Years ago when I had my first Practice, there was no internet and no emails. Facebook and social media did not exist and Holistic Practitioners did not have websites. So what did we do to get clients and patients? Well we went to network meetings, we wrote articles, we gave free talks or taught low cost classes to the public.

When we were out and about in the community we answered that question “So what do you do?” The best way we could. We gave out our business card to those that asked and hopefully we gained some new clients in that process. 

I have many colleagues who assist non Holistic Practitioners with their marketing. When they hear that I still use and promote these ‘pre Internet’ strategies they cringe and dub them as the old fashioned way to market. 

Guess what I tell my marketing colleagues? I tell them that these strategies, although they might appear old fashioned or not fancy, still work. Yep!  These “traditional” ways to market a Practice still are effective to gain clients and expand your existing Practice. 

In fact, when I assist my private clients with creating what I call their marketing wheel. (And I call it a marketing wheel rather than a marketing plan because it just seems to be more digestible to my private clients when they hear it.) We include both online and offline strategies.I also encourage you to do the same. 

Does your marketing include strategies that utilize both the World Wide Web as well as methods that tap into your local community? If not, you are probably missing out on opportunities to reach more potential patients and clients, increase your revenue, and actually enjoy the process of marketing you and your Practice a lot more. 

So here is your Practice Building assignment: 

• Take a good look at your marketing strategies. I want you to notice what you are doing offline to market your Practice.
• Take note what methods brought you clients in the past. Specifically what offline strategies? Perhaps you are noticing that there are some strategies that you have used in the past that have been neglected or have fallen by the wayside. That is ok.
  

You can begin right now by integrating both offline as well as online strategies. So that you are getting out there in a bigger way and you are reaching more people that need your help and your healing. 

That is all for now. Until next time, have a fantastic and successful day.

(c) 2010 AnaMaria Herrera.

About the author: AnaMaria Herrera, Online Marketer and Director of Practice Building Institute publishes 'Practice Building Success' teaching Holistic Practitioners how to get clients and build their practice. For a f*ree audio and resources go to: http://www.ThePracticeBuildingInstitute.com

Last week I was invited by my sister Francine, who is a Pilates instructor, to a networking event. Here we are mixing and mingling with other business owners at a bed and breakfast Inn. (See a resemblance?) It was a beautiful September night.

This week is a shorter one for me as I'll be heading out to the East Coast (specifically New Hampshire) for a marketing conference. I'm so looking forward to learning new marketing strategies, and brushing up on the methods I've learned from my business coach. These conferences always re-energize me as a business coach, I can't wait to share with you what I've learned when I get back next week!

Folks might be surprised to hear that I attend events such as these, because I encourage Holistic Practitioners to use the internet to boost visibility and gain more clients. But the truth is I strongly recommend
using both offline (such as attending community events and network   meetings) to meet potential patients and the world wide web to expand your reach to your target market.

In a upcoming post, I'll share how you can begin integrating both offline and online strategies so you're getting out there in a bigger way and reaching more people that need your help and healing.

Did you know video is a powerful marketing tool on the web right now?

Search engines love it, social networking sites love it, prospective clients love it, and the media loves it!

No, you don't have to have a professional studio to produce videos that inform, educate and (this is the best part) showcase you and your Practice.

You can check out our videos for ideas:
1. Go to YouTube.com
2. Search for: The Practice Building Institute.

Enjoy and let me know what you think

A few weeks ago I was talking with my friend Amy D, and she was confessing that she could eat soup every night. "Me too!" I exclaimed.

So what are two soup mavens to do? Create a cookbook just of soup recipes, of course. We decided to compile all of our favorite, old recipes as
well new ones. Here is the latest experiment: Late Summer Corn Soup. It came out pretty darn good. (But boy did shucking the corn make a bit of a mess. When I opened up the silverware drawer the next day I found a few runaway corn kernels!)

It's been fun to try out the recipes and then sit down and 'critique' the meal. Was there too much salt? Not enough garlic (that would be my complaint!)  or too bland? We make notes on our findings. The ones that get the highest score will make the cut for our book. I'll be posting a recipe or two on the blog, so stay tuned.

By the way, did you get your copy of the Practice Building Essentials? I certainly hope so, I've created it out of so many requests that I have gotten this past year. I promise you it will take the guesswork out of wondering what you need to have in place to have a safe and successful Practice. C*lick here for details

I not only take notes of what is working and not when it comes to cooking, but also in marketing.  I certainly don't want to repeat mistakes that cost me time, money or my energy. This particularly is true when it comes to evaluating who we serve in our Practice.

And in an upcoming post I'll be sharing how you can avoid clients and patients that drain you while attracting more ideal folks.

A few years back I was leading a tele-seminar and during one of the classes I encouraged the participants to work with ideal clients. In fact I felt so strongly about this point, I am sure I got on my soap box for a couple of minutes and stressed how important this aspect is when it comes to having a sustainable and profitable practice. 

Well one participant emailed me right after the class. Apparently his feathers were ruffled and he was a bit bothered about what I shared and he wrote:

“AnaMaria, Doesn’t everybody deserve to be healthy and receive treatment for their challenges and their conditions? I was a bit taken aback by your comments encouraging us to work with ideal clients.” 

I am really glad this participant emailed me so I could clarify (which I did in the following tele-class) and yes I absolutely believe that everyone deserves to be healthy and deserve options in terms of their treatment.  

This Practitioner felt that I was instructing him and other Holistic Practitioners to serve only the elite, the affluent and those that hold prominent places in their society or community. But that is not what I am talking about. 

When I talk about working with ideal clients, I am speaking about getting clear on the traits that our best clients and patients have. Those that are enjoyable to work with and those that are not.  

I am asking Holistic Practitioners to get clear on the traits that their best clients and patients possess as well as those traits that the clients that are the most difficult to work with have.  

When you begin to know who your ideal clients are then you are more focused to attract more of them.  Having a schedule filled with clients that you look forward to serving and seeing that day encourages inspiration in you, more joy to serve others, and more passion about what you do. 

When you accept clients that aren't your ideal you run the risk of opening up your schedule book or online schedule and having your heart sink when you see the name of a certain client.

Let's say Mr. Cranky is scheduled at 10 am followed by Ms. Complaining & Never Satisfied at 11 am, if you don’t feel 100% yes, then it is time to start listening to your instinct and compile a list of those signs of your non ideal clients so you can know who to let go of and who to avoid. 

So let me help you get started here. Here is a brief list of some of the traits that I believe comprise non ideal patients and clients:

1. People who are constantly late. Of course there are the occasional challenges with traffic or the patient is simply running behind, but I am speaking about people who are consistently late. Remember your time is valuable. Set that standard that you value your time and your patients and clients will too. 
2. People cancelling within 24 hours, not giving you sufficient notice. If a patient is cancelling more than one time and not adhering to your cancellation policy, then it is time to revisit this client and ask yourself if they are an ideal client for your practice. 
3. People, who whine, complain or resist your suggestions. There is nothing wrong with a patient or client asking clarification about a suggesting or asking for more information about a certain herb or supplement, but I am talking here about constant skeptics and complainers that don’t follow through with your suggestions. These folks simply drain us, period. 
4. People who try to negotiate your fees. Please don’t devaluate your services for your clients, especially your new clients. I offer different programs at different price points with even different payment plans. So if a client is trying to bargain my services, I know they are not a match for me to work with and I graciously turn them away. 
5. People who are disrespectful, rude or simply not nice to either me or my staff. I don’t have to explain the importance of this point do I?
6. People who do not fill out the forms or the paperwork you sent to them, especially the ones you expect them to have before their first treatment. 
7. People that do not follow the simple policies that you have laid out tfor them. Most policies are there to protect not only you and your Practice but the client too. 

Are you recognizing one or more of these traits in your clients? Chances are that you are. And it would benefit you and your Practice to start compiling your our list. 

Taking a no excuse approach to your clients and not tolerating less than ideal behavior is to your best benefit and to those that work with you. 

If clients and patients begin their relationship with you by not following through with the simple instructions you give them, experience has shown me that there is a very good chance they will continue to resist during the course of their treatment. Let them go. 

So pinky promise me that this behavior of making up excuses and tolerating non ideal behaviors is in the past, Ok? Because let’s face is. Non ideal clients take the joy out of our work. They also can drain our staff.

Set a higher standard for those that you serve. If the behavior is not getting better, it probably won’t as they continue to work with you.  

So here is your practice building assignment:

• Make a list of the traits of your non ideal clients that you have experienced in the past. And write them down. 
• Get clear and decide to raise your standards with those you work with and graciously turn away those that don’t meet that standard. 
• Commit to this new standard and instruct your staff on them as well.  

Yes, you can have a practice full of ideal clients but it first starts with a decision and getting clear. Remember, you absolutely deserve it. 

That’s it for now. I will look forward to connecting with you in the future through article and post.  Until then, have a fantastic day.  


(c) 2010 AnaMaria Herrera. About the author: AnaMaria Herrera, Online Marketer and Director of Practice Building Institute publishes 'Practice Building Success' teaching Holistic Practitioners how to get clients and build their practice. For a f*ree audio and resources go to: http://www.ThePracticeBuildingInstitute.com

When we are starting out, often we are excited about what we do but we desperately need clients and patients. So we do what we can to promote our Practice without having a specific marketing strategy. I have noticed this often and it is what I call 'a little bit of this and a little bit of that' syndrome. 

Because we weren’t trained in marketing we don't know how important it is to develop a strategy. We offer free sessions because we have heard that that gets the word out about what we do. We might give a random free talk at a natural foods store. Then we start to attract clients here and there, but there is no real strategy behind our marketing. 

Soon clients and patients start coming to us, and we start to get busy in our Practice and issues and challenges start to arise that were not there when we first started out. 

What happens is, we start to feel like we are just treading water. In between seeing clients and patients, we attempt to handle these issues and these challenges. But again, no one has given us a manual or formula, or instructions of how to deal with these issues that are arising in our Practice. 

Issues such as dealing with last minute cancellations, people late on their payments, handling demanding clients, or even deciding when to hire your first assistant. Or perhaps when to expand your office staff. 

Again, we haven’t been handed instructions on how to handle or how to manage a busy and active Practice, or how to handle these challenges gracefully. So what happens, as Practitioners, we begin to feel that we are putting out fires at this stage in our business.

We wonder if it is even possible to have things run more smoothly. Sometimes even Practitioners begin to doubt why they decided to go into practice in the first place. And I completely understand because I have been there. 

So let me give you three keys that you must have in place to have a smooth running and successful Practice.

1.) Get clear on your unique flavor in your Practice. You have probably heard me talk about this before. Your unique flavor for your Practice is how you do what you do. 

In the overall scheme, your unique flavor is the vision of your Practice; what you desire to experience. It's how you desire your practice to look, to feel, to operate. 

More specifically, I am talking about getting clear on how what you offer is different from other Practitioner's. Whether you are offering acupuncture, classical homeopathy, or nutrition you must stand out in the market place and from other Holistic Practitioners, those in your field and in other fields. 

When you are clear on the unique flavor of your Practice and you communicate that clearly, marketing is easier, more affordable and certainly more effective. 

2.) Market and promote your practice in a way that suits your personality. Many times I find that Practitioners have tried a marketing strategy or an idea, but they did not follow through and they were not consistent with it because it did not feel right to them. 

Practitioners will tell me that when using a particular marketing strategy “It feels too pushy,”Por “It doesn’t feel authentic to who I am.”  It is really important that you feel comfortable with how you promote your Practice, because you want the marketing strategy to be consistent. 

If you do not feel comfortable with how you are promoting your Practice, chances are you won’t follow through. You’ll procrastinate and you’ll stop doing it.  

When I help my private clients create a marketing wheel (I call it a marketing wheel rather than a marketing plan) I first find out about what comes naturally to them. Also I find out more about their personality then build the marketing strategies on that knowledge.

When Practitioners feel 100% positive about their marketing strategies it is easier for them to follow through. 

3.) Create simple systems. This is the area where many Practitioners will often cringe. When I talk about creating simple systems they tell me they "prefer to go with the flow", that having a system "feels counter to their intuitive nature", and they "don’t want to feel rigid". 

I encourage Practitioners to look at simple systems this way with simple systems in place Practitioners are able to be more intuitive. When you have structures in place for how to do things, repetitive things that are done day in and day out, Practitioners are able to go with the flow more. 

Having simple systems is like having a solid foundation from which you can then dance. You first have to have that solid foundation to firmly plant your feet. 

Simple systems include:

• Having correct forms and applications in place.
• Having an easy way in which to schedule your clients that your staff can follow. Whether you are hiring a new assistant or it is someone that has been working with you for years.
• How to handle frequently asked questions that you and your staff are asked over and over again.
• How to manage last minute clients.
• How to handle people that are negligent on their payment to you.

I think you will find that when you get clear on what your unique flavor is in your Practice, begin to market and promote yourself and your business in a way that feels authentic to you, as well as create simple systems, you will see and feel that running a practice smoothly and successfully is not only possible, but it is certainly obtainable.

That’s it for now. I would love to hear your comments, and until next time, have a fantastic day.

(c) 2010 AnaMaria Herrera. About the author: AnaMaria Herrera, Online Marketer and Director of Practice Building Institute publishes 'Practice Building Success' teaching Holistic Practitioners how to get clients and build their practice. For a f*ree audio and resources go to: http://www.ThePracticeBuildingInstitute.com

In between working with my own clients, it's been a top priority for me to provide easy to use resources that can assist you.
 
I've been attentively listening to your questions and inquiries about the challenges you've been facing when it comes to attracting clients and building a sustainable Practice.

One of the top questions I've been asked over the past years is:

"What forms should I have to ensure I have a safe Practice?"

AND

"What do you do, AnaMaria on a weekly basis to ensure you have
a steady stream of clients coming to you?"

That is why I'm so excited to share with you the tools I've developed to answer these questions.

I've created the Practice Building Essentials- easy to follow instructions for ensuring that the essential steps are in place for having a safe and successful Practice.

These are the most popular topics I've taught from the classes that
my clients and participants agreed have assisted them the most.
 
I've assembled these Practice Building Essentials along with easy-to-use, step by  step instructions, just C*lick here for details.
 
If you have followed my work for any length of time, you probably know
I'm known as the 'how-to' gal. I'm happy to share with you what to do and how to do it.

I've made it easy by taking out the guesswork to getting clients so you can concentrate on doing what you love: being with your clients!

Just c*lick here for details and to get yours.

And you'll be on your way to a more successful, safe and sustainable Practice!