Prospective clients call seeking help. In many instances, you can’t do for them what they need.
For instance, they may need help in an area of the law in which you don’t practice. They might be unable to afford your services. They may not have a dispute that justifies your fees. They may have social service issues rather than legal issues. The list of things they need that fall outside of your expertise is endless. If you’ve ever answered your office phone, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Do you simply tell those folks you can’t help and say good-bye? Or do you point them in the right direction?
It’s much smarter to refer them to someone who can help. You’ll achieve three things when you make the referral. First, you’ll get them off the phone and save yourself some time. Second, you’ll leave them feeling good about you so they think of you when they have a need for your services down the road. Third, you’ll help out the person or agency to whom you made the referral.
Of course, making these referrals takes time. It involves hunting down the appropriate destination for your caller. It can take hours to locate someone who can help.
That’s why you should do it before the caller calls. You should maintain a list of referrals for every situation so that you’re ready to go before the phone rings.
Develop a list of attorney referrals for every practice area and every geographic area. Add nonprofits to the list and specify the help they provide. Find the numbers for the various legal services options and figure out whether there are lawyer referral agencies you can use. Build a good list and keep building it as you identify resources.
We keep our list on Google Docs, and we publish it to our website. Our intake person accesses the list each day and gives out numbers and website addresses all day long. She feels good about passing out the information, and it clears her line for the next call.
Build your list now and keep it current. It’s good for your callers, and it’s good for your practice.
Photo by marc falardeau
