The phone is ringing, emails are blazing in—your marketing agency is doing its job. So why isn’t your caseload growing?
The intake process is a make-or-break moment in the client journey. This is where your firm needs to provide a responsive, friendly, and well-structured intake process to convert all those leads your agency is so helpfully delivering.
Unfortunately, the intake process is a broken link in many businesses’ development chains.
You’ve heard it said that “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” Well, in the agency world, we say that we can lead a lead to water but only you can make him drink.
Here are six common intake failures—and what to do instead.
More leads won’t fix a broken intake process
First, we need you to get onboard with a fundamental truth.
More leads do not equal more business. They equal more chances.
Intake is where business development either happens—or doesn’t. First, your navigation needs to work seamlessly. Then, the prospect needs to get questions answered.
A leaky intake process means that you’re losing good leads before they even reach an attorney. Even perfect marketing can’t fix what happens after the phone rings. That’s on you.
1. No one answers the phone
Red flag! This is the #1 issue we see.
Prospective clients call you during business hours and…no one picks up. It happens more often than you might think (yes, it may be happening at your firm!).
In a high-stakes moment like attorney selection, a voicemail isn’t good enough.
If no one answers the phone, many prospects will simply move on to the next firm in their search results.
FIX: Do whatever it takes to ensure consistent phone coverage during business hours. Hire a receptionist, use a remote service, or make it a shared staff responsibility.
2. Slow callbacks
This is a very common problem, and it’s related to the above.
Yes, you’re busy—but your prospect is chomping at the bit.
If your follow-up is delayed, you’ll probably lose the lead.
Most people won’t chase down a lawyer. They need someone now. If your intake coordinator or attorney is taking hours—or even days—to call people back after they submit a form, you’ve likely lost the lead.
FIX: Commit to a mindset shift first. This is worth the effort, and this is an all-hands project. Set internal expectations with your team (e.g., all calls returned within 1 hour). Use a tool like call tracking to hold your team accountable. The rewards will be worth it (and you’ll see it in the data).
3. Unfriendly first contact
No one intends to be rude, but it’s easy to come across as rushed or disinterested in a busy office.
If your receptionist is giving anything other than a warm welcome, clients will notice.
Those first moments matter. People are calling with legal stress. Empathy and professionalism need to be deployed automatically, like lightning.
We’re not saying that they need to act happy all the time, or that receptionists aren’t allowed to have bad days. We are saying that it’s worth investing in your reception staff’s happiness—and training.
FIX: Train your reception staff on tone, empathy, and basic client communication skills. Personality matters a lot with this role. Be careful who you hire. To audit performance, consider working with a secret shopper.
P.S. Accessibility is a big part of “friendliness.” If someone can’t access your website or communicate with your staff, they’ll never hire you—and 1 in 4 American adults is disabled.
4. No transparency in the conversation
Retaining an attorney is a business negotiation. Part of that is respecting the other party by being transparent.
If your intake team is unwilling or unable to answer basic questions about the process or the cost of working with you, why would a prospect stick around? Vague answers or delayed answers like “you’ll need to talk to an attorney” are just as harmful as no answers at all.
Transparency builds trust. We see far too many firms that have not empowered their frontline staff to share information. Break this habit!
FIX: Create an FAQ sheet and work with your intake team to build confidence in answering common questions. If they’ve been coached to convince or to use sales tactics, retrain them.
5. No structured intake process
Listen, consistency can be a challenge. We get it. You’re a growing firm and your processes are always evolving.
Structure and predictability are key to building your prospects’ trust. Structure also helps you follow up with confidence.
Intake should never depend on one person’s memory or personality. Not even the tenured receptionist with a mind like a steel trap. What happens if they get sick? What happens if their preferred platform goes through an update?
Without a consistent structure, key info will be missed or miscommunicated.
FIX: Audit your intake process with an eye on structure. Work with your intake lead to develop a clear intake checklist or script. Agree on a CRM or intake platform to track leads and ensure consistency. As a bonus, consistency helps you measure impact and point to pivots.
6. Communicating like a lawbook, not a human
Intake conversations are often filled with legal jargon and formality. That’s a barrier.
When you speak like a law book, not a human, you end up confusing or intimidating some prospects. This is true especially if they are unfamiliar with the legal system.
You have to be clear and professional while also being human. Prospects need to like you and understand you before they’ll hire you, right?
FIX: Use plain language. After your call, follow up with an email that clearly outlines all the complicated stuff: next steps, documents needed, and who will be in touch.
Review and next steps
Intake is not an admin task—it’s the first step in client service.
Are you treating your front office staff like part of your business development team? You should. Invest in training, technology, and process just like you would for marketing. Don’t let a single call go missed. Every unstructured handoff is lost revenue.
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