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11 Ways to Retie the Connection as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant

11 Ways to Retie the Connection as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant

We are bombarded with thousands of messages and communications in a single day. So how can you possibly stay in the mind of attorney-clients who are bombarded with clients calling, staffers vying for their attention, email, texts and social media following them everywhere? The CLNC® Pros share 11 strategies for fun, creative and noninvasive ways to retie the connections with your attorney-clients. The goal is to remind them you are there to make the next case a little easier and more profitable.

Stay in Touch

  1. After a case is finished, I stay in touch with my attorney-clients, even if they don’t have another case for me immediately. I keep it light and focus on how they are doing and how their legal practice is going. Many of them proceed to tell me about cases they are working on, which creates opportunities as well as trust.There are a few attorney-clients firms who seem to drift away at times. I have found that it isn’t because I didn’t do a good job, but because they got busy and forgot how I could help. When I remind them, they are always receptive.When I haven’t heard from a client for a while I do the following:
    • First, make a call. I tell them it’s been a while since I’ve heard from them and I miss working with them! Usually the response is, “I’m glad you called. I think I may have something for you.”
    • I follow up with an email. I tell them it was nice talking to them and am looking forward to the new case.

    Just recently I called an attorney at a large defense firm I have worked with over the years. He said he didn’t have anything right then, but would let his colleagues know I had called. The next week, two of his partners called me with cases.

    In another recent situation, I called an attorney I had worked with two years ago. She had told me she enjoyed working with me and was very happy with my work product and the outcome of her case. But two years had gone by and she had not called me back. When I called she told me she had had some medical problems and had taken some time off from work. She sent me a plaintiff medical malpractice case. A week later, I got a call from an attorney I did not know, who had been referred by this attorney.

    These scenarios are not uncommon. It has taught me that it really pays to keep in touch, even after a couple of years. Not only does it bring back my original client, but it brings me new ones as well.

    Dale Barnes, RN, MSN, PHN, CLNC

  1. Send an email or call. Just a simple reminder that you are available can be the spark needed to ignite additional cases coming your way. Approximately 30 days after completing a medical malpractice case for a new attorney-client, I sent him a follow-up email to check in and inquire about how he was doing and any potential cases. The attorney invited me to come to his office the following day and informed me that he had intended to contact me about several cases he had on his docket.– Robert Malaer, RN, MSN, PMHN, SANE, CNLCP, CALM, CLNC
  1. I send Happy New Year emails and use them to update my files. I send each attorney that I have an open case with an email that says, “Happy New Year. I am updating my files. Please let me know the status of the case at your earliest convenience. Please keep me in mind for other matters that you may have.” I recently heard from an attorney that had not sent me a case in over one year. I believe the New Year email prompted him to reach out to me on this new case.– Marcia Bell, RN, BSN, CAPA, CLNC

Add Your Attorney-Clients to Your Gift List

  1. During the holiday season, remember your attorney-clients. Mailing holiday cards will keep your name in front of them and fresh in their minds. Give special tokens of appreciation to your preferred attorneys and their assistants and paralegals.– Suzanne E. Arragg, RN, BSN, CDONA/LTC, CLNC
  1. Pay attention to your surroundings. When I meet with an attorney-client or paralegal in their office, I pay attention and take note of what they have in their office. Do they have family pictures, collect something, or have a favorite sports team? I had just completed a case with a new attorney-client who I had noted was a huge Chicago Bulls fan. When I received payment for my work on the case, I sent the attorney-client a thank you card and a framed Michael Jordan collector’s 3-peat framed picture. The attorney-client and I have become friends, he refers me to other attorneys, and I review every case in his firm.– Robert Malaer, RN, MSN, PMHN, SANE, CNLCP, CALM, CLNC
  1. I always acknowledge my attorney-clients at the holiday season. The gifts are not expensive, but I always send something to acknowledge our relationship. Additionally, I send birthday cards. These small gestures create a friendly and professional relationship. It especially pays off when a new attorney-prospect calls me and tells me one of my attorney-clients has referred me and has said that not only do I do a good job, but I am easy to work with, approachable and flexible. Those are the best referrals. Then I know I have done a good job of building successful relationships with my attorney-clients.– Dale Barnes, RN, MSN, PHN, CLNC
  1. Once a year, I take my attorney-clients out to lunch to show them how much I appreciate their business. This not only strengthens our relationship, it often leads to more work for me!– Dorene Goldstein, RNC, BSN, CLNC
  1. I send congratulatory notes and sometimes small gifts that have significance. I often told one of my oldest attorney-clients (not that he’s old…he’s one of my first clients) that he was a tough old attorney, and that he was one of my clients that didn’t require a lot of hand-holding. He always thought that was funny. He had a particularly large jury verdict in one of his cases. Instead of sending him a nice little note, I sent a cactus to him with a card that said “You are tough as a cactus. You thrive in adversity, and you don’t need water very often.” That was probably 15 years ago, and he still has that cactus in his office. He also tells me that it’s the only plant he hasn’t killed!– Jane Hurst, RN, CLNC
  1. Taking a food item, something different and unexpected, makes your visit memorable. As a native Texan recently transplanted to Oregon with my wife, I am well known for the jalapeno-cheese bread I deliver to law firms. After approximately three months of unanswered marketing calls and emails to an attorney-client I had worked for several times, I took a loaf of jalapeno-cheese bread to his law firm and dropped it off. The attorney was in a meeting and unable to meet with me at the time, but I received a call from the attorney later that day. He said as soon as he smelled the bread, he knew I had been to the office and recalled several cases he had intended to call me about. I now deliver at least one loaf of bread to his office monthly.– Robert Malaer, RN, MSN, PMHN, SANE, CNLCP, CALM, CLNC
  1. I purchase holiday gifts for attorneys who have sent cases for the year. I deliver them in person to get some “face to face” time with the attorney. This marketing is a reminder to the attorney that I am there for him or her.– Marcia Bell, RN, BSN, CAPA, CLNC

Feed the Attorneys Information

  1. I retie the connection with information. I send out an oversized postcard with my contact information on one side and an informational newsletter on the other. I send different postcards quarterly. For example, when flu was the hot topic, I sent out a postcard with facts that everyone should know about how to protect themselves and stay healthy. These postcards are a big hit with the whole office staff. It reminds them that I am still out there without me calling them. If you notice something of interest to your attorney-client in a website, newspaper or journal, send it with a personal FYI note.– Dorene Goldstein, RNC, BSN, CLNC

Thanks to all the CLNC Pros for sharing their strategies to retie the connection with attorney-clients.

Success Is Yours,

P.S. Comment and share how you retie the connection with your attorney-clients.

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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.

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