply not that important. If their first call isn’t important, they are probably wondering how important their case will be. And if they can’t get through to a person, how will they schedule an appointment, anyway?
In one fell swoop, all the time, money, and strategy you’ve invested into designing a marketing plan can be wasted. An ignored or disrespected caller will not call back again, and it’s quite likely that they will tell their friends about their experience with the firm.
3 ways to demonstrate a caller’s importance
Here are three ways you can make sure that when your law firm phone rings, the caller knows they’re valued.
- Write a script of how you want the phone answered, including what to say, what to do and what information to ask for. Have the person primarily responsible for answering the phone run through the script several times until it doesn’t sound like they are reading a script.
- Make sure the phone is always answered during business hours, no matter what. Make sure that everyone in the office knows that if the phone rings more than three times, someone needs to pick up that phone. It doesn’t matter if it is a legal assistant, a paralegal, or an attorney—a live person needs to answer that phone.
- Pay attention to the way the phone is answered in the office. Listen to what employees say to callers and what their demeanor is. Make sure they come across to the caller like their telephone call is the MOST important thing that they are doing right then—because it is.
Conclusion
Whoever answers the phones for your law firm is truly the “director of first impressions.” Since you never get a second chance to make a first impression, make sure your firm’s first impression to a potential new client is the right one.
