by Victoria Ring, CEO 713Training.Com LLC
I received an inquiry from a law firm last week asking me to provide them with a price for preparing their bankruptcy petitions. Although I normally work on difficult cases and assist my virtual bankruptcy assistants, I decided to pursue this request so I could place myself in the shoes of the VBAs I train in order to help them with marketing. Besides, if I would have been awarded the job I would have given it to a certified VBA anyway; so I had nothing to lose and everything to gain from the experience.
The first thing I did was to call the attorney on the phone and find out exactly what they needed. I was not able to speak to the attorney but I spoke to his wife, who works for him in his office. The attorney’s wife explained that their main petition preparer was going to be out of work for a few weeks having a baby. They wanted someone who was skilled in preparing bankruptcy petitions to step in while she was gone.
From this information, experience told me there would have problems with the pricing. Most law firms was used to paying an employee $10 or $12 an hour; so quoting them a flat fee of $500 or more was going to blow their mind. However, I was in the mood to present my sales approach to see what would happen.
First of all I explained the benefits of using my virtual bankruptcy assistant services. Not only would the petition be compiled, my services also included an online asset search, lien search, criminal search, client intake interview as well as amendments that needed prepared throughout the life of the case. After building up all the benefits and expanding on how my services were different compared to an in-house employee, I told the attorneys wife the price would fluctuate depending on the assets and liabilities of the debtor. But as a ball park figure, the fee would be no more than 25 percent of the attorney fee.
Immediately the attorney’s wife said she would talk to her husband. I knew right then and there that she was not happy with the price. How did I know? Because if she would have been interested in my services she would have begun asking me questions and seeking out details of how my work would be performed. Instead, as soon as she learned the price she dropped the ball and found an excuse to get off the phone. These are things you need to look for when marketing your VBA services. The only way I know about them is through the many years experience in marketing I have endured.
Now, most people at this point would have felt bad. They would have felt compelled to lower their prices just to get the sale. One VBA I met did just that. In fact, she lowered her fee down to $100 and the bankruptcy attorney took advantage of her. While he made $2,500 for every petition, he paid her $100 and made her do all the work. This is modern day slave labor and an attorney who is dirty enough to do this is not an attorney you need to be working for.
Did I feel bad because this law firm turned me down? Of course not. In fact, just to prove my theory I waited a week and sent the attorney’s wife the following email: We spoke last week regarding your paralegal that is going on maternity leave soon. I wanted to follow up and see if you were still interested in my services of preparing your bankruptcy petitions while she is away.
Her respond was almost immediate; it said: We found someone much cheaper than you!
This type of response told me that my first assumption was correct. However, I did not expect her to be rude and unprofessional. A remark like this told me she was angry and she wanted to inflict as much pain as she could. But instead of inflicting pain, her response only showed me her true character. It was clearly evident this lady was NOT a professional. Even if she was not happy with my prices, she would have thanked me for the follow up and politely told me they had decided to pursue another solution. Or, if she was still interested in my services but thought the prices were too high, she would have called and attempted to negotiate a different price with me. I had one attorney do this. He said he could not afford my prices but asked me how much I would charge if I did not do any online searches or client intake interviews. This lowered his per petition cost significantly and we worked out a price that was fair and reasonable to accommodate him. These types of negotiations are common in business and if someone does not try to implement them, it shows you immediately they are not business savvy people.
Moral of the Story
Listen folks. Do a search in any lawyer directory and you will find there are hundreds if not thousands of bankruptcy attorneys in almost every city and town within the United States. As a trained, professional virtual bankruptcy assistant, you save attorneys a great deal of money and you have GREAT WORTH. You help to eliminate paperwork and deficiency notices. You assist the federal bankruptcy court in eliminating time and increasing their efficiency. Your skills are not to be discounted to a level of trash. If an attorney chastises you for the prices you charge, this is not an attorney you want to work for. There are plenty attorneys who will recognize the fact of how you will benefit his or her law firm and appreciate you for the professional you are.
Keep plugging away and keep increasing your knowledge as a VBA. Refuse to settle for less than you deserve but be fair and caring toward your client attorneys. There are a lot of good women and men attorneys seeking your services but you may have to kiss a few toads to get to the prince and princess. Do not worry though. Waiting for the prince and princess is well worth the time. Working for good attorneys is how you build a long-lasting career on solid ground.
