The Need For An Effective Answering Service Posted on May 24, 2016 by Gary Falkowitz By Gary Falkowitz, Esq. I’m a little surprised that I am blogging about this topic but given all the conversations that I’ve had with attorneys throughout the country, I believe it’s necessary to discuss. We are living in an age where we expect immediate results. The idea that people are patient or willing to wait for someone to get back to them is outdated and foolish. In this same regard, when someone is considering hiring an attorney and they actually pick up the phone to speak with a law office, they are not just looking to have a conversation, they are looking to move forward. Moreover, because the internet is “open 24/7,” it is very likely that a potential claimant may find your firm at a random hour, which means they may actually call your firm at a random hour. So how do you prepare for this? The simple answer is make sure you have a live person available to speak with them at anytime. But it doesn’t stop there… Also read Slides & Recording: 10 Ways to Boost Profits Through Intake and Conversion Assuming you use a call center as an answering service for weeknights or weekends (which you should), you must make sure that it has the capability to live-transfer certain calls to someone in your office should the call meet certain criteria. There’s more… Preparing your answering service with the appropriate questions to ask, statistics to convey, answers to frequently asked questions and knowledge about how your firm handles its cases will give you the upper hand. When it comes to vendors, specifically ones like an answering service, accountability is huge. And the only way to ensure that they are adequately accountable is by assessing their work-product. This requires you to: Read their intakes Listen to their calls Determine how quickly they are picking up the phone. Reminder: Our profession is beyond competitive and you must treat it that way. Preparation and execution will separate you from your competitors. Closing the deal is of utmost importance and one of the ways you close the deal in our industry is by ensuring that your answering service is firing on all cylinders. Gary Falkowitz is the Principal at The Falkowitz Law Firm in Garden City, NY. The former managing attorney at Parker Waichman LLP, he is the CEO of Maximum Intake Consulting, Inc.
