Refocusing Your Business in Tough Times

 

MP3 Audio File $25.00

Presenter

Patricia Bemis RN CEN has been president of the National Nurses in Business Association since 1999. She is the author of a column in RN Magazine about nurses in business. She is an accomplished speaker who reaches people all over the country on entrepreneurship issues. She has several publications to her credit, including Self-Employed RN: Choices, Business Aspects, and Marketing Strategies © 2007, 2nd edition, Nurse Entrepreneurs: Tales of Nurses in Business © 2007, 4th edition, and My Business Plan CD-Rom.

Patricia answered these questions:

• What is the one-stop shop and how does that applies to being in business?
• How does “stick to the knitting” apply to doing business differently and trying new things?
• What formula do you use for pricing services?
• What strategies can be used by business people to cope with the changing economy?
• What suggestions can you offer on focusing on personal relationships or business relationships with our client base?
• Do you see changes in terms of how people are interested in being treated or connected with?
• What is the biggest point to remember when using email?
• How can we build relationships through email?
• What is the best way to preserve a relationship with an unhappy client?
• What suggestions do you have for building relationships through the websites?
• What suggestions do you have for using technology to refocus your business?
• How do you use ACT! and LogMeIn.com to improve your efficiency?
• How can a virtual assistant be effectively used by a small business?
• What are your thoughts on the utility of blogging?
• What is a squeeze page on a website and how do you use it?
• How can a mastermind group help a business owner?
• How can surveys be used to improve one’s performance?
• Can you comment at all about using surveys and interacting with clients?
• How can you use champion customers to sustain your business?

Related Reading

Extracted from “Client Relationships” By Robert Morrison, BSN RN in Patricia Iyer (Editor), Business Principles for Legal Nurse Consultants:

The successful LNC (or attorney) is one who is able to establish and maintain productive, on-going relationships with clients. The success of a consulting business depends on the regular, consistent flow of work over time. This work comes from new clients, particularly in the early stages of the business, as well as from existing clients. For any consultant, more effort and time is required to initiate a new relationship than to continue and maintain those already in place. While it is important to continue to seek new sources of revenue, the value of the LNCs current and prior clients becomes clear when looked at in this context. It is imperative that the LNC keep established clients in addition to making new contacts to achieve long-term success.

Maintaining and nurturing professional relationships requires regular contact and association over time. The idea is to develop the relationship into a true partnership. It is important to realize that everything that happens with clients affects their perception of the consultant and the relationship. This can either help the relationship grow, or cause either the client or the consultant to terminate it. Therefore, the idea of creating and maintaining a partnership is not one that can be disregarded after the client has signed the first contract.

While this requires patience and can be frustrating for the LNC, there are many advantages to creating a true partnership with clients. Established clients are familiar with the services the LNC has to offer, and have seen how those services add value to their own practice. A client who is satisfied with the work done by a LNC is more likely to return to that consultant with future projects. The satisfied client is also more likely to refer the LNC to other potential clients, either directly or by suggesting other clients that the LNC may wish to contact. The truly satisfied client is also more likely to allow his or her name to be used when the LNC is meeting with potential clients, or in marketing materials such as brochures or web sites.

Read more about Business Principles of Legal Nurse Consulting.