Why Saying No Is Essential To Your Hypnosis Marketing Success!

Hypnosis marketingAs a hypnotherapist one of the most important weapons you have in your arsenal is the phrase “no”. Now I know that as a hypnotherapist looking for clients you are probably used to saying “yes” but how many times have you agreed something and then immediately felt that you should have said or done something completely different? I know that one of the most important ways in which I have been able to move my business forward is by using that no word to increase my hypnotherapy marketing success. Let me demonstrate how important it is to learn to flex that “no” muscle.

Clients – Getting in clients is essential to your business but you need to be able to learn how to manage them to market successfully. I know that when I first started out in business I said yes to any client who called and who I knew I was qualified to treat. Sometimes I would drive to see one client in one location and then immediately get in the car to another location after that session to see someone else. Not only was I clocking up the miles but I using up loads of my time as well. This clearly made no sense whatsoever. So I learned to say “no”!

I resolved that to make my life easier I would see clients in a different location on each day of the week. So if a client wanted to see me about a problem I would tell them the day and the location where I was available and then they could either make the session or not. Yes I did lose a few clients but a much smaller number that you would expect. The economics also now began to stack up. I would book multiple sessions at a clinic and save money on room hours. I saved money on parking and petrol and most of all I saved my time. Instead of spending hours each day commuting from one location to another I now saw all my clients in one place.

I also learned to say “no” to seeing some clients completely. People who lack commitment to getting better are not going to help your business. If they are not invested in your treatments then you are unlikely to have a successful outcome with them. I simply suggested to these clients that they find another therapist or wait until they were ready to get help for their problem. As I was seeing clients who really wanted to get help my success rates went up and so did my referrals. If I had treated the clients who did not want to help themselves they would not have necessarily had successful outcomes and my business would have been bad mouthed.

Time – As I mentioned above I saved plenty of time by not travelling from one client to the next but I also managed my time by not agreeing to hours that some clients wanted me to work. How many times have you had a client call and tell you that they don’t get home from work until late in the evening so they are looking for a late night time slot like 9pm? I get this all the time. They wouldn’t be able to see their doctor or dentist at this time but they are quite happy for you to work late. How many of your clients think it is ok to call you late in the evening to discuss their problems:? Again I used to get this problem all the time.

Now I am very clear with my clients. I work set hours and in my case that does not extend to very late in the evening or weekends. Why? Well firstly I need some down time myself. When I finish with clients in the evening that is it. My phone is switched off and my focus is on relaxing. By allowing your working day to extend to your down time is a recipe for stress and anxiety. Secondly without my down time whether that is during the week or at weekends I wouldn’t have time to move my business forward. In order to earn more you need to develop ways of increasing your income and you are not able to work on those and see clients at the same time. By saying “no” I am investing in my future. That means a short term monetary gain is not helpful when you are looking at creating a business that will sustain you in the long term.

By the way there is a way to make unsocial hours work for your business and that is by charging considerably more. If people want the convenience of seeing a therapist late in the evening or at the weekends then you should charge considerably more. That might be a great way for you to create your own niche. Earning more for less hours at more unsociable times of the day. Just make sure you say “no” when people offer to pay you the same.

Free Help – I hate to say it but many therapists are cheap. You might think this is an outrageous comment but I am happy to say it because I know that in many cases it is true. As my reputation as a marketing expert grows I am bombarded with emails, Facebook and LinkedIn requests from people who want me to help their business. Great you would think but the reality is that these people do not want to pay. They want to “pick my brains” or “meet for a coffee” or “get some really basic advice” but they do not want to pay for it!

Well sorry but that is not going to happen and I flex my polite “no” muscle and explain my charges. Imagine if you asked your plumber to come out to do the same. I can imagine the answer you would get. The reality is the information I give people on hypnotherapy marketing makes people money. Not a small amount but thousands and thousands of pounds and I expect to earn some money for giving people the ability to make a great living.

I bet you have clients who do the same. How many times have you had a person ring you and you know that they have no intention of actually buying your time or products? Your time is money so when you come across a time waster it is time to get them off your phone asap so that you can concentrate on the clients who you can help. What about the clients who always turn up late to your sessions and expect you to run over? Again I flex that “no” muscle. Or the clients who want to ring you inbetween their sessions constantly for hours at a time? Set your boundaries from the outset and let them know that is included and not included in your price.

Telemarketers – You may not agree with everything I say but if you take one piece of advice from me today say “no” to every sales person who calls you on the phone and asks you to buy their products. That means “no” to:

  • The Yellow Pages
  • People who pretend they are from Facebook and Google
  • Sales people who want to you pay for adverts in doctors surgeries, gyms or magazines

In fact say “no” to anyone who wants your money who you have never met. Why? Because for all their promises of extra clients and hypnotherapy marketing success I will tell you that you may as well take your money and set light to it outside and watch it go up in flames. There are a number of strategic investments that you can make to attract clients but these people who prey on the naive and vulnerable are not it!

I am sure when you think about it there are plenty of areas where you can use that “no” phrase and actually increase your productivity and earnings. My list is not exhaustive but just a small example of how your life and business can be improved by learning to set boundaries, charging the full price for your valuable services and understanding that your time equals money.