Conveyancing value: Is it all about price?

12th May 2015

Firms must be more aware of how they are quoting for work and ensure that eye-catching “headline figures” do not mislead prospective clients and prevent them from making an informed decision on instructing legal services, according to a new practice note released by The Law Society.

Referring specifically to the conveyancing market the note seeks to clarify the responsibility placed on firms to fully comply with the Code of Conduct when it comes to explaining to clients the difference between professional fees, administrative fees and disbursements.

The note, albeit unwittingly, does throw up an interesting point though as it tends to reinforce the misconception held by many firms that clients choose their solicitor mainly on price, rather than on quality or value. But that way just leads to ‘a race for the bottom’ and attrition of profit.

Mike Porter of profit improvement specialists Legal Mentors suggests that firms who successfully identify the value their service brings to clients will achieve higher professional fees and improved matter income in a practice area where firms are struggling to achieve profitability.

In a recent article for ETSOS, Howard Cooper of CreatingMORE discusses how a refined sales process will be far more successful at building rapport, identifying the prospective client’s needs and conveying the value of your firm’s solution than the firm chasing the “race to the bottom” client by aggressive – and sometimes misleading – pricing.

ETSOS QRS (Quotation and Referral System) can be used to help firms shape a better, more profitable sales process, providing the underlying mechanics for quoting and tracking while freeing up staff to focus on their softer sales and client handling skills.  QRS enables the instant creation of detailed quotations showing all potential costs and allowing prospective clients to make an informed decision. These can be generated in-house, via a firm’s website or by referrers to the firm with complete transparency over referral fees where applicable. With no license fee/click fee/matter fee there are no additional costs to absorb.

ETSOS also offer firms exclusive discounted training on enquiry handling, sales sequence, identifying value and profit improvement in conveyancing in partnership with Legal Mentors. For more information on training or to arrange a no obligation demonstration please contact David Opie (davidopie@etsos.co.uk) on 01524 220001.

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