The team at Gimbal works with law firms to set up efficient processes from the very first contact with a potential new client (a prospect) right through to payment of the final invoice. One area where Gimbal sees firms often waste time is moving to a consultation or even a full-blown intake process before they understand the needs of the prospect, whether their firm can help, and whether the prospect is a fit with the type of client they most want to serve.
Pre-screening consists of a simple set of qualification questions a prospect answers right after initiating contact, and before intake, which allows a firm to get clear on whether engaging that lead in the more time-intensive intake process will be a good investment. In many cases, pre-screening also helps prospects understand whether a firm will even be able to help them. In some cases, prospects will self-screen out before the full intake process starts, saving them valuable time.
“What we were hoping to find, and what we ultimately found with Lawbrokr, was a way to effectively pre-screen leads.” - Karen Dunn Skinner
Pre-screening leads optimizes the overall intake process. It’s particularly important for firms that have:
“The biggest time wasters are the tire-kickers. Most law firms’ websites don’t help clients qualify themselves. The website doesn’t guide them through a process that helps them make the right purchasing choice.” - David Skinner
1) Place your unique Lawbrokr link everywhere your next client is looking for you.
Research shows that 33% of legal consumers begin their search for a lawyer online. Place your Lawbrokr link where your clients are most likely to connect with you: your firm website, Google business page, Facebook, Avvo, advertising copy, etc.
2) Make Lawbrokr pre-screening your first “handshake” with each new lead.
No matter how a prospect reaches out – online, on the phone, or as a walk-in - their first interaction with you or your staff should be a friendly quiz-style set of pre-screening questions.
The same pre-screening questions you ask your prospects online can be asked by your receptionist or answering service.
“Lawyers don’t think about giving their pre-screening quiz to intake specialists or receptionists, but it’s integral.” - David Skinner
Gimbal has seen the addition of pre-screening save law firms significant time, both for intake staff and attorneys. Karen Skinner, of Gimbal, shared that they recommend Lawbrokr regularly to firms overhauling their intake processes. One firm was ‘giving away’ time by providing a public calendar for prospects to book a consultation if they wanted to connect with the firm.
“They were wasting valuable time every week in consultations with people they couldn’t or didn’t want to serve. So they stopped allowing prospects to book consultations with Calendly, implemented pre-screening using Lawbrokr, and had their virtual receptionist use Lawbrokr as a guide for screening inbound calls.”
Karen shared that by making these simple changes, the firm was able to gain back control of their calendar, and save hours of time a week in meetings with people who would never become clients.
Curious to see how Lawbrokr eliminates dead-end consultations and provides valuable lead insights? Schedule a free 30 minute pre-screening consultation!
