The goal of any client-focused attorney is to make every client feel like they have your full attention.
But that’s easier said than done with a heavy caseload and only so many hours in the day.
The most successful attorneys pull off this customer service miracle every day, but how? In our hour-long webinar “How to Get Paid and Make Clients Happy,” we tackle that vital question.
Host Bob Ambrogi, a lawyer and journalist, speaks to Joyce Brafford, a lawyer and legal tech adviser at ProfitSolv, who lays out in detail the most important practical steps rookie and veteran lawyers alike can use to increase billings and satisfy clients. (View the full webinar.)
Setting the Scene
First things first: Let’s set the mood and create a little ambiance.
That’s Brafford’s initial advice in her approach to legal client management, which is focused on making clients feel welcomed and valued from the earliest, most informal points of interaction.
The foundation is a digital experience designed to greet clients, keep them informed, and empower them to access additional information as they need it.
Brafford breaks down each individual step required to create a seamless and pleasant onboarding that sets the tone for client relationships.
The Final Phase
That might sound like a lot of drumrolling for a webinar called “How to Get Paid and Make Clients Happy,” especially for seasoned lawyers who have an established approach to client management but still struggle with unpaid invoices.
But Brafford says that’s part of the problem with how many lawyers approach the billing process: as if it’s separate and distinct from the work itself. In reality, Brafford says, billing is the final phase of a holistic client management strategy that works best once a foundation of customer service has been established.
“Happy customers pay their bills faster,” says Brafford, who acknowledges that some clients can be slow to settle up under the best of circumstances.
But she estimates that, upwards of 90 percent of the time, overdue invoices are a result of poor client management along the way or faulty accounts receivable practices after the fact.
The Keys To Success
Fortunately the keys to both are the same: robust communication and consistent processes.
Satisfied clients know what to expect and when to expect it, and are never made to feel like they only hear from their lawyer when the bill comes due.
While effective client management is the linchpin of Brafford’s approach, she also goes into detail about the practical aspects of billing and the best tools to streamline the process.
Digitization is naturally the biggest factor, as a reliable, accessible digital payment portal is enough to solve most billing snags.
To learn which platforms and tools are best suited to legal billing, along with other trade secrets (like how a $5 Starbucks gift card can get you paid faster), check out “How to Get Paid and Make Clients Happy.”
