The short answer
A secret shop is a test call you place to your own firm, as a stranger who has just been hurt. Make five calls (weekday, after hours, in Spanish, a case you do not take, and a hang-up), time each one, score it on the checklist below, and fix the lowest score first. It takes about an hour, costs nothing, and shows what your ads are really buying.
Every month a firm pays for ads, search work and reviews to make the phone ring. Almost none of them check what happens when it does. A secret shop answers that for free. You call your own firm the way a new client would, you time it, and you score it. This guide gives you the five calls to make, the numbers to write down, and a checklist you can print.
Intake is the part of the process between a person calling and a person signing. Two measures on The Probative Standard describe the start of it: speed to lead, the time from a contact to the firm’s first live attempt to reach the person, and the answer rate, the share of eligible calls answered live by a person. A secret shop tests both, one call at a time. Our intake numbers guide shows how to track them every month.
How do you set up a secret shop?
- Use a number your staff will not recognise. A friend’s phone is the easiest choice, or a prepaid line. Do not call from the firm’s own mobiles.
- Write the story first. Keep it short and the same every time: your name, where it happened, whether anyone was hurt, and the question you want answered.
- Decide whether to record. Whether you may depends on your state’s call-recording rule, and the rules library lists it for each state. If you are unsure, take notes by hand.
- Tell your team that test calls happen, but not when.
What are the five calls to make?
Make each call once. The point is to find the weak spot, not to catch a person out.
| Call | When and how | What you are testing |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday call | Mid-morning, on the number from your ads. “I was in a car accident yesterday and my neck hurts. Can I talk to a lawyer?” | Whether a person answers, how fast, and whether they ask the right questions |
| After-hours call | Evening or a weekend, on the same number | Whether anyone answers, whether the voicemail or service sounds like your firm, and whether anyone calls back |
| Spanish-speaking caller | Ask a Spanish speaker to place the same story in Spanish | Whether the call reaches someone who can answer in Spanish, and how long it takes |
| A case you do not take | Describe a matter outside your practice, such as a dispute over a will | Whether the caller is treated kindly, told clearly, and pointed somewhere useful |
| Hang-up | Call, wait on hold, then hang up and leave your number somewhere they can see it | Whether anyone calls back, and when |
What do you time and write down?
Start the timer when you press call. Write down these things for every call:
- Time to a live voice. Stop the timer when a real person first speaks to you. A menu, a recording or voicemail does not count.
- Who answered. Your firm, a service, or nobody.
- What they said first. Did they say the firm’s name?
- What they asked. Your name and number, what happened, whether anyone is hurt, when it happened.
- What they offered. A consultation, a call-back time, or nothing.
- Time to a call-back, for the after-hours call and the hang-up. Check your phone for a day.
How do you score each call?
Use the printable checklist below, one copy for each call. For every line give two points for yes, one for partly, and none for no. Add them up for each call, and compare the five totals.
Printable checklist. Print one copy for each call. At the top, write the call type, the date and the time to a live voice.
| What to check | Your score |
|---|---|
| A live person answered, not a menu or a recording | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| They answered in a few rings or a few seconds, without a long hold | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| They said the firm’s name and their own | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| They asked for your name and phone number early | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| They let you tell the story, then asked what the firm needs to know | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| They checked basics such as injuries, treatment, insurance and the date | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| They explained the next step clearly | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| They booked a consultation or a call-back time | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| They followed through (a call or a message came back when promised) | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| The Spanish-speaking caller reached someone who could answer in Spanish, or got a Spanish call back | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
| You would trust them with a family member’s case | ☐ Yes ☐ Partly ☐ No |
To print the checklist, use your browser’s print command.
How do you read the results?
A high total on the weekday call and a low one after hours or in Spanish shows where your ads leak. Good by day and poor by night means your phone does not cover the hours your advertising works. Good in English and poor in Spanish means Spanish ads only help if someone can answer in Spanish. The checklist is our own rough guide, not a legal standard or an industry benchmark; use it to compare your own calls over time.
What should you fix first?
Fix the lowest-scoring line on the lowest-scoring call, and change only one thing at a time.
- No live voice after hours: add an answering service that follows a script you approve, or move calls to a rotating mobile.
- No Spanish: add a Spanish line or a bilingual team member, and say so on the Spanish page.
- Nobody asked the key questions: write a one-page intake script with your attorney’s criteria and keep it by every phone.
- No next step: give every intake person a way to book a consultation on the call.
- No call-back: assign one person to check missed calls and web forms every hour you advertise.
Then repeat the same five calls in a couple of weeks. If you want someone else to run this every month, our intake monitoring grades a sample of your real calls, in English and Spanish, and shows where the process leaks.
Read next: law firm intake and intake numbers to track. En español: la guía.
What this means for your firm
- Run all five calls, including the after-hours and Spanish calls, before you change a thing.
- Score each call the same way, so you can compare this month with next month.
- Fix the lowest score first, then repeat the same calls in two weeks.
Get my free review and we will look at your phone answering as part of it.
Marketing information, not legal advice. Whether you may record a call depends on your state; check with your own counsel. Last reviewed by our ads lead.
Questions about this guide
Is it legal to place a secret-shop call to my own firm?
Calling your own number is not the same as recording it. Whether you may record depends on your state's call-recording rule, which our rules library lists for every state. Take notes by hand if you are not sure, and tell your team afterwards that tests happen.
How often should I run a secret shop?
Run all five calls when you start, then repeat the same set every quarter and after any change to staffing, phones or ads. Use the same story each time so scores can be compared.
Should I tell my intake team first?
Tell them that test calls will happen from time to time, but not when. A test they expect measures how they behave when watched, not how they behave on a normal day.
What is a ghost call?
On The Probative Standard, a ghost call is a secret-shop call placed into a firm's own intake and left out of every lead count. Some call-tracking tools use the word for a silent caller instead.
Sources
- The Probative Standard: speed to lead, answer rate and secret-shop (ghost) callsAccessed October 26, 2026
- The Probative Standard: lead (what counts as a lead and a ghost call)Accessed October 26, 2026