Having received a number of responses to Monday’s TimeSavvy Brief on the “Responsiveness Illusion,” I’m following up with comments from two readers. The first asks the question I’m sure many readers asked. He then goes on to answer his own question.
The second addresses the common rationale that great cases are sometimes landed because you’re the first to speak with a prospect (i.e., you’d have not gotten the work if you hadn’t answered the phone).
Comment One
“How does one reconcile your take on the responsiveness illusion with the advice given by Arthur Green (Lawyer’s Guide to Increasing Revenue) that you should get back to client phone calls within 2 hours?
One solution I have been trying is to have either Sandra or Alex return calls for me asap (I need to clarify for them my definition of asap though) so that the client does get a return call quickly.
I already see that doing this helps us clarify what the client wants before I speak to them and also makes them feel that we respond right away — even though I have a schedule that precludes instantaneous response.
This system of course would be good to introduce to clients at intake (I usually just introduce new clients to staff at intake now; I’ll start adding that next step). We have been less successful at getting clients to actually call Sandra or Alex. They tend to always call me but it’s pretty easy to send a quick email or text to S or A so they can get back to the person.”
Comment Two
“I get it conceptually that letting myself be interrupted by phone calls is disruptive, but I’ve gotten cases that I’m sure I wouldn’t have because I took the call on the spot whether the call was from a prospective client or a referral source. I’m not convinced I would be better off not taking those calls.”
My Response
The first attorney (criminal defense) is most of the way toward his solution. It’s all about setting up a system with your team and framing expectations up front.
The second attorney’s situation (corporate law) also speaks to having a reliable of system of call screening by a support person. Sure, you don’t want to miss the high-value opportunity, but taking ALL calls in the hope that ONE of them will eventually outweigh the ongoing disruption of your productivity (and profitability) is a statistical loser.
So you need to put in place a level of screening support that will cull the very few calls that justify an interruption of your focus. And then you need to make sure you’re planning “communication blocks” two or three times a day, so you can, indeed, get back to callers in a reasonable period of time.
