5 Common Flaming Hoops Of Death You Don't Need

"Thank you for making this more complicated."

Said no one ever

But you're doing this with your firm, and it's costing you $$$

This past weekend I took my 4-year-old to his first baseball game ever (an Oakland Athletics game).

And I bought my tickets on StubHub.

Buying the tickets was super easy, but I had to download the StubHub app to get them.

Which means I had to create a StubHub account.

Which means they had to send me 15 marketing emails.

Which means I had to unsubscribe.

Which means I have a negative view of Stubhub now

And yeah, I sound like an asshole...but were you groaning along with me? This is what your clients are thinking EVERY TIME.

And while it's besides the point, once we got to the game, three innings in, they were down 8 runs (but that's a totally different story).

We had a blast at the kids' area. Sure I paid $150 for 2 hours of virtual t-ball and running back and forth...but it's the memories!!!!

But anyway, Mitch Hedberg said it best.

"I bought a doughnut, and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut; I don't need a receipt for the doughnut. I'll just give you the money, and you give me the doughnut, end of transaction. We don't need to bring ink and paper into this. I just can't imagine a scenario where I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut."

And it's the same thing for your clients.

They give you money, you give them legal services, why do they need to do more than that?

Please, dear God, have a contract - DO bring ink and paper into this (or better yet, e-sign...)

Hell, if you gave Dunkin Donuts money in exchange for FUTURE donuts...have a CONTRACT.

But, I promise that you're making it on your clients. So let's talk about how we can streamline it to make more money.

5 Most Common Flaming Hoops of Death You Don't Need

1) Repeating Information

2) Difficulty Signing-Up

3) No Onboarding Process

4) Too Much Technology

5) Bad Follow Up

And there you go, there's the newsletter.

Kidding, let's go deeper. Stupid Deep as Joey Vitale would say

1) Repeating Information

I'm 34 year old (this isn't a brag, I swear it's relevant).

Last year I went to a cardiologist (I am fine, just Jewish aka a hypochondriac with a wife who loves him)

And for the FIRST time, EVER, in my WHOLE life...the doctor had my forms already filled out for me.

Or should I say, after giving them all the information in advance, I didn't have to give them the same information AGAIN, sitting there with a 99 cent clipboard and a pen that 700 people have touched.

Be THAT doctor. Use a CRM, get info from the client ONCE, save them time, save your team time, make the process smooth.

2) Difficulty Signing-Up

E-Sign

E-Pay

E-everything

Do NOT actually bring paper and ink into this...bring free 1s and 0s of computer bytes (bits? to be honest, as tech-savvy as I am, I have no idea how it REALLY works).

Then pro-tip, you will know if they've signed, and know if they've paid - so you can follow up properly for the right thing with the right info.

And then once you're done - the files are IN the computer. No need to store them in some warehouse for 7-10 years to whatever your bar does.

3) No Onboarding Process

Then, once they've paid - how do they become a GREAT client. I think onboarding is the MOST skipped process. Lots of firms spend time on a good intake process (or hire us to do it). Most firms make sure they do great legal work. But there's a spot in the middle of that which we often skip.

And look, maybe you don't NEED anything here. Maybe they paid and you're good to go. But I bet that's not the case.

At the VERY least, you probably need to file something with the court, or request some records, or get more info from them.

So onboard them, let the client know:

What do you need from them?

What are you doing in the meantime?

How long is this going to take?

You might do this everyday, but for them it's their one case (at least we hope so if it's criminal, family, injury law)

So set the right expectations, keep them informed (proactively) and exceed the expectations you set for yourself.

Otherwise, they are going to be worried, have no idea what is going on, start to regret hiring you, and/or call you every 12 minutes to ask for an update.

4) Too Much Technology

I hate client portals. There, I said it.

Whoa, I feel taller now, like a weight if off my chest. But seriously, they suck.

Yes, even yours. They're all pointless.

But it's secure - fuck your security, if google gets hacked and they steal all the shit...the bar is the least of our worries.

But I need my clients to upload a bunch of documents - awesome, and you can make a google drive (or similar) link that is keyed to their email without them needing to make a NEW account, download a NEW platform, and have a NEW place to look for your messages.

But, but, but someone sold me on it and then charged me a bunch of money for it - sorry, genuinely, that sucks.

But honestly, have you EVER had to download or sign-up for another program and thought "YES!!!! Thank you! More clutter in my life!!!!!!"

The same goes for your custom-made firm app. Stupid and pointless.

Just make a mobile responsive website. I swear that will solve 99% or more of the issues and be 1000000000% times easier on your client.

Do you know who has a good app? McDonalds.

They give you free (or super cheap) fries for having the app, plus points towards free food, and when your child ONLY wants to eat Chicken Nuggets, Milk, and Apple Slices - better for free than $10 outside the Grand Canyon.

And McDonald's gets to save $12-$17 an hour on employees taking the order - and I get that we can politicize that issue, so if you want to spend more money and more time to support cashiers and such, I support you. But from a strictly $$$ perspective, they can invest some of that savings back towards the user.

But you're not McDonalds. Unless you have a REALLY good value to the USER, like maybe you have a self-help course which they get access to through an app, you don't need an app.

5) Bad Follow Up

And last, but certainly not least...what does your client have to go through when their matter is over?

Or first, do they KNOW when it's over

I've been through two different estate planning firms now for myself - I genuinely have NO IDEA if the first one ever actually finished my estate plan. If they did, they didn't tell me. And I don't think I am dumb (just lazy). So make it easy for a lazy person.

Let the client know when the matter is over (or that you did what they paid you for) and let them know what to expect moving forward - ESPECIALLY when it relates to what they can hire you for again.

Examples:

Family - what needs to happen for them to hire for a modification?

Criminal - can they hire for parole? early termination of probation? seal/expunge?

Personal Injury - what can happen while they go through treatment that might be the sign of a new case?

Real Estate - what can they expect when they go to buy another house (or sell this one)?

Etc.

And also, what other information can you provide that is helpful to THEM.

No one gives a shit that you won the attorneys who attorney good and do other things good too award (before I sat down to write this, if you set the Zoolander references at 1.5, I would have HAPPILY taken the under and lost).

Why should THEY be reading?

Why should THEY stay in touch with YOU?

Are you doing anything for THEM? Or just checking a box about gas calls?

And what happens once they delete your app and forget the password to the client portal? I hope you're not still expecting them to use that to stay in touch.

Anyway, what did I miss? What little hoops do you have to jump through that you hate?

If one of them is reading this email - go ahead and unsub, I will not be upset.

But if you love it and find it helpful, please share it with someone else by having them sign up here.

While you're reading this I am finishing up at MaxLaw Con, I hope you are there too having a blast and learning more about your firm, but also I hope that I learn a bunch that I can share with you over the next few weeks/months here in this handy dandy newsletter.

That being said, if you have ANY questions or feedback, just reply here. So far I have a (I think) 100% response rate, even if it was to nicely turn down your MLM opportunity.

Until Next Friday

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