Generating prospective clients is an incredibly time-consuming and costly task for smaller law firms and solo practitioners. But if your intake process doesn’t convert those prospects into signed cases, you’re leaving money on the table every month. According to Altman Weil’s Law Firms in Transition 2020 survey, more than one in three firms today (33.5%) cited managing the intake process as a core strategy to increase profitability. Among firms that optimized their intake process in recent years, 65.5% reported significant profitability improvements.
If you’re a solo practitioner or smaller firm, improving your intake process doesn’t necessarily mean working harder – just smarter.
3 Ways to Optimize Your Intake Process & Increase Your Firm’s Profitability
Below are three ways to streamline your firm’s intake process, increase your monthly caseload opportunities and maximize revenue growth.
1. Get Exclusive, Prequalified Prospects Delivered in Real-Time
Thomson-Reuters’ 2020 State of U.S. Small Law Firms survey found attorneys spend about 60% of their time practicing law vs. 40% recruiting or retaining clients and managing their firms. That’s about 800 hours each year just trying to track down prospective clients! But as economic margins tighten, more firms are looking to downsize, streamline and cut overhead expenses. That’s when partnering with a client acquisitions industry leader like LeadingResponse can prove invaluable for growing your practice.
Every lead we generate for your firm is exclusive and delivered in real-time to your email, inbox, or preferred CRM. We never offer the same leads to your competitors, so there’s no race to contact and sign each new client. We also filter out unqualified leads to deliver only prospects most likely to convert into caseload opportunities every month. But LeadingResponse isn’t just another a broker that sells leads to law firm clients. As a premier client acquisitions industry leader, we’ll give you every tool your firm needs to optimize your intake process.
2. Automate Up to 50% of Your Firm’s Intake Process Tasks
Clio’s 2020 Legal Trends Report found firms using client intake and CRM solutions outperformed their competition in two important ways. Since February 2020, those firms reported 20% higher per-month caseload growth compared to those not using intake automation tools. In addition, those firms earned $27,304 more revenue per lawyer!
All LeadingResponse network firms gain instant access our secure, cloud-based Lead Management System (LMS). The LMS includes many built-in and premium add-on features designed to automate up to 50% of your intake process, including:
- Shipping tool: track packages and shipments online in real-time so you never miss a deadline
- E-Retainers: secure electronic signatures from prospects instantly via email or text during initial calls (current users report a more than 80% return rate using this feature)
- Automated drip marketing campaigns: Use customizable email and SMS/text templates to nurture your leads until they’re ready to complete the intake process
- Robust screening, reporting & tracking tools: See exact lead conversion rates, cost-per-case analysis, and other crucial intake process metrics
Think of the LMS as a virtual paralegal that requires nothing more than a WiFi-enabled device and your favorite browser.
3. Help Motivated Prospects Complete the Intake Process 2x Faster by Phone
When someone cold-calls your firm looking for help, they’re likely interested in hiring someone sooner than later. But recent benchmark reports show just 65% of law firm callers talk to a person instead of going to voicemail. Since you’re a busy attorney, we realize it’s not possible to answer every incoming call yourself. That’s why LeadingResponse offers premium services designed to turn convert more leads into clients with every phone call:
- SmartConnect assigns a quality score to leads entering the LMS, then dynamically prioritizes your call-back list in real-time. Prospects most likely to answer the phone rise to the top, while lower-quality leads move to the bottom. Firms using SmartConnect report more cases wanted, fewer prospects refusing help, 20% higher conversion rates and 2x faster intake process.
- SmartDialer is a simple, web-based interface that makes error-free outbound calls every time with just one click. SmartDialer doesn’t use your cell or landlines to contact leads, which can save your firm money on monthly phone bills. Pairing SmartDialer with SmartConnect can increase your firm’s average contact rate up to 10% during the intake process.
- DirectConnect is our call-focused service that can connect you instantly with live leads waiting to speak to you by phone.Since these prospects are actively seeking legal representation, you can start the intake process with them right away.
LeadingResponse can help law firms of any size specializing in any practice area unlock their true growth potential. Contact us using the form on this page when you’re ready to see real results – we’re eager to help your firm succeed in reaching your goals!
