On any given day, law firms can receive an influx of calls from existing and potential clients, putting additional strain on already time-strapped attorneys. To help alleviate this common struggle, law firm staff needs sufficient tools and processes to increase efficiency as they handle the most important calls and improve the overall client experience.
That’s where warm transfers can help. They save time, reduce frustration for both staff and clients and filter out what’s most important to your firm without detracting from the customer experience.
What is a warm transfer and how does it work?
A warm transfer is when the staff member who receives a call transfers it to the appropriate person along with pertinent information. This ensures that the person on the receiving end of the transferred call, most likely an attorney, is adequately prepared with proper background information before speaking with the client.
Meanwhile, the caller doesn’t hear the exchange of information, and won’t be required to explain their reason for calling to each person they speak with. This boosts their confidence in your firm’s ability to solve their legal problems and makes them feel like their time is being respected.
Alternatively, a cold transfer (also known as a blind transfer) is when a call center transfers calls without imparting any information about the caller. Cold transfers force whoever answers the phone to ask the same questions again. This can negatively impact the caller’s experience.
Why are warm transfers important for law firms?
Law firms receive numerous calls from prospective and existing clients on a daily basis, particularly if they are running a marketing campaign. Unless the caller knows exactly who they want to speak with, they often end up explaining their issue to the first person that answers, who may or may not be the right person to handle their problem. Meanwhile, attorneys don’t have time to answer each and every call coming into the firm.
With call patching, though, both clients and staff members are given an added layer of support. Representatives with the answering service team can receive the call or voicemail, speak with the caller and identify their concerns. Then they can transfer the call to the right staff member at the firm while first sharing the information they gathered from the client.
Your legal team can focus on their existing cases without being overwhelmed by answering countless calls, some of which may not translate into business, while callers also receive the guidance and support they need.
How can a legal call center foster warm transfers?
When your law firm works with a legal call center like Alert Communications to provide call patching services and warm transfers, you can provide exemplary customer service and boost your reputation as a responsive firm. Your legal team can focus on the areas that require their expertise and professional skills while intake specialists screen calls and only transfer warm leads to save your team time.
Alert provides prompt, 24/7/365 service and support, helping you significantly optimize the client experience to the benefit of your law firm’s reputation and revenue. At the same time, you protect your own team’s time and do not overwhelm them with time-consuming tasks that detract from more valuable, specialized work.
Augment the benefits of effective communication
Having to introduce themselves and explain their legal problems with each point of contact can be frustrating for clients. Warm transfers help solve that problem to the benefit of your law firm’s reputation, productivity and professionalism.
