Category: Business Goals

Are Therapists Afraid of Making Money?

Posted on by Martina McKeough

Therapy MarketingOver the past few months I have been participating in forums and commenting about therapy marketing matters to a number of therapists. Interestingly in many of these communications I have noted that a large percentage of therapists seem to have a belief system that they will not make great money from their chosen profession. This partly appears to be because some people believe that there is not sufficient money to be made in the therapy industry and partly because they feel as caring professionals they should not be charging premium rates for their services. Wow I thought no wonder so many therapists go out of business within the first year of starting out and see so few clients per week. I thought I would address some of these myths and beliefs as they are clearly preventing the profession from becoming well regarded and highly paid.

1) How Therapists are Perpetuating Myths about Low Pay – One of the comments that I see time and time again is that therapy is not a great paying profession. Well speak for yourself I do very nicely from my chosen field of work and I believe that is because of my mindset. I didn’t start my job as a therapy professional but as a trader in the city. I used to earn a large salary and get great bonuses so when I chose to start a new career I did so with the expectation that I could earn good money again. As a self employed person I knew that with a little effort and great therapy marketing I could attract a sufficient number of clients to earn a great living wage and with passive income efforts there was no ceiling on what I could make.

Now think of the people you encounter in the therapy profession who perpetuate the myth of low pay. Have they taken the time and effort to learn new marketing skills to assist themselves in increasing their business? Are they happy to see just a small number of clients per week and spend the rest of the time pottering around? What do their websites look like? How are they Networking? What is their social media activity? Generally the very people perpetuating these myths are doing so because they haven’t made the effort to move from a small business to a thriving one. If you are looking at becoming a therapist I would say that there is no income ceiling and that it is perfectly possible to bring in over six figures with some creative marketing efforts.

2) Fear of Becoming Legitimate – When you charge a small fee then you are going to be thought of as disposable. The people who come to your therapy will be less committed and you will get more no shows and worse results. Being a hypnotherapist or any form of therapist is a hugely valuable profession because you can change someones life dramatically. That skill and talent is worth lots of money but because many therapists especially hypnotherapists are seen as new age alternative healers many charge very little.

Well I can tell you that my websites scream out professional! They are slick and informative instead of airy fairy and plastered with images that are more suited  to hippy culture. The addresses where I choose to practice are up market and well regarded. When a client books with me they get a full contract and confirmation policy so they know exactly what is expected of them and of me. I dress professionally, conduct myself well and charge premium rates because of this. I would welcome stricter professional bodies and alliances with the medical profession as they legitimise our business. I frown on therapists who embrace the alternative side as they drag down the industry as a whole. Have you seen the websites I am talking about? The ones where the hypnotherapist offers hypnotherapy and crystal healing or magnet therapy! No wonder we are seen as quacks by so many people.

3) Worry about Charging our Customers too Much – Some therapists believe that when they attract clients they should not charge too much for their services in case those people can’t afford the therapy which could help them. Indeed this could be a legitimate worry if it wasn’t for the fact that most of the people who come and see me have made therapy a priority instead of:

  • A huge flat screen TV
  • Sky Sports
  • The latest model of phone
  • Going out all weekend to pubs and clubs
  • Smoking 20 cigarettes a day
  • Ipads and Computer Games
  • A holiday abroad

I could go on and on. Yes there are always some people who may not be able to afford therapy but in many cases it is a lifestyle choice. The people wanting the cheap prices are the ones living with all the latest gadgets whilst they want the therapist to earn such a pittance that they are living hand to mouth. This was perfectly illustrated by a friend of mine who ran a Montesorri playgroup in an affluent area. She used to charge the parents only when their children came to a session instead of by term. On some weeks there would be a number of no shows and she would be worrying about money. In fact she couldn’t afford to heat her flat properly. As you can imagine I had something to say about her lifestyle and business sense.

This does not mean that we should be money grabbing parasites but we should look after our own needs before concentrating on those of others. I worked very happily for two years at a Cancer Centre one day a week for free. It gave me invaluable experience and was hugely rewarding. My business however was growing outside those hours and my prices high.

4) Worry about Abilities – I know that some therapists charge very little because they think that is all they are really worth. Again a former marketing student of mine wanted to charge £40 an hour in yummy mummy Muswell Hill! An area in London where everyone lives in multi million pound houses. Where they have a Planet Organic and chic little shops. His thought process was that he had only just qualified so it seemed like a fair price. Well if you want to go out of business this is a great way of doing it. By the way women are particularly great at making this error. See my previous blog on gender differentials in hypnotherapy earnings.

5) Unable to Market Well – I would say lack of therapy marketing knowledge is one of the biggest reasons why the profession is poorly paid. Most of the therapists have insufficient marketing or business knowledge and it shows. This is why the vast majority of hypnotherapists in the UK see a handful of clients per week. As with any entrepreneur if you have not got the requisite skills you will go bust and in hypnosis the vast majority of new trainees are out of business within a year of finishing their courses. You can save yourself a fortune and a lot of hard work if you spend the money and hire a hypnotherapy marketing and mentoring professional to show you how it is done.

So never again believe it when another therapist tells you that you will never become rich. Is simply means that they have chosen to remain poor or did not have the appropriate therapy marketing skills to grow their business. Remember the only ceiling placed on your earnings is the ones that you have placed there!

 

 

Is Your Hypnotherapy Business Portable?

Posted on by Martina McKeough

hypnotherapy businessYou may have noticed that this latest blog post is slightly later than usual. This is because I am planning to move house and having sold in one area I am frantically trying to find somewhere to buy in another part of the country. Moving house of course is only part of the issue because it also means that I will have to move my business as well. Not just  a few miles away but to an entirely different area where I currently have no customers or clients who will have seen me. Am I worried? Well no because I believe that my business model will work in any area that I relocate to. The question is can you say the same for your business?

Even though you have no intention of leaving your current location and moving cross country at this time you never know what will happen to you in the future. I know that I had no plans five years ago to leave London but circumstances change. It therefore makes common sense to consider all possibilities when you set up your business as to what would happen if you had to move premises, town or even to another country.

Moving Premises

Unless you work from home or in a very small area with limited choice of rented rooms then it is very likely that you will move premises at least once during your therapy career. I know that I have moved premises a number of times in the areas where I have worked. Mainly because I was always looking for the best premises for myself and my clients. I always recommend that wherever you set up your hypnotherapy business you look at a location where you have a choice of premises. This means that if one place closes or becomes unsuitable you always have other locations where you can move without any disruption to your income. Income stability should be a big consideration when planning your business strategy.

When you choose your business location then I would suggest that you make sure that the set up is such that either you are the only hypnotherapist at that location or you have full control of your phone number and advertising. Why? Well let us say that you decide to work at a natural health clinic in your local town or city. You rent the room space, they field your calls and there is some form of joint advertising. In other words they advertise the clinic so you may get some business that way but the onus is on you to bring in the bulk of the customers.

So you begin to optimise your website for that location, link your Google places account to the same premises and generally get calls flooding in to the receptionist at the clinic. Then they decide to hire out another one of their rooms to another hypnotherapist. Now what happens? Well firstly the receptionist no longer knows who brought in the customer. That means that the new hypnotherapist could potentially be getting business because of your hard work. Always keep control of the phone number that you have on your websites. That way you get the calls and you book the people. If the other therapists are not proactive in their advertising they will have empty slots and you will be the busy one.

Moving Location

A loss of income when you move your therapy location is almost impossible to avoid unless your earn substantial amounts of passive income. However this reduction in income can be minimal if you have a great business model.

Websites – When you understand SEO and website design it can be really easy to replicate a winning formula and simply transfer it to another area. Of course organic rankings take time no matter how great you are but in the short term using pay per click will get you customers in through your door.

Understanding what Sells – If you really understand clients problems, know what they need resolved and provide them information on how you can eradicate their issues then you have a winning formula. It does not matter where you are in the Western world as the problems are always going to be the same. People always want to lose weight, there is always anxiety and confidence is always going to be lacking in some people. Show people how you can resolve these and your bank balance will always be positive.

Online – If you haven’t caught on to the online revolution yet then it is time to dip your toe in the water. Conducting therapy online is a great growth area. It means that not matter where you are based or where your clients are. Providing you have reasonable website access you will be able to do therapy sessions. Even better create an online course which does not even require you to be involved and you can earn money whilst you are asleep.

Passive Income – Never rely totally on income from one to one clients. Try and create income streams in other areas as well. That means that there will always be some money entering into your business. Selling audios, video courses, eBooks never rely on location and can be bought by people all over the world. Oh and don’t forget to collect those emails. Google may change and alter its algorithm but if you have a large database of email addresses of people you can sell to then you will never go hungry.

So if you want a great hypnotherapy business spent some time thinking about the what ifs. Remember change is inevitable at some point so you may as well have contingency plans just in case it happens to you.

 

 

 

 

How Much are You Really Earning in Your Therapy Practice?

Posted on by Martina McKeough

therapy marketingEver taken the time and really thought about what you are really earning from your therapy work? Yes I know you will be charging your customers a price per hour but have you really taken a look at all the hidden costs that are there when you are running a business? Nothing in life is free and neither is Hypnotherapy Marketing. No matter how hard you try there are will always be costs associated with your business that need to be taken into account when you decide what you are going to charge your customers.

When you are advertising for clients you really need to think about how much money they are making for you and your business. Most therapists do not do this and instead charge a fixed price per hour which means a weight loss client is worth the same as a fear or phobia client. The reality is that a client with a simple fear or phobia can often be helped in one or two sessions whilst a weight loss client may need support over 5, 8 or even ten sessions. Now try and tell me that each of those clients is worth the same to you. Of course they are not. Someone who is going to fill your diary for eight to ten sessions is worth far more than a person who comes to see you once or twice. Therefore specifically advertising for the clients who make you more money is just common business sense.

But what about your other costs for your hypnotherapy marketing as well as your fixed costs have you ever stopped to calculate exactly what each client will earn you in real terms? When you really get down to the accounting nitty gritty you are going to be in for a very big shock especially if you have decided to charge very little per hour. This is because you will have a considerable amount of costs to cover in many cases that you have not factored in to you price per hour.

Hypnotherapy Business Accounting

So lets look at some of the charges that you will need to consider if you are seeing a client. Firstly unless you are working from home you will need a room to practice in and these of course can be expensive. You may be paying a monthly fee for a room or alternatively you may be charged by the hour. Either way room charges are going to cost approximately 10 to 20% of your client fees. Next think about how you are going to get to this room. In many cases it will not be within walking distance which means that you need to drive there or arrive on public transport which of course costs you money. If you are driving and the location does not have free parking expect to pay for that as well. Oh and don’t forget about tax. In the UK it is a general rule of thumb to set aside 30% of your earnings against tax and that is before you move into the higher income tax bracket!

Now lets think about all the other costs that go into running your business. Of course you need to advertise to get clients in the door (that is unless you have an all referrals practice). This means flyers, business cards, online advertising, newspaper ads, posters, and so on. Then think about the cost of calling these clients. I can spend a considerable time on the phone to each of my clients which means hefty telephone bills. I pay for insurance and professional membership fees. Stationary costs will also bump up my bills. Now think about the cost of building and running your website, that is unlikely to be free either. When you think of it there are many little costs that all add up. I suggest that you resolve to add up your previous years business costs and then work out how much that cost you per week. Then divide that number by the number of clients you see per week and you will have a good idea of how much these costs are per client.

To help you work out your real cost per client I have created a simple client profitability calculator so you can begin to understand how much you are really earning per hour. Simply click on the link and it will take you to a quick and dirty calculator where you can work out exactly what you are going to really earn from each of your clients. Be prepared for a shock when you see the real numbers.

I know that when I teach my marketing clients this exercise they immediately decide to up their fees and when you see the numbers you will understand why. I remember training one therapist who was only going to charge £40 per hour for his services in a very affluent area of London. He need to rent a room in the area and drive to the location and get parking. When you run the numbers through the calculator he would have been lucky to earn £10 to £15 pounds for seeing each client!

Factor in The Cost of Time

I have not added time into my calculator but that is important to add into the equation as well. When you travel to a location it takes time to get there and to come back. My Central London practice takes me nearly an hour to get to and another hour to get back. Remember you are not getting paid for those dead hours so the cost of time needs to be added to your price. As I am in Harley Street I can get away with a high price per hour but in other areas you are not going to be so lucky. If you have to travel long distances to see your clients really work out whether it is really worth the effort.

So if you are reading this and are serious about building a great business and taking your hypnotherapy marketing to the next level sit down and calculate all your costs. You will thank me in the end. What you charge per hour and the profitability per client is an essential piece of information that you need for your business. Once you have that number you can stop burying your head in the sand and really start to work smarter to earn the income you deserve. Need extra help with your marketing and hypnotherapy business plan? Then why not look at some of my marketing and mentoring packages designed to help you grow a booming business.

 

 

How I Increased My Clients Monthly Revenue by 30% With One Small Change!

Posted on by Martina McKeough

Hypnotherapy MarketingFancy earning an extra £2,500 per month? I think the answer would be a resounding yes! Who wouldn’t want to earn more especially when this money was earned by making my client do less work rather than more. Sound crazy? Well the reality is that this is exactly what happened I made my client reduce some of her workload and she ended up earning more and I will explain in the rest of this blog post how a change in your business structure can help you to boost your income. You can apply the same tactics to your hypnotherapy marketing.

So first things first the woman that I am helping with her marketing is an accountant and not a hypnotherapist. She came to me originally for hypnosis sessions and following successful completion of her treatment she asked for help with her marketing. This small change that I helped her make to her business was the very first thing that we did together and is only the beginning of the improvements I am hoping to make to her revenue which I expect to increase significantly over the coming months.

With every client I see I ask them basic questions about their business to get an understanding of how they work. I asked her to tell me about the types of customers she was working with and most importantly to tell me how much revenue they generated for her. It soon became apparent that whilst completing a limited companies accounts was a great money earner for her there were a number of people who she did more minor jobs for who earned her very little and sapped her time and energy.

So who were these people? In her case they were people who needed help completing benefits forms. My accountant is Polish and she helped many people coming over to the UK to fill out the appropriate forms in English so they could claim extra money. The problem was that each form she helped them fill in earned her £50 to £75. It would take her a reasonably long time to do this and worst of all these clients would come back to her moaning if they didn’t get the money they were expecting even though this had nothing to do with her.

Clearly my client was spending a considerable time and effort on people who:

1) Made her very little money

2) Gave her no repeat business

3) Took valuable time

3) Made her life a misery with their complaints

It was therefore relatively simple to tell my client to stop working with them. Now I know that many people when they are told to cut out one of their streams of income start to get worried and panic. Even though they took up time they still brought money to the business so I was now asking my client to forgo this income. I know that hypnotherapists do the same. When they do their hypnotherapy marketing they take on all comers without a thought or a strategy just to get income through the door but once you are established this makes no sense. By wasting valuable time on these few people she was stopping herself from attracting the people who really earned money for her company.

80/20 Rule

If you have never heard of this rule in business it simply means that 80% of your business is usually attributed to 20% of what you do. So if my client looked at her revenue then 80% of her income came from those lucrative company accounts and the remaining income from the remainder of her activities. If you focus more on the parts of the business that are making more money then you will earn more. Simple!

So I go her to cut out the parts of her business that were generating very little and sapping her time. Suddenly with this extra time she was now able to concentrate on attracting new better business accountants. In her case this has resulted in 40 new clients who are generating a nice additional income of £2500 per month or a whopping £30,000 pounds a year. Because of this additional workload she has now hired some help and I expect her to grow the business substantially in the coming months as we implement further changes to the way she works. Giving up that small income was the best thing she ever did as she is now happier and has more time to concentrate on moving the business forward.

Hypnotherapy Business Plan

When I work with marketing clients I help you to formulate new business plans and strategies to drive your business forward so that you earn additional income in the easiest possible way. I know that in your businesses you will have similar issues which can be easily rectified with some simple tweaks. Creating a great business strategy is one of the best ways to drive your business forward to ensure an income that will continue to grow rather than stagnate. Looking at the short term picture when you are starting out may be ok but as your business grows then a longer term outlook is essential if you want to keep on increasing your revenue.

Want help to increase your revenue? Pop on over to our website hypnotherapymarketingexpert.com and have a look at my hypnotherapy marketing mentoring sessions. The prices are incredibly reasonable especially when you may also experience such life changing results.

 

 

What are you doing this Bank Holiday?

Posted on by Martina McKeough

Hypnotherapy marketing planSorry for the UK centric post today but this weekend we get a bank holiday. A wonderful three day weekend instead of the usual two days. Now I know for the rest of the population who are not self employed this is generally a chance to kick back, relax and enjoy time with friends and family. But what about those of us who are self employed? How does the bank holiday impact you, your income and your hypnotherapy marketing?

Well in terms of income a bank holiday isn’t always a positive especially for a self employed therapist who isn’t earning a great income. Suddenly they find themselves losing a day where they would normally earn an income. This will be especially noticeable at times such as Easter or Christmas when they may be faced with up to two weeks of little or no business. When your earnings can be haphazard at the best of times this can be enough to make you run back to your day job. The skill with good hypnotherapy marketing is to:

  • Have enough income the rest of the year to cover these lean periods.
  • Earning a passive income so it means that you are always earning money.
  • Advertising yourself so that you actually work on the holiday and earn more income.
  • Always having a full practice so that a bank holiday is a mere blip on your radar.

So what does a bank holiday mean to you?

Saving Income

While it is tempting to consider money in through the door as instantly yours it is important that you begin to save some of that income not only for tax but to cover you for weeks where you might not be earning quite so much. Christmas which I mentioned earlier is generally a time of year when certainly the UK shuts up shop for almost two weeks. If you are not earning income during that period suddenly the festivities are not going to be quite so much fun especially when you are having to pay out for presents and expensive food and drink.

Learning to manage your income is a crucial step in building your hypnotherapy practice. Understanding that business ebbs and flows is important for any business. When you plan for these fluctuations in income then you don’t get any nasty surprises.

Earning a Passive Income

Learning how to create an income even when you are not seeing clients is the real key to success. Creating products which can be bought by anyone in the world at any time of the day and night means that you can create extra income whilst you are sleeping. In reality creating this form of income should be started almost as soon as you begin your new profession. Creating products takes time which means that the sooner you start the more you have earning you pennies here there and everywhere. Making this a part of your hypnotherapy marketing plan is crucial if you want to really start earning a great income. This means that it really does not matter if your clients ebb and flow. You will always be earning additional money to cover any short falls. Do it well and this could become even bigger than the income you get from clients.

Working the Holidays

Now here is an idea. Why not actually market yourself as a therapist you actually works those bank holidays and unsocial hours. Many people now lead extremely busy lives which means that getting to see a therapist can be very difficult when they don’t finish work until 7 or 8pm in the evening. I personally choose not to work at this time although I do get asked. Provide a service at these unusual times and then charge significantly more. Don’t make the mistake that I see many people making which is charging exactly the same as they would for a day time appointment. Evenings, weekends, bank holidays are all unsocial hours which means premium prices. People pay for convenience so use that to your advantage.

Always Being in Demand

When you learn to really create great hypnotherapy marketing strategies you should find that the bank holidays hold no fear for you whatsoever. At the beginning of my career I would take clients at all times of the day and on any day where they would see me. Now I am so busy that I use the bank holidays to either rest or work on my business. When you really learn to market yourself well you may even find that you turn some clients away because you simply don’t have time to see everyone. Or alternatively you pick and choose the cases that you want to work with.

What am I doing this Bank Holiday?

So if I am so busy I am going to tell you stories of how this weekend I am lying by a pool somewhere sipping on cocktails and counting my money? Well actually no. I am actually going to spend a good proportion of my weekend working on other aspects of my business. I love marketing and creating products so that helps but I also know that sitting on my laurels is not going to make things happen. Money does not mysteriously float into your bank account. The law of attraction principle can make people lazy. Thinking about having money does not make it happen. Taking an action towards earning money does.

So on that point have a great Bank Holiday. Find time to enjoy yourself but also think about what you are going to do to drive your business forward. Hypnotherapy marketing does not stop at weekends and entrepreneurs are always working on their business. Remember that principle and you will get the income you deserve.

 

Are you in Control of your Hypnotherapy Marketing?

Posted on by Martina McKeough

Hypnotherapy marketingIf there is one lesson that I have learned from marketing my hypnotherapy businesses it is to stay in control. In other words to make sure that everything I have is owned, run or overseen by me. I don’t want other agencies, web developers or assistants in charge of anything I need to do. Why? Because when your business advances and your marketing becomes more complex it will cost you dearly if those other people have control over your company asset of information. Being in control of your hypnotherapy marketing is one of the most important things you can do to get ahead.

Hypnotherapy Websites

So lets go into detail on the areas that you may find yourself needing the help of others. One of the biggest areas where people need help is with their websites. You go to a web developer, get them to create a website for you and you probably don’t give it much thought until you need to make changes to it or you want to add a level of complexity to how you offer your products. This is where the problem starts. You find that for many changes you don’t have the capability to alter the website. That means you have to pay your web developer for every word or picture that you alter. Over time this begins to seriously add up. If you had developed a website where you had the ability to do this in the first place you could have saved yourself hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

Now lets say you have bought an off the shelf website from a company that created the template. You are able to change the pages and add content. Great you think until you decide you need an online shop or to add a plugin to make things work more efficiently. Every time you need these things done there is a further charge on top of your monthly payment for the site. Suddenly something that should take a few minutes to do costs you money that you don’t need to be spending. My advice is to find a website design that allows  you total control of your hypnotherapy marketing. That means that you only have to farm out the most difficult tasks to your web developer. It will save you a fortune in the long term.

Google Adwords

Oh my goodness how many times have I heard that a hypnotherapist has paid for someone else to look after their Adwords account. These people promise you riches and hundreds of leads and ask for a fixed payment per month to manage your campaigns for you. The trouble is that you pay over money each month and nothing much happens. You get the odd caller or bit of business but in reality your hypnotherapy marketing hasn’t really grown and you don’t know why.

Sorry but in order to maximise your revenues and customers you need to understand how the system works. Yes it is a pain but how are you going to know if people are working in your best interest when you have no idea how Adwords can be used to attract customers? It may take a little time but sit down and take the time to understand this advertising system so that you are not ripped off in the future. At least then if you decide to hire someone to manage your accounts you are able to tell whether they are an expert or a faker.

SEO

In order to get customers you need to get found. In order to get found your website needs get a good ranking in the main search engines. Many people choose to leave this task to web companies who really have not got a clue what they are doing. Each month you pay over a sum of money to a person who tells you that they will improve your ranking and you hand over the money and pay no attention to whether it is working or not. Meanwhile this company in the best case scenario adds a few links here and there but nothing to really increase your search engine ranking. In the worse case scenario they add a load of spammy links to sites which will delete them so you are getting no results whatsoever. Or in a disaster scenario the links are considered by Google to be worthless so they are penalised and your website tumbles down the rankings.

Understanding the fundamentals of SEO is hugely important to getting a great online business. Unless you have been in the therapy business for years or have a great referrals practice this is the number one area where you will be found. That means you really need to understand the customers you are targeting and how you are going to get them. Do not get ripped off by not understanding the fundamentals and only pass on work to people when you understand exactly what they are doing. How are you going to monitor their results without that knowledge?

Staying in control of your hypnosis marketing from the very moment you decide to open your business is the most important thing you can do for your company. Do not leave your precious information in the hands of others unless you know exactly what they are doing for you. Remember if somebody else owns your website it will cost you money for every little thing that you do. Start as you mean to go on and get something built that you are fully in control of. Don’t let others optimise for you or control your information as it is a huge asset to your business which you need to own. Ask yourself what would happen to your company if you had to rely on someone else to get customers and they suddenly disappeared, went bust or made your website tumble down the rankings. If the answer is that your business would suffer badly or fold then put everything in your name  and regain Control!!!

Why Saying No Is Essential To Your Hypnosis Marketing Success!

Posted on by Martina McKeough

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.

Building a Hypnotherapy Practice – You Have to Speculate to Accumulate

Posted on by Martina McKeough

build a hypnotherapy practiceSo how exactly do you run your hypnotherapy business? If you are a self employed therapist I bet you do the following.  Get clients in through your door and charge them a fee per session. Out of that session fee you will pay your costs such as room hire, tax. phone bills and other miscellaneous expenses. The money you have left over is what you consider to be your wage. Once every couple of years you may pay a bit extra money to upgrade your website and that about sums it up. At no point have you thought about how you are going to get your business to grow in the future and how you are going to make that happen.

When you are building a hypnotherapy practice you can either:

1) Plod on doing the same thing year after year. Get in perhaps a greater number of clients or charge extra but ultimately have a ceiling on the amount that you can earn.

or

2) Speculate to accumulate. In other words reinvest some of those earning in your business to grow it into something much bigger than one to one therapy.

My hypnotherapy eBook talks about tips and strategies to get you to a six figure income. I know for many hypnotherapists this seems like “pie in the sky” talk yet this figure is very achievable for most therapists with the right business skills. The problem that I see in not only our industry but with therapists in general is that most have not got a clue what they need to do in order to even get a few customers in through their doors never mind to take their business to the six figure level.

Building a Hypnotherapy Business

Instead of thinking about your business on a customer by customer basis you need to think in the long term. How am I going to build a business that will earn me great money in years to come? How can I get money in through my doors in an automated way so that that I can be earning money whilst I am asleep? Frankly you need to bust through the ceiling that you have created for yourself. Working one to one with clients is great when you are starting out but you need to take your business a step further.

Think about it if you were a shareholder in a company you would want to see that company growing year on year. They need to be earning more money and giving you a great dividend. The business world understands this because their investors will sell their shares if they find that the company they decided to invest in is standing still.

I see many therapists as companies who are stagnating. They have great potential but then they have no idea of where to go next. They carry on doing the same old stuff year after year and their income stalls. Well I can tell you I didn’t start my own business to earn a boring old basic income. I took the risk of leaving a well paid job so that I could not only be my own boss but so that I could demonstrate how I could build a great business myself. I see myself as an entrepreneur and not as someone who is earning just enough to stay afloat.

Reinvesting in your Business

Building a hypnotherapy practice and creating a business that is next level means you need to reinvest. That means that some of that money you are earning has to be spent on other ventures that will bring you more money in the long term. It means reinvesting in your skills. If you don’t know how to build a greater income then you need to learn from somebody else. Investing in marketing advice and mentoring could mean the difference between surviving and thriving. Oh and you need to invest in better websites, equipment, automated software and so on. Now you don’t obviously have to do all of this at once but I believe that a percentage of your income needs to be set aside for you to do this.

I know that ever since I started by business I have used part of my “salary” to create new avenues of income. Once I built those products I began to sell them to others and that extra money is now steadily adding additional income into my monthly account without me even thinking about it. That means that as well as earning income from my clients I am earning from other sources as well. Now there is no ceiling to what I can earn. You can do the same with the right help.

If you need help building a hypnotherapy practice then how about getting some assistance? I work with all kinds of therapists and small business owners with my marketing and mentoring sessions. I believe that the  cost of my business coaching will almost be immediately offset by the extra customers you will get into your business. Remember it only takes one client paying for a number of sessions to pay for my marketing sessions for six months and I personally guarantee that you will be getting in many more than that providing you follow my advice. Give me a call today on 020 8351 2744 and see how you can change the income potential for your business.

 

 

How Much Time Do You Spend On Your Hypnosis Marketing?

Posted on by Martina McKeough

Hypnosis marketingHow many hours a week do you actually spend attracting new clients in to your business? One hour a week, five or ten? I know that there are a considerable number of therapists out there who do a very small amount each week and I can tell you that it is not going to be enough to get you the business that you deserve. A networking session and an hour or so writing a blog or handing out some leaflets now and again will be lucky to get you anywhere. Hypnosis marketing actually needs consistent daily work especially in your start up days to get you regular clients calling you for appointments.

So lets say that you have just qualified as a hypnotherapist and you are lucky to see a client a day in the initial stages. This means that you have a significant amount of time during the day which you have left hanging around doing nothing. That means that you have eight to ten hours to fill working on your hypnosis marketing. Now to some people that might sound excessive but frankly this career is now your full time job. It means that you need to spend at least as much time on it as you would have in your old profession if not far more because now you are not automatically going to get a wage at the end of each month.

Think about the average entrepreneur and how they work on their businesses in the early days. Many of these people will be up working at 7am in the morning and finishing late into the night. They will have sacrificed their social lives to get their business up and running and earning them great money. Now think of what the average hypnotherapist does when they finish their courses. They might get a website up and running and attend a few small networking gatherings but in many cases I do not see the same drive in our profession as I do in many others.

Now of course if you don’t need to earn money then it really does not matter. You can frankly sit in bed all morning, drink coffee with your friends and go to the gym. But if you actually have to earn a living from this profession then you had better start to get fired up about marketing and getting cash flowing in to your business or you may as well go back to the day job.

Building a Hypnotherapy Business Takes Time

In order to build a great business you need to be working on your marketing tasks daily. If you don’t understand what marketing you need to do then you need to get some business and coaching advice and fast. You need that knowledge because otherwise you will end up banging your head against a brick wall and getting nowhere.

At my marketing classes for hypnotherapists I make it clear that the information that I give them is just their starting point. One blog is not enough, writing one advert is insufficient. You need to be constantly producing new material, updating websites, blogs, profiles. press releases to get found. I can guarantee you that even after I explain this to my students there will always be someone a week or two later who had selective hearing and comes back to and says they have done it all and the phone is not ringing.

I can tell you now that there is never a point when you have finished all the marketing that you can do. At this moment in time I have a list of about thirty tasks that I need to accomplish on my latest round of marketing. As I progress down this list I will find that there are more and more elements which will be added to it making it a never ending project. I have never sat down for one moment and thought that’s it I have done enough!

Earn More Money You are a Business!

You see I am at the point now where I am busy just about every day. I can see up to eight clients a day on some days and frankly that is pushing me right to the limits. Now for some people they will be satisfied with this but I most certainly am not. You see if I continued like this there would be a ceiling on my earnings. I can’t fit any more clients in to each day which means that the only way I could make more money would be charging them more or seeing people in groups.

Ok so lets say I charge more or see groups there would still be a ceiling on my income. That is the last thing that any business owner should not be aiming for. Year on year your business should be growing and that means that you have to think of new innovative ways to push your income levels higher. How about selling real and virtual products for example. Creating passive income streams to bring you in money whilst you are asleep. Or perhaps hiring associates or affiliates to sell your products.

You see hypnosis marketing never ends. There is never a point where you have done enough and there is never a point where you should have run out of ideas. If you feel that you are stuck and have no idea how to get those initial clients or how to take your business to a level where you earn additional income then you are a prime candidate for my marketing and mentoring sessions. Over a period of six months to a year I work with you to build great foundations for your business so that once you have a great base level of income you can start to take things to another level. Yes you will have to work hard but the rewards are potentially unlimited when you really commit to running a business instead of thinking as a vocational career choice.

Build Your Hypnotherapy Practice on a Shoestring- The Best Things in Life Are Free!

Posted on by Martina McKeough

Hypnotherapy Marketing ExpertWhilst in some areas you have to speculate to accumulate I believe that when it comes to Hypnotherapy Marketing some of the best ways of getting clients cost absolutely nothing. Now I know that this is of huge importance for many therapists especially those who are starting out because they simply don’t have the money to throw around on large marketing campaigns. I like my students to keep their hands in their pockets where possible as throwing money at something does not actually mean that you are going to get a return.

I know that many therapists simply believe that this isn’t true but some of my best financial returns have cost me very little. For example how many of you have spent hundreds if not over a thousand pounds/dollars on a website created by a developer? My guess is that most therapists believe they are not capable of getting something up on line so they pay someone to do it for them. Well the news is that in 2015 you don’t need any huge web development knowledge to get a website up and running. In fact with many of the online website creators you could get a very basic website up and ready online within an hour. Even better many of these websites will cost you less than a couple of cups of coffee. You simply need to buy a domain name and you are good to go.

Now I can hear many of you thinking that surely it must be difficult to get something up online but the reality is that with the internet anything is possible if you apply yourself. For example this website that you are looking at this blog on was created by me on the WordPress platform. This admittedly took me longer than an hour but I have built plenty of other websites on other platforms which consist of drag and drop templates. All you have to do is add the copy and suddenly you have a website that looks sleek and polished for peanuts. You can also change the elements in the website within minutes so if you want to add a new page or change wording on a page it can be done instantly. Those of you with developer websites know that getting someone else to do these things for you will cost you $$$$$!

Don’t know where to start even when you see a simple web design template? Simple, head on over to YouTube there are plenty of people online showing you exactly how to construct a website on just about every platform you can think of. Many of these are step by step guides which means that you can do a little at a time and build your confidence. When you build your own website on a platform such as WordPress it has other advantages. You are now in control of every aspect of the site and that means that if you want it to have additional features you can add them for no cost. Most WordPress plugins cost you nothing at all. It also means that you don’t have to turn to a developer every time you need to make a little change. Getting to grips with the basics is really important and can save you thousands over your career. If you want a little extra help then I offer advice on what elements a website needs to have in order to be a success.

Save Money on Your Hypnosis Marketing

Creating your own website is just the start of setting up your business on a shoestring budget. In fact you can get your business of the ground for virtually nothing. For example a great way to get clients is through networking. I have never spent a penny on conventional networking groups in fact most of my contacts I met online. I show people in my classes how Social Media can increase your business without you ever meeting the person who is referring people to you.

I save money on my hypnotherapy marketing by not leafleting, not paying for directories or listings on local websites. If a salesperson rings me on the phone they are ignored because I simply do not need their services. I don’t advertise on gym videos, on doctors cards, in local magazines or papers. In fact I am cheap and you can be as well. The only thing I do spend money on is improving my marketing skills whether that is online courses or books to improve my profits and revenue or on paid online advertising in only a few key areas. This is the complete opposite of what I used to do. When I started out I threw money at all kinds of possible advertising schemes and I can tell you that almost none of them worked.

So Why Pay for Me?

People may ask why then should I pay for your business advise if you are telling me that the best things are free? Well firstly my job is to save you money in the long term. My six monthly marketing and mentoring sessions cost the same as one extra client. I can guarantee you that if you follow my marketing and mentoring advice you will make that money back ten times over in those first six months providing you follow my advice.

Secondly I have years of knowledge in business development and I run a successful hypnotherapy company which has tried all these techniques and tips so that you don’t have to. Not only do I see private clients I also:

  • Sell online programs and audios
  • Work with large corporate clients to improve client well being
  • Offer training programs for therapists
  • Sell eBooks
  • Work regularly with the media including companies such as the BBC and the UK Press.

In just a few short years I have gone from nothing to a thriving business and you can as well. For more details about my Hypnotherapy Marketing and Mentoring programs or even my eBooks simply send me an email or give me a call and let me tell you how I can transform your business for the price of one client.