Intake-Desk Pattern

The Price Softener

Discounts or apologizes for the fee before the caller reacts. One of the 13 R2R archetypes, as it shows up on a law firm intake desk.

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This is one of the 13 R2R archetypes. The R2R definition: Avoids direct money conversations. On a law firm intake desk it shows up as described below. The full archetype is on jeffreyscottstanton.com, and all 13 are on the 13 archetypes page.

What it sounds like

"It is only a hundred dollars, and the attorney can sometimes work with you."

The call it loses: The fee conversation. The caller learns the number is negotiable before they have decided anything.

Why it persists

Warmth, generosity and a real wish not to burden anyone. Overused under pressure, it becomes an apology for the firm's own fee.

It is not a character flaw and not a lack of training. It is a strength that fires at the wrong moment, and it can be named, scored and coached.

Scorecard items it tends to skip

Fee stated once, without softening. Next step recommended with a specific time.

The 14-item card is on the call-review scorecard page.

How to coach it

Role-play stating the fee in one sentence with no adjectives, then stopping. Count the softened fees on next week's calls. Pair it with the line: "The fee is the fee. The value is the consultation."

The R2R Assessment shows which of the 13 archetypes a person runs before the first call is scored, so the coaching goes to the right moment first. See all six patterns.

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.

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