Contact Management 101: Understanding the Payoff

by Chris Fritsch, Client Success Consultant

The reasons why attorneys manage their contacts in different ways isn’t important, but the challenge this presents for law firms is. A centralized collection of clean, correct and complete contacts is critical to effective marketing and business

development. Additionally, having contact and relationship information outside the firm’s central systems and security may present additional problems. As a result, many firms may find it important to get attorneys to develop consistent practices for centralized contact management.

So, what is the best way for firms to control the contact conundrum? First, it’s important to identify the scope of the problem. Firms can quickly run a report in the CRM system to identify which attorneys are currently sharing contacts. Different approaches may be required depending on whether it’s only a few younger associates or a broader group of attorneys.

Identification of the issue is the easy part. The real challenge is changing the behavior. People only change when they see a real benefit – not just for the firm, but for them personally. To get attorneys to take the time to formally manage contacts, you have to convince them that their investment will pay real dividends.