Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. (MLCI) invites you to join us in supporting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Breast cancer has touched my family and my staff's families. I know it has touched many of you, too. To support the work of the foundation, our staff and our friends and families will help raise money by participating in the Houston Race for the Cure, a coed, non-competitive 5K walk on Saturday, October 13, 2001.
Help us in our mission to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease and the leading cause of death among women between the ages of 40 and 59. If you wish to make a contribution, my company will match every dollar you donate. Make your check payable to Komen Houston Race for the Cure and mail it to us ATTN: Sheri Cunningham at: Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc., PMB 632, 2476 Bolsover Street, Houston TX 77005. We'll add our matching contribution to yours and forward the total to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Watch for the October 30th issue of the Legal Nurse Consulting Ezine, where we will publish a photo of our team of walkers and announce the total you helped raise to fight breast cancer.
If you're in the Houston area and would like to participate in the Race for the Cure, you'll find details at http://www.komen-houston.org.
Thank you for your generous support of this worthy cause.
While I don't believe in giving my time away for free except to a charitable cause, I've never been one to sweat the small dollars with attorney-clients.
We've all heard the maxim "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish" and that definitely holds true in our business relationships with attorneys. You can't afford to sweat the pennies with a valued client who contributes a substantial portion of your overall revenue.
A recent exchange with a long-time vendor reminded me that even sophisticated business owners can forget this essential truism. This person was trying to bill me more for the same amount of work. This might be a great strategy for a client you're clearly undercharging or for one you no longer wish to do business with, but it's not a good approach to take with a loyal long-term client. In an effort to gain a few more pennies, this vendor
risked losing my business altogether.
Here's my formula for assuring you don't make a similar mistake:
Treat the client like the valued customer he is. Meet all deadlines, provide stellar work product and remember to send frequent thank you's and the occasional gift. I remember and appreciate vendors, LNC subcontractors and employees who remember and appreciate me. The attitude of gratitude goes a long way. My favorite example is one of my own employees. She takes every opportunity to do something for me. She gives me books I love, buys me a drink occasionally, and sends numerous thank you's, which are my most cherished gift of all.
Set your hourly rate high enough so that you don't have to charge for minor expenses or expenses you're uncomfortable billing for, such as:
Long distance charges
Phone calls lasting less than 5 minutes
Typing services
Courier fees
Sending short faxes
Postage
It is perfectly appropriate to bill for any of these expenses; however, your client will appreciate not being hit with these small additional charges. Eliminating these billings also frees up administrative time you can now allocate to billable hours, and that will net you a larger gain in the long run.
After 19 years I still do business with my first attorney-client. Rather than nitpick on expenses like those above, I charge $250/hour. Imagine his reaction if I were to add on a charge of 5¢/min. for long distance calls. One of our CLNC® mentors has a strategy she uses to build good will with attorneys on large projects. She doesn't charge for any phone call less than 6 minutes.
Don't bug a client for payment. The standard in the business world is net 30 days. Emailing and phoning for payment before that deadline makes you look amateurish and less than successful. It also shows that you value money more than you value the client.
If you call the office manager or bookkeeper asking for your money, don't assume the attorney won't hear about your persistence. People in my office complain to me about vendors who call for their checks within a week of sending the bill.
Focus on the client and what you can do for her. Never give the appearance that you're trying to gain something additional out of the relationship or using the client in any way. For example, never use an attorney's coveted expert without her blessing. I am quick to cut off anyone I do business with who sells to my clients behind my back.
The added bonus of following these rules – you'll not only keep your preferred clients but you'll gain more and more of their business each year. You'll build the kind of good will that can bring you huge profits. Then you won't have to sweat the small dollars. For that matter you won't have to sweat anything – except where to go on your vacation.
BEST PRACTICES FOR MARKETING
Basic Advertising Facts for LNCs – Getting Your Message into Print
by Bill Moody, BBA and Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
According to Webster's Dictionary the word advertise means:
To make something known – to notify – "The action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements."
The ultimate goal of advertising is to reach your target audience, inform them of your product and then get them to buy that product. A "target audience" is a group of people who could benefit from your product.
Spending Money to Make Money
It takes money to make money – you must promote and market your consulting practice continuously to be successful. Advertising is costly, but it's one of the best ways to build brand awareness, that is, to establish your company's name, image and strengths in the minds of prospective clients. Once attorneys become aware of your brand, you can begin generating business from potential attorney-clients who have never experienced your services personally.
Always deliver what you promise in your promotional materials and advertising. Nothing is worse for your reputation than false advertising.
One of the best uses of your advertising budget is ads in specialty publications that reach your target audience. Publications read by attorneys will generate the most leads for your business. Consider advertising in any of the following national legal publications:
Many of these publications are available in state and local editions. While these regional editions have smaller circulation, they focus your advertising on attorneys in your own geographical area.
Get the Most from Your Advertising Budget
Target your audience – Identify who you want to reach, then set a budget for what you can afford to spend. Maximize your budget by advertising only in publications that reach your target audience effectively. The best publications in which to place your advertising are those read by your current clients or your best prospects.
As an independent legal nurse consultant (LNC), you should concentrate on reaching attorneys practicing solo or working in small to mid-size law firms. A basic approach for the first-time advertiser is to promote your LNC services in your hometown. Then branch out to surrounding areas, eventually going statewide, then national. You are only limited by how big you want your business to be.
Make a commitment – You usually can't achieve your advertising goals with a single ad. People may not notice your ad or respond right away. Most marketing experts say repetition is the key to an effective advertising program. To gauge how effective your advertising is, you need to run the same ad for at least three consecutive months. Do not get discouraged! This is a common feeling for first time advertisers. Running multiple ads may seem extravagant, but remember two things:
The more times you run an individual ad, the lower your cost per ad.
The more your ad is seen, the more credible it becomes in the eyes of your audience.
Stretch your budget – Most publications offer a discounted rate to get you to advertise with them the first time. Take advantage of any special promotions, and whenever possible negotiate with the publication. You may get a better deal than you originally thought possible.
Determine your total advertising cost in terms of cost per thousand (CPM). Take the price of the ad, divide it by the circulation and multiply it by 1000.
Price per ad/Circulation x 1000 = CPM (Cost per Thousand)
Example: ($500/10,000) = .05 x 1000 = $50
This calculation should be based on the actual circulation of the publication, which can be found in the publication's media kit. It's best to advertize in publications that have their circulation audited by an outside firm, such as ABC or BPA. Such circulation figures are guaranteed accurate.
Circulation is a key measure of a publication's reach. Other factors in determining the publication's reach:
Pass-along readership refers to the number of people who actually see each issue of the publication. While you shouldn't confuse this with actual circulation, a publication with significant pass-along readership can enhance the value of your ad.
Shelf life is how long a publication is kept by readers. The average shelf life tends to be 1-3 months. The longer a publication stays around, the more chances your ad will be seen.
Start small – A small ad will stretch your marketing dollar. Periodically, test different ads by changing one component at a time. For instance, change your headline, then change the copy within the ad, then change the ad layout. As your business grows, you will be able to increase the size of your ads.
Track the effectiveness of your ads – Ask new clients how they found out about your service. This is a simple way to track the effectiveness of your advertising. Create a code for each ad and include that code in the contact information that the prospect uses when responding to the ad. For example, add a different department number to your address in each ad you place. Continue to advertise in those publications that produce results.
Advertising is a long-term commitment. Many LNCs think advertising is expensive. But think of it as an investment in your business. Is it expensive to spend $500 on an ad if you gain a lifetime client? With patience and persistence, advertising eventually pays for itself and much more.
Here are some common advertising terms you should know:
Advertising Agency – A company that handles designing and scheduling advertisements for a fee (usually 15% of the ad rate)
B/W Ad – Black and white advertisement
Circulation – The number of publications printed and distributed
Classified Ad – An advertisement that contains only text
Column Inch – A measurement of an advertisement's size; a one column-inch ad is one column wide and one inch tall
Color Ad – An advertisement in color (also known as full-color process or 4-color)
Copy – Text
Display Ad – An advertisement that is not text-only but contains illustrations or graphics
Editorial – The actual editorial content of the publication, editorials and articles
Headline – The top line of copy in an advertisement
Line Ad – Another name for a text-only classified ad
Line Rate – The cost per line of a classified ad; the number of lines x the line rate = the total cost of an ad
Media Kit – A collection of demographic information, circulation figures, costs, history, etc. about the publication. Ask for this along with an audit statement when inquiring about advertising with a publication
Proof – A sample of what the ad will look like when actually printed; the proof allows the advertiser to correct any errors or make changes
Publishing Schedule – The publication's calendar of deadlines for receiving materials; editorial information is sometimes also included
Rate Card – A listing of the advertising rates by ad size
Readership – Data or research on the target audience the publication reaches
Tearsheet – An actual page torn out of the publication to verify that the ad ran; this should accompany the invoice
Bill Moody is advertising and special projects coordinator for the Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. He has more than 15 years of advertising, marketing and sales experience.
Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD is the founder and president of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. and the nationally recognized pioneer and authoritative educator in the field of legal nurse consulting. Vickie has been profiled inThe New York Times, Houston Business Journal, NurseWeek magazine and on women.com.
