Many law firms invest heavily in generating new leads when their real focus should be on making the most of the opportunities they already have. Prioritising efforts to convert existing leads can help you achieve greater results with less marketing spend.

Conveyancer Insights carried out a mystery shop of over 230 law firms. Their findings are quite eye-opening:

• 65% of law firms did not have an online quote tool
• 45% failed to answer the call at all
• 38% failed to answer the call professionally
• 69% did not build rapport
• 87% did not go through the quote over the phone
• 89% did not ask for the business
• 46% did not send the quote promptly
• 63% failed to send a well-laid-out quote
• 49% got the quote wrong
• 76% did not send any other documents

With results like these, it’s easy to see how you can differentiate your service and stand out from the crowd. In this blog, we will go through the six steps to converting homemovers into clients.

Step 1 - Sourcing Leads

The first step is getting leads through the door, and first impressions are everything. That initial interaction with your law firm - whether through a phone call, your website, or a presence on the high street - is crucial.

Since your website is often the first port of call, it needs to be user-friendly, professional and provide clear, precise information about your services. You can now easily build websites without breaking the budget, or extensive developer support. Services such as Webflow, offer action-driven, cost-effective and easy-to-manage solutions to get you online in no time.

If you don’t use your website to collect leads already, consider setting up a self-service quote facility so visitors can input their data, and you can capture the client’s details early.

If someone reaches out to you, reply promptly or they will go elsewhere! A quick reply will signal that you’re responsive, reliable and eager to help. Conveyancers have a reputation for being slow - don’t perpetuate this!

Regardless of where the lead originates - be it a conveyancing comparison website, your site, a referring broker, or an agent - it won’t matter if you can’t convert that lead into a client. So, let’s look at how you increase your chances of doing so…

Step 2 - Building Rapport

When a potential client calls, what approach does your law firm take? Does the employee answering the phone simply jot down a few details and promise to send a quote? While this is common practice among conveyancers, it’s worth considering if this approach truly reflects the quality of your service.

All too often, callers are treated as just another administrative task. The minute that employee answers the phone, they need to put on their 'convert the client' head to convince the client to instruct your firm. Many potential clients will be shopping around for quotes, and if every conveyancer they contact takes the same approach, the client will have little to differentiate between them - often resulting in decisions based solely on price comparisons. We have already spoken in a previous blog about how conveyancers shouldn’t compete on price. Yet, that’s the very strategy many conveyancers opt for. They set their fees based on their competitors because that’s just what they’ve always done. You’re doing yourself an injustice. If you follow our strategy, you can raise your fees comfortably and convert clients based on the value you can offer not on the price you charge.

If someone has reached out to you, they’re already on their way to becoming a client. Your goal now is to help them feel confident and excited about choosing you. Just noting down a few personal and housing details and sending across a quote isn’t going to cut it. This is your chance to prove to them that you’re the conveyancer for them.

• Build a relationship: You must build rapport with potential customers. Have a clear strategy for who answers the phone. Hire a customer service expert who is experienced in interacting with potential clients leaving those legally trained to focus on their caseloads. If you can’t hire a dedicated call handler, you must work on becoming more client-centric. Don’t hide behind email – have an influential and meaningful conversation with potential clients. When handling enquiries for quotes, nothing beats building personal connections and offering excellent service. Most people just view conveyancing as an unwelcome cost, and many don’t even really understand what you do. With this in mind, it's essential to showcase exceptional client care and service in every interaction, especially when trying to win them over.

• Prove that you are responsive: Show in that initial call that you will provide exceptional customer service throughout. Take the time to ask them their concerns and to answer them.

• Talk in plain language: Many potential clients may not be familiar with the intricacies of conveyancing. They’re often overwhelmed by the whole process. A simple, jargon-free explanation of your process will help build trust.

• Reassure the client: Moving home is a scary and stressful time for many, so be empathetic. Listen to the client and address their doubts, offer solutions and provide clear explanations of the process to alleviate their concerns.

All of the above helps build trust, increasing your chances of being successful in winning the business.

Step 3 - Converting Clients with Better Quotes

Now that you’ve had that strong initial call where you built a relationship with the client. It’s time to rethink your quotation. This isn’t a box-ticking exercise – this is your chance to further prove your worth.

Your quote must:

• Have clear pricing: Ensure your quote has no hidden costs or unclear pricing structures. Provide a detailed breakdown or call them up and go through it.

• Be sent promptly: If someone is obtaining quotes from several law firms, they may not wait for the day or two it takes for you to send a quote, so jump on this quickly and make sure you’re still an option when they’re selecting their conveyancer.

• Be personalised to the customer: Make the customer feel valued, add in any details or explanations from the conversation in the email you send to prove you took the time to get to know them.

• Be professional: Deliver a professional-looking, accurate quote with your branding on it. An Excel table isn’t going to signal credibility.

• Build trust and credibility: You may only have one chance to impress these potential clients. Highlight your accreditations and include testimonials from past happy clients to prove your credibility. Our Convey Insights tool can provide you with marketing messages that you can include in your quote such as ‘I’m the fastest conveyancer in [area]’ or ‘I have the biggest market share in [area.]

• Offer added value: Think about how you can go above and beyond. Perhaps you could offer free consultations, a helpful checklist or a guide to help them through the buying or selling process. These small touches will help to differentiate you from competitors and make your service more attractive. Offering a little extra can make clients feel like they're getting a premium service, which in turn builds loyalty.
  
  

Step 4 - Following Up

Once you send your quotes out, you can’t just hope that the client knows what to do next. Stop playing hard to get and follow up with them. By nurturing your leads, you keep that initial conversation going and increase your chances of converting them. It’s as simple as asking for the business! To ensure you don’t forget, set up a reminder in your CRM to automate your follow-ups.

Step 5 - Continuously Improving Your Service

Improving your client conversion rate is an ongoing process. Obtain feedback from your clients so you can identify areas for improvement. Invest in training your staff on how to engage with clients. Sign up for providers that can help you enhance your client conversion rate. For professional quotes, check out companies like Minerva. They specialise in improving a conveyancer’s worth.

Step 6 – Continuing to Nurture Your Relationships

Suppose you’ve won the client - fantastic. Don’t just carry out the instruction and then leave it there. You should try to build lifelong clients. Carry out a post-completion follow-up to stay top of mind for future needs. Send a ‘welcome to your new home’ card - that’s a simple touch that makes you memorable. You can also try to cross-sell other services such as will writing. Acting as someone’s conveyancer can be a gateway to obtaining clients for life who will use your firm for all their legal requirements. When speaking to a happy client who has completed, make sure you’re asking them to refer you to friends and family. Don’t be modest!

TwentyConvey can also help with your client retention strategy. Our tool, Convey Alerts, will notify you when your former clients have put their homes up for sale. This allows you to get in touch with them right when they’re looking for a property solicitor and offer to be the conveyancer again for their new move. The tool helps generate high-quality conveyancing leads for solicitors and boosts your client retention rates.

Conclusion

A great legal mind might not always translate into an influx of clients. It should - but as we explained, the home mover doesn’t understand the complexities of your role. They’re just looking to get the job done as quickly as possible. This means your marketing, communication and service strategies play a vital role in winning and converting clients.

We touched on how conveyancers tend to compete for business over price. This is because the client has very little else to make the decision based on. If you work to differentiate your service from your rival firms and clearly explain the value you offer, building rapport right from that very first conversation, you can easily improve your conversion rate. To succeed, make every person who enquires with you feel confident that they’ve found the right conveyancer for them.

TwentyConvey provides law firms with insights into the conveyancing market and conveyancing leads for solicitors. If you’re interested in finding out more, please get in touch.