They’re not all going to hire you. Some don’t like you. Some aren’t a good fit for your expertise and experience. Some aren’t ready to solve the problem.

But some of those who didn’t hire you would have hired you if they’d felt better about you and your process. Something triggered a negative response in them. They bumped into an obstacle that made them feel uncertain or frustrated. They encountered something in your process that rubbed them the wrong way. They hit some friction.

Friction isn’t good. You want the hiring process to feel good, run smoothly, and result in a productive engagement. You want a friction-free experience.

Look for the friction in your retainer process. Then eliminate it. Smooth the process for your prospective clients to become clients. Make it easy to hire you.

Friction in the hiring process causes prospective clients to delay or find help elsewhere.

What Does Friction Look Like?

Here are some examples of friction. Examine your process carefully and look for issues like these:

1. It’s hard to find the contact form on your website.
2. Your contact form requires too much information.
3. It’s hard to find the e-mail address on your website.
4. It’s hard to find you on Google.
5. It’s hard to find your phone number on your website, on Google, etc.
6. Your firm doesn’t answer the phone immediately.
7. Your phone goes to voicemail.
8. You don’t respond to voicemails quickly.
9. You don’t respond to e-mails from your website immediately.
10. The person answering the phone can’t set up an appointment.
11. The person answering the phone can’t answer basic questions.
12. There is a delay before an initial consultation.
13. Clients have to fill out forms before the consultation.
14. You fail to send driving directions.
15. You don’t send an appointment reminder.
16. You only offer consults during business hours.
17. You don’t offer phone consultations.
18. You don’t offer video conference consults.
19. You communicate only by e-mail or phone and not by text.
20. You don’t respond to inquiries in social media.
21. You don’t immediately schedule a phone consultation.
22. You aren’t able to accept payment via credit card, phone check, wire transfer, Venmo, PayPal, or Bitcoin.
23. You don’t offer an online payment process.
24. You delay in sending the client agreement.
25. You don’t provide a direct lawyer phone number during the consult.
26. You don’t provide an e-mail address for a lawyer during the consult.
27. You require a physical signature on the client agreement.
28. Your receptionist isn’t expecting the client.
29. You keep the client waiting in the lobby.
30. You didn’t provide any printed contact information at the consult.
31. A lawyer didn’t make a follow-up call.
32. The intake team didn’t make a follow-up call.
33. No one was available to help the client retain when ready.
34. You didn’t send an e-mail asking for follow-up questions.
35. You didn’t schedule the next appointment.
36. You don’t have a regular follow-up process after the consult.
37. You have no record of the client when she calls back 12 months later to retain.

Make it easy to hire your firm.

Find the friction. Get rid of it. Eliminate it. Pave the way to hiring your firm. Make the process simple and smooth. Make it easy and painless. Get rid of the friction.