By Legal Futures’ Associates The Law Superstore
For many legal experts, there has never been a need to chase business. It was the work of the sales or marketing team to bring the clients to you, or perhaps you didn’t even need that. A local business with a good standing in the community and enough foot traffic could make sure you were always the first choice for potential clients.
However, things are changing. Digital marketing has become more important than ever, and in the wake of the pandemic, perhaps fewer people are comfortable just ‘popping in’ to the office. If your team are there at all.
As a lead generator we work with lots of legal professionals who have never had to convince a client over the phone that they are the best option. However, those persuasive skills can come in handy, especially if there is going to more competition.
Here are our top four top tips for converting legal leads:
- Following up quickly
We know that your time is precious, but whether it’s a lead or an email enquiry, responding promptly gives you the best chance of capturing that client. Especially if the lead has come from a comparison site, where the user is much more likely to be looking for an immediate solution.
Calling immediately or sending an automatic email can get you ahead of the game. An automatic email template can save time and could allow you to collect further information, or let the client book in an appointment without you having to do anything.
If you are working with lead generation for the first time, allocating the leads to one specific team member to follow up on can be the most cost effective and efficient way of working.
- Thinking long term
You probably know better than anyone – there are a lot of confused people out there who don’t know if they need a lawyer. Whether they’re looking for advice, an expert or sympathetic ear, you may be able to make it work to your advantage.
Making a great first impression can really go a long way. A concerned person asking questions about divorce may not be ready to take the plunge and start proceedings for a few months, but if you listened well, offered information and impressed them, they’re likely to come back to you when the time is right.
It can obviously be frustrating to spend time advising people who aren’t going to become immediate customers, but that patience and care will help build recognition and maybe even recommendations.
- Become an expert interviewer
You know what questions to ask to determine the value and effort of a case. But there may be some patterns that emerge. Either perfecting the over-the-phone questions, or sending out a standard template could help you not only convert more calls to cases, but learn some valuable lessons.
Where have people heard of you from? Why are they getting in touch now? Is there a location element or can you provide a remote service well enough to cast the net wider?
You’ll also learn what works well and what doesn’t, so you can adapt to a different style of information gathering, or a different way of offering your services. Maybe your experience stops you from remembering how little a potential client might know, and you offer too much information?
That could be solved by having more information on your website, or an information pack that would save your time and help the person realise on their own whether they need your help.
There is always more to learn, and more opportunities once you assess what works and what doesn’t. What works for one firm may not work for another, so it’s a real chance to play to your strengths.
- Consider ROI
Leads are an investment, and the more exploration you do, the more you will figure out what works for you. It may be that you can choose a location you wouldn’t have reached before that could offer a great return. It might simply be that you put a more junior staff member on responding to leads, in order to keep costs down. Perhaps you’re only using lead generation for those big cases that will top up your usual workload.
Responding to lead generation as a legal professional can be a change of pace. It requires research skills, sales skills and the confidence to convince someone that you can give them what they need. But for those firms who are eager to develop these skills and move into new spaces, there will be new opportunities to explore post-lockdown.
