2016: The Intake Bridge Is Bruised

2017: Add ICE

Having focused the last 6 years of my legal career on the Intake process, and the last two as an Intake Consultant for law firms throughout the country, I learned one tremendous lesson and many smaller ones. The most valuable lesson I learned was that leads/cases/inquiries/claimants (let’s call them “claimants” for the sake of this publication) are mostly lost as a result of a law firm’s practices more so than they are as a result of a claimant’s change of heart. In other words, our (Attorneys and Law Firms) bridge was not sufficiently appealing for those claimants that sought our representation. The result? Lost opportunities…

We work in an industry where cold calling is restricted. Therefore, our ability to become retained and increase the number of clients we have is based solely on two factors:

  • Our ability to make the phone ring; and
  • Our ability to become retained.

They are two wholly different responsibilities. And those firms that believe they are one and the same surely are placing themselves behind the eight-ball. Making the phone ring with qualified claimants requires financing and marketing talent. Thankfully, our industry is replete with both. However, the second phase, the ability to become retained, requires the ability to build an attractive bridge. And this is where we fail the most.

Having listened to more than a thousand intake calls and having reviewed tens of thousands of leads, it has become abundantly clear to me that we are our own worst enemy. Before I explain why, allow me to define what I mean by “bridge”.

Claimants contact us because they are seeking assistance with their problems. We hold ourselves out as problem solvers. The bridge that I am referring to is the ability to have claimants retain our law firm to resolve their problems. Apparently, this bridge is harder to build than I once thought. If it weren’t, we would retain a significant majority of the claimants that contact us. And, as most of you know, such is not the case. We are losing far too many claimants because the bridge we have built lacks appeal and, for that reason, we are our own worst enemy.

Below are some of the most popular reasons we lose claimants to our competitors:

  • Poor Phone Etiquette
  • Inadequate Follow-Up
  • Insufficient Note Taking
  • Lack of Reassurance
  • Slow Response Time
  • Pride
  • Unavailability
  • Inadequate Procedures

If you know me at all, you know that I won’t be satisfied with only sharing the issues. Rather, I must be able to provide answers. With that said, welcome to the age if ICE.

What is ICE?

  • Intake Conversion Experts, LLC

Who are we?

  • We are attorneys and/or intake software experts that have focused the last year of our lives on creating an exceptional and value-driven product to personal injury law firms throughout the country.

Why?

  • Because the industry requires it. It’s no longer okay to have just anyone answer the phone on your behalf. You need representatives that understand the landscape, the message that needs to be conveyed and, most importantly, the bridge that needs to be built.

As 2017 is among us, it is time to expect more from our vendors. It is time to expect more from our staff. And it is time to expect more from ourselves.

Healing a bruised Intake doesn’t necessarily require more funding. Rather, it may just need some ICE.

If you have any questions about these tips or would like to talk to ICE (Intake Conversion Experts) please call us at (855)WITH-ICE or email us at [email protected]