The Way Successful LNCs Think
What makes the difference between an LNC who builds a successful business and one who never recovers the investment in time and money for an educational course to become an LNC? It has a lot to do with the way successful LNCs think.
You are in control of the results
Success is based on your efforts, persistence, determination, and not on a whim of fate or luck. Sure, there are some successful LNCs who were in the right place at the right time, but the point is that they did not get to that place by accident.
I know an LNC who got her start 20 years ago when she saw an advertisement for a public meeting for victims of a certain diet supplement. She went to the meeting and introduced herself to the attorney to see if he needed help with the cases he had signed up. He did, and she grew her business from that meeting. She deliberately went to the right place at the right time.
Observe what other successful LNCs do
Do you associate with successful people or with people who whine? I listened to CDs many years ago recorded by Tony Robbins. He talked about his deliberate plan to study what successful people did and to mimic that behavior.
Whiners will sap your energy and divert you from your goals. Successful people are positive and will encourage you. Draw strength from others.
Making money is essential for success
You are not a charity; you are not a bank for your clients. You may choose to do an occasional favor for a client and not charge, but you should not let pro bono work swamp your for fee work. Remember this statement: Businesses fail because of lack of cash flow.
If you are having trouble collecting on your invoices, look at what you need to do differently. Are you billing for your learning curve? Are you collecting a large enough retainer to complete each phase of the work? Are you ignoring warning signs that you are going to have a collection issue? (This is a broad generalization: warning signs include solo practitioners, clients new to you and any attorney who tells you what a rotten job another LNC did and how he did not pay her.)
Stick to your guns when it comes to fees
Recently a law firm contacted us about having one of our experts drive 4 hours to attend a trial. We quoted a fee based on the travel time, preparation time and time spent in court. The law firm wanted to pay a fee that is $1,000 less than that.
My response to my staff was, “Unless they can figure out a way to teleport her to the courthouse without her having to drive, there is no way to reduce the fee.”
Years ago I talked to a physical therapist who was an expert witness. He said, “I tell the client, ‘My fee is my fee is my fee.’” We are not in a business of allowing the client to set our fees.
Let me be clear: Do you have to be flexible now and then? Yes, but any concession should be rarely given and if you do, make sure the client realizes the enormous favor you have done.
You have precious resource to sell – time and expertise
Guard them from interruptions, distractions, pro bono plaintiffs calling you with their sad stories, and other time wasters.
Successful LNCs create weekly and monthly goals
Use a Word file or Excel document to keep track of them. Everything you do should be consistent with your goals. Delegate to others those activities that are not consistent with your goals.
Successful LNCs keep learning, and learning, and learning
They recognize where they have holes in their knowledge and they fill them in. The wonderful thing about learning is that holes keep appearing. And we keep learning how to strengthen our businesses to make them successful.
Ready for more sound and clear advice? Learn how a successful plaintiff attorney views the marketing efforts of legal nurse consultants who come knocking on his door. Ben Glass runs a thriving coaching program for other attorneys. He is one of the people who understand how to market and build a successful business in today’s realities.
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