My fellow author at ConsiderChapter13.org Jen Lee called for the bankruptcy bar to do a better job of pitching the manifest strengths of Chapter 13. Ditch the jargon and focus on the facts that are Chapter 13’s strenght.
Her advice to use head to head comparisons with alternative approaches to debt for the client is right on. Use stories that are relatable and the dollars and cents advantages of 12.
An image makeover for Chapter 13 would be even more powerful if we can spread the word to a broader audience, before they’ve shorted their tax withholding, encumbered their exempt homestead, or dipped into their retirement funds.
Let me spitball how we might do that.
We need to reach those folk considering debt settlement or consolidation loans or just resigning themselves to making minimum payments, A solo voice isn’t going to burnish Chapter 13’s image. We need a chorus, or a round, or a medley.
Today it’s easier than ever before, because we live in a multi media, multi platform kind of world, a world where everyone with a device is convinced they can solve their problems with a browser or an online forum.
We can take a page from Winston Churchill: we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. For this campaign, that translates, on our websites; in online forums; on YouTube; on podcasts; in professional gatherings, and face to face.
Disclaimer: I’m going to illustrate this post with links to stuff I’ve written for the lay public over time, to add a little yeast to this discussion, in the hope it stirs your creative juices.
First: choose your words carefully
The most destructive phrase going is “Chapter 13 is a repayment plan”. Say “repayment” and a great swathe of people think 13 just repays all of your debt. What You Think About Chapter 13 Is All Wrong
Talk instead about “reorganization”. Use the power of 13 to keep your stuff; discard what you don’t want or can’t afford. Pay the important creditors first. Chapter 13 Keeps You In Control
Artists steal
Jen will appreciate what AI told me about the phrase that “good artists copy, great artists steal”
“Great artists steal” means that truly exceptional artists don’t just copy existing work, but instead take inspiration and key elements from various sources, transforming them into something entirely new and uniquely their own, essentially “stealing” the essence of an idea to create something innovative and original; this is often attributed to Pablo Picasso, implying that the act of “stealing” is not literal theft but rather a creative process of reinterpretation and adaptation.
In that vein, I’m inviting you to steal (not copy) from stuff I’ve written over the last 25 years for my websites on this issue. Add your own twist, make a point I missed, or pitch the theme better or more concisely.
Confront the competition
Almost every client I’ve ever met hopes there is a magic alternative to bankruptcy. Talk and write about those alternatives. Lace those pieces with real life stories. Thus, the following:
- Chapter 13: The Court Sponsored Debt Settlement Option
- Bankruptcy Alternatives Cost More, Deliver Less
- The Secret Alternative to Bankruptcy
- Chapter 13: Settle Debt for Pennies
Tout the expanded discharge
Chapter 13 does things that even Chapter 7 can’t do, and debt settlement doesn’t even pretend to do: save houses; wipe out tax liens; eliminate property aspects of bad divorce settlements.
- Chapter 13 Saves Your House from Foreclosure
- Chapter 13 Fixes Tax Troubles
- Bankruptcy and Debts to Spouses
Speak to emotional needs
So many of our clients just want the stress to stop. Chapter 13 can do that. Debtors are protected for the life of the plan and exonerated at the end. Credit scores improve.
Look for multipliers
One-on-one information distribution may be effective, but it’s inefficient. Pitch Chapter 13 to those with networks of people with debt problems. Inform other professionals and influencers and let them spread the word.
- Bankruptcy for family lawyers
- Bankruptcy for litigators
- What tax professionals need to know about bankruptcy
Let’s start
Those are the things that come quickly to mind. Our competition is big business with big budgets. Yet their pitch is damn close to false advertising. We have our own story to tell. Let’s get with it.
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