Your phone rings, your assistant answers, and it’s a lead. Someone who heard about you, and your firm, from word of mouth, social media, or paid advertising.
Your assistant schedules them on your next consult slot and takes their name, number, and a brief description of the consultation.
A day before a call is made to remind your lead of their consult with you, the attorney. “Hi Sam, you have a consult with our attorney tomorrow at 11:00 am, please arrive 15 minutes early to fill out our consultation form (aka intake sheet), and bring any documents you would like to show the attorney, plus the consult fee. Thank you”
Your lead appears at their appointment, pays the consult fee, and sits to fill out the intake sheet.
This intake sheet is the beginning of it all. This is when you get to maximize your efficiency.
Be strategic about your questions on the intake sheet. Ask questions that will do two things, provide you with enough information for you to determine their case and enough information that can be used for their forms when they retain your service.
Provide a short list of the top documents you know you will need if they retain you prior to the consultation. You now will have documents on the first meeting instead of waiting weeks, sometimes months for clients to provide you with such documents.
This will save you, your team, and your client time to be able to jump-start the beginning of their case. By having the client provide you with enough information and documentation they will feel more invested and know that you care about their case. This will make them want to hire your even more!
Do you use an intake sheet during your consults? Has this improved your consultation process?
Let’s discuss it in the comments! I would love to hear about your experience.