Guide

How to handle the caller who is shopping around

Some callers say outright that they are talking to other firms. The instinct is to compete, discount or let them go. None of those is the best answer.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026 · By Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH

What the caller is actually asking

A caller who says "I am calling a few firms" is rarely asking for a bidding war. They are asking for a reason to pick one. They have not been told what makes this consultation different, and usually they cannot compare fee models they do not understand yet.

Treat the statement as a reasonable thing for a careful person to do, because it is.

What not to do

Disparage other firms. It costs credibility and invites a rule problem.
Discount on the spot. That is the Price Softener at work, and it is usually not intake's decision.
Promise results. "We are the best at this" is an outcome claim.
Let them go with "call us if you want." That is the Conflict Avoider ending, and it hands the next step to the caller.

See the Price Softener and the Conflict Avoider.

What to do

Agree with them. "That is a sensible thing to do."
State how this firm works. The consultation, what it covers, the fee model as the firm states it, and what happens next, in a few sentences.
Offer the comparison fairly. Invite them to ask each firm the same questions: what the consultation covers, who they will meet, how fees work.
Ask for the next step anyway. A time, with two options. If they want to compare first, hold the slot with a deadline.
Agree the follow-up. A call at a specific time, not "let us know."

"Fair to compare. Here is how we work: the consultation is [the firm's fee, as the firm states it], you meet the attorney, and she explains what the process would look like for you. I can hold Thursday at ten until noon tomorrow, and I will call you at noon to see where you are. Would that help?"

Example wording only. The firm states its own fee and terms.

Questions the caller may want answered

Three questions help: what does the consultation cover, who will I meet, and how do fees work. All three are things intake can answer from the firm's own policy. What intake cannot answer is whether the caller will win, what the matter is worth or what the legal work will cost, which belong to the attorney.

Keep reading

Scope, plainly: everything on this site concerns the conversation that turns an inquiry into an engagement. Nothing here is legal advice, nothing touches the legal work or the attorney's judgment, and any wording a firm adopts is reviewed by the firm against its jurisdiction's rules on attorney advertising, solicitation and fee communication before it is used.

About the Author

Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH is a behavioral strategist and the founder and Chief Learning Officer of R2R Diagnostic Group. He is the former EVP of Learning & Development at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, where he trained sales professionals on the conversations that turn an inquiry into a commitment. He applies the same method, the R2R Assessment and a 14-item call-review scorecard, to law firm intake teams. The work is the conversation only; legal questions and judgment stay with the attorney.

The method, the scripts and the scorecard are on how it works, the script template and the scorecard guide.

Start With the Calls

Want this scored on your own calls?

Send a handful of recordings or transcripts. You get a scored review by person, and the one moment to fix first.

Start With the Audit or book a conversation