It’s easy to get caught up in a trap doing work that “feels” productive—but in all reality, you may just be pretending to be busy. If you “spend time with a prospect or a client” you may go home feeling, “well… it was a great day, most of my time was spent with a possible client or a client. What a productive day.”
But here’s the litmus test.
Did you get a check?
Was the time spent with those people, spent in a situation where the end of the conversation could result in a check? Or were you on the phone answering questions a paralegal could have handled while you were in an *actual* meeting?
I would advise considering a “long prospect call” or “substantial client call” any form of an “appointment.” Appointments end with a decision and 88—92% of the time, those decisions involve a payment to your law firm. You want to construct systems that put you face to face with the prospect because that’s where your solutions can be presented and that’s where the law firm’s revenue is. You solve a problem on the phone… you get a thank you, you solve one in person… you get a check.
If you’re doing old-school “billing” for the time on the phone, that is a part of the system we wouldn’t recommend, and you may want to think that through. Most phone work could and should be handled by a paralegal. Your systems should be set up so that you are in revenue generating meetings. There are occasions where there is a need to conduct a revenue generating meeting ON THE PHONE, but they should be rare and for special circumstances.
Jennifer Price
Chief Operating Officer
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
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