Mar 10
15
4 Things Every Legal Nurse Consultant Can Learn from the Girl Scouts
4 Things Every Legal Nurse Consultant Can Learn From the Girl Scouts
If you live anywhere in the country you too have probably been a voluntary victim of the call of the Girl Scout cookie. It seems that this time of year I cannot go into a grocery store, hardware store or retail outlet of any kind without seeing tables of the delicious confections at the entrances/exits. Great marketing idea…have a captive audience.
However, I must share my recent experiences with you and pass on a few lessons that can be taken from these green belted petit sales women. I have one rule: If a child approaches me and asks me to buy whatever product their peddling, I will, contingent on their ability to tell me about their program. So I ask simple questions, such as “Tell me about ______________” or “What things does the _________________ do?”
Recently, I have been approached (read: blocked on my way out of the store) by Girl Scouts of various troops around my city selling their sweet wares. On each occasion I ask my simple questions. I have been flabbergasted at the answers. “Tell me about the Girl Scouts, what do they do?” “We sell cookies.” Is ALWAYS the first answer out of their mouths. I am patient especially with the younger children and ask again, “What good things do you do? What projects do you work on?” “Uhhhhhmmmmm, we sell these cookies, we do some stuff.” Inevitably, the adults chime in and answer for their children who have no idea how to answer the questions. The final straw for me was when I left a hardware store and saw the girls and though that at least 1 of 5 would know, I tried again. The mom asked if I wanted to buy some cookies; I asked to speak with a girl scout. The pre-teen girl listened to my questions and spewed out the expected answer… “We sell cookies.” The mom then broke in with a detailed explanation of the troops recent activities. I listened and thanked the mom for the explanation and told her that I would buy if the child could tell me something. The mom, undeterred, kept whispering ideas to her daughter to share, the 3 C’s (whatever those are—never got the answer) and other tidbits. The child still could not give me one concrete answer. I kindly explained to the mom and daughter that I couldn’t buy from someone who didn’t know why they were selling. I walked away cookie-less. I could actually hear the mother bad-mouthing me as I walked away for not buying the cookies and being too hard on her child.
I thought about that encounter most of the day and shared it with several people. (Word of mouth marketing) As a marketer, I found four really important lessons to take from the girls in green with the cookies.
1. Market in unique ways.
Each one of my encounters with the Girl Scouts happened at places that I frequent. They were at my grocery stores, at my home improvement store, at my bank. They found me. I never even thought about buying cookies until they presented them to me. As a Legal Nurse Consultant, you must find your clients. Very few of them will find you. Be in the places where they are. After hours bars, favorite lunch spots, conferences, online in social media groups. Find unique ways to meet them where they are. They may not even know you provide the services that you do.
2. Have a captive audience.
At a conference, convention or CEU workshop, the potential attorney clients have nothing else to do but to speak with you. They will be especially drawn to you if you offer something sweet. I cannot tell you the number of times that candy bars have started conversations that turned into clients.
3. Relate to your cus
tomers.
Those young women were in a program designed to teach girls goals, values and how to serve their communities (I looked it up on the website.) As a woman, I fully support any program that gives young girls a chance to grow strong and build communities. They could have easily capitalized on the warm fuzzy bonds of womanhood.
As a Legal Nurse Consultants, be aware of the unspoken messages that potential clients may send you. If they have a pink ribbon on their lapel, ask about it and their work in that field. If they have an AVON bumper sticker, ask for a catalog. Make the most of the moment and build an encounter that they will remember and position yourself in a situation to sell.
4. Know why your services benefit the client.
The Girl Scouts not only couldn’t tell me what they did, they weren’t prepared for the question. ALWAYS be prepared for the question. I’m not talking about a 30-second elevator speech here. I’m talking about a concise, succinct statement about who you are, what you do and why they need it. “We are LNCPracticeBuilder, we help Legal Nurse Consultants build remarkable practices, make more money and achieve their dreams through targeted marketing strategies.” Or something like that. A simple statement would have been enough for me to purchase on the spot. I don’t think that many people are much different from that.
Resist the option to just sell cookies. Phrase your response in such a way that the focus is on the benefit of what you sell, not just what you sell.
If you need help figuring out a sentence that will work for you, give me a call and I’ll help you. If you’re looking for more targeted marketing strategies for your Legal Nurse Consulting practice, contact us at info@lncpracticebuilder.com for a consultation.
Take five minutes and learn a new way to make your practice remarkable!