Phone answering is a topic of endless debate among some lawyers. If I pose the “Who ought to answer the phone?” question to a small group of lawyers, I can walk away and they’ll still be talking about it an hour later. I love it. Starting that conversation is one way I deal with the stress of making conversation at lawyer parties.
Unfortunately, we’re not the best source for getting an answer to the question. We’ve got lots of opinions, but they’re mostly unimportant.
What’s important is what clients and potential clients think. They get to decide who ought to answer the phone.
Here’s a question I received recently:
Do you think it’s necessary to have a service to answer your calls? As a solo, I’m not always in the office. I don’t think my clients have any issue so far, but I am concerned about the appearance of a professional office.
The question contains the answer, right? “I don’t think my clients…” is a big clue. The only thing missing is confirmation from the clients (and the prospective clients). Ask them what they think, and then you’ll know how to answer the phone.
How We Developed Our System
We surveyed clients and prospects some time ago and adopted our current system. It’s long past time for us to update our survey by doing it again. People change their minds about these things, and other variables (outside of your control) may impact opinions over time.
As a result of our research (which, of course, applies only to our market and our clients and prospects), we came up with the following approach:
- Clients. Existing clients are given their attorney’s direct number. The attorneys answer or send the call to voicemail. The voicemail message gives the caller the option to leave a message or press a button to go to a live receptionist (which we outsource to Ruby Receptionists).
- Potential clients. They call in on our main numbers and hear a recorded auto-attendant. The auto-attendant asks them to press a button if they’re calling for information about scheduling a first appointment. They are transferred to a live intake person specially trained in handling these inbound calls.
- Clients calling the main number. If, for some reason, clients choose not to dial their attorney directly and dial in on the main number, they are provided with the option to dial by name, or they can choose to be routed to the receptionist (again, outsourced to Ruby Receptionists).
You’ll note that we have a hybrid system. We give each group what they’ve told us they want.
What Our Clients Want
Our clients have a specific agenda. The clients don’t want to go through a receptionist. They want their attorney on the line quickly and easily (and they’d prefer not to go to voicemail). If they do end up in voicemail, they want to be able to quickly leave a message, and if it’s urgent, they want a way out so they can reach a live person. They also want the voicemail message to provide an update on the attorney’s current whereabouts and daily schedule.
What Our Prospects Want
Our prospective clients have a different agenda. They want to speak to a live person as soon as possible. They want information and to schedule a consultation, and they feel strongly that a live person is the best way for them to get their pre-meeting questions answered. They don’t want to schedule online, they don’t want to e-mail us, and they don’t want voicemail.
What Your Clients Want
Your clients and prospective clients will have their own agenda, priorities, and preferences. The only way to know what they want and what they think is to ask them. You’ve got to do your own survey—formal or informal, online or off. You’ll only know what matters to your clients when you get input from them.
So who ought to answer your phone? That’s a matter best left to your clients. Ask them and find the answer.
