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Marketing Your Alternative Health Private Practice, Part II
During the 100-day strategy period, you should not choose more than two marketing strategies on which to focus. If you choose more than two marketing activities, your energy and focus will be spread too thin to be effective. Five of the most important things to do in the first 100 days of your new strategy are as follows:
1. Decide on a number of new clients you want to recruit.
2. Decide how many “two-for-one” sessions you need to do to recruit the new clients.
3. Decide on two marketing techniques for the next 100 days.
4. Market only your specific niche to your specific target.
5. Only use your marketing to gain new clients using your two-for-one sessions.
Briefly, “two-for-one” sessions do not necessarily have to be literal two for one offers such as buy one get one free. The offers can take the form of discounts of any percentage, gift certificates, membership cards, etc. Be creative in developing your catch. The better the catch, the more clients will respond.
Only decide on two marketing activities to do in the first 100 days of this strategy. After 100 days, you can add onto the strategy with other marketing techniques. Once you choose the two techniques you want to use, you must do the three following things in order for the strategies to take effect: (1) you must actually do them, (2) you must have fun doing them, and (3) you must continually do them. The key is not to give up. Saturate your market with these two strategies, and you will see definite results before the end of the 100-day period.
When deciding which two activities to focus on, remember two important factors: (1) choose an activity that allows other people to experience you (seminars, networking, one-to-one meetings with people of influence, festivals, etc.), and (2) choose an activity that produces referrals by someone who has experience you (utilize current clients, strategic partnerships, etc). The best marketing techniques to gain new clients are speaking engagements, grassroots marketing, networking, and strategic alliances. Choose two of these methods for the first 100 days. Do not make a website or a brochure one of your strategies. These are called passive marketing strategies, and only produce results when backed up with active strategies as the four mentioned above. You may have a website or brochure, but only within the framework of two active marketing strategies.
Speaking engagements are the most powerful and effective strategy. When doing a speaking engagement, it is a good idea to present your therapy in the first half of the presentation, and then offer ways it could help your audience in the second half. During the second half of the presentation, drive home the benefits of your therapy to the audience, and promote “two-for-one” sessions. Speaking engagements are also a good time to give away freebies which advertise and market your practice after the audience goes home. There are many ways to do a speaking engagement. You can give a solo presentation, or a partnered presentation. It is a good idea to do the presentation/seminar free of charge. In doing this, your prospective clients get something for “nothing”, and they feel they are already ahead. This creates a bond between the audience and the presenter, allowing the audience to sense the speaker really does care about helping them. It is imperative to get contact information from those attending the event, and to do quick follow-up after the speaking engagement (i.e. thank you letters, phone calls, etc).
Networking is also an invaluable marketing tool. For the alternative health practitioner, networking should be simple. For example, an aromatherapist could visit the health food, natural healing, and other alternative stores in his or her area, making relationships with the owners. From these relationships come referrals, and possible speaking engagements in the stores. Networking allows for a trickle-down marketing effect to take place, and is a good long-term strategy.
Strategic alliances are paramount for any successful private practice. Your strategic alliances are people in other fields who deal regularly with your potential clients. For example, a hypnotherapist could have a strategic alliance with a general practitioner, a chiropractor, and community health center director, etc. By having these strategic alliances, the hypnotherapist could then get referrals from these other practitioners, and give referrals to the practitioners. There are two types of strategic alliances: (1) informal and (2) structured. An informal alliance is simply a relationship between two like-minded practitioners who simply want to help one another with no incentive. A structured alliance is best for long-term results. In a structured alliance, there is a plan of referring clients from one practitioner to another (via professional forms). Also, it is a good idea to offer a referral fee, possibly of up to 20%, to another practitioner who sends you a referral. This arrangement gives them incentive to refer clients to you.
Staying in Action
A spectacular marketing plan on paper is virtually useless if a practitioner does not actually get out and do the marketing. This is the step at which many private practice owners fail. They may have read all the marketing tips they could get their hands on, and developed a top-notch plan, but they constantly make excuses for not beginning to implement the plan.
There are three things to remember when implementing your marketing plan: (1) make a firm commitment, (2) create a system of support, and (3) think of excellent reasons to start marketing. The plan is ready for implementation, but the motivation will not be there unless you think of these three things before beginning your campaign.
First, make a firm commitment to your marketing plan. There may be other things in your life that you will be required to give up or concentrate less on during this time, but that is a sacrifice that needs to be made if you want to succeed. Make implementing your strategy your top priority for at least 100 days. There is no such thing as an overnight success. Only hard work will produce lasting results, and will lay the foundation for a long-term successful practice. Make a commitment to yourself and your business partners (if you have any) that you will concentrate solely on implementing your plan for the next 100 days.
Second, create a solid system of supportive people. I recommend you do not use family members as an integral aspect of this support system for one important reason: you will face difficulties and failures in implementing your plan, and you do not want to bring home any negativity from those failures. If you need to vent your frustrations, it is better that you do that with a colleague or fellow business owner. Of course, your family will be vital in supporting you, but your main support system will be outside your family. In order to create lasting, meaningful systems of support, you need to network with other practitioners (or like-minded individuals) in your area. These other practitioners may practice the same healing modality as you, or they may be in a complementary field. They could be members of your professional association, fellow alumni, other small-business owners, or any variety of people in a similar situation as you. What is most important is that your supporting members have similar goals and interests. If possible, it is a good idea to form your support system with others who may have more experience than you. In this way, you will be able to gain support and learn from their experience.
Once you have made initial contacts with people you think may be good supportive friends, you should determine three important things concerning the structure of your support group: (1) decide when, where, and how long you will meet each week, (2) decide specifics about how you will support one another, and (3) decide that you will meet for support, not whining. The reason for establishing this system of support is to keep you focused on your goal. When meeting with your support group, you should focus on your business commitments, evaluate your results, and discuss new actions to take in your business. Within a supporting group, you will have accountability to be focused and productive.
Third, it is imperative that you have good reasons for implementing your marketing strategy. You will face difficulties during your 100-day implementation period, and you will need the support of well thought out reasons for continuing your work. If you have good reasons to keep you going, you will be more likely to continue your strategy even when you encounter difficult times.
To help you think of good reasons for implementing your strategy, list every reason you can dream of why you want a successful private practice. Think about the impact a successful private practice will have on you, your family, your sense of purpose, your income, etc. Next, write down a list of things that will happen if you do not build a successful private practice. How will you feel if you are not successful? How will you provide for yourself and your family? After you complete these two lists, compare them, and develop clear reasons why you will be successful in building your private practice.
Feeling Good About the Future
One of the most important things to understand as you get ready to implement your marketing strategy is the universal power of the Mind to accomplish positive results. A wise proverb says, “As a man thinks, so is he.” This is the reality. If you positively believe that your strategy will lead to a prosperous, successful practice that is what will happen. Your mind will attune itself with the Universal Mind, which is only concerned for your success and well-being.
One exercise to help you gear your mind toward thinking positively is to imagine your private practice one year from the present, as a thriving, profitable practice. Imagine that you have more clients than you are able to book. Imagine how your life has changed for the better, and how much more fulfilled you are in your personal and business life. Write down everything that has changed for the better because your private practice is successful and thriving. If this is the way you really want to see it, and you put all your mental and physical power into it, your practice will become as you imagine it will be.
About the Author
Paul Daniel Payne is the president of the Universal Spirit University, a spiritual distance learning university offering certificates in Reiki and Hypnotherapy, and research degrees from the Associate through the PhD level in spiritual and holistic disciplines.
Professional Hypnotherapy Certification Programme 2010 (HD)