Getting Your First LNC Case
*Warning: You’ll want to take notes as you read this post.*
The first step towards getting your first case is to look at your goals. What do you want to accomplish in your life and your business?
Many people use the SMART goals model for defining goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Trackable.
Think of them as you would the patient outcomes we include in a nursing care plan.
- When do you want to start marketing your business?
- When do you want to start getting cases?
- When will you open up your shop to accept business from attorneys?
- How are you going to gain clients?
- What number of clients makes sense for you?
Knowing your SMART goals requires you to take action.
Procrastination is our version of a dream stealer.
If you find yourself hesitating, ask yourself:
- What will I gain personally and financially by completing this task?
- What losses will I suffer if I do not complete this task?
- Have I ever tried to accomplish a job like this before?
- What was the outcome of my last attempt?
- How did that make me feel? (Emotionally, physically, and mentally)?
- Who fed into those feelings of success or failure?
My colleague Kathleen Aston developed this procrastination exercise, which I modified.
Contract for Procrastination Planning
How do I feel when I complete a task or goal about which I have been procrastinating?
- Emotionally?
- Physically?
What happens to me when I think about what I have put off and have not yet accomplished?
- Emotionally?
- Physically?
What is the most critical thing I need to do right now to increase the revenues of my business?
Nexy, what do I need to help me complete this task? Consider people, technology, and training.
TIME is not an acceptable answer.
Find the time in your calendar by canceling anything that is not revenue-generating until you accomplish this task or goal.
When will I work on this task?
How will I feel when I complete this task? Will completing this task improve my business, my life, and that of those around me? How will I feel about myself?
I hope you have had a few “ah-has” through completing the exercise above. Now, I want you to focus on HOW GOOD it felt when you accomplished a task in the past. Repeat this process for the TOP three tasks or goals you need to accomplish but have been putting off. Tape them above your desk.
Wrap-Up!
Here’s the fun part. What satisfying reward will I plan for myself to enjoy once I have accomplished this task and/or goal?
Return to this worksheet in six months on __________(date). Hint: Put it on on your calendar so you ensure you will look at it.
SIX MONTHS CHECK-UP:
What have the benefits been to your business and your personal sense of accomplishment and worth by having decided to complete this task six months ago?
Aha!
What did completing this task teach you about procrastination and why did you put this task off for so long in the first place? What was really stopping you?
You may never totally conquer your fears, perfectionism, or procrastination, but you can tackle them one by one. Think about the positive impact your business can create for you.
Examine your degree of confidence. If you sit there saying, “Maybe nobody will want to hire me, maybe I’m not going to be good at this field,” you are talking yourself out of taking a risk.
Amy Puls’ Story
One of my Legal Nurse Podcast guests, Amy Puls, is a nurse practitioner whose full-time clinical practice disappeared in 2020 when her office shut down during the pandemic. She replaced her full-time NP role with a part-time NP role and part-time LNC role. Reflect on what Amy had to say about making mistakes:
That first (medical malpractice) case was interesting because I hadn’t read medical charts from that standpoint. As nurses, we read medical charts all the time, but I learned that to read it from the viewpoint of a legal nurse consultant or an expert witness, you have to have a very unbiased opinion, and you have to see it from both sides, whether you’re working for the defense or the plaintiff.
As the expert, you will prepare them from both sides and give them your expert opinion on how the defense will prevail in that case. That was eye-opening for me, honestly. And I didn’t do that at first, and I did make many mistakes.
And the attorney was very patient with me, but he was also very honest. He put me in my place, which was good. And if he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have learned that you do have to go into it with an open mind and look at it from both sides. Whether you agree with their part of the case or not, you have to tell them why you disagree or why you agree, and what potentially could happen from the opposing counsel or the opposing expert, what they could bring up.
Amy continued to market and got more cases. But what if she had her confidence so soundly shaken that she wasn’t willing to try again?
The Power of Affirmations
Tell yourself when you stand in front of your mirror, “I am a successful legal nurse consultant. I am capable of doing this work and helping attorneys. I will make a positive difference in my attorneys’ clients’ lives and in the lives of their clients.”
Make your affirmations more valuable by putting them on the refrigerator, car dashboard, and on the mirror in the bathroom. When you repeat affirmations, you are conditioning your mind for success.
Repeating your affirmations ingrains them into your mind and your unconscious. After a while, the new thought pattern takes over for the old thought pattern.
Say your affirmations aloud in the car. These concepts become your new thoughts; they become your new defaults.
And don’t listen to negative people. Shut them out. I know it’s hard to shut family members out who are negative. I get that. But if you have negative friends, colleagues, and relatives trying to undercut your dream, you can label them as dream stealers. Say, “I’m not going to listen to the dream stealers.”
“I’m going to pursue my goal of starting my business. I am going to reach out to attorneys. I’m going to demonstrate my expertise. I will use language that shows I understand their pressures and their needs. I’m going to craft my marketing messages so that I’m speaking directly to what they are looking for, what will make their lives easier so they can practice law more effectively.”
Journaling
Keeping a journal of your efforts is helpful. Documenting what you’re doing each day to help establish your business will show how far you have progressed. One simple step each day will accumulate into massive action and put you ahead of the other legal nurse consultants who have gone through a program and sit back and wait for attorneys to find them. And the attorneys are not going to find them.
Put yourself forward by using networking for visibility. Examine your mindset, and your beliefs about your successes and capabilities.
Tackle the issues that cause you to procrastinate. Set achievable goals and use affirmations to influence your mindset. Strive for a positive way of looking at the world and avoid negative thinking and people.
The entrepreneurial spirit is a special one. Treasure the fact that you have the courage to set your course as you embrace the challenges of this exciting field of nursing. Consider and positively manage how your mindset affects the way you tackle the challenges of starting and running a business.
If you’ve never had a case, it’s easy to say, “This is too complicated for me,” “There’s too much to learn,” or “It’s overwhelming.” But if you stay in that mindset, you will never break free from where you are. And you’ll never experience the successes that come along with being a legal nurse consultant.
Learn more in my book Get Your First LNC Case: An Easy-to-Follow Guide for LNC Success.
Pat Iyer is president of The Pat Iyer Group, which develops resources to assist LNCs in obtaining more clients, making more money, and achieving their business goals and dreams.
Join our Facebook group, LNC Business Growth Circle, to be part of our LNC community.
Pat’s related websites include the continuing education provided on LNCEU.com, the podcasts broadcast at podcast.legalnursebusiness.com, and writing tips supplied at patiyer.com.
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