Here is an average Monday morning for any Managing Partner of a small and mid-size consumer law practice: Arrive early at the office with a coffee in hand around 7:30. Over the weekend you received over 50 emails from current clients, partners asking for a project status update first thing, and follow-ups from associate attorneys. On your desk is a stack of paperwork, client files and contracts that you know must get out before 10AM. Noon at the latest.
Also, you know that at least five new prospective client webforms came in off your firm’s website over the weekend and it looks like no one else has followed up. You find that following up with your new prospective client leads is frustrating and it is pushed to the bottom of your list. You know it should be a priority, but it simply isn’t.
We understand your frustration.
When it comes to sifting through the new leads, you can assume that only two or three out of ten are going to be potential claims that you may be willing to take. After determining that the potential client may have a claim, you then must convince them to retain you as their attorney. The lead nurturing process a constant up-hill climb. Many firms find this process overwhelming, frustrating and under supported by their firm’s systems.
To help reduce this frustration, we’ve identified five common mistakes law firms make in their lead nurturing efforts and outlined action items you can do today to help simplify and enhance your firm’s client acquisition efforts.
Mistake #1: Not having an owner of your lead nurturing efforts.
Many firms will say that “everyone should be helping to bring in new business”. However, I believe that many people in charge results in no one in charge. It is extremely important that one person is accountable for the entire lead nurturing and client retention process. Additionally, the person in charge of this portion of the business does not have to be an attorney and in my belief, should not be an attorney.
Takeaway: Make a single person accountable for managing your lead nurturing activities. They should know what marketing is doing to drive leads, what the frontline folks are doing to screen and qualify clients, and what the support group is doing to get retention packets out and get them back signed. This person should also have an understanding of the legal process – but again, isn’t an attorney.
Action item you can do today: Assign a person in your firm the task of putting together a back-of-the-envelope process diagram of all the steps in your lead nurturing efforts.
Mistake #2: Not having a Sales CRM to help support and automate the process.
Often small law firms keep client information in databases used for case management and billing, which certainly isn’t the most suitable format for lead nurturing and marketing purposes. It is also true that the databases are often only “touched” by the team working on case files. It is important to look at the firm’s client base in a big picture sense, not have it segmented by function. The cost of CRM’s has come down and there are many cloud based options, so it should be possible to make something work for you.
Takeaway: Utilize centralized technology beyond spreadsheets to manage your incoming leads. Make sure every lead is entered into your CRM.
Action items you can do today: Sign up for a demo from some B2C CRM’s to learn about options and pricing. I recommend checking out Hubspot, ZoHo, and Pipedrive.
Mistake #3: Not setting up an acquisition funnel.
Do you know your inventory numbers? Can you measure the efficiency of your client acquisition efforts? This is more important than you think. If you want to grow, it is imperative to have and understand this data. Not sure what your funnel should look like? Check out this post to learn more.
Takeaway: To become more efficient and grow your firm, you need to know how many leads it takes for you to retain a case. You also need to know what your marketing cost-per-lead is.
Action item you can do today: Draft an outline of the number of steps in your current funnel. A simple law firm funnel has 4 stages: Leads, Qualified Leads, Retainer Packet Sent Out, and Retainer Packet Returned.
Mistake #4: Not nurturing your leads instantly.
If you are getting leads and then taking your time calling them back – they almost may as well not be a lead. There are optimal time frames in which to contact leads. For example, you need to call web leads back within 5 minutes of their submission. You may get a voice mail, but making that first attempt within 5 minutes makes a world of difference. Additionally, consumers respond to follow up calls better on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons according to the Lead Response Management Best Practices study by InsideSales.co and MIT. Also, you should be making at least 6 call back attempts.
Takeaway: Holding out for an appropriate time to call your leads back is wasting your marketing dollars. Set up a method to instantly call back all leads and determine your firm’s cadence for calling leads back.
Action item you can do today: Do some research on the best practices for responding to leads. You can start by checking out this study by InsideSales.com and MIT, Lead Response Management Best Practices. Determine how quickly your firm is calling back web leads.
Mistake #5: Not investing in marketing.
You need to continuously generate leads for your firm to grow. In general, law firms are great at handling cases and many do not build core competencies in marketing. This is OK. However, you need to either hire legal lead generation experts, or hire an agency. Whichever choice you make, getting your marketing team aligned with your goals and metrics will be critical. Your team must clearly know your cost-per-lead targets. I believe there are many good lead generation agencies that will meet your marketing needs and I highly recommend engaging an agency for a 30-day test. See how it goes. If you believe in the team, keep going. If not, engage a new agency.
It may take a few engagements, but finding a marketing agency or an in-house lead generation expert that is a good fit for your firm will be critical for growth.
Takeaway: Hire marketing experts. You need to continuously generate leads for your firm to grow your practice.
Action item you can do today: Determine your growth goals, determine the number of leads you need to hit your growth goals, and determine your cost-per-lead target. Talk to two to three agencies that your colleagues have used for legal lead generation.