How to Have a Stress-Free Holiday Season Without Losing Business

The holidays are a joyous time to spend with your family. Whether that means intimate time with only your immediate family or an elaborate gathering of the entire extended crew, you want to be present and enjoy yourself, right? As an in-demand attorney with cases that don’t wait and callers who don’t quit, it may be hard to get that time away that you (and your family) crave. So what do you do?

Automate Everything in Your Law Firm That You Can

The key to being able to step away from your firm when you need a well-deserved break is automation! When I say automate your law firm, I don’t mean that you need to have a robot set up to push buttons and auto-reply emails. Automation is simply having a system in place that allows you to not have to continuously do the work. This can mean robots, or it can also be a system that triggers humans to act on a task.

What Can I Automate in My Firm During the Holidays?

The answer to this one is easy! Any and everything. Whether it’s having your emails answered, your phones picked up, appointments scheduled, forms filled out, the office cleaned, payments processed…set it and forget it. At least, until the holidays are over and your family is ready to send you back to the office!

Automation doesn’t have to stop with the holidays, however. So many tools are meant for long term use and can help you to save time and make more money all year round. If your family wants to see more of you all year, make it possible by investing in systems that allow you to focus on the work that only you can do. Support work doesn’t have to be your job, too.

Our Favorite Tools to Automate Your Law Firm

Client Facing Tools

Clio Grow – Your very first step to automation is going to be investing in a software that handles your clients and their information. Starting out with a CRM like Clio Grow will set you up on a path to success (and a whole lot less paper shuffling). CRMs such as this one manage your clients from intake to court. This allows for a one-time setup of tasks and required paperwork, then every new piece of information will trigger the next step. The steps can function on their own with templates or you can assign certain parts to different members of your team, such as the initial phone conversation.

The biggest benefit to an automated system such as Clio Grow is that you can automate all of your client forms. Need them to fill out an intake form? Clio Grow will send them their customized form at the click of the button, then trigger the next actions after they return it. Fee agreements? Clio Grow starts with a template and inputs all of the required information based on case type and client intake forms, then will send it out on your behalf. Once signed, the client can send it back and trigger the next step in your process.

Zendesk or Freshdesk- Communication is an important part of your clients’ experience. You want them to know you understand their problem and you are working to fix it. Clearly going dark over the holidays isn’t going to work – your clients may riot. Instead, manage all communications in a platform such as Zendesk or Freshdesk that allows all emails, social media, and chat to be located in the same place. You can set up templates that reply to specific questions and automatically assign specific inquiries and communications to other team members.

Scheduling Tools

Acuity – Scheduling can be a nightmare with lots of back and forth emails trying to match up your availability to your clients’. Remove all of that with Acuity and in turn, gain some freedom. You can adjust your availability 24/7 and only show your clients the calendars you want them to see. Acuity also helps with client intake as you can set specific questions they must answer at booking – no follow-up call needed. Acuity will also automatically add your scheduled client’s appointment to all of your calendars and will allow them to pay any fees right then and there.

Social Media Tools

Facebook Publishing Tools – If you regularly post on social media to keep client traffic up, schedule all of your posts! This is an amazing way to free up time ALL of the time, not just over the holidays. When you sit down and create a calendar of content to post (which you should be doing for ultimate productivity), add on half an hour or delegate an assistant to schedule them. Yet another set it and forget it – and an easy one at that!

Postfity – Along the same lines as Facebook scheduling, Postfity is a tool that allows you to schedule LinkedIn posts. It’s free and easy to use – link your account and schedule out your next few weeks’ worth of content. While Postfity does not work to post articles, you can write and draft all of your upcoming articles in LinkedIn, then hit publish when you’re ready. LinkedIn is a hot marketing tool for professionals so if you’re not using it yet, be sure to start!

Do It All Tools (Plus Easy Setup)

Back Office Betties – You already know we have to toot our own horn here – we are the ultimate vacation tool. There are no contracts so you are free to utilize us as you please, even if that means just for the holidays. Our Client Concierge walks you through a seamless process that keeps you free to enjoy your yams and pecan pie. We’re known for answering the phones, sure, but did you know that we also offer Virtual Assistant services and scheduling? Think of the Betties as your team that can be there, even when your firm is closed. Every message will be waiting for you, appointments scheduled, and intakes done. We can even accept payments and make case update calls to your clients. Step in and out of your firm like you own the place. Hint: you do ;)!

Unsure if Back Office Betties can really take that much off your plate? Give us a try for FREE. No gimmick, no credit cards. Just allow us the pleasure of helping you help your clients, even if it’s while you sit on your couch.