At Abogados NOW, we’re experts in bringing new Hispanic clients to you. We’ve created this brief article to show you how to make your intake process bilingual-friendly to meet the expectations of your potential bilingual clients. Remember, if your process isn’t bilingual-friendly, you’re sure to lose business to your competitors!
Providing Options
When you receive a call from a bilingual caller, you might be tempted to immediately re-route them to a bilingual member of your team. However, this is making an assumption about your lead, which could cause offense. If you aren’t sure what a lead’s preferred language is, just ask them! Once you know, you can route them to the appropriate intake specialist.
Formal vs. Informal
While speaking in English, an intake professional may want to use less formal language to make your callers feel comfortable. However, this can have the opposite effect in Spanish. Bilingual intake specialists know to use polite pronouns to demonstrate respect for the caller.
Ask For Permission
We know legal intake takes time. If your caller hasn’t dealt with a lawyer before, they might not be aware of this. Whichever language you’re speaking in, you should always ask for permission before starting the intake process. Tell your lead how long the process is likely to take, and ensure they have the time to complete it. If they hang up before the process is completed, you’ve lost a lot of time (and potentially their business).
But there are few Hispanic-friendly personal injury law firms. This presents an opportunity for your firm to gain Hispanic automobile accident clients.
That’s not all: While the English-speaking injury law market is becoming increasingly saturated, the Spanish-speaking market offers smaller ad spends with greater results!
Custom Scripts
You’ll likely need slightly different information for bilingual clients. Viewing a script in Spanish allows your intake staff to focus on callers’ answers rather than having to translate live.
Active Listening
It’s imperative that you hire a bilingual employee or interpreter that can take the lead on depositions and discovery processes; even the smallest missed detail can completely derail an otherwise sure-win personal injury case! Make sure to train this Spanish-speaking employee on essential questions to be asked during the discovery process.
Practicing active listening makes a huge impact with any lead, English- or Spanish-speaking. We’ve all been on a call where someone has noted down the wrong information because they weren’t 100% present. Active listening helps you to stay engaged: repeating information to the caller, following up with relevant questions, and mirroring their tone. After all, checking how a name is spelled or clarifying information shows professionalism!
Noting Language Preference
Recording language preference in your files and CRM is vital for bilingual clients. If potential clients have spoken to your firm in Spanish on their first call but receive a follow-up call from an English-speaking receptionist, they may feel that you aren’t paying attention to their needs.
We suggest circumventing the issue entirely with bilingual intake systems the client can use to self-assess whether or not they have a case. If the client were to win their case, they’d have a compelling value proposition to share with their friends and family:
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, a great intake process is similar for English- and Spanish-speaking clients. However, cultural nuances and sensitivities can be hard to address without native speakers on your team. Bilingual intake staff can help you to stand out for all the right reasons, cementing you as a “go-to” firm for your Spanish-speaking community.
