Maybe you’ve just moved to a new town. Perhaps you’ve decided to make a move from working at home to working in a clinic. Or it might be that you’ve decided to work another couple of days as a hypnotherapist in a nearby town. The question is the same – how do I decide which clinic I want to work from?
Your first task is to find out what clinics there are in your town and the surrounding area. I say clinics, but it could be a room over a hairdresser’s salon or a room in a health food shop, or even a room at a gym – there are a lot of options available. For convenience, I’ll call them all clinics – but you know what a wide range of establishments I have in mind. Once you’ve identified the options available, the next step is to go and have a look at them. What does the clinic look like from the outside? Is it somewhere that you would feel happy going for treatment? If not, cross it off your list and move on to the next clinic on your list. If you’re based in a big city, where most people walk or use public transport, parking won’t necessarily be an issue. But in most towns, your clients will mainly arrive by car and so somewhere to park could be an issue for them. Also, you may want to think about ease of access for your less-mobile clients. Are there drop kerbs nearby? Is there ramped access and handrails to hold on to?
Having looked at the property from the outside, the next step is to go inside. Is there a welcoming reception area? Are there clear signs directing clients to the waiting area? Does the inside feel comfortable? Is the temperature warm enough (or cool enough if it’s summer time). Does the paintwork look OK? Are the pictures on the wall suitable? Is the noticeboard up-to-date? Are the leaflets tidy? And go to the toilet. Are they clean? Is there any kind of smell? If the inside doesn’t seem like somewhere you’d like to go for treatment, leave and visit the next clinic on your list.
So, if you like the location, and you like the look of the place, the next thing to check out is the staff. Do they look professional? How many people work there? Are some more frequent users of rooms? Will you always use the same room, or will you have to use whatever is available? Do staff cross refer? Does the acupuncturist recommend the reflexologist etc? Does it feel like a science-based clinic or a ‘fluffy’ one (ie very little science-based treatments)? Is that what suits you? Can you advertise your services on the noticeboard? Does the clinic have its own website? Can you put your information on it? And, how much will it cost you? If you’re still giving free initial consultations, you need to take that into consideration when calculating how many hours you want to rent rooms for and how much that will eat into your profits.
Once you have the answers to those questions from all the clinics you have in your area, then you can start to make a choice about which one to choose. Will the clinics that you felt comfortable with let you have the times of day you want? Can you afford to set up in the one you liked best, or do you need to compromise slightly so that you can stay in business? Do you feel the clinic manager was someone you could work with?
Once you’ve decided on a clinic (or room or whatever) that suits you, your needs, and your pocket, you need to start building the business. That means you need to put on your website the details of the new clinic – it’s address including postcode, phone number, and even a small map (Google maps makes doing this very easy). You also need to put the days of the week and the times when you will be at that clinic. You want people to easily be able to find you.
It can be very useful to get in touch with other solution-focused hypnotherapists in your new area. That allows you to introduce yourself, and you can learn from them what works in terms of marketing and what doesn’t. Sharing experiences and resources can always be valuable. It’s also a good idea to have a wander round your new location and get friendly with your local shops, cafes, and hairdressers because they will chat to their clients and can help to spread the word about your new clinic, and they might even allow you to leave your cards in their premises. You might want to offer them free mini-initial consultations and short trance sessions. Hairdressers are generally very chatty and will tell everyone about what they experienced. It’s definitely good advertising.
Always have your ‘elevator pitch’ ready to hand. The more people you meet, the more opportunities you have to briefly describe your hypnotherapy practice. Your pitch needs to be full of enthusiasm, humorous, and factual. You need to appear confident and the kind of person they could trust with their particular issues. You need to make a great first impression – so it’s worth practising your pitch.
And you’d be amazed at the power of doughnuts (or even just a packet of biscuits). They are a great way to make new friends – with your new colleagues at your new clinic. And once they’ve taken one of your doughnuts, you can give them your elevator pitch and before you know it (hopefully) they are recommending their clients to see you.
If business is quiet during those first few weeks, then use the time to write blogs and publish them on your website. Google likes websites that change regularly and will move you up the rankings. The other thing you can do is make short videos about hypnotherapy. Again, put these on your website because they help get you up the Google rankings – and that means potential clients are more likely to find you.
Written by Trevor Eddolls, Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, Specialist Trainer and NCH Supervisor.