Dear Subscriber & Friend,

I’m often asked about my secrets for the initial consultation: “How can I get a new appointment to stop lawyer shopping and hire me on the spot?” some lawyers ask me.

Yes,, there are secrets.

Yes, there are “tricks.”

Yes, there are even some showmans’ “threatrics” you can put on display.

But there is one thing that may be more powerful than anything else you can ever do. If only you were to utter these four words:

“It’s Not Your Fault.”

Clients of bankruptcy, criminal law, divorce, litigation, etc. are all secretly yearning to hear those words from you. Not from a legal liability “it’s not your fault” sense… but… in terms of someone who’s helping them shoulder the weight of their problems. 

Clients want to hear out of your own mouth that whatever act caused them to walk into your office was somehow someone else’s doing. Clients want your approval — they want you to be on their side. Not in some patronizing way, but in earnest. 

In a way, they want you to give them an absolution.

Moral and personal accountability arguments aside, from a marketing perspective,this is what gives a client comfort. And comfort is one of the driving factors for selecting one attorney over another.

Please don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying that you should lie to your clients. And I’m certainly not saying to put yourself in a position that will get you in trouble with your clients in the future. What I am saying is that you have to let them vent… let them “off the hook”… and give them an “out. If YOU’RE not going to be fully in their corner, after all, who will?

Classic “It’s Not Your Fault” Industry

Do you know which industry is THE biggest “It’s not your fault” industry? It’s the weight loss industry. Study their ads and their messaging and you’ll find that nearly every single one of their spots communicates “It’s not your fault” one way or another.

It’s not your fault because restaurant portions are too big… it’s not your fault fast food places like McDonald’s serve fatty, unhealthy foods… it’s not your fault we are all too busy to cook healthy… It’s not your fault we overeat due to stress… it’s not your fault the fashion industry promotes impossible body type images… and on and on and on. Whether any of this is true or not is not the point. The weight loss industry has realized absolving the consumer makes their their ally. This translates into more sales.

From a legal marketing perspective, the same applies. Clients want to hear those 4 little words. You may not be a magician during the initial consultation, but those words do work like magic.

By the way, if you were a subscriber to my BIONIC BYTES text alert service, you would have heard about “It’s Not Your Fault” before anyone else did. Why not subscribe right now? It’s FREE and you’ll get fresh new marketing tips twice per week right to your phone (and don’t worry — I would NEVER abuse the privilege and don’t spam). All you need to do is text BIONIC to 313131 to sign up. You will receive a confirmation text and be added automatically.