6 Ways You Might Be Losing Potential Clients
At the end of the day, you are in the healing business to work with clients. No one will always catch 100% of potential clients out there. But if your appointment list is looking a bit scarce, it might be time to look at where you might be losing potential clients.
Today, I'm covering the 6 ways I see practitioners losing potential clients on a daily basis, and how to address the problem.
6 Ways You Might Be Losing Potential Clients
Do potential clients see you?
You can have all of the other ways already under control. But if people can't see your business, you're already losing potential clients by the dozen.
So let's look at a few ways to make your services and content more visible:
List yourself on Google Business
Get yourself a website (my go-to website gal is Shonelle from Tech For Pracs)
Share your blogs across social media
Use social media to share interesting and relevant information
Make offers on your Facebook page regularly
Talk about what you do with friends, family and acquaintances
Run workshops and events in the local area
Collaborate with other practitioners
You can read more about being visible to prospective clients here.
Do potential clients resonate with your message?
You know what their problem is. The issue is that they often think their problem is something completely different.
I see practitioners losing potential clients all the time because they don't speak to what the potential client thinks and believes.
For example, you might know instantly that someone's issue with energy is their imbalanced diet and reliance on caffeine. Or you might spot their thyroid problems a mile away.
But all that they likely know is that they are exhausted. They feel ancient and unmotivated, and they want to get back to the vitality of their youth.
So your message shouldn't be 'you feel tired because your diet is crap and your thyroid is broken'.
Instead, it should be 'you can feel more energised and excited about life by making simple changes'.
See how one is much more appealing?
Is your value clear to potential clients?
Honestly, I don't care what you're charging. I'm not a money mindset expert.
But no matter what you charge, you need to make it clear about the value you offer with your services. Otherwise, you'll be losing potential clients because they don't realise you are what they need!
Again, it's important to think about the client's perspective. What do they want more than anything, and how can you show them that's what you're here for?
Let's go back to the above example. I can guarantee you that most people would happily pay you $2000+ every year if it meant they felt amazing and productive every day. Hell, I would pay that!
But I can also guarantee that very few would pay $1000 or more to be told that their diet and thyroid are all wrong.
The key here is making it clear what THEY get out of it. At the end of the day, humans are pretty self-focused.
We only hand over money when we know we're getting something out of it.
Are potential clients connected to you?
These days, we don't connect with brands. But we do connect with people.
We want to work with people that understand us, that are a little bit similar to us. This means getting visible as a person as well as a business.
Don't be afraid to talk a little bit about behind-the-scenes.
Show your face on your business Facebook page and your website's About page.
Share pieces of your story if it's relevant to your clients.
I will often tell potential chronic pain clients that I experience it myself. I also tell you lovely practitioners about what has worked for me, but also how I have failed in the past.
The more you show up as a human, the easier it is for other humans to connect with you.
Is it easy for potential clients to book with you?
If it's not easy for someone to click onto your Facebook page or website and book with you, they're less likely to.
We are the internet generation, and very few of us are likely to call a phone number to book an appointment. It's that simple.
To avoid losing potential clients, you need to make it easy for them to book with you. Ideally, the process of booking an appointment takes a minute or less once they've clicked on the booking page.
That's why a booking system is a good idea for most practitioners. You simply have a link to your booking page or embed it into your website, and they will click the options they need to.
This is particularly important if you are working online with clients across the globe. Timezones are a bitch to calculate, so it's best to go with a booking system that does the hard yards for you.
I use Acuity as my booking system because it can ask my clients for their timezone, and figures out the times available for them. Currently, I use their Emerging Entrepreneur option so I can sync my Google calendar up with bookings. You can snag yourself a free 7 day trial of Acuity here.
If you do have quite a lot of pre-appointment paperwork, it's best to send it after they've booked, rather than before. If they see it beforehand, they're more likely to get overwhelmed and leave it for 'later'. More often than not, 'later' becomes never.
Oh, and in case you've never read one of my blogs before - this is your reminder to include a call to action with every damn article you write. That includes the call to book with you via the booking page.
Is it easy for potential clients to pay you?
Don't make paying you any more difficult than it needs to be. If you do, you might be losing potential clients that were otherwise ready to book.
Most of us just want to give you our money and go on our merry way. The easiest way to do this is to accept payment before the session or at the time of the session using something that accepts EFTPOS and credit cards.
In person, there are options through your bank, or 3rd party options like Square Readers. When it comes to online payments, your booking system should be able to integrate with a payment option like Stripe or Paypal.
Whatever you use, state the methods available and when they are due clearly - on your website, in your clinic room, and at reception. That way, people know what to expect.
All of my appointments are paid at the time of booking, using Acuity to book the appointment and Stripe to accept the payment. Only a handful of my clients prefer to pay via Paypal or bank transfer.
Are you worried that your marketing or content has you losing potential clients?
Book in a 1:1 marketing session today, and we can make sure your message is clear and resonating with your ideal client.