Growing Your Solo Law Firm

As a solo practitioner, you take pride in everything your law office achieves. You work hard to maximize the return on every hour you invest in your business. Watching your business grow is especially rewarding.

The growth of your business is directly tied to your efforts, which can feel like a lot of weight to carry. However, with thorough planning, technology, and automated processes, you can grow your practice with less physical effort.

Client Intake Process

Automating the client intake process is helpful for both you and your potential clients. Having an online portal, for example, helps you gather important information from potential clients before you meet them and allows you to get a better sense of their situation and needs upfront. Additionally, since they provide the information electronically, there is less chance for spelling errors and other mistakes.

A customized online intake form only asks questions relevant to your practice areas. You will save time, and quick processes reduce the risk of potential clients losing patience before scheduling an appointment.

Information from an online portal system can also integrate with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. You can track when the prospect was entered into the system, what services they wanted, and when to reach out again to see if you can be of further assistance. You can also set reminders to connect on holidays and birthdays for a better customer experience.

↠ Three Tips to Get More Clients and Referrals ↞

Accounting and Billing Automation

By using a single, legal-specific billing and accounting software platform, you can streamline your billing process. Instead of spending several minutes on each bill, you can invoice clients with a few clicks of your mouse. You can even send your invoices out in batches instead of sending out one bill at a time. And by offering clients the ability to pay electronically with a credit card, you can increase the chance of clients paying immediately and reduce the need for collections activities later.

Automated accounting and billing also provide reporting to track your biggest clients and lets you know your most popular service or promotion. It can be used to gather information for bookkeeping documents like profit and loss statements or balance sheets needed to apply for business loans and handle your taxes efficiently.

Outsourcing Tasks

For many of us, it’s hard to let go of tasks that are tied to our business, even when we don’t like to do them. Just because you can do all the activities required for sustaining and growing your business doesn’t mean you should. Some tasks may take up valuable time, and others are put off, creating bigger problems down the road. Whatever the case may be, outsourcing some of your tasks will save you time, stress, and money.

Some areas of your business to outsourced include IT services, daily administrative tasks, tax preparation and filing, and marketing and lead generation. There are many options for getting help with different areas of your business, from independent contractors to large companies. Many businesses specialize in one particular area while others handle everything you need in one place.

Since online marketing has many moving parts and requires some knowledge and available staff to put an effective strategy together, it is ripe for outsourcing. Some companies, such as Law As a Business (LAB), offer law firms a full suite of services, including copywriting, email marketing, content management, and website creation and maintenance.

>>> Tools to Manage Your Content Marketing Strategy <<<

Client Satisfaction

Ensuring client satisfaction is key to growing your practice. Satisfied clients are easier to work with, more likely to become repeat customers, and a great source of positive reviews and referrals. Automating processes and outsourcing tasks you don’t need to do yourself will give you more time to focus on your clients’ legal needs and, in turn, growing your practice.

Are you ready to reduce your workload? Law As a Business works with elder law and estate planning attorneys to successfully market their law firms into thriving businesses. Contact us today to learn more about our creative and business solutions.

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