# Counsel ยท Sales Rep Onboarding A new salesperson should be ready to hold a real partner call 30 minutes after reading this. That is the bar. This document is the entire ramp. --- ## The product in one sentence Counsel is the after-hours intake clerk for solo and small law firms. It fields the call, runs the conflict check, books the consult, and lays a draft retainer on the partner's desk by 7 a.m. The customer is a solo or small firm (1 to 8 lawyers) in personal injury, criminal defense, family law, or estate, in a state where the bar has issued 2025 guidance allowing AI-assisted intake under defined supervision rules. They handle their own intake today and lose retainers because the phone goes to voicemail after 6 p.m. --- ## 90-second pitch script > "Most of our customers are solo or small-firm partners. The pattern we keep seeing is the same: the most valuable intake call of the week arrives at 11 p.m. on a Tuesday. A spouse just got served. A son just got arrested. The client is calling four firms in 20 minutes. Whichever firm answers first books the consult and signs the retainer. > > Counsel is the after-hours clerk. The 11:14 p.m. call gets attended within 60 seconds, in your firm's voice, on your intake script. We collect the matter facts, run the conflict check against your client list, book the consult on your calendar, and prepare a draft retainer in your template, stamped DRAFT, ready for your review. > > By 7 a.m. you have one docket: who called, the matter summary, the conflict result, the consult, and the draft retainer. You drink your coffee and sign or revise. > > It is $697 a month, flat, all attorneys at the firm, unlimited intake. Setup is 90 minutes with the partner. Most of our firms cover the cost on the first incremental retained matter." 90 seconds. Memorize the cadence: the 11:14 p.m. beat, the docket beat, the 7 a.m. beat, the price. Those four numbers do the work. --- ## 5-minute demo flow When you have a screen share or call where the partner wants to "see it": **Minute 1: Trigger inbound.** From your own phone, place a real test call to the demo number. Or submit the demo web form: "I just got served divorce papers, can someone help me." Let it sit. **Minute 2: Show the live attended response.** Counsel responds within 30 to 60 seconds. The partner hears the voice or sees the text. Note the qualifying questions: matter type, jurisdiction, urgency, fee structure fit. Send a return reply. The model offers a consult time. **Minute 3: Show the conflict check.** Demo a fake client name that conflicts. Counsel returns the conflict-check result before any consult is offered. This is the moment most partners say "okay, this is real." **Minute 4: Show the morning docket.** Pull up an actual morning docket from the demo firm. Read it like the partner would: who, matter, conflict result, booked consult, draft retainer attached. Open the draft retainer. Show the "DRAFT" stamp. Show the matter facts dropped into the firm's actual template. **Minute 5: Run the math live.** Open the ROI calculator. Ask the partner: "What does an after-hours retained matter look like for your firm? What is the average value? How many do you think you are getting per week?" Plug their numbers. Watch the net land. Stop talking. Let the math do the work. --- ## 3 qualifying questions Ask in this order. If any disqualifies, end the call politely. ### 1. "How many intake calls or web-form submissions do you get between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. in a typical week?" If "I have no idea," that is fine, that is the customer. If "less than 4," they may be too small. If "10 to 25," they are perfect. ### 2. "What is your average matter value at close?" Anything north of $2,400 makes the math close. Below $2,400 is a smaller-claims practice and Counsel may not be the right fit. Above $5,000 is a great call. ### 3. "What happens to a 10 p.m. inquiry today?" The answer reveals the pain. "Voicemail." "My answering service emails me a message in the morning." "My website chatbot collects an email and that is it." Whatever they say, quote it back to them in your closing. --- ## 1 deal-breaker **The state has not issued bar guidance on AI-assisted intake.** If they are in a state where the bar has not yet ruled on AI-assisted intake, we do not onboard. The risk to the firm is not worth it. The conversation ends with: "Your bar has not yet issued guidance on AI-assisted intake. We do not onboard firms in your state until they have. I will follow up when that changes." States with current guidance: CA, NY, FL, TX. [TBD: confirm latest state-by-state status, list updates monthly.] --- ## What good looks like at the end of a call Either: (a) The partner has agreed to a 14-day pilot, you have their booking calendar credentials, their client list (for conflict-check seeding), and their retainer template, and the pilot starts within 72 hours. (b) The partner has politely declined because the inbound volume or matter mix does not justify the math, and the firm is logged in CRM with a 90-day callback. There is not a third good outcome. A "let me think" is the call going badly. Push for one of the two outcomes before you end. --- ## What to read next Once you have your first call booked: 1. The objection handler (`objection-handler.md`). Read it twice. Memorize the conflict-check answer and the ethics-rules answer. 2. The pricing rationale (`pricing-rationale.md`). Know why $697 and where the floor is. 3. Three actual morning dockets from the demo firm. The product is the docket. Read three of them and you will sell better.