Net Benefit: How to Improve Your Law Firm’s Net Promoter Score

Last week in this space, we addressed the fact that law firms have really low net promoter scores, with an NPS equal to about the average airline provider.  As we discussed, that means that your clients like you about as much as they like Spirit Airlines.  You can do better. 


Figuring out your net promoter score is step one.  Step two is improving your net promoter score.  And, the answer to improving your net promoter score comes from the question: ‘how can I make it more likely that my clients will refer business to me’?  Here are at least a few ways: 

Ask for Referrals.  It’s funny: some attorneys don’t ask for referrals.  But, how are your clients supposed to know that you want referrals, if you don’t address the elephant in the room?  So, be sure to tell your clients that you want referrals, and that your business thrives on them.  If they know, they’re more likely to provide them, if they like you, in order to help you out.  Supplement the process by asking for online reviews, and make it easier for people to point directly to their support of you. 

Communicate Regularly.  Clients love lawyers who talk to them, especially outside the context of their substantive legal issue.  You didn’t hear this from me; but, you can get away with a lot as a businessperson, if you’re a good communicator.  A good rule of thumb here is to contact your clients every six weeks, regardless of whether there is a case update to be had.  Just stay in touch.  Likeability is one of the underlying causes for referral-marking.  So, just be yourself -- unless you’re a jerk. 

Stay Top of Mind.  If you don’t have an email list for former clients and for existing clients, you’re not doing it right.  Sometimes a referral is merely about being in the right place at the right time.  And, sometimes, that ‘place’ is someone’s inbox.  You never know when someone is going to be in need of legal services again; and, you never know who they will seek that referral from.  Making sure you’re top of mind for referrals from your existing clients is a great way to pimp your NPS. 

. . . 


If you need to pump up your NPS, we can help. 

 Through a unique partnership between the bar association and Jared Correia's Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, National Creditors' Bar Association members now have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discount rate.  To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page, and start running your law practice like a business.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top Shelf: How to Maximize Lawyer Staff in a Modern Law Firm

Image
Broadly speaking, lawyers take on too much.  You know: at work, emotionally.  They’re probably also trying to carry too many grocery bags into the house at one time.  You know how it is.     This, of course, leads to a whole host of problems, including that attorneys have higher incidences of alcohol and drug dependence, as well as depression, than does the general population .  Maybe you already knew that.  But, the fact is that this also has a direct effect on how much a lawyer can make. Hear me out: Because lawyers try to do everything, and to do everything perfectly, they’re also more prone than the general population to take on more work than they need to.  For example, they’re unwilling to delegate, including to paralegal and administrative staff, but also to other attorneys.  That means that lawyers end up being chief cook and bottlewasher, rather than focusing on the high-end work (strategy , client engagement), that they get paid the most for.     That’s why developing proces
Read more

Hiring Percentage: What is the Law Firm Hit Rate for Bringing on Staff?

Image
Some lawyer s get burned hiring staff, whether it’s legal assistant s , paralegals or other attorneys .  But, just because you miss out once, in trying to hire somebody, doesn’t mean you should give up forever .  There are distinct advantages to bring ing on employees, including increased control over work product + improved revenue generation models.   In my experience, I’ve found that law firms connect on a successful hire (across all employee categories) about 40% of the time .  That may seem like a low number , but it represents about a 50% hit rate, meaning that every other hire should yield a viable staffperson , who’ll stay on between 3-5 years – which is not too bad, in the modern economy.     Putting that into baseball terms, which folks often do when trying to rationalize failure : your hiring batting average as a law firm, is about equivalent to Ted Williams’ 1941 season , when he was the last baseball player to hit .400 over a full seasons . . . over 80 years ago.
Read more

New or Noob: How Law Firms Tend to Hire

Image
Every lawyer I’ve ever met wants to do everything on their own.  In other words, every lawyer secretly desires to be a solo attorney.  Of course, there comes a time when your business grow s  to the point that you need some real help; and, since you can’t clone yourself, it’s necessary to hire.   Many attorneys who start to hire want to do so as cheaply as possible; and, that often means, in addition to  probably not offering substantial benefits (or, maybe opting for a contractor), that lawyer will hire another attorney or paralegal or legal assistant with little to no experience.  The low salary is appealing, as is the presumed clean slate being offered: you can train someone up now, exactly the way you want to.   But, that line of thinking can be replete with holes.  In the first instance, this notion of law firm training is more theory than practice -- as this purported intensive training for attorneys and paralegals and legal assistants doesn’t really ever materialize
Read more