Clienting #33: Justie Nicol on Tech Tools for Client Development

Clienting

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6+ y ago 46:07

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Gyi Tsakalakis and Kelly Street were joined by Justie Nicol, owner of Nicol Law Offices, a Criminal Defense Attorney in Fort Collins, Colorado. She is a savvier than average solo attorney who used technology tools to make her practice run smoother and create better work/life balance.

Justie has even taught a CLE on tech tools as a solo to boost client experience! When you look at the list of tools below and listen, keep in mind that Justie is a regular lawyer who implemented these tools over time, as she saw a need. She starts with a low-cost or free solution

What Justie uses to streamline her firm and client experience:

Wisestamp for email signature (appt scheduler, tweets, etc)

Copper CRM
- Connects with Zapier to her email and more
Typeform for intake/conflict check
- Prior to client consultations, have them fill this out.
- Send a post-consultation form to see why a potential client didn't choose your law firm
- Send a post-case form to get client feedback for reviews
Zapier, to connect apps and services
Acuity for appointments
- Set expectations with clients so they know when and how appointments should go; filling out a conflict check prior, etc.
- Consult with everyone who wants one or send them referral sources; just don't let them feel ignored
Square for payments
- Easily end to collect payment at the time of engagement
- Justie includes a credit card charge policy in her engagement letter, so clients know how payments work
Docusign for document signing
- Engagement letters, etc.
- AttorneySync uses PandaDoc for document sharing and signing
Buffer for social media
Trello for content management
Outsourcing marketing efforts
- Content creation
  - Schedule posts, draft one month at a time
  - Use an attorney or an agency who understands legal ethics
  - Posts for referrals and posts for clients
- Digital marketing
  - Pay-per-click
    - Cost per click, and customer acquisition cost
  - SEO
    - Monitor ad copy to make sure it complies with your state's ethics rules
- Website updates and buildout
- Make sure to track Return On Investment for all marketing efforts; Justie likes to try one new method at a time
Smith.ai for after-hours receptionist and chatbots for website communication
- Receptionist service for inbound and outbound calls, filling out the intake form and helping schedule appointments or court reminders for clients.
- Using a chatbot as an option for communication, even if it isn't something you would want to use.
Non-tech: Engagement Letters to set client expectations
- How you will communicate with them and when it is appropriate to contact you
- Your lawyer-style; aggressive or not?
Quickbooks for firm accounting methods
- Manually reimbursing credit card charge fees
- Square & Quickbooks connections
Ethics Issues:
- Engagement letter includes a section about the technology used for information and document security

Contact Justie at [email protected] or find her on social media: #officedogs

Contact Kelly for more information on Clienting at [email protected]

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#Business #Marketing #Gyi Tsakalakis #MBA #Gy Tsakalakis #Kelly Street #Legalmarketing