The success of your law firm in the next year will not be determined by the number of leads you receive; it will be determined by you and your team’s ability to convert those contacts into contracts.

Over the last 15 years, it’s been our privilege to work with over 15,000 attorneys to help them generate and convert more prospects into paying clients. One of our main messages is, your lead generation efforts will be wasted unless you have a system to nurture and convert them. “I don’t have time” is no longer a valid excuse with the marketing automation software that’s available today.

The average consumer attorney only converts 5-15 percent of their leads into paying clients (out of 100 leads they sign up 5-15 new clients)! However, by using a systematic approach to lead conversion, you can increase your lead conversion rate to 25, 35, even 45 percent. Translated – that means you can double or even triple your revenues without getting any more leads!

Here are six steps you need to implement in order to improve your law firm’s lead conversion rate:

1.  You must have a dedicated intake specialist.

One of the things we have learned is the necessity for a culture shift to occur in law firms so that the individuals responsible for the firm’s intake process are chosen based on a sales — not customer service — background.

Our experience has shown us that many law firms have the wrong people answering prospect calls. You don’t want people handling your intake process who have a customer service background; you want people who have sold stuff over the telephone.

You want to build a sales-oriented culture within your firm since lead conversion is a money-making function. You don’t want order takers in charge of your lead conversion efforts; you want rainmakers – people who are dedicated to getting prospects from being a potential client to being a paying client.

No attorney or paralegal will go after a lead with the kind of persistence and dedication it takes to convert them. If you are not willing to hire a dedicated intake specialist and train them to go after leads like a pit bull, then you are wasting your money on generating leads.

2.  You must have a sense of urgency when following up with the lead.

Research by Velocify.com indicates conversion rates drop precipitously if you fail to follow up within five minutes after the lead comes in. The same study found your lead conversion rate drops by half if your first follow-up attempt goes from five to 10 minutes!

Another study by InsideSales.com showed that 35-50% of sales go to the first responder and if you follow up with a lead within five minutes, you’re nine times more likely to convert them.

Fast follow-up is a real stumbling block, especially for solos and small firms who usually rely on attorneys to return a call or email inquiry. This is the first mistake. Because of an attorney or paralegal’s workload, they rarely follow up immediately. They may intend to, but they just can’t.

So what to do? Hire the right people and automate the follow-up process! You simply cannot be consistently good at lead conversion unless you have a system in place that sends your prospect an immediate message responding to their inquiry.

Every contingency can be planned for in advance with an automated marketing system. A prospect calls in, a staff member obtains an email address or cell phone number, enters it into the system, and that person is immediately sent an educational email (or a series of text messages with links). That email can encourage them to set an appointment, educate them further about your firm, include some testimonials from other clients, offer a free consultation, or whatever you want to happen next.

An automated marketing system also enables you to implement a drip marketing campaign that guide your prospects along the path toward becoming a client. If they miss their initial appointment, this triggers a series of emails or texts encouraging them to reschedule. If they don’t sign with you after the initial meeting, another series of emails or texts prods them to take that step. All of this can be done without any intervention from busy attorneys and paralegals.

3.  Your intake specialist must call them a minimum of 7-10 times before giving up.

No, that is not a typo. No, that is not a typo. If you want to convert leads, you will have to work harder than your competitor! There should be three calls made the first day: one within five minutes, a second call within about an hour and the third by the end of the day. Two more calls should be made the next day, then two more the day after that, then ideally one per day for the next two-three days. Obviously, if you reach the person and disqualify them on call No. 2 or if the prospect indicates they have already hired a different attorney then you don’t continue to call them.

The reason for this multicall approach is simple and backed by powerful research showing that:

• 44% of sales people give up after one follow-up (Scripted)

• The average sales person only makes two attempts to reach a prospect (Sirius Decisions)

• 80% of sales require 5 follow-up phone calls (The Marketing Donut)