Phone It In: How Do You Get Calls Answered?

Law firms only answer 1 of 3 phones call they receive, on average.  Couple that with the fact that 64% of law firm voicemails are not returned, and there isn’t much ‘service’ left in law firm ‘customer service’. 

 

The good news is that this is all fixable.  And, it’s merely a matter of how you might array a number of call-answering options. 

 


Although lawyers can pick up phones on their own (delighting leads and clients in doing so), that can be a difficult thing for solo and small law firms to do, because they run the risk of having each of those calls converted into an open consultation.  The better solution is to have an administrative staffperson dedicated to answering calls; and, it’s better if that person is not a paralegal, who would be drawn off of performing billable work, in order to answer the phone.  But, perhaps the best option of all is to engage a virtual receptionist service, whose staff can follow scripts, and answer your calls 24 hours a day.  That also allows you to mix-and-match solutions.  For example, if the attorney and/or her staff are able to answer the phone during working hours, a virtual receptionist service could pick up after-hours calls, at a reduced rate. 

 

No matter how you manage the logistics, it’s important to ensure that clients (and especially) leads get an answer when they call your law firm.  If that doesn’t happen, you’re likely to lose new business, and endanger the happiness of your current clients. 

 

. . . 

 

If you need help managing your law firm communications, pick up the phone and give us a call. 

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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