Nothing makes me happier than walking into a meeting of creditors and seeing an appearance attorney with a gaggle of clients. Most often, those clients didn’t even hire the same lawyer – the appearance attorney is probably working for a number of lawyers at the same time.
Brilliant move, Mr. Bankruptcy Lawyer (or Ms. Bankruptcy Lawyer, as the case may be). You’ve just taken your hard-earned marketing dollars and tossed them into the sinkhole!
Huh?
Think about you. Your client became your client on the basis of trust and reliance on your expertise. Into your hands cam ethat client’s financial future, and you were the saviour. You’d be the one to guide their ship through the perilous waters of the bankruptcy system, leading them out the other side safely and securely.
And when they show up to the meeting of creditors, they’re pawned off on some no-name appearance lawyer.
What does this say to the client? It says, “You were important to me before you gave me your money and trust. Now I’m off to get my next client, and you’re not important anymore.”
We all know that a meeting of creditors is no big deal – in fact, an experienced bankruptcy lawyer can pretty much sleepwalk through most of them. But to a consumer, this is a HUGE thing that’s going on. It’s scary, intimidating, and so outside the realm of their personal experience as to be akin to having a root canal without novocaine.
And you’ve gone and dumped them by the side of the road, off to hunt the next client.
Think your client feels important? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
So here’s a tip: go to every meeting of creditors and speak with your client beforehand. Let your client know the questions they will be asked, and review the petition with them. Tell your client to wait outside for you after the hearing is concluded. When you meet with them afterwards, let them know what a great job they did. Tell the client what will happen next, and when. Give the client your business card and – here’s the biggie, folks, so write it down – ask them to refer their friends and family members to you.
I hear the groans from the rafters. “It takes me three hours to get to a meeting of creditors, and it blows my whole day!” Or some such nonsense.
Listen, yo spend hundreds of dollars in time and energy to get one person to become your client. If that person is tickled with your service, he or she will tell 9 people about you. And if that person is dissatisfied, he or she will tell 20 people about you.
What would you rather have? 9 new clients, or 20 people running away from you as fast as possible?
I got a new client once because he overheard me in the hallway, after the 341 meeting, counseling my client about life after bankruptcy. You are always on stage….
I once garnered a client from someone who overheard me in the hall talking to a client after the 341 meeting, telling them what to expect and what to do going forward. The evesdropper was so impressed, he made an appointment for himself.