In law firms, client intake involves onboarding new clients and obtaining information that is needed to open their cases. The process is very important for new and established firms because it helps them create a great first impression on their clients and keeps their firms running efficiently. However, the intake process is a time-consuming task for the attorneys, who also have other duties like making court appearances, resolving disputes, and conducting research to get evidence for their client’s cases.
However, the good news is, law firms can hire customized intake services and outsource that task to experts who can help them get more clients quickly. In addition, it will free up more time for the attorneys so they can focus on other important duties. The benefits of creating customized intake for clients include.
Attracting leads
The intake process begins when a potential customer interacts with your law firm for the first time. The potential client may have heard about your firm, or they may have come across your website. If your firm does not have an efficient intake process, the leads may accumulate over time and get buried. Lost leads may be equated to lost revenue because even though they have not yet been converted to paying clients, you can win the potential clients who are still undecided about whether to hire you or not.
It will save resources and time
Not every potential client is a good fit because some may need assistance in an area of practice that you are not offering, or they may have a limited budget. Therefore, when you obtain your lead’s personal information, you will be able to identify any conflicts of interest very early and save your firm time, effort, and money in the long run. In addition, you can refer the customer to a lawyer who is suitable for them and maybe someday that lawyer can refer another suitable client to you.
It will make the clients feel valued
The experts that will be handling the intake process will listen and be emotionally sensitive during the initial consultation. Prospective clients come to lawyers to seek help when they are facing very stressful and difficult situations. Making potential clients feel comfortable from the beginning can help them decide to retain you as their legal representative.
It will enable you to efficiently onboard your client
After you have established that both you and the client are interested in moving forward, then you can give them more information about what to expect by onboarding them. Onboarding entails providing detailed information about the client’s billing cycle, signing the fee agreement, and talking about expectations regarding how their case will unfold.
It will provide a great user experience
If you want to bring in new clients, then your firm needs to minimize any barriers by offering e-signatures on fee agreements and other important documents to simplify the process of signing contracts online. This gives the client an easier process and eases their stress. You want to make sure you make your client’s life as easy as possible. Some people are reaching out for the first time, and you don’t want them to get agitated before you start working with them.
Bottomline
Client intake involves attracting new clients when they first interact with your legal company to the final moment when they become paying clients by signing an engagement letter. This process is important for law firms because it helps them attract and convert leads into long-term customers. It’s always best to build a strong clientele as soon as you can. This will help build your business within the legal field and soon those clients will reference your work to someone else who may need it.
