Tips for Therapists:

Always have some of your smart, professional, business cards with you.

Why ? : Business cards can provide much useful information. If you have a box or stand of business cards available for clients to take one, you must be serious about your business and expect people to want your contact details.

Investigate any FREE help that might be available to you as a small business.

The value and nature of help available for small businesses varies from time to time and from place to place. Sometimes there are government funded initiatives to help small businesses. If there is free advice available it might prove useful, especially when you are setting-up your business and in the first few years.

Find a therapist uniform or appropriate work-wear that suits your body shape and makes you feel comfortabe.

Why ? : If you feel good about yourself and your appearance you'll also look and feel more confident. That in turn will reassure your clients and inspire their confience in you.

If you do some or all of your treatments at a clinic or health centre find out if you can leave some of your equipment there.

Why ? : The less you have to carry with you to each appointment the less you can forget and the calmer you are likely to look and feel when you arrive to greet your client. If you can keep some items there you might save time too.

If you would like to talk with your clients about products or other services that you sell but which are not central to your treatments (e.g. health-related MLM products and business opportunities), consider displaying information about these on your walls and/or in your literature area and by so doing, invite the clients to express interest to you.

Why ? : If you leave to your clients the option of raising the subject or not, you won't seem pushy or cause those who are not interested in your supplementary activies to feel awkward about expressing no interest.

When preparing and updating your consultation sheet or questionnaire, ensure that you can explain your reasons for asking each of questions in no more than 1 or 2 sentences per question.

Why ? : Some day, someone is likely to ask. When faced with an uncomfortable question, many people would prefer to "question the need for the question" than to answer it. You will be more likely to get an honest answer and will certainly look far more professional if you can confidently offer a positive yet concise response in all cases.

Is there something you can give away?
Businesses use "giveaways" as a form of advertising. That is, they give items to their clients and prospects - usually items that are useful and include their company logo and contact details. It is a useful way to remind customers and prospects who you are, where you are, and what you do.

Why ? : People usually appreciate having something to take away. It may also serve as a 'talking point' if they show it to anyone else such as friends, family, or colleagues.

Offer a voucher scheme

That is, make it known that you sell vouchers for treatments that may be given as gifts. Some therapists find that treatment vouchers are popular for birthdays and other special occasions and may be of interest to people who do not live near you but would like to buy a treatment for a friend or relative who does.

Why ? : If people don't know that you offer this option, they'll keep looking for someone who does !

If you are working as a self-employed therapist use a simple spreadsheet to track every treatment you give and every expense you incur - including travel, consumables, and continuing education courses.

[Aside: However, do also remember that there may be regulations about the storing of any client information. Recording that you did a 2x 1-hour massages on 31st March 2005 and charged £30.00 for each may be useful, but as far as mentioning client names' is concerned, be aware of the implications of the Data Protection Act (UK) or other applicable legislation in the country/state in which you work.]

Why ? : Being self-employed usually means that you must complete a "Self Assessment" Tax Form. This is easier if you have kept track of your income and expenses as they occurred.

Do you use Consultation Sheets for pre-treatment consultations ?
If so, print enough of them for about 3 months of treatments each time you need to refresh your stock.

Why ? : Printing simple A4 pages is generally inexpensive and printing several months-worth at a time can save your time spent on such administrative tasks.