It's now December of 2022. Right off the bat, how would you rank your 2022? Was it as efficient as you hoped? Did you hit your goals? It's never too early to start. In fact, this time of year, it's great to have a sense of urgency to close the gap between what you accomplished and what may still be an opportunity, and prepare for the future. The time is now to set up your 2023 (!) to be as successful as possible. Some of the most frequent items we hear are noted below.
This is a hot one for nearly every person we speak with. The devil is in the details. To improve efficiency, it helps to understand how efficient you are, right now. Do you know where your time is being spent? Even if you don't have the full details, you can likely guess a general percentage of your time spent on business development, client relations, matter management, and administrative items, like billing/payment management, hiring, office management, etc. The areas to focus on are the ones that you kind of dread doing. For most attorneys we speak with, it's generally the admin stuff.
Whether it's using a hodgepodge of online tools to manage the admin stuff or if you are doing it manually, look for a case management software platform. All tools in one place, Not only will you save time, you will get a lot of data to understand where you can be even more efficient. And not all case management software platforms are the same... you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars a month. We hope you check out our new platform.
There are many options for business development. We've written about the topic a few times. Suffice it to say, find ways to make potential clients aware of your firm and why they should choose your firm. Social media, blogs, localized ads, a webinar, or any way that is comfortable for you that will get you in front of potential clients.
The key here is frequency. It's kind of like working out. If you do it once, you aren't going to see muscles start popping out. It takes dedication and frequency. Sure, a weekly blog is a great goal. But if you can't manage that, shoot for monthly. The key is to pick something you can sustain.
In terms of purchased advertising options, we recommend starting small and test out a few different options to see which works best. Be sure to consider any seasonality issues. For example, right now, during the holiday season, may not be a great time to buy a bunch of ads or host an online webinar at night. People are generally pretty busy over the holiday season. But you know your area of law best. Now may be the perfect time. Just take that into consideration. We really like Google Ads if you are interested in reaching a targeted market.
Talk about a time saver! The trick here is to start where you are comfortable. A full artificial intelligence system may not be the best place to start. Think about the repetitive tasks your firm handles. If it's particular documents that are used repeatedly, look for software that automates the process, from allowing the client to complete the input fields to automatically updating the form. Workflows are another great automation tool that is customized to whatever process your law firm follows for a particular type of case, automatically adding tasks, reminders, and more. Again, these features are common in most case management software platforms, including ours. You will be surprised at the amount of time you save by automating these repetitive processes.
For some law firms, things can kind of slow down in December. Sure, you have days off for holidays. But you also may have some time during the day. Now is the time to act to ensure your 2023 is off on the right foot. And we can help.
What are your goals for your firm?