Have you ever wondered how to deal with clients who want a treatment late at night, or beg you to reduce your fees for them? Should you be self employed or form a partnership? How do you go about making sure your practice complies with the law?
In this new edition of How to be a Successful Therapist, Celia Johnson and Helen Parkins share their experience wisdom and expertise to help therapists achieve the success they deserve. They cover every aspect of running a practice, from choosing a couch and finding reliable suppliers to dealing with complaints from clients and creating good relationships with colleagues in similar fields.
From your early days in training until your very last client, this easy to read book will guide you through the maze of legal, professional and practical issues you will encounter. It is an essential book for students and experienced therapists alike.
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Spring clean your business
By Celia Johnson
We are living in tough times and many small businesses are going to the wall. This may be a cause for concern, but it is also an opportunity to raise our game. The dead wood is cleared away leaving a greater market share for us. In order to ensure that our business is one of the successful ones, it is sensible to step back and reflect every so often. Are you doing what you want to do? Are you seeing enough clients? Do you think you are successful? Do you have a good balance between work and play? Does your working life give you satisfaction? It is worth having monthly, yearly and 5 yearly goals. Then all you need to do is set about achieving them!
Be your word
One of the main things our clients want - even more than a good treatment - is to be able to trust us. Lack of trust is the biggest barrier to gaining new clients, and is vital if we are to retain our existing ones. How do we achieve trust? Firstly, we need to be our word. We treat clients promptly at the time we agree with them, for the fee we have agreed with them, for (roughly) the length of time we agree with them. We give them the best treatment we are capable of giving and we value them as clients. For their part, they know they will be liable to pay a cancellation fee if they fail to turn up or cancel at short notice (though you might choose to waive that in certain circumstances). In short, they know where they stand with us.
Another source of trust is through total professionalism. Your clients deserve a therapist who is:
- fully trained and insured
- belongs to a professional organisation
- complies with their Code of Conduct
- complies with requirements for special treatment licenses and health and safety
- undertakes Continuing Professional Development
- knows their limitations and refers as appropriate
- has the best interests of their clients at heart
Be welcoming but professional in your telephone manner. This is the client’s first contact with you, and first impressions count. Make sure your appearance is clean and neat and long hair tied up. How you dress is entirely up to you, but be aware that some clients will be put off by crumpled clothing, tattoos and facial piercings. Clients often don’t tell you what they don’t like - they just don’t come back.
Be scrupulous about hygiene in your treatment room, whether you work at home, in a clinic or take your equipment on home visits. A client of mine runs a busy village pub. One day a regular customer came to the bar, and said she had been for a massage. “I’ll never go back” she said “there was makeup on the face ring and all I could think about was who had been lying there before me”. The whole pub heard who the therapist was; her reputation was damaged for the sake of some couch roll, or noticing the mark and changing the cover. You need an eye for detail as well as seeing the bigger picture.
Look after your existing clients
It is estimated that it costs 6 -10 times as much to attract new clients as to reactivate existing ones. This means that it is much more cost effective to nudge those people who have already been to see you. Firstly, try to get them to make their next appointment each time before they leave. Even if they have to change the appointment later, it’s easier to re schedule than make the effort to ring you in the first place. This isn’t being pushy, it’s giving good client care. It’s rare that one treatment is enough to achieve a good result, so explain that they’ll need to see you again in order to gain the most from your treatments.
Consider sending reminders when you haven’t seen them in a while, whether by phone, email, text or post. I hesitated about doing this until my clients told me they preferred it. You might make seasonal offers to act as an incentive too. Some therapists like to send birthday cards with a small discount voucher. Inexpensive gifts can be appropriate, specially at Christmas – a pen, lip balm, bottle of bath or shower gel, a calendar or diary. These should carry your contact details, and will make your clients feel valued. You could send a newsletter with information on developments in your field, details of special offers, or news of a new skill you’ve learned.
Stand out from the crowd
Someone once asked the hairdresser John Freida what made him successful. He replied “I give each person the very best haircut I can”. We can strive for excellence but what else makes us stand out? Find your niche and work to your strengths. I have a nursing background, so I tend to attract clients who have medical conditions, specific issues or need post operative rehabilitation. A colleague down the road gives excellent de stressing treatments and specialises in treating business people. We can each refer clients to the other if we feel it suits someone better.
Once you’ve found your niche, think of a way in which you can stand out. Recently I ordered flowers for relative. There were many florists to choose from, but this one offered to text me when the bouquet had been delivered. I was pleased to know that the flowers had arrived, and was much more likely to use that florist again. She was successful because she offered a small (and inexpensive) additional service that made a big difference to her customers.
It’s important that your clients associate you with helping whatever they come to you for- for example stress, aching muscles or difficulty sleeping. Then when they get those symptoms, they’ll call you, as they know you can help. If you have already built a trusting relationship with them, they’ll appreciate knowing where to go for prompt help.
Relationships are important. I was taking my daughter to university at the beginning of the academic year. The car was loaded to bursting. As we drove off, the car made the most terrible noise. We headed straight to our local garage, while other motorists stared at us. The owner immediately sorted out the problem, then sent me on my way telling me to deal with the bill another time. Had we not been valued clients for years, the owner would not have dropped everything to help us. In fact he and I had a conversation about the benefits of collaborative relationships in business!
In the same way, your clients should be aiming to come to you at the first sign of trouble and feeling the same grateful relief when you make them feel better. This will increase your word of mouth recommendations and their loyalty to you.
Collaborative relationships
There is nothing like a personal recommendation, particularly when having a treatment that involves taking one’s clothes off! Your existing clients may well recommend you and this is an excellent, though often slow way to grow your business.
Many of my most loyal clients have found me via other health professionals. Contact the physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths, homeopaths, etc., in your area. Referral can be a two way thing, so it is also in their interests to get to know you. I’ve recommended so many clients to a local hypnotherapist that she gives my family a discount!
By gaining referrals from another health professional, you reduce the need to sell yourself and your therapy. When the potential client calls you, they are already interested in making an appointment with you. The other health professional has done the selling for you.
So, how do you go about making that happen? If you work in a multi disciplinary clinic, there will be a ready made supply of therapists for cross referrals. Join a local therapists’ networking or support group. Write, phone and meet as many people as you can – doctors, dentists, chiropodists, hairdressers, yoga teachers…. The list is endless. I found that it happened naturally over the years – a mixture of luck, good timing and my growing reputation.
Speak up!
There is a big difference between bragging and being quietly confident in what you do. Most of us are so keen to avoid coming across as arrogant that we sell ourselves short.
If someone asks what you do, don’t just say “I’m an aromatherapist”. Find a way of giving a short description of the benefits of your treatment (your elevator pitch). I work mostly as a massage therapist, so I’d say something like “I give massage to help people reduce their aches and pains and keep their joints mobile”. It shouldn’t be so long that it bores the pants off them, but it should tell them a bit more about what they could gain by coming to see you.
Keep marketing yourself, even if you have to reduce your budget. There are a few ways to promote yourself that don’t cost money. Many organisations are on the lookout for speakers. I’ve given talks and demonstrations to groups such as Cruse, The Inner Wheel, Ladies Clubs, Lunch Clubs, Pamper Evenings, National Childbirth Trust and in a GP’s practice to new mothers. It can be scary giving a talk, but people will be interested in what you have to say, not your nerves.
Have your business cards to hand so that people can contact you afterwards. Even if they don’t have treatment themselves, they will know of someone who would benefit.
Money
You should review, but not necessarily increase, your fee structure annually. Be sure that you are charging a fair fee for a fair job. If you develop a reputation for excellence, clients will be prepared to pay for that. You may wish to lower your fees when appropriate, but to do that you have to have enough clients paying you a full fee.
Honesty is the best policy in your dealings with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Cash businesses are more prone to investigation, so it is better to be completely above board and declare all your income. Take advantage of the free courses run by HMRC for the self employed. If you are self employed, consider opening a separate bank account to save for your tax bill.
Managing your money and tax is one area where it is wise to take professional advice. An Independent Financial Advisor can help you manage fluctuations in income and plan for your future and retirement. An accountant will help you submit your tax return and may well save you money in the long run.
Have more than one stream of income
Having just one stream of income is can be difficult for the self employed. Think about where else you might add to your income - could you teach adult education classes? Run workshops? Sell products? Teach?
You could also have a part time job that is not related to therapy. A regular income can make a big difference to your finances, however small.
Make the most of advice
It can seem as if giving treatments is only a small part of what we do. We have to be our own marketing manager, practice manager, cleaner (if working from home) tax advisor, CPD researcher, as well as a computer/web expert. This is daunting, so do for yourself what you do well and find help for the rest. This doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot of your hard earned money. HMRC, The British Library Business and IP Centre, Businesslink and your bank can all help, and much of that help is free.
There are plenty of books available on Business Skills for therapists. Read at least one in order to avoid getting into a muddle.
Website and social media
It is useful to have a website, but I think it is more of a shop window, where potential clients can find out more about you. Therapy is a very personal business and most people prefer a recommendation. However, you can use a website to tell potential clients more about yourself, your way of working, your hours and your Terms and Conditions.
Social Media can be useful to develop a following, but when you first start out, your priority should be to build the business that people will want to follow. There is no point in advertising your therapy if you haven’t set it all up ready to go.
Be confident in yourself and your future
Business, like life, is cyclical: there are always ups and downs. The pitfalls of business, such as cash flow, recession and debt are always with us. Don’t give them too much importance. Small businesses often flourish in a recession.
Businesses that care only about the money they make communicate that to their clients. Those clients will drop them when money is short and the business will suffer. Businesses that care about their clients engender loyalty, with clients who will try to find a way to keep seeing them.
Keep caring, treating and striving for excellence. Here’s to success!
Checklist
- Are your professional affairs such as insurance and memberships in order?
- Is there any aspect of your business that needs to be more professional?
- Is your tax and National Insurance in order?
- Do you have a vision for your business?
- Have you set monthly, annual and 5 year goals?
- Have you looked for some new collaborative relationships to nurture?
- Have you created your elevator pitch?
- Do you have a savings account for your tax bill?
- Are you making the most of the free business help available?
- Have you reviewed your fees recently?
- Are you utilising all income streams?
Celia Johnson has been a therapist for over 20 years. As well as running a busy practice, she teaches business skills to therapists and is the author of How to be a Successful Therapist. To buy a signed copy for £10 (RRP£14.99) with free p&p, go to www.successfultherapist.co.uk and enter the code MW11
