1. Make someone accountable. Think about the money you spend on advertising like you would spend your personal money. You spend major money on TV to make your phone ring. Would you turn over half a million dollars to your financial advisor and then never follow up? Of course not! What type of ROI are you receiving for your money? What reports are you receiving from your reps? Are you having regular meetings with them to see what is working and what isn’t? This is your company’s money you are spending and your future! You need a knowledgeable person whom you can trust to know what you are expecting for your investment.
2. Your accountable person should be looking at the intakes coming into your firm to make sure each and every call is being reviewed for third party claims – even single car accidents. Third party claims are kind of like the hidden gems of cases. When speaking with a potential client they may say things like, “the airbag never deployed,” or, “my car rolled over during the wreck.” These are key phrases your intake staff need to listen for in case there was a defect from the car manufacturer. Never allow a non-experienced lawyer or team member to decline representation of cases without having a more senior attorney who is well versed in the types of cases you handle review the intakes.
Also listen when the client discusses other medications they were taking, recent surgeries or illnesses. Possibly they were taking a cholesterol drug or coming home from having an IVC Filter implanted, or they were treated for cancer. Are these drugs or devices part of any recalls resulting in mass tort litigations? You could be missing out on countless third party claims by not having anyone accountable for double-checking the details!
3. You need a good referral network for cases you don’t handle. Not every law firm accepts every case, but if your phone is ringing don’t let that opportunity pass you by. Work with law firms you know who accept other types of cases (bankruptcy, divorce, etc.) and set up a referral agreement with them. Your client will feel more at ease when you explain that you have a system set up for cases just like theirs. The last thing you want to say is that you don’t handle those types of cases and then hang up. You need to explain to the client the attorney fee split and how this affects them. Also, let them know someone from the other law firm will be contacting them and it is ok to speak with them. When you build that relationship with the client, you will become their go-to lawyer for every legal need – even those that your firm does not handle.
Having a good referral network also means training your intake staff on the procedures for setting up these referrals. The referral should be seamless and easy. Remember you aren’t giving your client away, you are in essence sharing them with the other law firm.
Your system must include good follow up with the other firm to see if they have accepted the case, and also to follow up on your outstanding fees. Often firms fail to follow up with law firms when they have referred cases out. Law firms get busy and sometimes forget to pay referral fees. If you have a good follow-up system in place, you can help ensure your firm is paid timely for all referrals. Also, you want to be mindful of firms that do not pay and remove them from your list of preferred firms which will receive your referrals.
4. Last but not least – know your KPI’s! I have said it before and I will say it again, you have to know your want percentage and your conversation percentage by staff member and case type. If you are just hoping your intake staff are signing up all the cases you want, they probably aren’t. Communicate with and train your intake staff on what cases you want and what cases you will refer out. Keep up with your strongest call converters and set up training for the weaker ones. As your intake department grows, make sure your staff are continuously learning and growing as well.
Think smarter, not harder. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that you can do that will increase your dollar!
