No Such Thing As Cold Calling: Handling the Phone Call

We all get a little unsettled when thinking about the possibility of "cold calling". In your Professional Legal Nurse Consulting practice, think about the different ways you could approach telephoning an attorney for medical records to review.

First, get organized. Try using a spreadsheet. Whether you use Excel or some other spreadsheet format, or write it out by hand, have a contact document organized as follows:
Column 1: Name (Attorney's name or law firm)
Column 2: Address
Column 3: Telephone number
Column 4: Description - make it brief
Column 5: Email address

Second, do a search about the attorney or law firm before you pick up the telephone. Go online and type in the name of the law firm or attorney in the search engine toolbar and see what you get. Cut and paste into your spreadsheet. Or, go to the library and look through an attorney directory.

Third, make the call. There's no time like the present, as it has been said. Now, the next time you make a phone call, think of it as warm calling instead of cold calling and soon it'll turn into hot calling. It gets easier and easier.

Put Your Invoices to Work

What is the role of an invoice? Of course, it is meant to show how much is owed for a product or service. To get the most out of your invoices, consider including the following:

• Your name and your business name
• Client name and case name or identification number (if it applies)
• Date of invoice
• Tax ID number
• Invoice number for tracking purposes
• Amount owed - where it can be clearly read
• An itemization of your time for the case
• Payment due date

Each of these items seems obvious, however, many invoices do not contain all of this information. Make the most of your invoices, also by:

• Turning in invoices consistently on the same day each week or month
• Billing in small increments when possible - large invoices can slow payment time
• Submit invoices to the correct person or department
• Track and follow up on outstanding invoices at regular intervals

The 12 Essential PLNC Business Tools CD contains an Invoice designed especially for your PLNC business. You don't need to recreate the wheel when it's right here for you.

Other items you can include on your invoices include referral incentives, especially if you are at the end of a project for a firm. You can also include a small discount on your overall fee for projects that went better than expected or in conjunction with a holiday.

It is easy to see your invoices as single function items. However, they can be put to use to make you seem professional, fair and to help you get additional assignments.