MSNBC.com, a top news and information Internet portal, just published my article "6 Secrets Millionaires Know That You Don't." I was asked to divulge the success secrets that other millionaires won't tell you.

Many new business owners look at successful entrepreneurs and envy their million-dollar lifestyles and accomplishments. "If only I knew their secrets," they think. "Why isn't my business as profitable or growing as fast?" My secret is simple: It's not hard work or long hours; it's acting like a CEO, no matter what the size of your enterprise.

CEOs expect a payoff for every venture. Millionaire entrepreneurs focus on the business practices that create the biggest results. When you choose how to invest your time, money and resources, you should ask, "What's the payoff?" Once you make that investment, if the return is insufficient, find a way to make that project profitable, or ditch it.

Millionaire entrepreneurs use six secrets to guarantee an enviable payoff. To find out what those secrets are, click here to read the full article. If you wish, please rate the article and click Email to send it to someone you think would benefit from it.

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Some legal nurse consultants think they're in the legal nurse consulting business, but CLNC^® Pros know they're really in the marketing business. Everything is marketing. Whether you're interviewing with a prospect, conferring with an attorney-client on a case, answering the phone or writing a report, you're marketing. While you might not think of marketing as a 24/7 task, it's helpful to remember that every word you speak, sentence you write and thread you wear leaves an indelible impression on attorney-prospects and clients. The expression on your face, the tone of your voice or the appearance of your report could make the difference between the attorney hiring you for the first time or the last.

Whether you're:

• Sending a promotional package,
• Choosing what to wear,
• Deciding on the professional image you want to project,
• Analyzing a case,
• Offering a risk-free guarantee, or
• Developing your website,

1. Just DO it!
   
   
This sounds basic, but if you don't get your name out through networking, exhibiting, direct mailing, etc., the 1,116,967 attorneys practicing in the U.S. will have no way of knowing about you. Wayne Gretzky, the famous hockey player, said you miss all the shots you don't take. These words of wisdom apply as much to marketing as they do to hockey.

One Certified Legal Nurse Consultant shared how it took her four months to call her first attorney-prospect. That first attorney hired her. How many attorneys and how much business did she miss out on during those four months?

Another legal nurse consultant, Larry Frace, was almost paralyzed by fear. He did everything but call an attorney, setting up his office and website, building his professional library and developing marketing packets – which collected dust on his desk. When he finally got serious about marketing, he immediately won his first attorney-client. At $125/hr., this long delay was very costly.

The easy part of marketing is developing the marketing plan. But a marketing plan without action isn't much of a plan, and it won't get you clients. Include measurable, results-oriented objectives and target dates, then commit to acting on each objective.

For example, if you set a goal of marketing to five attorneys each week, you could meet that goal without accomplishing any results for your business. You'll be more effective with a results-oriented objective, such as marketing to a minimum of five new attorney-prospects weekly until you get a case assignment from one of them. This results-oriented goal not only propels you to act, but requires you to act until you achieve the desired result.

Most people know what they need to do – they just don't do what they know. The most successful CLNC^®s have been told "no" more often than they'd like to admit. So why are they successful? Because they understand that with more than a million attorneys, one "no" is simply unimportant. They quickly move on to the next attorney-prospect who will say "yes." Focus on the "yeses", not the "nos." Go out there and just do it!


2. Master the 3-foot rule.
   
   
Everyone knows at least one attorney. Take your business cards with you wherever you go, business or social: your daughter's soccer game, your hairdresser's, the dentist's office, your church service. Polish your 30-second "elevator speech" so you can flawlessly share what you do anytime, anywhere. Network with anybody and everybody who comes within three feet of you.

When attending a professional conference or seminar, speak to as many people as you can, including attendees, conference organizers and leading speakers. Don't limit yourself to attorneys. You could get a profitable referral from anyone you encounter, from the hotel concierge to the exhibitors. Anytime you can say hello to someone, you have the opportunity to promote yourself as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.


3. Tell attorneys what's in it for them.
   
   
No matter how experienced or interesting you are, the only reason an attorney will hire you is if he sees how he will benefit from your CLNC^® services. Scientists have proven that alleviating pain is a more effective marketing strategy than enhancing pleasure. Focus on the attorney-prospect's pain:


• The attorney is exhausted from trying to do everything himself.
• The attorney just lost a case because the MD expert didn't read the entire medical record.

Now alleviate the root cause of the pain:


• You will give the attorney his life back by pulling together all the medical records. He can focus on the legal aspects while you manage the healthcare issues. He can then find time to spend with his family.
• The attorney will never lose a case again because he missed an important entry in the medical record – you're going to read and analyze every one of them.

Tell potential attorney-clients how you can help them, not what you do.

Develop the opening statement of your interview to address the questions the attorney will ask about you:


• "Why should I listen to you?"
• "What's in it for me?"
• "Why should I use you versus someone else?"

Don't be like one nurse who had no legal nurse consulting training and no in-depth understanding of how she could benefit an attorney. She spoke to a law firm's attorneys for one hour, but failed to show them how she could help. Not surprisingly, she left without a case. She bungled an opportunity, an opportunity she will probably never get back.

Ask questions that help you focus on the attorney's concerns and needs. Strong communication that makes no assumptions is one of marketing's secret weapons.


4. Use your work product as a marketing tool.
   
   
The most effective marketing strategy is the work product itself. Quality work product (or lack of it) has the last word in marketing. You must back up your marketing with first-class work product and stellar customer service that exude unparalleled professionalism. The quality of your work product precedes you and stays around long after you leave the attorney's office.

When you focus on the prospect and excellent customer service – "the relationship" – you will be far more successful than if you focus only on "the sale." This assures that you will distinguish yourself from other consultants vying for your prospect's attention. Deliver what you promise PLUS more. Follow through on everything you agree to do. Stay involved, even when your assignment is complete. Email the attorney a new idea, a new research study or simply ask how the case is going.

These principles sound simple, and they are. That's why it's imperative that you uphold them 100% of the time. Clients expect you to provide all the basics consistently.


5. Your best prospects are existing clients.
   
   
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is failing to market to existing clients. An existing client is your hottest prospect because she already appreciates the benefits of using – and is willing to pay for – your CLNC^® services. The existing relationship dramatically increases the odds of successfully selling yourself again.

While discussing a case you're working on, you're usually in a strong position to emphasize additional CLNC^® services you can provide. This is far simpler and less time-consuming than finding a brand new prospect, researching the attorney's needs, getting past the gatekeeper, setting up an interview and closing the sale.

For every attorney-client, track the CLNC^® services you have provided to date. Unless you're already providing every possible service (more than 30 services in all) on every case, you have a tremendous marketing opportunity. Add just one CLNC^® service for each client and you will greatly enhance your growth.

I mentored a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant who was providing one or two CLNC^® services to approximately 30 attorneys. We focused on growing her business by providing just one more CLNC^® service to each of her attorney-clients. Then six months later she focused on adding another CLNC^® service, and so on. Her new goal was to market more to existing clients, selling a wider range of CLNC^® services to fewer attorneys. By concentrating her marketing efforts on existing clients, she makes better use of her time and has tripled her revenues.

Your existing clients can and should be the core of your marketing program.


6. Grow relationships and your business will grow automatically.
   
   
Remuneration doesn't just come in the form of a check. When you help your attorney-clients win, they repay you in the form of word-of-mouth referrals. Referral business is free and one of your most effective marketing tools. Commit to meet the needs of each client, deliver exactly what you promise and then some, provide excellent work product, and listen and communicate effectively, no matter how small the project or request. You will receive referrals beyond your wildest dreams.

When your attorney-clients trust you to do right by them and by anyone they refer you to, that trust becomes the source of more referrals. All other factors being equal, people will do business with and refer business to people they know, trust and have valued relationships with.

A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant shared that she spent substantial time and energy marketing to a law firm. When the attorney hired her, she assumed her superbly executed marketing efforts had paid off. However, after several months of consulting with him, the client told her he had discovered her when he asked another attorney to recommend a legal nurse consultant and that attorney gave him her name. Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth referrals and never be afraid to ask a satisfied client for referrals.


7. Don't expect help from your competitors.
   
   
Beginning legal nurse consultants often naively expect their local peers to give advice and help them succeed. Smart business owners in any industry do not rely on help from competitors. A competitor expects to win your clients – that's not mean, that's just business. Even if your peers seem willing to help you, this is still not an effective marketing strategy. Here's why:


• You could be receiving bad advice. In a networking situation, people often mean well, but are not necessarily qualified to give advice. Always assess the validity of any advice offered. Study the experts who can actually help you move toward your goal. Seek advice from the Institute's CLNC^® Mentors. The CLNC^® Mentors are full-time practicing Certified Legal Nurse Consultants who have real-world experience with any challenges you may encounter.
  
  
• You could devote that time to being in front of an attorney. Networking with local peers may feel good and may even appear productive as you make new friends and collect business cards. It's easy to convince yourself that these activities will pay off. But if that business card collection just grows in the bottom of your briefcase or desk drawer, and you're not getting business or referrals, you're misusing your precious time. Don't confuse socializing with marketing.
  
  
• The big players won't be there. The people you really need to network with are more than likely not at your networking event because they're too busy to show up. Strive to network above your level. Play with stronger players to elevate your game. For example, make it a point to attend the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants^® Annual Conferences, where you'll meet the top Certified Legal Nurse Consultants in the country, and legal conferences, where you'll meet leading attorneys in your market.
  
  
The best marketing strategy is to develop alliances with CLNC^® peers outside your local area. Three to ten is ideal. Be sure you select Certified Legal Nurse Consultants who are committed to growing and to helping every other member of the group. A productive relationship with your CLNC^® peers will only thrive in an environment free of competition, jealousy and secrecy. You'll find yourself in a space where people refer each other, subcontract with each other and help locate experts without fear of losing business. In fact, such an alliance will bring you more business.


8. Add pillars to your marketing foundation.
   
   
There's no single magic bullet for effective marketing. Marketing is most successful when based on a foundation with lots of pillars. If your whole business depends on one marketing strategy (one pillar), the business could easily fall, knocked off its lone marketing prop by unforeseen circumstances.

Add one pillar at a time, systemize that strategy, then repeat the process, adding pillars and systemizing each one, with the goal of adding as many effective strategies as possible. Don't try to add too many strategies at once. You want to be sure each strategy works smoothly, effectively and systematically before implementing the next one. For example, if you choose to focus on word-of-mouth referrals, first systemize how you request and obtain referrals. Once you are satisfied that you have mastered the art of winning referrals, it's time to add the next pillar (e.g., an information newsletter), then the next one (e.g., exhibiting) after that.

Free and inexpensive strategies such as networking can be just as effective as marketing strategies that require an expensive budget. Create as many free marketing pillars as you can first, especially if you are a beginner and on a budget. You can achieve high-speed success with Flash 55: 55 FREE Ways to Promote Your CLNC^® Practice. This book is packed with free practical promotional ideas you can put to use immediately.

A single additional pillar could increase the growth of your CLNC^® practice 5%, 20%, even 100% or more. As you add solid pillars, each one working for you, you will become a true marketing pro.


9. Reinvent your marketing plan regularly.
   
   
No matter how long you've been in business, you can always learn more about marketing. Although the basic rules of marketing stay the same, the techniques and the technology are transforming with lightning speed. Consider Internet marketing as an example. Commit to study marketing daily, if only for 10 minutes.

You'll find an infinite variety of resources to help you grow your business, from the NACLNC^® 2-Day Apprenticeship and the NACLNC^® Conference to the business section of your local newspaper. Use these resources to regularly reinvent your marketing plan.

Look outside your own industry for new and fresh marketing ideas. If you rely solely on your legal nurse consulting peers for ideas, you run the risk of becoming an imitator, not an innovator. Innovation is the only path to excellence in marketing. Model best marketing practices in other industries and you'll quickly bring innovative practices into your own.

Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD is the founder and president of Vickie Milazzo Institute since 1982. The New York Times credited her as the pioneer of legal nurse consulting and Inc. named her to the nationwide list of Top 10 Entrepreneurs. She received the Nursing Excellence Award for Advancing the Profession and the Stevie Award (business's Oscar®) as Mentor of the Year. Vickie is the author of Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You Didn't Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now (published 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., now in its fourth printing. This business bestseller ranks in the top 10% of all business books being sold and is being published in five languages.).

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