Who Answers Your Phone?

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Lawyers use their office phones as outgoing vehicles only, and guard themselves from incoming calls like jealous hawks. Voicemail systems, receptionists, paralegals, and all manner of gatekeepers are typically employed with the goal of keeping people away from the lawyer.

Who are you, the great and powerful Oz?

Let’s take a look at the protection mechanism we employ in the name of productivity. First, the client calls. Has to spend time with the receptionist (1 minute). Gets panned off to the paralegal, who tries to coax the client into divulging the nature of the problem (2 minutes) and then tries to resolve the issue (5 minutes or so). Puts client on hold (client’s getting a little antsy by now) to get the lawyer’s take on the matter – and to beg the lawyer to take the call (2 minutes). Lawyer is pulled away from whatever he or she was doing, either takes call or declines (more minutes). Client and paralegal talk, ends up that client needs to talk to lawyer. Lawyer then needs to call client back, by which time the client is all sort of bent out of shape because a 2 minute question has involved 3 people and about 20 minutes of back-and-forth.

You’ve got two really good productivity choices when it comes to your office phone.

Answer Your Own Damn Phone! Come on, clients want to talk to you. You’re their lawyer. They’re paying for your expertise. Eliminate the middle-people, let them do their work uninterrupted, and just take the call. It cuts down the amount of time needed to help the client, and makes the client happier.  My friend Chuck Newton likes this approach, and it works for him.

Never Answer The Phone! Tim Ferriss uses this approach famously.  I use a modified version of it.

Wait, that’s a productivity tip? Oh sure, it’s good for you … but the client? Yes, gentle reader – it’s good for the client.  Let me explain before you mutiny and abandon this blog forever.

When the client calls, you’re probably working on something else.  You don’t have the file in front of you, don’t have your mental notes organized, and can’t possibly remember every nuance of the matter to be discussed.  So you sound like a half-idiot on the phone, have to go get the file, flip through it, and finally give out some semblance of cogent advice.

Meanwhile, back at the brain, you’ve had to shift out of, “what I was doing,” mode.  You’re now in, “where was I, again?” mode.  Takes some time to get back into the groove, remember your place, and be coherent.

The solution is to unplug the phone and let it all go to voice mail.  Let your clients know when you return phone calls each day, and tell them to leave a detailed message with their callback number for the next callback time.  You collect your messages, pull the information and return them all en masse.  Save time, give clients answers, do a happy dance.

Of course, the key is to prepare your clients for this shift in the way work is done.  Send a letter, an email and let them know when they sign on as clients.  Let people know that you concentrate 100% on each client’s file when it is in front of you, and you know they wouldn’t want you to be distracted by someone else when you’re working on their file.  The street goes both ways.

When I did this in my law practice I thought my clients would mutiny.  Guess what?  My satisfaction surveys came back better than ever.  Proof’s in the pudding.

Wait, wait, you say.  My clients have real emergencies and need to get through to me on a moment’s notice.  How do we fix this problem?

You don’t fix this problem – your client base is what it is.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t use the second system.  I have a special cell phone that is for client’s only.  Every client is given this number on a secondary business card with firm directions that it is for emergency use only.  If for any reason they use it for non-emergency use, I will never take a cell phone call from them again.  Period.

What does this do?  Well, it gives true emergency access to me without a filter – if someone needs me that bad, they get me without having to jump through hoops.  But more importantly, it forces the client to carefully assess whether they have an emergency or whether this can wait three hours until I call back.  Clients may end up answering their own questions, checking out my website or blog to see if they can get the answer there, or simply waiting for a short time.

Whatever you do to tame the telephone beast, your policy should be clear and broadcast to all clients and prospects.  Doing so provides predictability, reliability, and increases confidence.  When you say you’re going to do something, stick to it – clients will thank you.

Photo courtesy of Max Estes.

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