[1]By Legal Futures Associate LEAP Legal Software [2]
With inflation at a forty year high, ‘business as usual’ is a dangerous mindset. If your business isn’t growing it is likely to be declining. If it is growing, what specific steps are you taking to achieve this and are you setting bold enough targets to ensure that you are continuing to grow and stay ahead of your competition?
By settling for the status quo you’ll keep getting the same results, continual innovation is crucial. Don’t rest on your laurels during quiet times and always prepare for what’s around the corner. More than ever, clients are reviewing their spending habits, shopping around and being more selective on how they spend their money. The internet provides a multitude of new service options, locally, nationally, and beyond, and clients can make better, more informed decisions before they even contemplate knocking on your door.
These days, consumers don’t always need, or want, to see their lawyer face to face or even speak over the phone. Facilitating clients electronically ensures that they can engage with you whenever they want, at a time that’s right for them, from wherever they are and from any device.
Using technology needs to be a positive experience rather than a barrier, the legal practice management system you use, for example, isn’t there to replace you, far from it, it’s there to provide efficiencies, increase productivity, automate processes and allow you to have more time to do the job you trained to do and provide great service to your clients.
A legal CRM ensures you have a single source of truth and a full audit trail of all of your leads, referrals and enquiries, rather than a scribbled Post-it note that may be lost or destroyed before you’ve converted the enquiry to a client, and once they are a client, there are ways of electronically onboarding them, in minutes rather than days. Why send your instructions in the post when you have electronic signatures and identity verification tools at your fingertips?
There is no single thing you can do to develop your law firm and be successful but if you maximise your visibility, deliver distinctively and plan for success you can revolutionise your practice. By engaging with technology to automate and streamline processes, create efficiencies and productivity you will free up time to focus on these business-critical activities to ensure future success.