Many clients will decide to work with you (or not!) based on the experience of their first call. Every call from a potential new client is a sales call. And that means every person answering your phones is a salesperson.

Do you have a consistent sales process for handling incoming calls? If not, you risk losing potential clients and leaving money on the table.

Welcome to Gimbal’s Tip of the Week, where you get practical, actionable advice you can use right away to start building a more productive and profitable legal practice.

This week’s tip is to establish a sales process that kicks in every time the phone rings, no matter who answers.

Clio reached out to 500 law firms via phone and presented their findings in the 2019 Legal Trends Report. They found that only about half the firms were able to answer typical questions a potential client might ask, explain their legal process, and provide a clear set of next steps. 57% of the firms they contacted never called them back, and of the ones they spoke to, 61% provided “unsatisfactory” communications.

Potential clients are constantly bombarded by advertisements. Your potential clients have to consider multiple options when they’re searching for the best lawyer to meet their needs. If you cannot provide adequate information over the phone, then you’re less likely to stand out from the competition and land new clients.

Everyone who answers your phones needs to know what to say and how to answer typical questions. In most firms, lawyers hold that information. But it’s not efficient for you to handle every incoming call (more on that in the coming weeks). You need to empower others in the firm to handle some or all of the calls, and then all of you need a consistent process and a clear sales message.

Your action item this week is to write out your current sales process.

Writing down each step from start to finish will give you a better idea of any gaps in the process. Even with experienced staff, you can’t take it for granted that everyone is on the same page unless you clearly outline the process and expectations.

Ask yourself, can everyone answering the phone adequately answer all the questions that new clients typically ask? These include:

•  What types of cases does your firm handle?
•  What is the legal process like, and what should I expect?
•  What are your rates?
•  Can I have an estimate of the total cost for my case?
•  What are my next steps?

Once you’ve identified the gaps, update your sales process and share it with your entire team.

Anticipating potential clients' needs and their most frequently asked questions will help you establish a successful sales process that can be used by anyone who answers calls at your firm. You’ll stand out among your competitors and land more clients with less effort.