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