If you’re using lead generation to get clients, congratulations! You have mountains of people interested in your services.
Now you just have to get ahold of them.
Connecting with leads can be a time-consuming part of the client acquisition process. It’s not uncommon to have to try multiple times to get in touch with a potential client. Unfortunately, some attorneys give up long before the client is able to pick up the phone.
Following up takes effort, but it doesn’t have to become a part-time job. There are many ways to reduce follow-up time. Get ready: you have tons of leads and with some planning, you can turn them into clients quicker than you expected.
1) Have someone follow up for you
This could be an assistant, a paralegal, or even an intern. Dedicating someone’s job to client acquisition is the most straightforward way of reducing follow-up time on your end. Regardless of who you hire, the key is to make sure that they’re trained to identify a good claim. Not everyone will have the time, money, or office space to hire someone, but for those that do, this is an effective option.
2) Follow up immediately
No matter who is handling the follow-up process, they will need to follow up immediately—ideally within minutes of receiving the lead. The response rate falls substantially the longer you wait, and you may find yourself chasing someone down for weeks if you don’t get ahold of them immediately. We know this better than anyone, which is why our leads come with a live transfer feature. That way, you can respond as quickly as possible to potential claimants.
3) Create a schedule
Spending about twenty minutes at the beginning of the week to create a schedule of when you plan to call and email potential clients can substantially reduce the amount of time you end up doing it. Why? You won’t be searching for “those extra fifteen minutes” to call leads—those minutes will never materialize—because you’ll already have them scheduled in. There are ways to streamline this process; for example, our eLuminate software makes it easy to send out mass emails to leads.
4) Have a clear voicemail message
Voicemail messages can easily become awkward, in part because people forget that they can rehearse beforehand. So do that! Plan what you’ll say ahead of time so you don’t find yourself going on a tangent and then stammering out a farewell. It’s not hard to leave an effective voicemail, so spend some time crafting one before you make your calls.
5) Use multiple methods to reach leads
You must call your leads, but you should also email, and you may even want to consider texting. For example, a lead may not get your voicemail message (you can learn more about why from an interview with a lead screener). This is when texting or emailing after you leave a voicemail can be useful; it allows you to explain who you are, why you’re calling, and how a client can get ahold of you. Moreover, it has all of that information in a convenient location that the claimant can refer back to.
Lead generation will save you time on client acquisition, but only if you devote time to following up. This can seem counterintuitive, but once you compare your number of clients with the number of hours you spent acquiring them, you’ll see just how the math works out in your favor. Give us a call at 617.800.0089 to increase your caseload—and your revenue.