Marketing and sales are keys to building your business. But where do they meet? It takes two to tango, and “Intake” is the junction. Good intake is always worth the effort. 

Guest Bo Royal is co-founder of Pareto Legal and has worked with several Fortune 1,000 companies and scores of law firms. He specializes in helping small and medium sized law firms build their business and strengthen their intake process. 

Data tracking and quality matters. Follow the trail, understand how the marketing funnel is working and where to get prospects in the door and sign that retainer. Intake is about nurturing inbound leads – the results of your advertising and marketing – and turning them into clients.

Intake can make or break all of your marketing and sales efforts. Don’t build a “leaky bucket.” You worked hard, and spent a lot, to develop leads. This is an important episode that can help you go that last mile from generating interest to capturing revenue. Track the “journey” of every prospect. It’s not luck, it’s a process. 

Mentioned in this Episode:

Pareto Legal

Pareto PPC LinkedIn

Lawmatics

Needles legal software

Hubspot

Clio Grow

Google Analytics for beginners

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In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: 

• AI is all the rage in the public media, but how are lawyers using it in real life? For starters, it can help you with written communications. Tone down an angry brief or client communication. Write advertising or blog communications. Even create Excel formulas. (But remember, it’s a tool, not a replacement for your skills!). 
• How do you convey the value of a paid consultation? Help clients understand what they get by paying for a professional consultation. Sometimes it starts with an explanation that every case is different, and only a paid consultation can explore all available options before hiring an attorney. Tell prospects what they can expect from you and your conversation is more than a sales call.
• Marketing is important. And it’s expensive. How do you know when you’re getting the right ROI? It takes some math. Do you know how much you’re spending and how many paying clients are a direct result?

Plus, the risks and rewards of posting your firm’s phone number prominently. Sometimes putting your number out there generates spam and time-wasting calls when a simple online scheduling tool could be more efficient. What’s right for you?

Mentioned in this Episode:

ChatGPT 4

Paxton AI for legal profession

“Michael Cohen Says He Unwittingly Sent AI-Generated Fake Legal Cases To His Attorney,” NPR

Microsoft Excel

“PPC For Lawyers: It's About Cost Per Client, NOT Cost-Per-Click,” Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on Legal Talk Network

“Getting Started With Local Services Ads,” Google

Calendly

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Business and professional growth are at the core of your business. This episode is about growth. Growing your business intentionally. Are you working “for your business” or “in your business?” Guest and growth guru Rick Watson helps business owners – like you – go beyond daily tasks to focus on real growth. 

Watson started his consulting dynasty with a dream and twenty bucks in his pocket. He’s now the successful owner of several businesses, including a half billion-dollar registered investment advisory, and he’s the founder the National Referral Network. He walks the walk and provides solid insights. 

Learn to think like an entrepreneur, not a practitioner. Don’t set artificial limits on your business. This is a deep dive, and it may force you to think. It’s about culture, goals, hiring, and about directing your firm and your future with purpose. If you’re on a treadmill running daily operations and chasing leads, you may be letting your business and your opportunities slip away. Separate good growth from bad growth, cut the mundane tasks, and energize your firm today. 

Mentioned in this Episode:

Video, “The Growth Minded Accountant: A Firm Worth Building With Rick Watson”

Book, “A Firm Worth Building: Running a Better Professional Business,” By Rick Watson

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In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table:

• We start with an attorney who wants to balance hiring and firm growth. What happens when you hire “too much” team for the work or have “too much work” for the team? It’s a delicate dance. Start with a business plan and control the one thing you can, the number of cases you accept. It’s OK to say no to a new potential client. (Plus, find out what Christopher calls a “bull$#!* plan”).
•  What happens when you haven’t explored new ways to market and you fall behind? No use crying over spilt milk, but honestly, get on it. You start from where you are. Understand what you’re doing, what’s working, and what’s failing. A swift kick in the pants may get you motivated.
• And how do you help a long-standing employee establish some metrics, mainly a minimum billable hour requirement? Be straightforward, but it’s a balancing act. Sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind (in the right measure).

Mentioned in this Episode:

Empirical360

BlueShark Digital Marketing

What are LSAs? (Local Service Ads)

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Production and technology are inextricably intertwined. That doesn’t mean online tech replaces the human touch. It means today’s tech tools can help you better serve clients. But you still need to ask, anticipate, listen, and deliver. Guest Joey Seeber – an experienced litigator and the founder of the legal tech consulting and implementation company Level Legal – explores how tech and humans work together. 

The legal world has become a digital jungle. Virtually everything is digitized. But untangling the bits and bytes and preparing them for courtroom presentation takes know-how and careful thought. There is no longer simply “acceptance” of technology; instead, technical competence is expected. 

The trick is finding the perfect point where tech meets the human touch, allowing lawyers to best serve clients and to meet needs and understand things that go unsaid. From eDiscovery to AI, the tools are out there. But the human application of those tools makes the real difference. How well do you understand your role as a human in a high-tech world? What makes you stand out? Hear some great tips about using the right tech while bringing your own special touch to surprise and delight your clients.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

Clio Cloud Conference

ABA Techshow

Legalweek 2024  

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In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: 

• It’s a new year. The “Dos and Don’ts of New Year’s Resolutions.” It’s OK to set goals, heck, it’s great. But be reasonable, mindful even. There is no “magical thinking” that everything will change if you wish it. Review your past, understand yourself, share your vision. And if you need an unbiased opinion, ask someone.
• The dreaded sales slump isn’t cause for panic. If something has changed, your conversions fall off a cliff, take a deep breath and a logical approach. Don’t dash around like a squirrel in the road. You’ll find the flaw and correct it.
• Building your team isn’t easy, but if you take an open approach, you can do it. Interviewing a prospective team member is a marketing process – from both sides. You want to learn as much as you can about each other. If you have to spend some time and money getting it right, there’s nothing wrong with that. 

Mentioned in this Episode:

The Atlantic, “You Can’t Simply Decide To Be A Different Person” by Amanda Mull

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Technology has quickly become a topic that touches everything in the legal world. You can’t escape it. While learning to embrace the latest in legal tech is vital to the success of your firm, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

We’re talking on this episode about how today’s emerging tech trends impact every aspect of your law firm – from client acquisition, to producing results, to generating profit – with guest Colin Levy, an author, speaker, and leader in the world of legal tech.

But just buying a tech package won’t deliver value. Incorporating today’s new tech tools, understanding how they work, and truly understanding them (and then actually using them) is what drives value. Take the time to understand what you need, what problems you’re solving, then seek out the tech that actually gets you to your destination. 

Things are changing, and the rate of acceleration is accelerating, and we’re just getting started. Imagine AI drives the pace of change even faster. Before our eyes, technology is redefining what it means to be a lawyer.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Malbek

“Handbook of Legal Tech,” by Colin Levy

https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Tech-Ecosystem-Innovation-Advancement/dp/B0CKCZTLWW

Clio Cloud Conference 

ABA Techshow

Legalweek 2024  

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In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: 

• Building an effective landing page is critical to making the most of your pay-per-click marketing dollars. Getting “clicks” is one thing, but then what? Hear how to craft a landing page that drives visitors to the next step: hiring you. Go beyond “call now.” Show why you’re the lawyer for the job. What makes you different?
• Referrals can be a big part of building your business, but getting them takes careful marketing and effective business relationships. It’s a two-way street. Be a friend to have a friend. It comes down to communication: if done well, it can be your cheapest marketing tool
• Building your business strategically helps you manage cash flow. If your practice area is too broad, you may be spreading your time across too many channels. And that can lead to cash shortfalls throughout the year. Understand what your business is really about and focus on that.
• You’re thinking of breaking away from a firm and starting your own practice? Hear some real-world advice from lawyers who have been there, done that.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Seth Godin, “The Mythical Head Of Marketing”

Seth Godin’s blog

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How to choose the legal tech that’s right for your firm, and how to reject the rest, without getting overwhelmed. What’s denying yourself and what’s overindulging? It can be overwhelming. 

Guest Jared Correia helps law firms understand available technology and separate what’s helpful from what’s simply bright and shiny. 

Correia looks at software from several angles: Intake, e-signature, customer relationship management, and performance monitoring. All are important, but how do they fit together? Ask yourself what you like about the software you have, and what do you hate, then what do you want, and finally what do you need.

Most firms probably don’t need all the hardware they have in the office, including the servers and data storage. The cloud – data management by firms that specialize in secure data management – is the future.

Learn the secrets of the “Core Four” of software: Productivity; Accounting; Case Management Software; and Customer Relationship Management. Hear how these bedrock systems are the foundation of any successful firm. Wait … what about what about AI?

Mentioned in this Episode:

Legal Toolkit podcast

On The Road podcast

“Twitter In One Hour For Lawyers” By Jared Correia

Clio Cloud Conference

ABA Techshow

Filevine

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In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: 

• A firm owner needs a computer policy for employees both in-office and working from home. What policies should she have for damage to the firm’s computers and client security? There’s insurance for physical damage. More important is protecting client data if a laptop is stolen or hacked. How can you protect client confidentiality, both for staff in the office and working from home? Is a contract IT team the answer?
• How do you split tasks between two admins? Hear how you can divide tasks to match each employee’s area of excellence. Carving out niches so each employee delivers maximum value creates a foundation for growth. 
• You’ve hired a new employee, but they aren’t catching on. How much time do you allow before you know it’s not working, and you need to let them go? There is a reasonable period to expect results. It’s OK to be patient and retrain as needed, but don’t carry dead weight.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Previous appearance on the Community Table “Community Table: Using Vacations to Strengthen Company Culture”

Throughout his career in “big law” and fintech, guest Abdi Shayesteh struggled with the legal profession’s lack of formal training. “It was sink or swim” with every new challenge, he says. There had to be another way to help associates become better lawyers. 

Law school may not fully prepare graduates to practice law, and the old apprenticeship model – learning on the job – has fallen apart as new lawyers are expected to produce billable hours from the start, and clients expect to pay for results, not teaching new lawyers.

After practicing law for years, Shayesteh founded AltaClaro, an online platform built to train law school graduates how to actually practice law by applying practical skills training in a structured, online environment. Attorneys deserve better, and so do clients. 

Hear how AltaClaro’s approach combines experiential learning techniques to help attorneys build skills and confidence in a low-risk environment. Lawyers learn, do, and review at their own pace with practice documents, contracts, and clients. Then they go through each exercise with a live, experienced, vetted professional.  

New attorneys get the skills they need, and firms get the fully trained associates they want.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Clio Cloud Conference

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