High Hurdles: How Law Firms Alienate Potential Clients

Remember that scene from the ‘Wizard of Oz’, where the guard at the gates of the Emerald City is very reticent to let Dorothy and her friends in, until he realizes who they are, and changes his tune?  Well, consider yourself the green-mustachioed guard, and your law firm clients Dorothy Gale.  The only problem is, by the time you figure out who’s at your gates, and when you’re ready to help them, they’re already long gone. 



The point is that most law firms unconsciously set up barriers between themselves and their clients.  Lawyers don’t like to pick up the phone, and talk to existing clients, let alone potential clients, thereby driving a wedge between them and their business.  Clunky contact forms at law firm websites don’t always work.  Well, that’s another barrier.  Believe it or not, voicemail is a barrier.  Anything that stands between you and engagement with a potential client is a barrier.  And, more than anything else, the modern practice of law is about breaking down barriers between you and your clients. 

 

This is not to say that engagement always needs to be personal.  In many cases, engagement can be automated by building out responses to potential clients.  A contact form can be replaced by a chatbot.  A virtual receptionist can stand in place of an attorney.  But, the key is that the lead inquiry receives a reply, that there is some kind of return, rather than the more common situation, where a response is dropped into a vacuum, and the reply is too late in coming. 

 

When you can effectively create engagement points for law firm intake, you’ll close more clients, and make more money. 

 

. . .

If you and your clients seem worlds apart, we can help.  

Through a unique partnership between the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar and Jared Correia’s Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, Maine attorneys have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discounted rate. 

To get started, visit Red Cave’s landing page for Maine attorneys, and start running your law practice like a business.

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