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I Love Going for It as a CLNC®by Jeannie Shoeman, RN, BS, CLNC
Working in the Insurance Field Sparked My Interest in the LawWorking in insurance, I became fascinated with the law. When my job ended, I got depressed and gained weight. I decided it was time to try legal nurse consulting, and I went to the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®) Conference to find out more.However, despite my successful track record in marketing for the insurance company, I discovered how different working for myself was. Making that first call to an attorney was hard. I looked at that long list of attorneys and felt daunted. I remembered Vickie telling us we'd have to make several calls to get an appointment. I had to remind myself to be confident. At that point in my life confidence did not come easily. I had a lot of personal problems, including a death in the family. My adult son was seriously ill, and supporting him had drained my funds. The one lead I got turned out to be a catastrophe. When I got the attorney on the phone, he said, "I have a client in Alaska committing suicide as we speak." I didn't have the nerve to follow up after that call ended. Vickie Gave Me the Extra Kick to Start Calling ProspectsI was totally discouraged, but Vickie gave me that extra kick I needed. After the NACLNC® Conference, I took the CLNC® 6-Day Certification Seminar and left the training feeling empowered and full of energy. I now looked at that intimidating list of law firms and decided, "Why shouldn't I go after the really big ones?" I picked out the top ten firms and made the calls.Rather than sending letters to lawyers who already had nurses on staff or weren't interested, I wanted to qualify my leads first. Otherwise, the gatekeeper might throw my brochure right in the trash. But whether I phoned or went out in person, the gatekeepers were carefully guarding the gate. Finally, a woman at the office of a medical malpractice defense attorney said, "Our senior founding partner has thought about hiring a legal nurse consultant. I want you to leave him a personal voice mail." After a week he called me back. He asked about my resume. My one reference was an attorney who had recently been appointed judge. My prospect said, "I've known Bill for years. Why don't you send me your packet?" When I met with the attorney, he seemed excited, taking me around and introducing me to the other 11 partners and the entire staff. He bragged about my wonderful qualifications and said he planned to hire me as a consultant. My First Case Was a Win for the Attorney and MeAfter the meeting nothing happened. I waited three months, thinking he wasn't interested after all. Then he called with the first case. Later, I learned it had taken him that long to get the records.I had never done medical malpractice or worked for the defense. My experience was with workers' comp and personal injury. This was an involved case, and I was afraid I couldn't do it justice. I told my attorney-client I had an extensive network of CLNC®s and could find him a nurse who specialized in that area. However, he wanted me, nobody else. He saw something in me that I didn't. As a result, we both were winners. He won the case, settling for a lot more money because of the information I found in the chart, and I won repeat business. Since then I've completed six more cases for him. I worked up the last one from inception, billing for 60-plus hours. The checks I received were amazing – $2,500.00, $5,000.00, $6,000.00 – for not that many hours of work. Vickie's Training Helped Build My Confidence and DisciplineEven though I landed a big firm with those first calls, I still procrastinate doing the marketing. This year, at the NACLNC® Conference, a speaker talked about taking one step a day, even if it's small. Vickie's impeccable image also impressed me. Her suits, her matching shoes, her colors have such punch. I'm still working on building my confidence, and I realize now that looking good and taking that one step every day make me feel more confident.Using the valuable tips from the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants Conference to build my confidence and discipline, I know I will succeed even more. I believe you have to aim for the top, go for the big one, just like I did when I landed that first top-ten law firm. I love going for it as a CLNC®. Jeannie Shoeman, RN, BS, CLNC owns JMS Medical-Legal Consulting. She has 25 years of nursing experience.  Tell a Friend About This Site   |
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