Track new client referral sources

It’s important to keep track of who is referring new clients to the firm. And to do this we need to proactively ask new clients if they were referred to us by someone, and if so by whom. Then we need to keep track of all of this referral data in a centralized database.
  1. 1

    Ask each new client how they found out about us

    Ask them in the initial phone call “would you mind letting us know how you found out about our firm?” Then pause to let them think and respond if they immediately know the source.
    If they say something like “I searched the web and found you...” then politely probe a bit and say something like “so you found our website and that’s how you found us?”That will leave open the possibility for them to add more detail if they want, or if they suddenly remember.
    You can also ask “was there anyone that recommended us or that you asked about our work” because if so we’d like to thank them for helping you learn about us.
  2. 2

    Record the referral sources (if any) in our database

    Typical referral sources will be:
    • Word of mouth (ask if they remember who mentioned us)
    • Specific personal referral (ask who referred us)
    • Website (see if you can find out how they found the website)
    • Speaking engagement (i.e. webinar, live event etc.)
    • Podcast appearance
    • Online article (ask if they found it via a web search and if so what the search was)
    • Other source...
  3. 3

    Follow up immediately with referral source to thank them

    Send an email immediately upon learning of the referral. Say something like...

    Hey FIRST_NAME,
    Thanks for referring [NAME OF REFERRAL] to our firm! We really appreciate you trusting us to handle this matter.
    We hope to meet with [NAME OF REFERRAL] in the near future and we will of course let you know the status of your referral after that meeting.
    Best,
    YOUR_NAME
  4. 4

    Calendar a future date to give referral source a status update

    Once the initial client meeting is set with [NAME OF REFERRAL], create a calendar entry/task to “follow up by email with REFERRAL SOURCE to let them know the status of the referral (i.e. accepted the case, or didn’t accept the case and if not why not).

    The purpose of this is to show that we are organized enough to communicate effectively about referral matters. This sends a subtle but powerful signal that we are indeed trustworthy when it comes to being on the ball and doing our work efficiently and effectively.
  5. 5

    Was the referral accepted?

    Answers
  6. 6

    Send status email (we accepted) to referral source

    Next step 9: Add referral source to end of year thank you list
  7. 7

    Send status email (no we didn't accept) to referral source

  8. 8

    End

  9. 9

    Add referral source to end of year thank you list

    Add the referral source to our end of year thank you gift database
  10. 10

    A word about systems

    This documentation was created using SweetProcess, an online documentation tool that is designed for helping systematize business procedures and processes.

    Creating Systems for Your Law Firm

    Without a system, you have a haphazard way of operating your practice. Not good, obviously.

    With a system, you can reliably do work faster and with greater confidence. You can easily assign work to others, even virtual assistants. And that lets you scale and grow your practice in a sensible manageable way.
    If you're interested in learning more about creating systems you might want to let me know via this form. It's an application to a 4-week workshop (called "Law Firm Systems") where I give hands-on guidance to show lawyers how to create written procedures like this one.

    If you're interested in using a tool like SweetProcess then I highly recommend you learn in the context of a workshop like the one I do.

    SweetProcess has a 14-day free trial, but if you sign up for my workshop I'll give you a link that will let you try it for 28 days (i.e. for the duration of the systems workshop).