Getting It All Done Tip for Wellness Pros: S is for Systems

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Rockstars make it easy for clients to pay, book an appointment and understand (and stick to) policies. Is it easy for customers to pay you? It should be. Make it easy to invest in your services by accepting credit cards. If you want to look like a pro and make Rockstar money, then you need a system for accepting credit cards.

To look like a total pro, make it easy for clients to book appointments when it's convenient for them. When do people handle their personal stuff these days? For most, they do it in the evenings, after the kids are in bed. Are you around to schedule appointments then? Not if you have a life. Make it easy to book an appointment with you at any time of day by getting an online schedule. It will force you to set clear work hours and set boundaries. Plus, it will allow customers to choose a time in your schedule at their convenience. This will help your clients take responsibility for their health, and avoid waiting to hear back from you to confirm an appointment.

It's critical to be clear on your private practice policies. This includes:

  • Cancellation and no-show policy
  • Make-up for missed session policy
  • Payment plan
  • Business hours and in-between appointment availability
  • How to book appointments with you
  • Pre-framing testimonial and referral requests
  • Session time frame and what happens when clients show up late (hint – you end on time no matter what time they arrive)

This should NOT be pages and pages of do’s and don’ts, but should fit neatly onto one page and written in client supportive verbiage. Very often, policies are non-existent or entirely way too loose in the wellness profession. This gives the client too much wiggle room to, well, wiggle out of their commitment to themselves and to you. It also subjects your practice to the whims of your client. Not a great way to ensure you’ll be in business years from now.

No matter what you put in your policies, the first thing to understand is that they are designed not to create strict rules and regulation, but to assist with your service to your client AND your business. To ignore this is simply bad business. Bottom line: Clear private practice policies help you and your clients thrive. And who doesn’t want that?

Here's to your healthy success and prosperity!

Karin

 

 

About the Author and WellProNet.com: Karin Witzig Rozell has been teaching health and wellness professionals how to grow their business since 2003. She started as a nutrition counselor who knew a lot about nutrition, but not a whole lot about business and marketing. After learning some tough lessons she cracked the code and now her passion is transforming practitioners into profitable business owners who have a great quality of life too.

She is the founder of Wellness Professional Network, the go-to place for practitioners to learn the real-life business skills they didn’t teach in wellness school.

Karin is the author of The Fast Start to Clients Program and the book: Rockstars of Wellness: Super Simple Ways to Stand Out, Get Hired and Become Irresistibly Relevant to Your Tribe.

Karin lives in Upstate New York, in the beautiful foothills of the Adirondacks, and enjoys working from home with her husband and son.