A virtual receptionist service gives you and your firm the freedom to work anywhere.

When your inbound calls and chats are handled 24/7, you’re no longer tied to your office. You can work from home, while traveling, at the courthouse, or anywhere.

Per call versus per minute

However, not all legal answering services are the same. One area where they differ is their pricing model. The two types you’ll commonly see are per call and per minute pricing. So which is better?

Pricing per call

With this pricing model, you pay for each call you receive. At first glance, this might seem good. But let’s look more closely at how this pricing model really works.

Per call pricing means limited service

This pricing model is usually a sign that the service is pretty limited. They’ll take a message and try to end the call quickly. Services that bill this way usually don’t have the technology to do much more than that.

Per call pricing means rushed calls

When you pay per call, your answering service is incentivized to keep the calls as short as possible.

When calls are rushed, the receptionist doesn’t have the time to really qualify the lead by determining the reason for the call and whether the caller meets the criteria to make them a good client.

To find that out, you’ll have to call them back. Chances are, your in-house staff’s time costs more than the service—especially if an attorney is doing those things.

Per call pricing costs more than you think

While per call pricing may seem inexpensive, that can be deceptive. If the quick messages you get from your service don’t contain actionable information, the call isn’t really over. You have to follow up with in-house resources, which wastes your time and costs you money.

Pricing per minute

As an attorney, your time is valuable. Too valuable to spend it personally answering every call or doing basic intake.

Per minute pricing means customization

Unlike pricing models that charge you by the call, per minute pricing allows for customization. You pay for a pool of minutes each month. And you create a call flow to use those minutes however you want to.

With per minute pricing, your virtual receptionist can do intake. They can set appointments. They can respond to webchats. And, of course, they can take simple messages.

One call may be brief and result in a quick message. The next may be longer, with a thorough intake process.

Per minute pricing lets you decide

Your call flow should be designed to satisfy your firm’s needs, not to fit your answering service’s priorities.

The calls can be long or short—that’s up to you, and dependent on the situation. Pricing doesn’t determine call length. You do.

Free yourself from the phone

When you add a legal answering service to your team, you have the freedom to be wherever you need to be. Your new and prospective clients will always be taken care of.

Ready to get started? We’re here to help! Give us a call at 1 800 245 8589 or view our plans and pricing here.