Together We Succeed: Amber Elliott, Director of CRM Operations at SurePoint Technologies

Amber Elliott is a former law firm marketing professional who works with firms to implement SurePoint’s CRM solution. In her role as Director of CRM Operations at SurePoint, Amber draws on her own experiences as a former client to provide a customized implementation process that removes the fear of a failed rollout and ensures success. Here, she shares what she’s learned from hundreds of successful implementations, the secret to strong relationships, and how firms use CRM to improve profitability and identify the marketing activities that lead to new business.  

 What leads most firms to look for a new CRM solution?

Lack of user adoption and ease of use are two common themes. Many CRM solutions are difficult to use, but ours isn’t one of them. We’ve worked hard to define a customized implementation process that prevents our clients from falling into those traps, which is why we have one of the highest adoption rates in the legal industry.

Today’s CRM solutions can handle almost everything from intake to marketing automation, but if a firm can’t easily pull together a mailing list and communicate with its clients and prospects, those additional features are of little use. At the height of the pandemic, we heard from many firms that were producing great content (and so much of it) but didn’t have an effective way to share it. I remember one client telling me they had the same functionality before but weren’t using it because it was too cumbersome and difficult. Most often, law firms tell me that they are looking for a CRM solution that will allow them to streamline processes and improve client service.

What sets the SurePoint CRM team apart from others in the legal industry?

SurePoint’s CRM is one of the few developed specifically for law firms. As a former law firm marketer, I used it and developed my best practices before joining SurePoint. My SurePoint colleagues, Jennifer Whittier, CRM Product Manager, and Sara Coffey, Director of Marketing, are also former clients. Our experiences allow us to approach CRM with empathy. We’ve been in our clients’ shoes. We can share real-life experiences and provide solutions that make their work easier and add value to their firms. We believe in the power of CRM to build stronger relationships and improve ROI because we’ve seen it firsthand.

What can a firm expect from a SurePoint CRM implementation?

We partner with our clients every step of the way to ensure their implementations are successful. Our implementations begin with a custom playbook to address each firm’s specific goals. We share best practices and sample communications to help our clients build momentum for CRM adoption. Our implementation team works closely with the project team members on the client side throughout the implementation and is available to ensure that it is rolled out to the firm successfully. The common thread behind every successful implementation is consistent and open communication with each stakeholder group internally and between the project team and SurePoint.

What is the secret to CRM success?

It’s quite simple. The secret to CRM success is to use it. CRM adoption relies heavily on establishing stakeholder objectives and clearly communicating the benefits. CRM isn’t just for marketing; it’s for everyone. As you implement your CRM, it’s critical to make sure you have a plan in place to ensure the CRM system will meet the firm’s defined objectives. Because I love an acronym, I like to say the ABCs to CRM success are:

• Align your firm’s CRM strategy with your firm’s strategic goals
• Build a centralized repository of the firm’s contact data
• Capitalize on what you’ve built to make data-driven decisions that help the firm grow

Why is it difficult to get lawyers on board with CRM?

Getting lawyers on board with any technology can be difficult, but with CRM, it is not just a technology issue. Many firms don’t have a business development culture, which can make it hard to understand the value of CRM. Defining value for your users is critical to successful adoption. Remember, what matters to one group may not be important to another. Establish key messages for each of your user groups. Be sure your attorneys understand that with the right data, marketing can help them coordinate outreach by providing a list of targeted contacts, running reports to analyze gaps in relationships, and identifying opportunities to cross-sell or pitch for new business. Continue to share business development wins and communicate how CRM informs the firm’s marketing and business development strategies.

What else would you say to a firm considering a new CRM solution?

I’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of law firm marketers. A law firm can be a challenging environment, and having access to important data is critical to the growth of a firm. I know it can be scary to implement a CRM, but in my experience, it’s not difficult to successfully implement a CRM system if you follow the steps outlined here. A lot of it comes down to having the right team and a clear strategy. With a good understanding of your firm’s needs and communication and training plans, your firm will succeed!

SurePoint CRM Series: Build Your 2024 CRM Strategy

Build your 2024 CRM with SurePoint’s law firm marketing experts. Join us on Tuesday, December 5 at 2 pm ET as three former law firm marketing professionals share how they transformed their CRM strategies to improve marketing ROI and win new business. Register now

Why Law Firms Choose SurePoint for CRM

Law firms of all sizes use SurePoint’s CRM solution, ContactEase, to share important business development information and understand the activities that lead to new business. With an industry-leading adoption rate and seamless Outlook integration, lawyers love ContactEase because it’s easy to use. Law firm marketing teams love it because it’s easy to show results. Connect with a SurePoint CRM expert and learn how to start transforming your CRM strategy so you can maximize your marketing ROI.

About SurePoint Technologies

SurePoint® Technologies is the leading provider of award-winning enterprise software that improves workflow and maximizes financial performance and profitability for law firms nationwide. Its distinctive cloud platform integrates client management, practice management, and financial management for powerful relationship-building and knowledge-sharing capability. With a community of over 100,000 members, SurePoint is transforming the legal industry by enabling law firms to unlock higher performance and free lawyers of administrative burdens to spend more time focusing on their clients and their practices. Learn more at surepoint.com/crm.