A signed case is not the only person forming an opinion about your firm.
The person who never got a callback is too.
The person who filled out a form and never heard back.
The person who called looking for help and got rushed off the phone.
The person whose case was not a fit.
None of them hired you, but every one of them walked away with an impression of your firm.
That was one of the more interesting takeaways from my conversation this week with Burke Brown.
Most firms think about intake as a conversion process.
How quickly can we qualify someone?
How quickly can we determine if they're a fit?
How quickly can we move on if they're not?
Burke sees it differently.
His view is that every interaction contributes to the firm's reputation, regardless of whether that person ever becomes a client.
In fact, he shared that some of their five-star reviews have come from people who never hired the firm at all. They simply felt heard, got pointed in the right direction, and left with a positive experience.
That made me think about how many firms separate marketing, intake, client experience, reviews, referrals, and reputation when they're really all connected.
A firm's reputation is not built when the case settles.
It's built during the first phone call.
The first email.
The first interaction.
And if that interaction is poor, the prospect does not need to become a client for the damage to happen.
Burke talked a lot about community throughout our conversation, but I think this is really what he meant.
Community is not sponsorships.
Community is not events.
Community is not putting your logo on something.
Community is how people experience your firm when they need help; the firms that understand that tend to approach intake differently.
They understand that even when someone is not a client, they are still part of the firm's reputation.
And in a world where reviews, referrals, and word-of-mouth matter as much as they do today, that is probably worth paying attention to.
(If you’d rather listen on the go, listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts.)
Every person who reaches out is giving your firm an opportunity to demonstrate who you are, how you operate, and what you value.
Some of those people will become clients, many won't…
And the firms that understand that think differently about intake, service, and what it means to truly serve their community.
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