We have been doing a lot of secret shopper calls recently. Each time we do an event we have attorneys who say or think “my firm is different,” so we decided to put that excuse to rest by calling firms and secret shopping them and then reporting our findings.

Unfortunately, we’ve found that 95% of all the firms we are calling are doing a poor job at compelling Jessica, the caller, to do business with that firm or attorney.

A few things that will dramatically improve that initial call experience for a caller include:

1. First and foremost, show empathy. Jessica calls personal injury firms all the time and the person on the other end of the phone never even says, “I’m sorry you were in an accident.” He/she immediately begins to ask questions without showing compassion.
2. If you mention your firm’s website, spell it out. Many attorneys have websites that are difficult to spell, so by taking an extra minute to spell it out you can ensure the caller will actually be able to find your website.
3. Always answer the phone with a smile and the firm’s name (Jessica repeatedly hears “law firm please hold”).
4. Before you place someone on hold, ALWAYS ask the person if it is ok.
5. Before you transfer a person, always get their name and number in case you get disconnected so you can call back.
6. Make sure whoever answers the phone likes that role and is able to dedicate his/her attention to the caller 100% (Jessica often felt like her call was annoying the person who answered).

Fixing this is not a tough task.  You just need to put a process in place that works for you and train your people to follow that process!  Sometimes the simplest fixes can provide compelling results – I know that this is one of those times.