“We don’t just build it, we use it.”
The bold words Lead Docket, Co-Founder and CTO Eric Coffman shared as we began the demo of the platform he and his team originally created to manage and monetize the flow of business into Colombo Law years ago. Only recently releasing the product to the general public, with welcome reception and rapid growth.
The interesting part is that I didn’t find out about Lead Docket from an advertising or marketing email. It was brought to my attention by multiple Personal Injury attorneys, including my own! Which is a rare occasion in the legal technology space, to have law firm clients promoting your platform raving about the interface and its impact on their business.
Specifically as Eric explained, most firms experience a 30% increase in retains without any increase in marketing spend during the first year of using Lead Docket. A impactful metric for their client base who are dominantly Personal Injury and Mass Tort firms running paid ads. As the COO of Colombo Law, Eric knows the business and financial pressures of proper tracking first hand.
Success in Simplicity
Lead Docket’s interface is uncluttered and easy to use. From the moment you log in it is clear that the platform is intended for one purpose, lead management and follow-up.
When a law firm is paying for advertising from various sources, too much CRM functionality can actually work against you. One of the clear differences Lead Docket displays is that the system was built to drive action by specific users. Namely, front of the house staff; receptionists, secretaries, intake personnel and the attorneys who vet and assign new cases.
Working a New Lead – The Intake Dashboard
From the time an employee sits down in the morning, Lead Docket’s layout and user experience gracefully walks them through the tasks of their day.
Organized to see upcoming appointments, leads that need to be worked, assigned and follow up on with a myriad of tools and templates to help them do so. Complete with thoughtful nuances added to contact details. Such as a summary of who’s coming in, when and the attorney they are seeing. A detail that eliminates the step of checking a calendar to see which attorney they are meeting with that day.
Lead statuses include a unique identifier “Wanted” which signifies that the lead has been vetted and will be worked as an internal case, not referred out. Additional statuses include, Sign-Ups, Opportunities, Assigned and my personal favorite “Chase.”
Because, as my mentor once told me… Time kills deals.
To that point, every action in Lead Docket shaves time off of processes. Here are some examples, just to name a few:
- Address verification when creating a lead, speeds up data entry and improves accuracy.
- Phone numbers are verified for use with SMS / Text messaging features
- Alerts of duplicates before a lead can be saved resolves cluttered or impartial database issues
- Language options automatically switch outbound messages to Spanish
Beyond Tracking – True to Source Marketing Reports
Marketing is about data, and moving the money where successful conversions are most likely. The level of detail in the identification of where a lead came from demonstrates the first-hand knowledge the Lead Docket team poured into the application. Not only do you identify source of the lead, but the vehicle by which it was originated, such as:
- TV Ad → Web Chat
- Billboard → Phone
Capable because of the countless integrations Lead Docket has built with Live Chat, Call Tracking, and Pay Per Lead Providers. It doesn’t matter if your law firm’s marketing spend is a few thousand or a few hundred thousand dollars per month, details like this make all the difference.
Assessing the Value of Case
A completely customizable dropdown menu gives intake staff the ability to quickly vet and categorize a case with fields specific to injury type and severity level. Once complete, the attorneys can choose to take on a client changing the status to “Wanted” or taking action to “Refter it out.”
In the event of a referral, Lead Docket’s features include a complete tracking system. Wherein templates can be created with the firm’s email, client details and ability for the receiving party to “Accept or Reject” the case. A task scheduled for follow up 90 days out, ensure that all cases have been accepted by the law firm they were referred to are collected upon. Practically chasing down your referral fees for you!
Managing Opportunities
Defined as new leads that need to be vetted, opportunities clearly separated into their own section fo the platform. When an opportunity record is opened by another user it is locked to avoid confusion and internal conflict.
Tasks and Automation
Nearly every manager that had to enforce the use of a CRM will say that the hardest part is getting employees to log their activity regularly. Lead Docket makes the process painless, with automatic status changes and initiates processes that further eliminate busy work, keeping the team focused on working the funnel.
- When a staff member logs a call on a contact record the status automatically changes to “Second Attempt.”
- Information is automatically sent as a Calendar Appointment to the attorney who then “Accepts” the calendar appointment to take the case, and updates the lead to “Scheduled” status.
Messaging Tools Multiply Success Rates
Any successful business person knows that it is our responsibility to chase business and our clients if we want them to hold up their end of the bargain. Today, that means communicating with them frequently and through the vehicle they use most – Text Messages.
Not only can you send and receive text messages through Lead Docket, but picture messages can also be exchanged and saved in their case file. A HUGE time saver for Personal Injury Firms!
All messages and files are saved in the contact’s record for review by the team. Messages can also be forwarded to another party in the event the case is referred out.
Document Automation and eSignature
Stand case documents, letters and agreements can all be automated in Lead Docket. Seamless eSignature thanks to a connection with DocuSign sends out the documents and automatically updates the contact’s status when completed. The team’s ability to train and onboard it’s law firm users is superior to that of a traditional software company as they have day to day experience working within a law firm themselves.
Reporting – Data to Drive Profitable Decisions
Create reports on conversion by marketing source or any other KPI imaginable. As I shared in the beginning of the review, Lead Docket’s design speaks to the needs of the end user’s individual responsibilities. How a manager, COO or Marketing Director would use the platform is reflected in the options they see. Custom reports are easy to set up, and reflect real time results of campaigns, geographic location case conversion rates, cost of case acquisition and more.
Case Management Software Integrations
After a client retains the firm, the traditional process of casework begins. Easily transition a client’s information, and data from Lead Docket into the Case Management program of your choice. Current integrations include:
- TrialWorks
- Needles
- Trial Advocate
- Clio
- FileVine
- SmartAdvocate
- And more via a connection through Zapier
In Summary
When I mentioned Lead Docket to my own personal injury attorney, I was delighted to hear he too was using the system as I hired him because of his tech-enabled practice. As a legal consumer, there is nothing more frustrating than working with a law firm who doesn’t seem to have it together. It creates uncertainty, doubt and the potential for client attrition.
Law firms who use Lead Docket recognize the value of systems, processes and automation. They are focused on growing their firm by making educated decisions based on data. Follow through on new leads is not an optional activity, or one that can be managed using outdated excel spreadsheets.
If you are serious about growing your practice, spending marketing dollars on advertising or pay per lead services you don’t have the luxury of laziness. Every action must be tracked, so why not make that process as easy as possible for everyone involved.
