713Bankruptcy.Com's Blog

A lesson to help you learn how to accomplish more of your personal and business goals

Question: I say to you: You are advised to listen to everything the customer is saying. While she is talking, you should be thinking of ways to:

a. find the customers weak point so you can manipulate her thoughts; or
b. understand the needs of the customer and offer suggestions that will be beneficial to the customer

Which answer above sounds like the moral and ethical thing to do? Of course the answer is B.

Why do I think the answer is B?

The difference between the two answers above is an age old question that has been debated throughout all of history. Both answers above provide a glimpse into two basic human needs. Those basic human needs are (1) good; and (2) evil. Both of these spirits exist in all of us; but we all have more than one versus the other. Either you believe you need to control others in order to achieve your goals (evil) or you believe that by putting the needs of others ahead of your needs will achieve goals beyond your wildest dreams (good.) Therefore, the way you choose to run your business is ultimately your decision.

Presentation is the key

Even if you are person who believes the correct answer should be Letter A in the above example, you are not going to get anywhere if you do your presentation in a manner that reveals these true intentions. This is one example of why it takes more effort to commit evil instead of committing good. Therefore, if you think like a person who would answer the question above with Letter A, you will have to think really hard and come up with a presentation that is masqueraded to achieve your goal of control and manipulation in order to accomplish it.

But if you think like a person who would answer the question above with Letter B in the above example; you do not have to waste your mind on thinking up an alternative presentation. Instead, you can be honest in your presentation and go on with life; saving a great deal of time and effort.

How Not to be a Wimp

I was training a new attorney a few months back and I was explaining the good and bad advantages to running a moral and ethical law practice. He said that all the philosophy was good, but he wanted to know how to avoid being taken advantage of and becoming a wimp in the marketplace if he implemented the idea of treating his clients like royalty (the [customer is always right] rule) instead of under his control and manipulation.

Unfortunately, this attorney did not realize that being taken advantage of (because you do not have the ability to say NO to customers who make irrational requests) is not the same thing as being a wimp. You should always be in a position to defend your company. It is perfectly fine to go the extra mile and treat your customers like royalty and put their needs first. But when a customer comes along and they make demands that are unreasonable or outside the scope of your company policy, you need to take a stand and stop treating the customer like royalty. It is at that point that you not allow them to cross over the line. Adjusting your character to react in this manner is certainly not being a wimp.

Other Examples of Presentations

Scenario No. 1: An attorney calls a virtual bankruptcy assistant because he found her on the NAVBA.ORG website. The attorney says: “How much experience do you have?”

Bad: I never worked for an attorney before.

Good: I have recently completed the VBA Certification Exam and I have been tested on several different bankruptcy petitions. I have recently only begun accepting new clients. Can you tell me something about your law firm and practice?

Notice how the GOOD response leads into a question. This question throws the ball back into the customers court and encourages the attorney to provide you with information. During the time the attorney is talking, listen closely, understand the needs of the customer and offer suggestions that will be beneficial to the customer.

Scenario No. 2: While sitting at a law firm waiting to see an attorney, the receptionist asks you what line of work you are in. You reply:

Bad: I am a virtual bankruptcy assistant. I prepare bankruptcy petitions.

Good: I provide services to attorneys that help to relieve the law firm workload. What type of duties do you perform here at the law firm?

Remember, you are talking to a receptionist. You need to understand that the receptionist is asking you this question because he or she wants to know if your service will benefit them. They don’t care how much time you will save the attorney. They want to know how your company will make their job easier. By providing the GOOD answer above, you have addressed that question in a language the receptionist will understand. Why is this crucial to do? Because the receptionist will tell other co-workers about your company if they understand it. Providing them with a presentation they can understand will accomplish your goals much better than manipulation and control. Plus, you led into a question so you could throw the ball back into their court. (See previous example.)

Summary

I hope this article helps you to understand two very important key elements in all manners of communication whether it be business or your everyday life. Even if you are at the grocery store and you run into someone you know; you can still use the skills you were taught in this article. For example: Most conversations in the grocery store begin with: How have you been? Your goal should always be to NEVER talk about yourself. The person is not really interested in how you are anyway (unless it is something juicy and exciting gossip they can carry elsewhere.) Instead, they want to talk about themselves. All it takes in order for this to happen is for you to ask them a question:

You reply (with a smile): I have been great. How have you been doing?

You have just placed yourself into a very SAFE place. You will never need to worry about this person taking a word you say and knitting it into a framework of gossip. Instead, you get to listen as this person tells you about their world, which is probably not going to be that exciting to you either. But regardless of whether the person is telling you things that are interesting or not, you never need to worry about this person carrying gossip about you or misinterpreting anything you say. Instead, they will think you are a super nice person because you took time to listen to them, nod your head in agreement and maintain a kind and caring demeanor. The person will leave the conversation and talk about you to others in a positive manner.

Or, if you are lucky enough and the other person understands this same philosophy in communication, they will only reply that they are doing fine and continue down the grocery isle. These are the best conversations to have in a grocery store. Remember, other people can hear your conversation, so make sure you always try to do the least amount of talking there.

I wish you a blessed and wonderful week.

Victoria Ring
Certified Paralegal and Bankruptcy Specialist
http://www.713attorney.com
http://www.713training.com
http://www.navba.org

New Video Training CD: How to Conduct Online Deed and Land Records Searches for Bankruptcy Petitions
To Order:
http://www.713training.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=102

Format: Video (AVI)
Length: 50 minutes
Narrated by: Victoria Ring

Now you can perform FREE deed and land records searches online for bankruptcy petitions.

If you prepare Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions you need to protect debtor(s) from liens they may have forgotten about and to ensure you have provided for all assets on Schedule A of the bankruptcy petition. However, if you have tried to conduct an online deed and land records search in the past you have probably found it almost impossible to do without paying a company to perform the job for you. This is because many companies out there dominate the search engines often making it difficult for you to locate the right court to perform the search.

With the video: How to Conduct Online Deed and Records Search for Bankruptcy Petitions you will learn how to quickly and efficiently conduct online deed and land records searches for bankruptcy petitions at NO COST. In fact, this is one of the most comprehensive training videos available today on this topic. Plus, the information in this power packed video is not available from any other source.

This training video is designed for attorneys and their staff who prepare bankruptcy petitions in house, as well as a skill building tool and valuable resource for virtual bankruptcy assistants who work under the direction of bankruptcy attorneys in the United States.

Get your copy today at:
http://www.713training.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=102

NEW DEBTOR BANKRUPTCY FIRM

On June 10 I flew from Denver, Colorado to Chicago, Illinois to meet with Steven Larsen, an attorney who is starting a new debtor bankruptcy law firm from the bottom up. Mr. Larsen’s office is located in South Haven, Michigan and he drove the 150 miles to Chicago to pick me up. I stayed in a beautiful private suite in his home and where I met his wife (who is a minister) and 2 great kids, Lars (5 year old son) and Marija (4 year old daughter).

During my two day stay, I helped establish the office procedures for his new debtor bankruptcy practice, as well as offering suggestions for the layout of the 8,000 square foot office for maximum efficiency. Additionally, I trained Mr. Larson as well as three members of his staff on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions. On the last day, Mr. Larson and I had lunch with a District Court Judge who provided some excellent advice to Mr. Larson on the opening of his new law practice. It turns out that Mr. Larson will be the first bankruptcy attorney in the area specializing in the field. Other attorneys have general practices and bankruptcy is only one of the services they provide. Mr. Larson’s law firm will be different in the fact that he will be focusing on foreclosure and debt relief and offering bankruptcy as an alternative. This approach will provide him with a distinct marketing edge for that particular area.

Mr. Larson’s motto is: Clients do not care how much you know. They want to know how much you care.

With these solid business practices in place, there is no doubt that Mr. Larson is going to be an extremely successful debtor bankruptcy attorney and benefit the lives of thousands. I cannot wait to go back in a year and see how the seed that was planted last week has grown into a thriving enterprise.

NEW VBA OFFICE

Clayton Holland of American Fork, Utah flew from Salt Lake City, Utah to Denver, Colorado to spend two days with me. I was very impressed with Clayton. He had studied all of the training materials several times and had even developed a binder of notes that cross referenced all the information from the training videos, books, audios and even the blog. This binder allowed him to quickly find specific information about the bankruptcy petition so he could make sure he was doing his job correctly. Clayton is currently in the process of building his VBA website, but it will be located at MyBankruptcyAssistant.com

NEW STAFF RECENTLY ADDED

As most of you are aware, 713Attorney is expanding to provide bankruptcy petition services to attorneys nationwide. At the moment we have 27 bankruptcy attorneys that we serve throughout the United States. So far, five people have achieved high grades on the VBA Exam and the Chapter 13 Concepts Exam. I would like to congratulate the following people who have been selected to join the team and work with me in providing a high level of services to bankruptcy attorneys:

Clayton Holland
American Fork, Utah
Email: clay1937@hotmail.com
See the previous paragraph for information on Clayton Holland. To contact Clayton, please use the email link above as he is still building his VBA website.

Gary Ostad
Elk Grove, California
http://www.bankruptcyattorneyassistant.com/

Gary has been preparing bankruptcy petitions for the past 3 years and already has an established business as a virtual bankruptcy assistant. We are very fortunate to have him join our group and since he is familiar with the California bankruptcy court local rules, he is an excellent resource for the California attorneys we serve. Visit his website at the link above for more information.

Sherri Homen
Medford, Oregon
http://713attorneyassistant.com/

Sherri attended the Chapter 13 seminar as well as spending a day with me for additional training. She has prepared several bankruptcy petitions already and is a dependable and very honest person to work with. She also passed the VBA Exam as well as the Chapter 13 Concepts Exam. Visit her website for more information.

ATTENTION ATTORNEYS

If you are seeking a dependable, trustworthy group who performs high level paralegal quality work, please consider 713Attorney.Com. We guarantee our services 100% and fast turnaround of your petitions. Or, if you have any difficult Chapter 13 cases, 713Attorney.Com specializes in this field. Visit http://www.713attorney.com for more information as well as the Free Attorney Start Up Kit.

ATTENTION VBAs

If you need help with petition reviews or Chapter 13 cases, contact 713Attorney.Com as we provide backup services to help you also. Contact any member of our team (see list above) for assistance.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR TEAM?

If you are the type of person that wants to achieve the expert level in the virtual bankruptcy assistant field, and are seeking to join the 713Attorney.Com team, follow the steps below:

1. Download the free VBA Exam and pass with a score of 90% or higher:
http://www.vbacertification.com

2. Download the Chapter 13 Concepts Exam and pass with a score of 80% or higher. This is an Open Book Exam which is why it is not free to download:
http://www.713training.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=101

3. Join the NAVBA so you will have access to private information I only provide to members:

http://www.navba.org/administrator/signup.php

SUMMARY

I would like to thank our group for their excellent work and we hope to continue growing. There are a lot of really good, excellent, dependable people out there and 713Attorney considers itself to be blessed to have the people listed above. I hope you can join our group in the near future.

Victoria Ring
http://www.713attorney.com
http://www.713training.com

I would like to thank those of you have ordered training materials, downloaded the VBA Exam and taken the Chapter 13 Concepts Open Book Exam. Although I do not know how many people downloaded the VBA Exam (since it is a free download), we have had 13 people order the Chapter 13 Concepts Open Book Exam and within less than 48 hours, 7 of those 13 have returned them for grading.

This is exciting and I am looking forward to working with some of you in an apprentice capacity very soon. However, we have had many questions over the past week that I would like to address in this article to help you decide if this opportunity is right for you:

QUESTION:

How much money will I get paid?

ANSWER:

Since I have no idea of the quality of your work, this is an impossible question for me to answer. I recently completed the training of Lawrence Sheline in an apprentice position so I urge you to contact him by email at: Lawrence@vba4attorneys.com if you have specific questions you need answered from a beginner’s point of view.

The first petition Lawrence prepared was very poor. However, he showed enthusiasm in wanting to know exactly what he did wrong so he could correct his mistakes. Because I spent 5 or 6 hours training Lawrence on his first petition and redoing it over completely, he did not want to be paid since he felt the individual training I gave him was worth much more. (This was his decision, not mine.) The second petition he did was much better and he ended up getting paid for his time. Lawrence continued to get raises for each petition he completed and eventually he was in a position to earn $650 from every $700 Chapter 13 petition he prepared.

For those of you considering working under my training and direction, you need to understand that this is an opportunity for you to own and operate your own VBA business. I am not seeking people to work for me as an employee. I am seeking people who will eventually become independent contractors with their own attorney client base which I will build for them only after they have been trained and have worked under my management.

Notice: If you need to make money next week to pay bills, you should try to find at least temporary work in a law firm. Even if you are answering phones, you will be working in the legal environment and be able to pay your living expenses while you build your VBA skills.

QUESTION:

What do you get out of this?

ANSWER:

In the beginning of your training, I receive payment for my time in training you by keeping a portion of the fee the attorney pays for the petition processing. Plus, I completely review the petitions and return them to you so you can fix your mistakes so I can recheck them again and again until they are perfect. Additionally, I provide the law firm with an attorney-level of quality since I have 32 years of experience. This is not something a beginner or even a seasoned paralegal can provide; which is why the training I provide to you cannot be found anywhere else (unless you work for an experience bankruptcy attorney who personally trains you.)

After you have been fully trained and you have developed a good working relationship with the attorney you have been preparing petitions for, you and that attorney will start working together and you will not need me as much. When this happens, I will keep an ongoing fee of $50 for every petition you process. This $50 payment will allow you the opportunity to call me to answer any questions, which will further develop your skills until you reach the expert level.

In the overall scheme of things, I am not asking for much because I will invest a lot of time into your training during the beginning. But in the process, I will have a network of people I can rely on to process bankruptcy petitions for the attorney clients 713Attorney.Com serves.

QUESTION:

If I learn how to prepare petitions, how will I know that you will not become my competition?

ANSWER:

Believe it or not, after you have worked in debtor bankruptcy for 15 years, you will get sick of preparing petitions. You need to understand that I have prepared over 15,000 petitions during my career (probably more.) It is something I do not want to do on a continual basis. My expertise lies in training and setting up new debtor bankruptcy law firms; which is why I want to build a network of people who I can rely on to process the bankruptcy petitions. Hopefully, by this time next year, I will have enough people to handle the tremendous workload I generate from attorneys.

QUESTION:

If you do not want to prepare bankruptcy petitions, how can you generate work for me?

ANSWER:

Because bankruptcy attorneys call me and want me to prepare their bankruptcy petitions. They know I have 32 years of legal experience. They have read my books and trained from my materials to know that I have knowledge in this field. Also, they have heard from other attorneys that I know more about consumer bankruptcy than most attorneys. Attorneys do not want to trust their petition work to anyone else. Therefore, without marketing petition services, attorneys call the office on a daily basis asking me to do their petition work. With only 24 hours in a day and a company to run, it is impossible for me to fulfill all their requests; which is why I need people like you.

Keep in mind that the attorneys are aware that I am building a network of trained and reliable virtual bankruptcy assistants. As long as you are working under my direction, attorneys will be happy to work with you. After awhile, you will build up a good relationship with them because of the quality of your work. At that point you can work with the attorney directly. Therefore, it is to your advantage to work under my direction as an apprentice and earn the trust of attorneys over a period of time.

QUESTION:

If I already have experience working for a bankruptcy attorney do I still need to take your exams?

ANSWER:

Of course. I did not work beside you at the same law firm to know the quality of your work. You need to realize that I receive sometimes 3 or 4 petitions a week that have been messed up by paralegals. Attorneys file their petitions in court and the court files objections due to errors. For example, just this past week I had to correct an error on Schedule C because the paralegal (who claims she was experienced) mixed the 703 and 704 exemptions allowances on an Oakland, California petition. I see so many errors from people claiming they have experience that having experience means almost nothing any more. Today, you have to prove it, not just say it.

Additionally, just because you know how to prepare bankruptcy petitions does not mean that you know how to properly handle clients. I accepted a lady into the apprentice program just recently who scored high on the VBA Exam. However, when she called the client she scared her to death. She demanded the client provide a recent appraisal on her home even though she did not need one since the house was being surrendered. The client was so scared that she actually drove to the attorney’s home, interrupted his family during dinner by banging on the door. It took the attorney 30 or 40 minutes to calm her down. After handling the issue he called me and was very angry. I almost lost the attorney’s business because of the VBAs behavior. It took several hours out of my weekend to deal with this. I called the client, apologized for the incident, took the case back and spent 4 days correcting the errors this VBA made. Needless to say, the VBA never called and asked what she did wrong. Naturally, I will never use her services again.

Perhaps sharing these two minor issues with you will help to explain why I cannot accept you on experience alone. It is mandatory that you (1) Complete the VBA Exam and score 90% or higher; (2) Complete the Chapter 13 Concepts Exam and score 80% or higher; and (3) Join the NAVBA which provides you with access to private teleconference meetings we hold every month to build your skills as a VBA.

QUESTION:

How many positions are open and am I too late to apply?

ANSWER:

I would eventually like to have 100+ reliable VBAs but to reach that number will take a lot of time. No, you are not too late to apply as there is enough work out there for many more people. Watch the news tonight on television and you will see that the financial crisis is growing larger. More companies are closing. More people are out of work. Florida attorneys have told me horror stories of how families are living in tents and cooking on two burner Coleman stoves because they were unable to pay their mortgage. Open your eyes and you will see the world is suffering and the bankruptcy filings are increasing.

To help shock you into reality, visit http://www.abiworld.org (Click ONLINE RESOURCES, then BANKRUPTCY STATISTICS, then FILINGS BY CHAPTER, then ANNUAL, NON-BUSINESS FILINGS BY CHAPTER 2007-2008.)

First, you will immediately notice that most states have DOUBLED in filings between 2007 and 2008. For example, Florida had a total of 39,433 bankruptcy filings in 2007 and 63,726 in 2008. I can only imagine what the 2009 statistics will be. According to http://www.bankruptcy-statistics.com/ bankruptcy filings are up 50% from last year and they are still compiling the First Quarter of 2009.

If this information is not enough to convince you that there is enough work out there for 10,000 VBAs, nothing will. However, the key to success is the level of your expertise. Few people actually get to the expert level; not because they cannot do the work, but because they give up. Just like any work, bankruptcy can be frustrating. It requires the ability to think outside the box because there are no clear cut set of directions that apply across the board. Unless you have the determination to acquire those skills, you will not achieve the expert level.

SUMMARY

If you are the type of person that wants to achieve the expert level, I will invest the time to walk with you on that journey. During the journey you and I will build a working relationship that I hope will last throughout my lifetime. So if you can see past the trees and visualize the forest, follow the steps below and get started so we can begin working together soon.

1. Download the free VBA Exam and pass with a score of 90% or higher:
http://www.vbacertification.com

2. Download the Chapter 13 Concepts Exam and pass with a score of 80% or higher. This is an Open Book Exam which is why it is not free to download:
http://www.713training.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=101

3. Join the NAVBA so you will have access to private information I only provide to members:
http://www.navba.org/administrator/signup.php

I look forward in working with you in the months ahead.

Victoria Ring, CEO
713Training and 713Attorney
http://www.713training.com
http://www.713attorney.com

– by Victoria Ring

I am getting sick and tired of the bankruptcy software companies pushing virtual bankruptcy assistants around and trying to control them. Therefore, I am going to take a stand and write this article, hoping that it helps virtual bankruptcy assistants to realize the truth about two important issues.

Issue 1: The Threat to Take Electronic Filing Capabilities Away

The major bankruptcy software packages, including Best Case have rewritten their license agreement to no longer allow virtual bankruptcy assistants to use the One Touch filing option within their software. They believe that by doing this, the attorney is forced to purchase a license and the virtual bankruptcy assistant will not be able to file a bankruptcy petition unless the attorney has a registered license.

THE TRUTH: As a virtual bankruptcy assistant, you can still file a bankruptcy petition by logging into PACER instead of the feature inside the bankruptcy software. All you need is the ECF login information from the attorney you are working for. In fact, in many ways, filing through PACER is easier compared to using the One Touch method.

Issue 2: Forcing You to Purchase Additional Local Forms and Chapter 13 Plans

I cringe every time a virtual bankruptcy assistant calls me on the phone and said they paid $300 for a Chapter 13 Plan. It also angers me to know that the bankruptcy software developers are taking advantage of people and actually stealing money.

THE TRUTH: All local forms are available free from the bankruptcy court website as well as the 713Attorney.Com website. In addition, all the forms are form fillable. In other words, you simply open up the document and begin typing. When you are finished you save and file the form through PACER after you file the bankruptcy petition. Great news! You just saved $300 or even more.

Reference: http://www.713attorney.com/links/forms.html

The Truth of the Matter

Not one bankruptcy software program was developed by anyone who knows anything about bankruptcy. All of them were developed by programmers with no legal knowledge, which is why many of the software programs are filled with bogus features that do nothing for you or the bankruptcy court. But this is not my concern. My concern is that these software companies are actually convincing people that they must purchase bankruptcy forms (such as Chapter 13 Plans) from them, even though they are aware the same forms are available free from the government.

Plus, on top of that, many bankruptcy software companies are actually threatening virtual bankruptcy assistants with threats of taking away their ability to file a bankruptcy petition for their attorney. This threat just goes to show you that bankruptcy software developers have no knowledge of bankruptcy. I have been filing legal documents through PACER for years without using any special software program.

My next project is to develop a video where I am going to show you exactly how to file a bankruptcy petition through PACER. This way, if your bankruptcy software company tries to threaten you by taking away your ability to electronically file through their software program, you can simply file the petition through PACER and call it a day. Watch for an email to announce the video when I get it developed.

I urge you to pass this information on to anyone who files bankruptcy petitions. Let us work together to keep people informed of the truth so the stealing and threats will stop from the bankruptcy software companies who are only seeking to line their pockets with our hard earned money!!