Anyone who knows me knows I do not like to sit still for long. When working at my desk, I take frequent breaks to get up and stretch. This improves my stamina and helps me keep my focus. Not to say that I can't relax – I can sit on a beach for hours. But put me in a long meeting or on a long airplane flight, and I quickly become restless and uncomfortable.
Last summer, I found myself on the nine-hour red-eye flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi. Not too far into the trip, I realized I had to do something or I'd have severe sciatica for days. Since this was the start of a long-planned vacation, an African photo safari, I wanted to arrive in good shape and in good spirits.
Comfort Was Only 2 Minutes Away
My backpack, stuffed in the overhead bin, held what I perceived to be a solution, an inflatable seat cushion I had packed for the long jeep rides we'd be taking through Tanzania and Kenya. I asked my husband Tom to help me pull the cushion out of my pack.
(A quick note about Tom: He's a perfect candidate for blood clots. He can hunker down in an airplane seat with a book, a contract or his computer and not move until it's time to get off the plane. This is great if he's in the window seat because he never climbs over you. But it also makes him resistant to any requests that involve getting up once he's seated.)
Tom's response to my request was textbook husband-speak:
"Are you sure you want to pull that cushion out of your pack?"
While his question might have sounded reasonable to a stranger, thirteen years of marriage allowed me to quickly translate:
"Now that we're seated with our drinks, magazines and newspapers, are you sure you want me to get up, haul your pack out of the overhead, take everything out of it and dig out the deflated cushion stashed in the very bottom, just so you can see if it will make you more comfortable? And are you sure you want me to put down my work, unbuckle my seatbelt, stand up and go to all that trouble, only to have to get up again, as soon as I've settled back in, and repeat the process to repack the cushion and put it away?"
My response was an unqualified, "Yes! I'm not sure if it will work, but it's worth a try. The two minutes it will take us to do this is a great trade-off for nine hours of comfort." Tom grudgingly agreed, and we retrieved and unpacked the bag I had so meticulously packed just hours before.
Here's how simple making myself comfortable turned out to be:
Move tray table and stand up – 5 seconds
Pull down pack – 15 seconds
Open pack – 10 seconds
Dig to absolute, very bottom and retrieve cushion – 20 seconds
Inflate cushion – 20 seconds
Repack everything – 35 seconds
Return pack to overhead – 10 seconds
Sit back down – 5 seconds
Total time invested – 120 seconds, or 2 minutes, for 9 hours of comfort
The entire process required much less time than Tom took to ask me why I really needed to do this and explain why it wouldn't work without saying that he didn't feel like getting up.
Change Is Simple – Not Changing Is What's Hard
My 2-minute investment paid off with 9 hours of comfort. Anyone, including yourself, can apply my cushion experience to living their career dreams. All you have to do is be willing to invest your time and energy today to ensure your comfort tomorrow.
Avoid spending any amount of time coming up with reasons why you can't, won't or shouldn't do something. JUST DO IT. Whether a change is large or small – a simple step toward comfort (like getting my seat cushion) or a major shift in your career – that change is often just 2 minutes away.
Are you doing today what you need to do to invest in your future career comfort? Or have you stopped yourself from investing time, energy or money because you've convinced yourself it won't work or it will be too much trouble?
Are you resisting a change that is so simple yet comes with rewards that can be so great? The timid mice in the book Who Moved My Cheese illustrate this principle. They starved rather than venture out in search of food. The few who were willing to invest energy and effort changed their futures. These mice didn't have to make a huge change – all they had to do was step outside their usual path – and their reward was staying alive rather than starving.
Which mouse are you and which mouse do you want to be? Each day you have the ability to take simple steps that can change your career and ensure your future comfort. Skip a television show and read a book, go on a diet, start an exercise program, save some money or pull out your seat cushion.
Start with 2 Minutes
Making a change and taking action is not always comfortable. After all, even inflating a pillow takes some effort and an investment of lung power. The changes needed to enhance your career will certainly require more than 2 minutes. But why not start with at least 2? Before you know it, you'll be putting your time and energy into mastering new skills, overcoming your resistance to change and pumping up your courage to take a chance on yourself.
For a lifetime of career satisfaction and happiness, you can make a career change with no more discomfort, relatively speaking, than it takes to blow up an inflatable seat cushion.
Many CLNC®s now appreciate the temporary discomfort they encountered in creating their new future. The reward – they work fewer days a week than they did as hospital nurses, and they make a lot more money.
Set aside any resistance and take 2 minutes now to commit to a decision that can surely change your life. "Yes, I'm giving up a little comfort now, and I'm going to achieve the future comfort of a prosperous and satisfying new career as a CLNC®."
This small investment of 2 minutes can change your life from a good one to a great one.
Have a comfortable flight through life,
Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
P.S. – The funny thing is that once I got to Africa, I didn't pull the cushion out of my pack again until we reboarded the plane for our flight home. I was sure glad I brought it, although not for the reason I had in mind when I packed it!
BEST PRACTICES FOR MARKETING
Everything You Do Is Marketing
by Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD
Whether you are interviewing with a prospect, conferring with an attorney-client on a case, answering the phone or writing a report, you are marketing. Peter Drucker says business has two primary functions – marketing and innovation. Everything you do might not be sales, but it's definitely marketing.
Examples of 24-hour marketing:
Making a sales call.
Answering the phone.
Your promotional package.
The business suit you wear.
Analyzing medical records for a case.
The content of the report you submit to the attorney.
Conferring with the attorney.
Offering a risk-free guarantee.
Your website.
Marketing is a 24-hour-a-day opportunity – make the most of it!
CLNC® Q&A
Website Wisdom – Should I Have a Website for My CLNC® Business?
If you are a consulting expert working behind-the-scenes, you SHOULD have a website. Your website can effectively supplement your print marketing. Today, more and more people visit a website before obtaining other information about a company.
If you are a testifying expert, you should NOT have a website. When you testify in court, you will see your website printed out and displayed as an exhibit. This "perceived advertising" can make you look like a hired gun. Our advice to CLNC®s who plan on testifying is – don't have a website.
How Do I Create and Maintain My Website?
When you build a website, you need to set aside the money and time to:
Register your domain name.
Find a web host for your site.
Create copy for the site – not just your biography, education and list of services, but fresh, interesting content that keeps visitors coming back for more.
Design your site.
Proof your site after construction.
If you don't have web design skills, hire a qualified design firm to build your site. You'll want to research prospective designers to be sure you trust the quality of their work and that they'll listen and respond to your needs.
Once your site is up and running, you should:
Write new content to continually refresh your website.
Check your site at least weekly to ensure it is in place and functioning properly.
Advertise your site.
Check your site's statistics to assess how many attorneys visit and what pages they use. Your web host can provide this data to you.
Improve your search engine placement.
What Should I Consider in Designing My Website?
Convey a professional image of yourself and your practice. Potential clients visit your website to learn as much as they can about your business and what it can do for them. At the same time, they're investigating your communication skills. Nothing can damage your marketing faster than poorly designed marketing materials.
Ask yourself this: If I printed my website in color, would I feel comfortable including it in my promotional package? Some legal nurse consulting sites look amateurish and are full of misspellings, poor grammar and factual errors. What does this kind of sloppiness communicate to a potential attorney-client?
Your website should be simple, clean and professional. Remember to use the HWIR (hi-wire) rule – when you visit the site, ask yourself, "How Would I React?"
Make your website "prospect friendly." Think of your website like a billboard. What would catch your eye and make you want to read more? Attorneys don't want to read your bio and list of publications on the first page – that can come later. Making visitors search or drill down through the site to learn what you can do for them is a big mistake.
The more trouble it is to find relevant information, the less likely an attorney will stay on your site. Many people visit a website for less than one minute before clicking off. Put something on your home page that will make them want to learn more.
Promote the benefits to the prospect. Your home page or one of your very first pages should discuss what you can do for attorneys, how your services will save them money and why they should hire you. Here are some specific things you can include:
Rather than just listing your services, show how each service applies to and benefits attorneys. Translate why you are the most qualified legal nurse consultant to deliver each service.
Include a sample work product from a hypothetical case. Keep it simple. Just 1-3 pages of a sample report reinforces your benefits message.
If you have already worked on a case (especially if you helped win a case or a large settlement), describe how your services made a difference in the outcome. Don't name names in this success story, just highlight the specifics of your consultation to help the prospect appreciate how your services can add value to their own cases and make them even more successful.
Include some information about yourself. Focus on specific accomplishments, not just a resume-like career history. Mention how your nursing experience has prepared you to be an effective CLNC®.
If you include your photo, make sure it's professional (not from "Glamorous Photos"). Don't use a shot that resembles your driver's license or a 20-year-old yearbook photo.
If you have received a thank-you letter from a respected attorney-client, get permission to use it on your website. You can also ask a client for a letter of recommendation to use in your marketing.
Remember to add a call to action. Encourage web visitors to email or call when they have a case that needs your expertise.
How Can I Be Sure Prospective Clients Visit My Website?
Some people believe that "If you build it, they will come." Unfortunately, that adage only works in the movies. The truth is much more complex.
Your website is a living, breathing promotional package that tens of thousands of people may see.
If you build a top-notch site and promote it effectively, they WILL come. Fill your site with interesting, helpful content that is easy to access and relevant to your prospects' needs.
Make sure they get the message that will motivate them to stay on your site and hire you for their next medical-related case.
