The Surprising Psychology That Gets Clients to Pay Every Time

You didn’t go to law school to become a collections agent. Yet countless attorneys find themselves dreading that awkward phone call about an overdue invoice, psyching themselves out, and ultimately avoiding the conversation altogether.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the reason you’re not getting paid often has nothing to do with your clients and everything to do with how you’re approaching the ask.

In a recent conversation on the Be That Lawyer podcast, CollBox co-founder Matt Darner shared the psychological principles that separate firms who consistently get paid from those watching their AR age into oblivion.

The Assumptive Close: Your Secret Weapon

Most attorneys approach collections calls defensively. They anticipate conflict. They brace for excuses. And that energy comes through in every word they say.

The best collectors flip this dynamic entirely.

“Your initial follow-up should be friendly and assumptive,” Darner explains. “Something like: ‘Hey, I’m checking in on invoice 123. Did you receive it? Do you have any questions? I’m sure you just missed it—is there anything I can help you with?'”

Notice what’s happening here. You’re not accusing. You’re not demanding. You’re assuming the best—that this is simply an oversight. “Wow, silly us,” as Darner puts it. This approach works because most clients aren’t maliciously avoiding payment. The average law firm carries approximately $206,000 in outstanding invoices, and the vast majority of that money isn’t being withheld by bad actors. It’s delayed by distraction, confusion, or simple oversight.

When you approach with assumption rather than accusation, you give clients a dignified path to resolution. Nobody wants to feel like a deadbeat. The assumptive approach lets them save face while still getting you paid.

Why Consistency Builds Leverage

Here’s where most firms sabotage themselves: they make one uncomfortable call, get voicemail, and then… nothing. Weeks pass. Months pass. The psychological barrier to making that next call grows exponentially with each day of avoidance.

“When you don’t make follow-up phone calls consistently, you can’t escalate,” Darner points out. “When you consistently reach out, then you can build and gently escalate the language because you have full confidence: ‘We’ve followed up 12 times, emailed them, given them every possible opportunity to communicate—now we can turn up that temperature a little bit.'”

Consistent follow-up isn’t about being aggressive. It’s about building the credibility to escalate when necessary. Without that documented history of professional outreach, you have no foundation for consequences.

The firms that get paid 40% faster aren’t the ones making angry phone calls. They’re the ones who’ve built systems that follow up automatically, professionally, and persistently—so escalation feels earned rather than arbitrary.

The “Doctor’s Office” Principle

Think about the last time you asked your doctor about billing. What happened?

“I have no idea,” they probably said. “Someone else handles that.”

This isn’t laziness—it’s strategic role separation. Medical professionals understand that being the expert AND the bill collector creates an impossible dynamic. The same principle applies to law.

“When you have a qualified, high-quality person who will handle those questions with care and professionalism, you maintain arm’s length and keep being the hero, the legal professional,” Darner explains. “It just doesn’t have to be you.”

Every time you personally chase a client for money, you’re undermining the professional positioning you’ve worked to build. You’re no longer the trusted advisor who helped them through their legal matter—you’re the person calling about money.

Reframing Collections as Customer Service

Perhaps the most powerful psychological shift is viewing every invoice and follow-up call not as “collections” but as what it actually is: a customer service touchpoint.

“Get out of your own head on ‘I’m harassing them,'” Darner advises. “When you send an invoice, it tells them what you’ve been up to. You’re showing off all the great work you did.”

The same applies to follow-up calls. You’re checking in. You’re ensuring they received everything. You’re asking if they have questions. This framing isn’t just spin—it’s accurate. Most payment issues stem from confusion or oversight, not refusal. A friendly touchpoint often reveals problems you can solve: a lost invoice, uncertainty about payment methods, or questions about specific line items.

The Bottom Line: You Deserve to Get Paid

Here’s what Darner wants every attorney to internalize: “You deserve to be paid for your work. You do hard work, you bust your butt on this. Doesn’t mean you have to be a bad guy either.”

The psychology of getting paid isn’t about being aggressive, confrontational, or uncomfortable. It’s about being systematic, professional, and confident in the value you provide.

The firms that have figured this out don’t spend their evenings stressing about overdue invoices. They’ve built systems that handle follow-up automatically while they focus on what they actually went to law school for.

Your firm has already earned the money. Now it’s time to collect it.

Ready to stop leaving money on the table? Schedule a conversation with our team to learn how CollBox can transform your accounts receivable into predictable cash flow—without any of the awkward follow-up.