7 Steps to Make Your Law Firm’s Intake Team a
Lean, Mean Revenue Generating Machine
By Stephen Fairley
Founder and CEO of The Rainmaker Institute
Gilbert, Arizona
A
ll the money and effort your
bankruptcy law firm invests
in lead generation is wasted
if your intake team cannot or does
not know how to convert those leads
into appointments. When potential
new clients call, you must have a
well-oiled intake system in place that
converts prospects into paying clients.
Your ability to successfully convert
leads starts with your intake process.
Typically, the firms that fall down at
intake are failing not because their
people don’t care, it’s because they
lack a defined process, they do not
know best practices, and they lack
accountability. They keep repeating the
same mistakes over and over, letting
those costly leads slip through their
fingers. To avoid this from happening
to your firm, here’s a seven-step guide
on how to structure and manage your
intake system so that it can become a
revenue generating machine for your
bankruptcy firm.
Step 1: Hire dedicated intake
specialists. Depending on the size
of your bankruptcy firm, you need a
dedicated team or at least one intake
specialist who is responsible for
handling inbound calls from prospects.
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CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL
This is not a receptionist! This is not
a paralegal or an attorney! This is
a highly trained “sales” person who
knows how to sell over the phone. This
person is an integral part of your intake
system. At The Rainmaker Institute®,
we have helped over 18,000 attorneys,
including many of the fastest growing
bankruptcy firms in the nation. We are
specialists when it comes to intake
and lead conversion for bankruptcy
firms. Every single one of the fastest
growing bankruptcy firms have one
thing in common—they ALL have
intake specialists who are responsible
for answering the phones, qualifying
leads, and setting appointments with
qualified leads. They are not attorneys
or paralegals. They are trained sales
people. What are they selling? They
are selling prospects on why they
should come in for a consultation with
you versus trying to do it by themselves
or going to another law firm. ·
Step 2: Provide ongoing training
for your intake team. Training your
team is critical to success. Your intake
person or team needs to be thoroughly
trained on the following areas:
· Precisely how to answer the phone
(should be with the name of your
firm, not just “Law Firm!”).
· How to answer the most frequently
asked questions from prospects.
· How to explain your firm’s unique
competitive advantage clearly and
succinctly (no legal jargon).
· What kind of information they need
to collect from every caller — name,
phone number, email address, why
they are calling, etc.
· 4-6 questions they need to ask
to quickly qualify or disqualify a
prospect. Step 3. Build trust from the very first
call. Building trust can take time, so
don’t incentivize your intake team to
get a caller off the phone as quickly as
possible. Instead, train them to really
listen to the caller’s problems and
teach them how to empathize along
the way. A simple acknowledgment of
the prospects legal problems and how
difficult it must be for them can go a long
way to building rapport and trust. Asking
prospects open-ended questions that
gets them to open up more to you is key
to making the connection necessary to
take that important next step: booking
the appointment. Talking about their
problems makes people feel good.
Take advantage of that.
Spring 2018
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A script for when they must leave
a voicemail message when calling
prospects back.
Key information about your firm —
website address, physical address,
driving directions to your location,
etc.
Any lead tracking software or
systems they will be using as part
of their job.
How to schedule appointments for
prospects and with whom.
How and how often to follow up
with prospects.
How to express empathy and
support for the prospect’s problem.
How to control callers who talk
too much — their job is to set that
appointment not be their therapist.
If you’re not sure where to find a great
intake person or how to train them
go to www.RainmakerIntake.com for
some free training resources.
Step 4: Train and re-train your
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys