Are You Leaving Money on the Table? Train Your Staff

I recently had the opportunity to ‘listen in’ on a test call made to a New York law firm to test their client relationship/client service skills. As I noted in a post several years ago, your receptionist and the staff who speak with clients first, before they get to a lawyer, can make or break your firm. If your staff is not appropriately trained to look out for marketing opportunities and to begin establishing the right relationships with clients, you may be leaving money on the table and not even know it.

The test call I heard was a call to a law firm asking for information about drawing up a will. The receptionist was pleasant enough, asked the client’s name and where the client heard about the firm. She then placed the client on hold, where she was picked up by another individual who identified herself, but not her position with the firm. The client advised simply that she was seeking information about having a will prepared. After a pause with no response from the staff member on the telephone, the client proceeded to ask the question that is logical for most clients who are unaware of the ins and outs of the legal matter they are seeking advice about: she asked about how much the firm would charge to prepare a will.

The staff person responded (predictably), “It depends.” She then proceeded to explain that the firm generally charges by the hour, but that different attorneys charged different rates, and that the more complicated the will and the more work was involved, the higher the overall cost would be. She then quoted a fee for a ‘simple’ will, again reiterating that the fee would increase depending on how much work was involved.

The client indicated that she thought the will would be a simple one, and confirmed the number the staff member had quoted. She then thanked the staff member and the call ended.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard lawyers complain that the inquiries they receive focus on cost, and that all clients care about when they call is how much the lawyer charges and they don’t want to know anything else. But this problem may be just as much the fault of the lawyer (or law firm) as it is the client.

In the test call above, the staff member made no attempt to get additional information from the client, to suggest that the client speak to a lawyer (if indeed the person on the phone was not a lawyer) or make an appointment to come into the firm. There was no offer of additional information, resources, etc. that might help the client understand the process of (or importance of) creating a will or the factors that might make a will more complicated (and therefore more expensive).

Indeed, it could be argued that the person in the phone had no interest at all in bringing the potential client into the firm to convert them into a paying client. And chances are that the firm’s leadership will never even know that a potential client call came in. They have no way to follow up or to complete the sale. Armed with nothing but a number, what would make this client return to this firm when (and if) she decides to move forward with her legal matter?