Holistic Business · Fulfil your life’s purpose and create a meaningful business The purpose of...

Holistic BusinessSuccess Training

Fulfil your life’s purpose and create a meaningful businessThe purpose of this report is to reveal the results of an independent survey conducted in May 2012.

With the aim to increase the quality of service and reliability of holistic therapists generally and improve standards of this highly sought after profession.

The objective of the survey was to discover the essential needs of potential clients and what they expect from their therapists.

This allows an insight for professional holistic therapists to tailor their business and to package themselves most effectively to achieve the best possible results to attract and create a waiting list of clients.

The survey was sent to a targeted 15,000 homes asking the vital questions every therapist should consider in their business, to provide the most effective service to their clients, and open the door to new clients and generate a thriving and sustainable business.

The survey revealed many surprising facts, which we share with you, together with some of the expectations and explanation based on many other factors in the experiences gained from successful professional therapists.

The State of Holistic Business in the UK

According to Government issued figures:

The Holistic Therapy Business in the UK is now worth a staggering £250million a year with:

• 120,000 individual practitioners

• 40% have more than one discipline

• Providing 4 million appointments a year

• Averaging £64 per appointment

A report on the complementary therapy industry by a House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee split us into three categories:

The first group consists of acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy, herbal medicine and homeopathy. The Committee found these therapies to have the best professional organisations and training standards, while chiropractic and osteopathy are both regulated by law.

The second group includes therapies that are judged to be harmless enough to complement conventional medicine and includes aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and reflexology.

The third group includes those therapies that the Committee considered scientifically unproven and unregulated. This covers therapies such as ayurveda, crystal therapy, naturopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, iridology and kinesiology.

The way ahead

With medical resources stretched, many complementary therapies are becoming an active way to maintain and improve both physical and mental health.

People are not only living longer, but demand an active life well into their later life. That means they are prepared to look at ways of achieving fitter and healthier retirement lasting many years.

Holistic therapies are proving themselves a great way forward to sustain that healthy lifestyle.

Preventive is the key word and the present demand of the new wave of clients coming into the market, wanting therapies to keep them healthy, rather than finding cures.

Holistic therapies are well placed to fulfil this growing need.

We are about to go through a huge revolution in medical technology for two reasons One of which is because a lot of medical technology is going to be about monitoring our health, rather than waiting for somebody to fall over with a heart attack, we’ll actually know that they are going to have a heart attack, probably even a few days before, but if not we’ll be able to monitor them having a heart attack and the ambulance will arrive automatically. That is going to be a very different way of looking at the world, allowing a lot of preventative medicine. Mobile technology is going to be the thing that is monitoring us.

The other revolution is about personalised medicine, which is an exponentially growing technology so in the future, may be 3-5 years time our doctors will be doing DNA analysis on us and figuring out what is going to be the best combination of drugs, to treat you the person, as opposed to your overall illness.

Demand is already there, but it is about to get much greater

Many holistic therapists have learnt their skills to a high level and are ready to take their place providing services, but these same talented therapists are often afraid to start, or to branch out to take up their profession full time.

This is usually due to a lack of business acumen, rather than holistic skills. Not knowing how to run a profitable commercial enterprise.

Many whom have taken the step into starting a business simply haven’t achieved a level they would like or generate sufficient income to form a full time living.

It is a sad fact that many start-ups fail within the first year and most close up shop within five years.

This is such a waste when the demand is there waiting.

The need for change has now come The results of the survey will help you to decide if the time is right for YOU to start your holistic therapy career or to expand your business by taking positive action to make improvements.

The survey will assist you in avoiding all the traps and to guide you in the direction of success quickly avoiding the common pitfall, myths and misunderstandings in the journey ahead.

Message of hope from Heidi Sawyer

Most holistic therapists want to just start a business to do something they love and that is their passion, and then they think miraculously it will create them a living. The money will mystically manifest.

Sorry, but this just does not happen especially if you are just getting started, you HAVE to make money your top concern, if you want to turn your hobby into a business.

I see so many therapists trained in holistic qualifications; perhaps even keep on collecting them – “Just this last one is going to make me qualified enough”, but never get trained in the science of making their Holistic Business a resounding success.

Many appear to ignore any planning into how they are going to actually make money from their skills and earn a living. The fact is you can’t live on fresh air and the business will fail.

I often see very promising people spending more time on their logo or their blog or the colour of the curtains than they do actually working out a true business sense. Then they hit a brick wall, or give up, because things didn’t work out, or the business simply didn’t attract enough clients. It’s heartbreaking for me to see their dreams disappear when they could have been flying high.

It is vital to set up marketing and sales systems so it happens more automatically. Make it your aim to get your business generating revenue on an ongoing basis.

You might be able to catch it now and then, but you surely have to FOCUS on it. And take ACTION to get it in the long term.

Women especially have the higher talents to bring a special love and passion to business aspects. I have grown my business with the love and care I would expect from a business myself, inserting a huge resolution and duty within it to help the others. But not forgetting the purpose of any business is to make a PROFIT.

Now onto the facts and figures of the survey and our interpretation of how these will show the way to personal satisfaction and commercial success.

Holistic BusinessSuccess Training 1

Without clients you haven’t got a businessSo where do you find clients, the ones that will pay you for your talents, and pay you what you are worth?

We asked; where did you find your present therapist and where would you look to find another?

The Number 1 way potential clients prefer to find a therapist is by Recommendation.

Not an exactly surprising answer.

That’s not much use if you are just starting out or have a few clients

As little as 1% found their therapist through an advertisement.

• By Leaflet polled: 11%

• By Invitation: 17%

People like to be invited, but this marketing method is very seldom used.

First stop for the vast majority to find a therapist without a recommendation is:

Internet search

A massive 65% expected to see a website

This shows that marketing for a therapist does not need to be expensive.

In fact, the most effective marketing is the cheapest.


A simple leaflet written the correct way can make your therapy a success very quickly.

Or simply invite new clients to see the services you offer. This can expand a business many times over.

Including a promotional offer is an ideal way to start a business.

It’s clear from the survey a website is eventually expected by clients to propel them into finding a suitable therapist.

The right type of website is vital to achieve the greatest impact and to provide the correct information potential clients are seeking.

The cost of creating a website can be massive or very little. The higher amount of money spent does not guarantee you better results, sometimes the simpler the better.

Make sure the system is simple enough for YOU to use, so you can make continuous changes to keep it up-dated.

Or choose a web site provider you don’t have to pay every time you want to do an update. Or even better one who will do it for you at no extra cost.

Don’t get over ambitious with your site. Build and add to it as your business grows, adding more pages over time.

To start, your website requires 5 key pages. It must be with a fast and secure provider. Make sure the site conforms to Google’s long list of ‘rules’, otherwise it will be like opening a shop half way up a mountain.

A website should cost about £150 minimum, with a small monthly subscription. Watch for low start up fees or free sites that seem too good to be true; they will turn out to be just that.

The website should be designed to the most effective style for a therapist. So only work with designers and developers who have built other successful therapist websites.


Clients surveyed say they are more likely to book with a therapist they know what they look like before booking.

An excellent quality portrait photo is essential, but don’t forget to negotiate copyright before your session when employing a professional photographer.

We asked; how far would you be prepared to travel to get a therapy?

So many therapists think that their local town is their only option.

That is a myth!

The survey showed just 6% had their treatment locally.

Most popular location is 10miles away.

More than 30% are prepared to travel 40 miles or more.

There may be many reasons why travelling to the next town or even further may influence the potential client’s decision.

• This is near where they work rather than their home

• They would rather go to a town where they are not known

• There is not the type of therapist available in their town

• They simply do not like what is offered in their locality

Your local area is someone else’s out of area, so look to focus on becoming the best therapist of your speciality in your local area first. Once you have achieved this, you know you can afford to spread your wings further.

Of course long-term being online opens you to many more possibilities; however initially focus locally using tools like Google Local and putting your leaflet into local shops and other sympathetic locations close by.


Myth Number 2

We asked; where is the most preferred place to have your therapy?

Clinic? Gym? Spa? Other?

The surprising result is a Private Room

And clients are quite happy if this is in your home

In fact they prefer if it is ‘Home-like’


Without clients you haven’t got a businessSo how do potential clients become paying clients? What do they want, how much will they pay and when do they want to see you?

We asked; what exactly are you looking for in a therapist; your ultimate goal?

These are by far the two most popular reasons for a therapy:

• Exploring the Spiritual

• De-stress and Relax.

Every therapist should ask themselves; does my therapy fit into either or both of those categories?

Exploring the Spiritual

Providing Stress breaking and relaxing procedures

The simple fact is, it is simple to include both these essential properties into EVERY type of therapy

Therefore providing additional service, and giving greater VALUE

People are looking for therapies to improve their lifestyle and discover more.


What are clients expecting to pay for their therapy?

This is pretty much the same everywhere and matches government surveys

From: £45 - £70 per hour

Naturally for top therapists this would be considerably more, but for start-up fees this gives a good basic format.

But the vast majority said what they desire the most from their therapist regardless of cost is:

A therapist who understands and cares about them

It is not about you. Caring matters much more than price.

We asked; what are your most preferred times and days to fit in an appointment…

Weekdays Weekends Mornings Afternoons Evenings?

The reply was a most definite; there’s no preference. This is good news for part-timers. You can fit in a holistic business with your full-time job, to start off. The only exception was the least popular was Sundays.


We all know client experience is important, but how do you know what you potential client expects from you?

We asked; what is the preferred way clients like to see their therapist?

The answer:

Clinical 16%

Formal suit 0%

Casual 12%

Quirky 8%

Smart 68%

Clients overwhelmingly expect their therapist to be smartly dressed

We asked; what sort of décor is preferable to you?

Clinical 22%

Luxury 3%

Stylish 12%

Homely 60%

But the insistence is for a ‘Private Consultation Room’

‘Home-like’ doesn’t mean sharing with your family around the kitchen table. But a quiet room in a home is more than acceptable and reduces a therapist’s set-up and running costs massively.

Without clients you haven’t got a business


We asked; what would you like before their treatment commenced.

The vast majority said they would have liked their details taken BEFORE their first appointment.

This would give them extra time for actual treatment.

This has advantages to both therapist and client.

The client feels they’re more valued and have also been given added value with a longer treatment time.

The therapist gains by possibly freeing up another appointment slot and you might be able to offer the first appointment at a lower price.

Give better service by being more prepared.

• Be clear of your direction

• Make sure people know what you are offering

• They know what to expect and can find you online

• Trust in yourself and others will then trust you.


Without clients you haven’t got a businessConstantly having to find new clients gets expensive, so what are some things you can do to encourage your existing clients to become raving fans?

We asked; would you recommend a therapist to a friend or family?

Virtually all replied, YES, they would happily refer to their friends and family, but few actually had

Simply because they had never been asked.

As a therapist, make it simple by emailing your clients and asking them to recommend you.

We asked; would you be prepared to try NEW therapies you have never had before?

50% would try anything

23% try on a trial basis

25% wanted more info

2% said no

That’s 98% potential clients waiting for an invitation

This could be in the form of email, text marketing, or in the mail as a leaflet, or an article appearing in magazine written by you.


We asked; what long term and additional benefits do you expect from your therapist?

The resounding demand is:

• Educational advice

• Preventive advice

Those seeking therapists tend to be better educated and the new demand is for more valued information

To prevent rather than to cure

So whatever therapy you are committed to, make sure there is:

EDUCATION

INFORMATION

PREVENTION

included in your services and treatments you offer.

These additional services can be achieved by forming a following of loyal clients;

98% of clients polled said they would believe their therapist cared about them more if they received one or more of the following:

• Newsletter

• Follow up email

• Preventive advice

What does a holistic business offer you?

• Opportunities

• Waiting clients

• Wide interest

• Great Demand

• Low start-up costs

• Good returns

What do you need to have to offer?

• Commitment

• Passion

• A Need to Give

• Enthusiasm

• Love of People

The biggest hurdle to success in the holistic world is Business Acumen

Business Acumen is vital to be able to continue and to contribute long-term.

To be a true professional you must learn and be able to turn your talented skills to the best advantage for your clients.

It is not good enough to train in your therapy; you have to learn to run a business and train in marketing yourself.

Doing so is for those who are in it for the long-term:

• Committed

• Dedicated

• Enthusiastic

• Business-like

The sure-fire recipe for a successful holistic business;

• Make yourself special and better than any other therapist…

• But they won’t know that if they don’t know you…

• So go out there and tell them and fulfil your dream!

Thriving Therapist

Be Special: Stand out in your industry as the best, be unique and care. Listen to client’s needs.

Marketing System: Set up a promotional programme that brings in clients on a consistent basis.

Use Time Wisely: Decide at the outset the days and times you wish to work and keep to them with easy worksheets.

Create Packages: Have programmes where your clients will stay longer and get better results long term.

Network: Reach out to your ideal clients with promotions, talks, email marketing, mobile marketing and targeting.

Be an Expert: Become THE person in your field in your local area, the most important person to go to for the top advice.

Referral System: Create easy ways for clients to refer you, form partnerships and alliances.

Create a Signature Brand: Make your entire marketing material look consistent, professional and distinctive.

Exposure: Take on speaking engagements, demonstrations and put yourself out there at shows.

Add value: Provide newsletters, preventive advice, and a feeling that you are a giving person with an additional service.

More Holistic advice at:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Holistic-Business-Training.com

Date post:	06-Jul-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	0 times
Download:	0 times

Holistic Business · Fulfil your life’s purpose and create a meaningful business The purpose of...

Documents