Saying Nothing Can Get You Everything as a Legal Nurse Consultant!
Sometimes silence really is golden. Any negotiating coach will tell you that in a situation where one party to a negotiation makes an offer or statement and a period of silence sets in, the first party to talk or break that silence loses the point. Silence can be uncomfortable when you are talking to attorneys about your legal nurse consulting services, so how do you pull that off?
Let’s say you quote your legal nurse consulting fee and the attorney says “that’s expensive.” Pause, take a deep breath and visualize (without smiling) that attorney in the hospital wearing a hospital gown with his backside showing. For all you know he’s just thinking and processing out loud. 10 seconds, 20 seconds, a minute…your silence is a demonstration of your confidence in your status as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. Soon the attorney will get uncomfortable enough to break the silence and accept your fee (which is quite reasonable) or negotiate further.
3 thoughts on “Saying Nothing Can Get You Everything as a Legal Nurse Consultant!”
I have found that attorneys that have contacted me for specific CLNC® services (e.g. regulatory compliance) don’t bat an eye when I inform them of my hourly fee. One attorney even said it was reasonable!! This is such a rush the first time it happens!
This has made me very comfortable in quoting my fee to all attorneys.
Great job Kimberly! Thanks for sharing that experience. One more thing to go along with that is having sample work products ready to show the attorney if after two minutes of silence the response is an objection.
If they continue to have objections, have a newsletter available to hand them and to keep them updated and educated positioning yourself in the number two position, especially if it is an attorney that you would really like to work with.
Thanks Vickie for the reminder that we can use the skill of silence in our favor.
Silence can truly be Golden. I have used silence in depositions when the other attorney is trying his best to ruffle my feathers and trip me up. Through silence, I have demonstrated the strength in my convictions and instead of ruffling my feathers, the attorney’s feathers were ruffled. Silence is Golden.
LegalNurse.com is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
The National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®) is the largest and oldest association of legal nurse consultants.
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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
I have found that attorneys that have contacted me for specific CLNC® services (e.g. regulatory compliance) don’t bat an eye when I inform them of my hourly fee. One attorney even said it was reasonable!! This is such a rush the first time it happens!
This has made me very comfortable in quoting my fee to all attorneys.
Great job Kimberly! Thanks for sharing that experience. One more thing to go along with that is having sample work products ready to show the attorney if after two minutes of silence the response is an objection.
If they continue to have objections, have a newsletter available to hand them and to keep them updated and educated positioning yourself in the number two position, especially if it is an attorney that you would really like to work with.
Thanks Vickie for the reminder that we can use the skill of silence in our favor.
Silence can truly be Golden. I have used silence in depositions when the other attorney is trying his best to ruffle my feathers and trip me up. Through silence, I have demonstrated the strength in my convictions and instead of ruffling my feathers, the attorney’s feathers were ruffled. Silence is Golden.