The client intake process is your prospective client’s first introduction to your legal practice. It’s an opportunity to educate clients about your practice and how you can meet their needs, as well as what they can expect when working with you.
Here are signs that you have a healthy client intake process that sets your team and your clients up for success—and if you’re not doing these things, here’s your sign to start.
1. You screen your clients thoroughly
Your firm may receive interest from a wide range of parties, and not all parties will be a good fit for your firm. Whether they need a service you don’t provide or expertise in a different practice area, it’s essential to weed through your leads and separate out qualified and non-qualified leads.
A pre-intake form is a great way to streamline your intake process. These forms help you determine whether or not a prospective client is a good fit for your team. These forms can also decrease administrative time—if your intake team knows what to ask each time, they can consistently get the same information from prospects.
What’s more, if you capture the right information and store it correctly, then your firm becomes well-positioned to capitalize on that data and use it to build a stronger connection with a future client.
2. You eliminate barriers to service
As a practice, you want to make it as easy and seamless as possible for a client to find you and express their interest.
Regardless of how they arrive at your front door (whether literal or virtual), it’s important to make it as easy as possible for a client to connect and start a conversation with you. This could look like an interest form, a calendar link to schedule a consultation, a chatbot on social media, or a phone number clearly visible on your website.
3. You respond quickly—and maintain good communication
The most important thing for a prospective client is a swift follow-up. Your law firm is 100 times more likely to connect with a lead if communication is initiated within five minutes of the first point of contact.
If you’re struggling to maintain timely communication, consider automated email campaigns that can be customized to guide clients through the interest and consultation phases. These tools can help reduce manual administrative time and free you up for face-to-face consultations with qualified leads.
4. Your intake is consistent for every client
Your client intake process should be a clear, easy-to-follow, and well-oiled machine. Creating a standardized workflow for client intake allows your firm to minimize administrative time, while also empowering each member of your firm to participate and understand the intake process.
If your firm struggles with developing and sticking to a consistent process, there are strategies you can use to automate the process as much as possible. For example, client relationship management (CRM) software can:
- Create task templates for workflows
- Implement consistent messaging in client communications
- Facilitate appointment reminders and follow-ups
- Reduce manual data entry and data entry errors
- Track client data
These tools may take some time setting up, but once they’re established, they can provide your firm with a long-term, sustainable intake process that leaves clients confident in their decision to partner with your practice.
About Law Ruler
Law Ruler provides best-in-class Legal CRM, marketing automation, and client intake solutions for law firms of all sizes and practice areas.
To learn more about how Law Ruler makes it easy to grow your business, visit lawruler.com today!