Have you ever picked up the phone for the purpose of connecting with your clients, just to say, “Hi, I just wanted to see how you were doing” and not try to sell them something?
Here’s how to use reasons for connecting with your clients to deepen your relationship.
1. Call when you see a report of a case similar to one you are handling for the attorney. Watch websites that report the settlements and verdicts or subscribe to publications that give these details. If the case is very similar, your client may want to talk to the attorneys involved in the case to gain strategic ideas.
2. Call when you see a report that one of your clients won a case. It does not have to be one you worked on. Congratulate the attorney on the victory. Attorneys love to bask in the “attaboys”.
3. Call when it has been several months since you last worked on a case and you have reason to believe it is still active. Your call might prompt the attorney to think of something else you can do on that case or another one.
4. Call when you get a letter that says your client resolved a case you worked on. In this situation, you should express pleasure in being able to help the attorney.
5. Call when you see any other opportunity to be useful to your client. For example, I was an expert witness in a case in which one of the physician defendants testified he went into rehab after his cocaine pusher was arrested. Not knowing this man’s history, another of my clients mentioned he was going to hire this doctor as an expert witness. The defense attorneys were the same in both cases. I saved my client from a highly embarrassing situation by warning him about the expert’s history. (It was public knowledge.)
6. Send a “Hi text”. When was the last time you ignored an email? In comparison, when was the last time you ignored a text message? You might text somebody and just say, “Hey, I was thinking about you. I’m at a restaurant that we used to eat in. I just wanted to see how you were doing.” You start breaking the ice. No one wants to be sold, but they want to buy. All you’re trying to do is make a relationship with somebody and then from that you can start talking a little bit more about what your services and probing for your client’s needs.
7. Look for opportunities to be helpful, for connecting with your clients. Look for situations when you can introduce one client to another who is handling a similar case.
Your clients are getting calls from other legal nurse consultants who are trying to get their business. Make it clear that you are the one they should work with.