To people who do not know what they are looking for, the health industry is a minefield to people. A flashy sign or a smart marketing campaign will fail every time without a good reputation and the right expertise behind it.
When you start out in the industry you have the drive and desire to be everything to everyone. You give up too much of your time, you over promise, you over deliver and this usually ends with ‘burn out’ or even Adrenal Fatigue or Hypoadrenia.
In fact that is not only true for people who have just started out in the industry but also is just as relevant for practitioners who have not yet mastered how to set their boundaries efficiently so that their life works for them, financially, emotionally, physically, mentally, chemically, socially, etc.
You see the more you read, the more you want to know. The more courses you go on, the more you want to take more more courses but if all you are doing is being an information junkie or a course addict then ask yourself how many certificates will you need before you validate yourself.
In fact it doesn’t matter how much you know because the bottom line is if you are not a model of your practice, if you do not believe what you are preaching and if you are only chasing the money, then you will be found out or you’ll burn out.
Client management is an art. The first step to client management is mastering the “art of you”. Where are you in your journey, so you can be honest enough to share that information with your client? Or in your mind does that make you weaker? There is no right answer but your perception is important because it is your perception that drives you to make the right or wrong decisions.
As the American philosopher, Nicholas Murray Butler says: ‘An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.’
The “art of you” is being able to understand what practitioner you want to be and where that journey is going to take you. Where do your strengths lie? Where does your heart lie? What makes you get up in the morning?
If you are unsure about where you are going then you probably just need some re-direction, because this stuff isn’t taught to you when you sign up in the health profession, you have to learn it on the job. So the best advise will come from people who have tried, failed, succeeded, made money, lost money, set up their own businesses, pushed the boundaries, taken a chance and so on.
Client management is a tool every health practitioner should have under their belt because if you are your own boss yet you don’t know how to grow your practice then you will be chasing the client for the rest of your career instead of chasing your goals.
Want to know more about client management? Then sign up to Hannah’s course – Client Management – A Practical Approach on 30th May. On this course you will learn:
- The art of working with a client to create excellent results
- The steps to take to progress a client from an enquiry to having a successful relationship
- Elimination diets and templates
- Alternative food plans for food sensitivities / finance / resources / stages of health
- How to read a food label. Read/learn/teach
- Tools to maintain client retention and compliance
Hannah Richards is a Nutrition and lifestyle Coach and Director of Holistic Health Clinic Move Three Sixty.
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