Maximize Your Firm’s Efficiency: The Power of Automated Client Intake

An efficient client intake process paves the way toward building a great working relationship. In the legal field, it can also be vital to ascertain whether you can take on a particular case based on specific factors. A well-designed client intake process will effortlessly guide your clients from their first contact with your firm to the end of the process or their case resolution. Not having automated client intake can not only cost you valuable time and waste billable hours, but it can also potentially lose a client due to no or delayed follow-up. Read on to learn more about how to utilize the power of automated client intake software to maximize your firm’s efficiency: 

What is Client Intake?

As an attorney, you understand that the client intake process involves more than simply gathering information about a potential client, although that is part of the process. Client intake also helps you ascertain if a client’s case is even something that you want to take on or fits your area of specialty. To do this step improperly will create a poor first impression for your firm and potentially cause a client to look elsewhere for counsel and legal representation. 

The Power of a Well-Orchestrated and Automated Intake System

It Helps You Create the Right Kind of First Impression

Since the intake process technically begins the moment a client begins interacting with your firm, having good or intuitive intake software will guide your clients, and welcome them properly to your firm. It will encourage them to fill out contact information and guide them through other steps to take to get started on their case. 

Gathers Contact Information

Obviously, there is no way for your firm to properly represent a client if you don’t know how to contact them or have access to important information pertaining to their case. Thankfully, intake software allows you to set up specific prompts to capture important information, such as a client’s phone number, date of birth, email address, social security number, physical address, and case specifics, which will ensure your team can begin the process of working with a client. It is also a great way to determine the method of contact a new client prefers. 

Takes the Work Out of Following Up

Potential client leads will fizzle out fast if there is no quick follow-up after a client makes inquiries. In fact, data has proven that waiting more than even one business day can make it far less likely for your firm to win a client. Therefore, it’s vital that a client feels valued and respected by following up quickly. Of course, doing this the old-fashioned way, through phone calls that you send out or your team sends out, demands a great deal of time and effort that you might not always have available at your disposal. Thankfully, automated client intake features (more on this below) can make this process so much easier and take the work out of it entirely. 

Helps You Create a Workable Schedule

Another benefit of automated client intake is that it allows you to set up an appointment, meeting, or other form of contact between your team and the client. If a client wants an in-person consultation, this will give them the ability to set this up, or if they would prefer a phone call, an intake process can also outline this preference as well. This software will also follow up with reminders for meetings and other important deadlines and dates, ensuring nothing related to the case slips through the cracks. 

Move Them Through the Onboarding Process

The last part of a successful intake is moving a client into the onboarding process. This is when you can introduce a client to your team members, highlight your firm’s experience, and even share previous clients’ testimonials, whose cases are applicable to your new clients. It also includes the immensely important step of having clients sign important agreements, share applicable documents, and more to move them closer to a legal resolution. 

Client Intake Features Offered by Law Ruler

Now that you have seen several benefits of automated intake software, it’s helpful to know where you can turn to begin implementing this system. The CRM system offered by Law Ruler features innovative client intake software, which is a great example of this automated feature. This tool helps you create a seamless experience for onboarding, leading to greater client satisfaction and retention. It also helps make the entire intake process easier, freeing up your team to focus on other aspects of the case. The following are some notable features of Law Ruler’s unique client intake software: 

Automated SMS and Email

Law Ruler features automated SMS text messaging along with email services. This gives your team the ability to personalize content and then send it out to clients who have inquired about your legal services. It can also be used later in the process to remind clients of an important meeting that is scheduled or the time and place of a case hearing, or send other important deadline reminders. Automated drip campaigns allow your firm to stay top of mind, without your team having to spend hours each day writing emails. You can tailor your emails and the time they are sent, ensuring that there is never a break in contact between you and your client, but without it being too much or feeling too spammy. This is an immensely helpful content marketing tool that your team can use to establish good communication between your firm and your clients. 

Document Storage

Another feature of the intake tool offered by Law Ruler is the document storage option. This tool will allow you to prompt clients to give you specific documents and provide a secure way for you to store this information within your firm’s system. It can also give your team the ability to share caseloads by providing access to specific individuals while protecting data from leaks and breaches. 

ESign

Last but certainly not least, Law Ruler’s intake software is also set up to capture signatures, allowing clients to eSign various important documents. This will give your team the ability to proceed with a case and act on a client’s behalf even before you meet face-to-face. Clients also love it because they don’t have to come by the office every time a document requires their John Hancock. Therefore, it helps make the entire process of client intake, the following onboarding process, and the entire duration of the case much easier to manage, freeing your team up to oversee other matters. 

Contact Law Ruler for Powerful Automated Intake Software

At Law Ruler, we are a CRM system that features marketing automation and intake software that is purposefully designed for the legal field. Utilizing this system and the intake software helps you capture leads, boost your client retention, and ultimately accelerate the growth of your firm.  

Contact us at Law Ruler today to schedule a demo and see for yourself how this software could revolutionize how you are currently overseeing the client intake process. You will be amazed at how much time is freed up when you no longer have to worry about following up with each and every client, thanks to the automated system that will do it for you. At Law Ruler, we are happy to hear from you and are willing to show you step-by-step how easy this software is to integrate into your current business.