What is a Law Firm Intake Specialist?
Long gone are the days when clients walked right up to the door and busted down the door and walked on in asking to speak with an attorney. Today, they still do when they’re facing criminal charges, but for most of today’s law firms, the majority of clients contact the firm via phone, email, chat, text message, walk in and even submit an inquiry right through the website. In fact, the overwhelming majority of consumers are turning to online platforms to contact businesses and that trend is only anticipated to grow. Right now surveys show 72% of consumers prefer to contact a business through chat over phone.
That said, the main goal for a law firm is to convert as many of these leads into paying clients as possible. When it comes to high velocity leads, the faster you pick up the phone the better. However, it’s often a race against the clock as clients on the edge between choosing your firm and your competitors are always in a rush to get their questions answered quickly and they expect you to be right there on the other line waiting to hear them out.
Ultimately, a constant influx of leads pouring into your law firm doesn’t translate into an expanding law firm. Much more goes into rapidly converting leads into clients. Those leads need to be qualified, nurtured, and you have to build a relationship with them to build their commitment to you.
So what do attorneys have to do with any of this?
Enter law firm intake specialist: an invaluable position defined as the first person to speak to a potential client. This person will be responsible to being the first point of contact a lead sees, they get to make a first impression , and they’re also the first one to gauge potential interest. This person will sift through the noise to find the best opportunities for the firm, and to determine the best fit. Although the position has many names (intake manager, director of first impressions, client care coordinator, etc) the job is much the same regardless of the title: they need to be able to quickly and effectively identify what the client really needs, and then determine whether the firm can accept the case, or if the firm needs to make a referral.
Recently, Intake Academy posted an article titled "The Essential Guide to Law Firm Intake" where they expand on the definition of the intake specialist as follows: "A law firm intake specialist is someone that handles the first contact with the potential client. This could be a live chat, an email or a phone call. Depending on the volume of leads your firm gets, your intake specialist could be handling dozens or hundreds of leads every day".
Most of the time, law firm intake specialists are highly trained in soft sales, customer service, and they’re taught to stand apart from the current in-house staff by only passing on highly qualified leads that show a strong interest in working with your firm. Getting the leads is a huge part of their job, however this isn’t the end of the line, they’re also responsible for quality assurance to ensure that word of mouth leads are delivered to the appropriate attorney, and they’re also responsible for making sure that every lead gets a proper follow up.
From selling to building relationships to preserving integrity, the intake specialist’s role is in constant motion. While anybody can do some of these things, an intake specialist is trained to do all of these things, and do them well.
Law Firm Intake Specialist Skills
As the front line of the firm, a comprehensive set of skills is necessary to partake in the tasks of an Intake Specialist. Strong communication and persuasion skills are a must to both qualify and convince leads to move forward with the firm’s services. Often times leads will require detailed and comprehensive information about how a specific legal situation will be handled by the firm. This means that not only do Intake Specialists need to have this information at their fingertips, they need to be able to relay it in a digestible manner to a lead that may not have any legal background.
In addition to communication and persuasion skills, the ability to organize and prioritize is imperative for an Intake Specialist. Often times there will be a high volume of incoming leads often coming in across multiple communication platforms. When the phones are ringing off the hook, e-mails are rolling in, chats need to be answered, and all these leads are seeking the invaluable services that the firm offers, it is imperative that the Intake Specialist making a strong case for the firm while still maintaining order and organization. As incoming leads are being segmented and scheduled for calls (if they qualify), Intake Specialists also need to keep detailed notes on every interaction with a particular lead so that the attorney has all the information he or she needs for the follow-up call. For example, if a lead mentions two children and a previous bankruptcy during the first call, a note should be entered so none of this information is lost prior to the follow-up call.
Finally, a successful Intake Specialist should have a fundamental knowledge of the legal services that a law firm provides. This helps qualify leads and filter out opportunities that may not be worth the firm’s time and effort.
Advantages of Employing an Intake Specialist
Having a dedicated intake specialist in your law firm can go a long way toward boosting client satisfaction and increasing revenue. When a potential client speaks with an attorney, they’re much more likely to sign on the dotted line. However, many law firms are so busy running their business that they have only a few precious minutes to speak with a potential client on the phone or in person. An intake specialist is passionate about client care. They will make the time to speak with a potential new client whether it’s Monday night or Saturday morning. There is no reason to risk a good lead by denying them your attention. With an intake specialist, you will never lose a new case to a competitor again.
An intake specialist handles case intake and qualification to determine if the case is a good match for your law firm and to assess the need for representation. A good intake specialist tries to learn as much as possible about the client during the intake process, often meeting with the client multiple times before the attorney meets with the client. An intake specialist also has the time to follow up with the prospective client after the initial meeting. An intake specialist can also be trained to meet with mediation clients before the mediation to discuss what to expect, alleviating some of their anxiety without burdening the attorney.
If there isn’t an intake process in place, all of the above duties are the responsibility of the attorney or paralegal. If you add one intake specialist to your team, the team can operate more efficiently. But if your specialist is highly trained and knowledgeable, the workload could actually decrease. So while you may see an increase in the number of leads coming into the office, you can actually experience a lessening of the workload and a reduction in overheads.
Your intake specialist is the first person the prospective client will contact, either over the phone, via email or in person. Their first impression will greatly determine whether the prospect will follow through and schedule a consultation. Your intake specialist will be empathetic and friendly towards every prospective client. He or she will put them at ease and ask detailed questions to get a thorough understanding of their needs. After the prospective client leaves, your intake specialist will document the conversation into your case management software and send a reminder email to the prospect.
Many law offices aren’t aware that they can provide free consultations remotely – using telephone or video conferencing technology. When your intake specialist gathers the required information from the prospective client, they can schedule the consultation. It can be easy for busy attorneys to delay returning a call or getting on a Skype chat with a prospective client. However, if your intake specialist schedules the appointment right away when the lead contacts the firm, the prospect will appreciate the firm’s responsiveness and you’ll be more likely to close the deal.
Intake Process Steps – My First Call to a Law Firm
Before the intake specialist even picks up the phone, firm leaders and marketing staff have worked hard to generate leads and plan for the intake process. They have promoted the firm to get clients to communicate with the firm, directing them to call, email or fill out an online form for more information. In most firms, new clients come in four general ways: the phone rings, a potential client drops by, the client fills out an online form or the client sends an email or letter directly to the firm. Whichever way the client chooses to make contact, an initial record has been created in your law firm’s case management or contact software.
Once the communication is in the intake system, the intake specialist goes to work, first by qualifying the lead – that is finding out how good of a prospect they’ll be for the firm. Some firms attempt to do this with an intake script that could be followed to the letter, but it’s usually up to the individual intake specialist to make a determination on how qualified each lead will be for your firm.
Next, the intake specialist determines if the case should be internally assigned to a lawyer. And if a case needs to be assigned, they’ll determine which lawyer would be the best fit for that client’s needs. At this point, the intake specialist might send out a confirmation email or some sort of communication to reinforce the client’s initial contact with the firm.
Intake Technology
When there are multiple moving parts and many potential opportunities available, managing and tracking prospects can become tedious and error-prone. Technology can enhance your process by creating consistency, ease of use, and dusting off tracking and management systems that you’ve invested in.
Caliber is a cutting-edge case management software that is used by thousand of firms and legal professionals across the country. Particularly in managing intake, Caliber can be vital in tracking your leads and prospects for easy follow-up and conversion. Many lead generation companies also utilize Caliber to more accurately track the return on investment on their services to firms they work with.
CRM (Client Relationship Management) tools like Clickback are software that allow you to keep all your leads and prospects organized and with a specific purpose in mind. CRM tools are not specifically for legal services , but they do allow you to customize to most legal niches. Keeping all of your information in one place and with a specific purpose in mind allows for easier analytics and is an important part of any intake strategy.
Contact forms on your website or landing page present a unique opportunity to capture information in real-time while minimizing uncertainty on the lead professional’s end. By utilizing web forms, key data points are captured and the information is funneled directly to the intake specialist for immediate action.
CRM and intake management systems are just two of the many ways law firms utilize technology to stay competitive and maintain a constant flow of business via the intake process.
Intake Specialist Challenges
An intake specialist at a law firm faces several common challenges. One of these is handling and collecting sensitive information from potential clients. Often, the person contacting your firm has found you through an internet search or online form. Without knowledge of your firm’s services, this inquiring person may know very little about you at the outset. They could be nervous to discuss the issues (and want to hide their struggle) or they could be desperate for help. The intake specialist must learn to tread delicately, while also being familiar and comfortable with collecting detailed information. Failure to do so on both parts could result in loss of potential business.
Handling a high volume of inquiries can be difficult across different platforms. Some firms generate business from conference room events or marketing materials. These inquires can be quick and only require a phone call to learn more. Others come from websites, and phone calls, and those can take significantly longer. Based on state Bar requirements, the timeline for responding to quickly to inquires is short. A person who fills out an online form is not going to be in a highly engaged level of interest for long, and may end up inputting their information on multiple sites. The intake specialist must watch the time, stay on top of the calendar, and follow-up with these leads on a regular basis or risk losing them.
The largest challenge is the lack of specified educational requirements for an intake specialist. Unlike a paralegal certification, legal nurse certification, or even attorney licensure, there is no formal education or certification requirements for intake specialists. Some experienced intake specialists have developed their own internal training when hiring an inexperienced or new staff member. It also leaves room for unscrupulous "lead generation firms" to market themselves as an education service for intake specialists.
Intake Training
Training and ongoing development are important aspects of a successful intake department. When we ask attorneys to explain what characteristics they are looking for in an intake specialist, we get a variety of answers. One of the most common answers: they want to find the right person with the right skills and then train them on how to be even more successful.
Of course, training and development needs to start with selecting the right person. The right person has the right skillset, experience, and ability to learn and grow. The right person also believes in the importance of intake and is open to learning new things.
These qualities may seem obvious, but they are really hard to find. When we’ve been doing the intake for a long time, sometimes we forget it’s really not an easy job. There’s a steep learning curve. An intake specialist often needs to practice their soft skills (problem-solving, empathy, etc.) for a few months before they feel comfortable on the phone.
However, a typical intake process isn’t going to teach an intake specialist how to improve his or her soft skills (like how to empathize with someone who’s going through a difficult situation). This is where basic training and professional development (advancing education) come in .
Just because intake is the frontline of the firm’s marketing effort doesn’t mean it should be a thankless, unrecognised job. This is where your leadership as a firm can be realized. You can say, "Look, we realize that intake is our marketing and sales front line and our first contact with people, but we also realize that callers can be very needy, very demanding, and can require a lot of patience. Because you do such as a great job for us, we’re going to give you resources to study empathy, understanding callers’ needs, and some of these other types of things and we’re going to set expectations that you can meet and then exceed."
It’s not just about setting a goal and giving everybody an unattainable goal; it’s about saying to them, "We believe in you. We trust you. We trained you well; now you need to give us some feedback—what’s working, what’s not working, if you have any ideas. You’re the expert in this area. You listen to our callers day-in and day-out, every five minutes, every hour, every day. You’re the one who’s going to give us good feedback about the process because you’re the one who’s executing it."
Make intake and your intake team feel valued and make them feel like their input is appreciated. That’s the way you get people involved in your process.