Maxwell was quite a good hypnotist. So good, in fact, that everyone said he should practice hypnosis for a living.
The idea appealed to Max too. After all, he’d spent years working on his technique to become the best hypnotist he possibly could.
And his goal was always the same: to use his skills to help as many people as possible.
But there was just one problem. He had the power to help people, but he didn’t have any people to help.
As clever as he was, he didn’t understand hypnosis and client attraction and the right professional tools to attract clients.
He’d spent all his time learning about the art of hypnosis, and not enough time learning about how to turn his talents into a business.
As you know, whenever you’re starting out in a career, you need to have a good understanding of the basics. You can’t ply your trade without the correct knowledge behind you.
But if you don’t know how to build your practice, to develop it so it attracts a steady stream of clients, then you won’t have much practice at all.
And there’s another point to remember as well. Once those first clients start coming through the door, you want your sessions to be as successful as possible.
Get as good as you can at your craft, and sooner or later the clients will come looking for you.
Makes sense, but how easy is it to actually achieve?
Common Misconceptions & Barriers In Practice Building
Anyone who’s ever tried setting up a business from scratch will tell you the same thing.
It’s hard work.
If it wasn’t, more people would be doing it successfully.
There are some important steps you can take to make things easier – and some things you should avoid – but we’ll look at those in the next section.
For now, it makes sense to try and work out what some of the barriers might be to building a hypnotherapy practice.
Here are a few of the more common misconceptions:
You need a website
No, you don’t. For one thing, there are too many other websites competing for your client’s attention. Just type “hypnotherapy practice in (your area)” into a search engine and you’ll see just how many other businesses already exist. It’s likely to be a million or more. If you’re new, how can you compete with that?
You need a snazzy office space
It might be nice to have, but an office is not going to help you get more clients. When you do eventually get some, it might make a difference, but not until then.
You need fancy business cards
Without a lot of experience behind you and as many recommendations as you can possibly get, your business cards will probably end up in the trash can. When you’re starting out, business cards will be a waste of money that you could be spending on other things that will help your business grow.
You need slick brochures
Like business cards, brochures won’t mean anything to your potential clients unless they know how good you are, or they’ve had recommendations from other clients.
You need to advertise
Advertising sells, but only when people are looking for a specific product or service. Taking out ad space in a newspaper or on TV and radio could cost you a small fortune. If you’re just getting your business growing, you won’t have that kind of cash to splash around.
Where hypnosis and client attraction are concerned, you don’t want to put the cart before the horse. Even if you can afford to spend money on these things, they won’t guarantee that people will flock to you.
So what should you do?
What are the actual steps you should take to help build a successful practice?
Professional Tools To Attract Clients And Steps Behind Successful Practice Building
In order to build up a successful practice, there are 4 things you have to consider.
We call these things the 4 S’s, which are:
1. Mindset (S for set)
2. Strategy
3. Sales
4. Systems
Mindset
This is the most important of the 4. Without the right mindset, nothing will work.
You’re better off having an okay plan with an amazing mindset than having a foolproof system with a bad mindset. So what makes a bad mindset?
Bad mindsets are toxic mindsets that get in the way of what you’re trying to do. Here are some examples of toxic mindsets:
- Blame – blaming your lack of success on other people, other things, or even yourself. But blame focuses your energy on something that isn’t success, which is obviously going to be counterproductive.
- Vagueness – this is the opposite of laser-like focus. If you can explain your plans to a 12-year-old child so that they understand you, you’re not being vague. You need a clear idea of what you’re going to be doing at every step of the way.
- Helplessness – this is linked to vagueness. It’s when you tell yourself you can’t do something, don’t know something or just can’t get it right. Sort of the adult version of a temper tantrum. It can be cured by having the determination to succeed and a solid plan to follow.
- Victimhood – this is when you make excuses for your failures. Instead, find out what you need to learn so that failure isn’t an option.
- Pessimism – this involves having a negative cannot-do attitude. It puts blocks in your way so you end up going nowhere.
- Hubris – this is the opposite of pessimism where you think you already know everything. It’s usually a defense mechanism when you know that you haven’t tried all the options.
Your current mindset has gotten you to this point in your life. But if you’re struggling to move things forward, then it’s only logical that you need a different mindset.
Strategy and Professional Tools To Attract Clients
Without a strategy, you’re working on a wing and a prayer.
Your strategy gives you a plan to follow. When you have a plan, you can easily check whether or not your plan is working. If it’s not, you can change it.
If you haven’t got a strategy or plan, you don’t know what, if anything, is working. You’re fumbling in the dark and hoping for the best.
Remember the saying that goes like this: if you fail to plan, then you’re planning to fail.
So what sort of strategy should you be following? Your plan should include these three essential elements:
1. Socializing – this is another term for networking. Start by simply talking to people, one to one, about what you do and how you can help them. Get them so inspired by your enthusiasm that they’ll be begging to work with you.
2. Client referrals – following every successful session, get your clients to pass on your details to their friends, families and colleagues. Do this with each client, and gradually your client referrals will increase.
3. Professional referrals – this is a fantastic way to build up your client pool quickly without wearing yourself out by tapping into professional contacts (more on this below).
These tactics will ensure that your business continues to expand and prosper. You can always add other strategies such as advertising or building a website when time and finances allow.
Sales
This is not the pushy, sleazy, used car selling concept. When you’re starting to build your business, “sales” will simply involve talking to people about what you do.
To be effective, your sales conversations need to have 3 key components:
i. What problem does the person have?
ii. What solution can you offer them?
iii. What message can you pass on that will show them how your solution will solve their problem?
One way to achieve a sale is to give your potential client an experience.
For example, you could offer them a free hypnosis session. Once they know what it’s like, then they might be willing to pay for further sessions.
Another possibility is to give them a magic moment. This could be something like an arm lock, an arm levitation, forgetting a name, and so on.
These kinds of “amazing” experiences can be mind-blowing and will give them a peek behind the curtain, so to speak. It’ll also make them curious to see what else you can do.
Systems
This involves setting up good and productive habits to support you while you build up your business.
These include 4 self-care habits and another habit that was mentioned earlier. The 4 self-care habits are:
i. Eat well – you know what they say: garbage in, garbage out. A bad diet can lead to depression and put your whole body out of whack. Try to at least eat three meals a day without indulging in snacks in between.
ii. Sleep well – 8 hours sleep is what your body actually needs. Without the proper amount of rest, it’s harder to focus. Your head gets foggy, things take longer to do and it’s difficult to do them to your usual standard.
iii. Move well – your body needs to move to keep fit. That can be taking the dog for a walk or going to the gym. The key is to do it regularly so you stay flexible and energized.
iv. Think well – think through your whole day by rehearsing success so that it works out well for you. It’s the simplest form of self-hypnosis that will keep you thinking positive and primed to succeed.
The fifth habit is actually part of your strategy mentioned above:
v. Socialize – learn to enjoy socializing. Go out and talk to people, be kind and genuinely interested in them. Make it a part of your personality and you’ll be bound to succeed. Rather than going out with the idea of “sell, sell, sell” in mind, focus on having enjoyable conversations. When the time is right, you can easily turn them into conversations with a purpose, finding out people’s aspirations, their problems, and then using that information to guide them towards a consultation.
Working one to one with people may not be as lucrative as other methods, but it is the best way to learn. It helps you discover what your clients will respond to, what phrases and messages hit home with them, what kinds of problems they’re facing and what kinds of solutions you can offer.
Once you’ve honed your craft in this way, then it will be possible for you to start increasing your business and building your wealth. And that’s how hypnosis and client attraction works in a nutshell.
Conclusion & Key Takeaways
The secret behind building a successful hypnotherapy practice is this: you have to put some effort into the business aspects and go for professional tools to attract clients.
It’s just as important to know what you don’t need as to know what you do. For instance, you don’t need:
- A website
- Fancy business cards
- A slick brochure
- A snazzy office space
- Adverts in newspapers or on TV and radio
To get clients for your hypnosis practice you need to focus on the 4 S’s, which are:
1. Mindset – you need to think positive and avoid any toxic influences creeping in
2. Strategy – make a plan that involves networking or socializing, as well as getting client and professional referrals
3. Sales – sell yourself by identifying the person’s problem and showing them how you can provide them with the solution through hypnosis
4. Systems – eat, sleep, move and think well; become a supreme socializer to make those all-important contacts
Getting clients for your hypnotherapy business involves matching their issue with your solution. You can find out what problems they’re experiencing by asking a few questions:
- Where are you now?
- What do you want to achieve?
- Why haven’t you achieved it?
- What things have you tried?
- What were the results?
- How would you like to be different?
To get more clients coming to you in a shorter time, you need to connect with professionals. For instance, imagine getting referrals for people trying to quit smoking from a doctor. Or for people suffering from depression, or phobias, or from some sort of trauma.
This could be a much more productive way of building your business quickly without having to do any hard sales and without spending all your time trying to get potential clients interested.