Oct 31, 2019
Chris Dumm is a counselor-at-law with his practice focused on estate planning, elder law, business and tax planning, and wealth protection. Chris walks us through how he has streamlined his client engagement process and increased client conversion rates.
Steps to Streamlining Your Client Engagement Process
- Use technology like iPads and Surface Tablets to make it easy for clients to sign engagements while you are sitting with them
- Create a simple deck sheet that can be easily modified to cover a variety of client engagements
- Ask for bank routing numbers so you can set up Automatic Clearing House Debits (ACH) to process client payments rather than credit cards to process payments
- Send documents electronically to your staff
The Team Approach to Client Management
- Make a list of tasks that can be done by other team members billing at a lower rate
- Lay the groundwork with your client that you use a team approach
- The attorney should introduce the team member and make the handoff to the person handling the funding or drafting
- Set the tone and manage expectations when you make the introduction of the new team member
- Communicate to the client why you are bringing in a team member to handle specific tasks so they aren’t wondering why you’re leaving
Customizing Fee Agreements
- Focus on customizing your deck page
- Put the standard legalese stuff behind the deck page
- Set the document up so it can be signed electronically
Using a Client Care Program to Drive Year-Round Engagement
- Reward clients for paying monthly because it helps level out cash flow
- By moving to a monthly auto-draft model, client care program revenue is up 25% over last year
- Use workshops to plant the seed of why you need to be on the client maintenance program.
About Chris Dumm
Chris Dumm is a counselor-at-law with his practice focused on estate planning, elder law, business and tax planning, and wealth protection. He received his B.S. degree in Business Administration at the University of Missouri-Columbia after completing a double major in Finance and Economics. Chris earned his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, VA in 1994. His bar memberships include Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, and Virginia. He is a founding member of the Midwest Estate and Financial Planning Institute and is also a member of Wealth Counsel, Elder Counsel and the Planners Educational Alliance. He is an active participant in the Missouri-Kansas Forum of Estate Planning Attorneys, the Southwest Missouri Estate Planning Council, and the Planned Giving Council of the Four States.
Chris is an adjunct professor at Missouri Southern State University and a frequent lecturer at educational events for attorneys, accountants, and other professionals. He is called on to speak about estate, elder law, business & tax planning, business succession, retirement planning, planned charitable giving strategies, and family-wealth protection for the general public, as well as insurance, financial, accounting and the legal profession.