When law firms switch over to our service from other legal lead providers, we hear about their frustrations with those companies, and the complaints tend to center on lead quality. While a lot of factors play into this issue, one of them might surprise you.
One would assume that in a tech-oriented industry like online lead generation, providers would have to keep up with changes in technology by default, but many companies have managed to provide leads to attorneys by using outdated practices.
It’s the “dinosaurs,” the ones who fail to innovate and adapt, who cause an unwelcome variety in the quality of leads.
Below, you’ll find a list of what your legal lead provider should be doing to give your law firm the best chance for success.
Integrations with CRM and Lead Intake Software
Email and text shouldn’t be your only option for lead delivery. In recent years, lead intake software and legal CRM solutions like Clio, Captorra, Legal Soft, Alert Communications, and hundreds of systems like these have become critical tools in the intake and case management process. Your legal lead provider should be able to connect to any of these systems automatically.
Your firm deserves a solution for integrating your lead delivery with your software so that a lead can go directly into the system without any need for a manual import. This isn’t just a matter of convenience. In fact, it’s first and foremost a matter of return on your investment.
Lead quality is only part of the ROI formula for lead generation. Much of the value that comes from a lead is dependent on the response it receives from a law firm. ROI on your leads is determined by:
- A Rapid Response. Leads are won or lost in a matter of minutes. Lead intake software makes sure your leads get to the right person as fast as possible. Automated responses can be generated to make sure the lead feels attended to and heard right away.
- An Organized Team. In many law offices, leads fall through the cracks during the first critical interactions when a lead’s trust is won or lost. A software solution keeps everyone on task and improves your lead-to-client conversion rate.
- Tracking Analytics. New lead intake and CRM solutions have robust abilities to track the individual sources of your leads so you can invest in the providers who bring you the best results.
If your legal lead provider isn’t helping you integrate your leads with CRM and intake software, they simply aren’t being fair. These tools are critical for your law firm to get the full value from its investment.
Live Calls
Web leads (leads delivered by email, text, or API direct to your CRM or lead intake software) still play an important role in lead generation. It’s critical that your leads be able to choose how they wish to reach you. Many people want to fill out a form as their first means of contacting an attorney.
However, Live Call technology has been available for years now and should absolutely be on the menu of options for how your leads are delivered.
In the end, it’s as simple as it sounds. Live Call leads are transferred live on the phone to your law firm. In an industry where response time is everything in regards to conversion rates and ROI, this lead delivery method solves the problem. Live calls forge an instant connection with someone in need of your services.
Live Call leads call into a system that sorts and matches them to your geographic targeting and area of practice. They give you a powerful competitive edge in your regional market and connect you with people at the most important moment in the sales cycle, the moment in which they are open to help and are actively seeking it.
Advanced Targeting Options
Geo-targeting options continue to grow more powerful. You should be able to target your leads using more specific criteria than broad labels like county or state. You should be able to use a combination of zip code and mile radius to target your leads.
Even beyond that, a quality system allows you to determine a radius while staying within state lines. In markets like St. Louis, Kansas City, New York, or D.C., these delineations can save you a great deal of time spent screening leads who can’t be served by your firm.
Accurate targeting is a major component of lead quality as it directly affects the efficiency of your sales team.
True Exclusivity
Several years ago, some lead providers in the industry picked up a new trick. They called their leads “exclusive,” while bending the meaning of the word. They placed attorneys into exclusive “groups” who all received the same lead.
The only entity that profits from this “multi-share” model of exclusivity is the lead provider. They can sell one lead several times at a low, competitive rate. Meanwhile, all of the attorneys who pay for it are forced into an unfair race to be the first to contact the lead.
Nothing changes the old adage, “you get what you pay for.” If you see exclusive leads offered at below-market rates, it’s time to ask a careful question. Luckily, it’s a simple one, and if you can’t get a straight answer to this, you’ll know it’s time to move on. Ask your provider if their meaning of exclusive means that it’s a one-lead-per-one-lawyer connection.
It really is that simple, and it’s the way it should be. The value and quality of a lead comes from its ability to give you a competitive edge in your local market. A lead provider who is using best practices in sourcing leads shouldn’t need to rely on manipulative tactics to maintain their profitability.
Ability to Set Disposition
Every business needs a feedback loop on its product in order to improve it.
In legal leads, there needs to be a way for you to mark or notate which of your leads are successful, and which ones aren’t. Leads are sourced through complicated networks of providers and by funneling advertising funds in strategic directions.
Your lead provider should be using the feedback you provide in order to improve the quality of your leads. They should be focusing on the sources which provide the best conversion rates.
Crystal-Clear, Consistent Attribution
This aspect of lead quality is directly connected to disposition. Your lead provider should have the means within their system to track the exact point of origin for any given lead.
The attribution of a lead to its source is the number one way in which lead providers know how to boost what’s working or fix what isn’t.
A Fair Return Policy
There are lead providers in the industry who don’t provide a fair return policy. Some offer little to no returns at all. This is a red flag towards the provider’s lack of commitment to quality.
Lead returns hold a provider accountable to the attribution work mentioned above. A company that offers a fair return policy is also working to gain the feedback necessary to improve lead quality and give you the best possible ROI.
Legal Lead Quality is a Two-Part Formula
By now, you can see two major elements that factor into the quality of the lead.
- Technology: Your provider must remain on the cutting edge to maintain quality. This has to do with the features of your legal leads, but it also has to do with the simple idea that whoever is on the leading edge will be the first to reach the most relevant, useful leads.
- Service: Above you can see that many of these issues are as much about a commitment to serving a client’s needs first as they are about technology.
A commitment to innovation and service has kept 4LegalLeads in business since the beginnings of the online lead generation industry in 2001. We’d be grateful for the opportunity to earn your business and your trust. There are no contracts, just a team that’s dedicated to quality and excellent customer service.
It only takes a few moments to visit 4LegalLeads.com/lawyers and create your account, or you can speak to our team directly at (866) 473-0005. After you create your account, our support team (support@4legalleads.com) will customize and optimize it for you.