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Deepak Chopra, MD
"EFT offers great healing benefits."
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques®) Where emotional relief brings physical health
Self help method often works where nothing else will No Drugs Involved ~ High Success Rate
EFT Resources
Building a Thriving Practice--Part XIV
How to generate referrals for EFT
Hi Everyone,
When it comes to marketing your EFT services, your most valuable asset is NOT your fancy office or your personal good looks. Neither is it the frequency or quality of your advertising. Instead.....
....it is your list of satisfied customers.
This is common sense, of course, because (1) these folks already know you, (2) you have rapport with them ... AND ... (3) they have experienced EFT for themselves. They also know boatloads of people who could use your services and their hearty recommendation carries far more weight than the best advertisement you could possibly create.
Unfortunately, most practitioners (including you?) sit back and assume that satisfied clients are going to enthusiastically beat your drum and shoo armies of people through your door. Not so ... as you've no doubt recognized.
Some clients may do this, of course, but their efforts will likely fade in a short period of time. In practice, they have other things to do than be your overt, unpaid salesperson.
That doesn't mean you can't develop a steady stream of referrals from your satisfied clients. To the contrary, you both can and should.
John Russo from Chesapeake, VA generates these important referrals by the very simple and logical process of following up with clients. Through his techniques, he has developed 4 offices (known as the Feel Better Centers) and a personal client list of 500. Please note that there is nothing unusual or magic about John's method. He is just doing what everyone should do ... but hardly anyone does. Most practitioners allow this valuable resource to wither on the vine.
John provides the details of this and other referral gathering methods in his letter below. I would add that another obvious thing to do is gather each client's email address and send them an informative email newsletter once or twice per month.
Do follow-ups like those suggested here this take time? Of course. But they take less time than trying to scare up new clients from other sources.
Hugs, Gary
Dear Gary;
Referrals are the backbone of the Feel Better Center.
We go out into our community with free demonstrations in libraries, senior meetings, anywhere a group function needs a speaker we are there. We also have corporate programs designed to aid in worker morale and ability. We get many new clients from these functions, because they actually see EFT work.
For each group we address, we get an average of four new clients. Our money back guarantee policy eliminates any fear of coming to us. Our policy instills trust and confidence that if we do not help them with their issue, they will not pay. This is an amazing statement to make about our ability to help them.
“How does the Feel Better Center get referrals ?” has been a question asked by many colleagues. If I may, I’d very much enjoy passing along this simple, yet effective tip.
Here is the basic follow up system we use for each client.
1. Contact each client within five days of his or her session. This simple telephone call sets us apart from the traditional health care community. It shows we care.
2. Select calling times. Our greatest success has been to call primarily between 7 and 8:30 p.m. for working people. This time frame, in most cases eliminates the possibility of interfering with mealtime or other activities.
If your client is a retired person, a shift worker or you are calling on the weekend the best time to call is between 1:00-3:30 p.m.
The conversation goes basically like this: (After the initial shock of a health practitioner/therapist calling them.)
“Hello (clients name) this is John Russo from the Feel Better Center, I am calling to see how you’re doing.” If the challenge is resolved you are their hero. The most common response I get is “I don’t know what you did but the (challenge) is gone. Thank You!”
(If the challenge persists, then I immediately ask on a scale of 0 to 10 where would you say the challenge is? We do EFT right there on the phone.
The Feel Better Center policy is never to charge for working on an unresolved issue already addressed. If a new challenge arises, make an immediate appointment with your client and charge accordingly.
The rewards are great. Everyone has a friend or family member that will benefit from EFT. You are not only their practitioner; you are a friend. You have gained their trust, respect and confidence. Why? Because you are not on an ego trip or caught up in a title, you are easy to relate to. Your client feels comfortable when you ask them if their friends or family have noticed a difference in them.
At this point, inevitably I will be asked “Do you think you can help my ( ) ? They have (challenge) and can’t seem to get help." At this point I say, "EFT often works when nothing else will, I will be happy to try to help. What is ________'s phone number? Do you know the best time to call them?"
However, Do not be surprised if within a few seconds you are talking with your referral. In most cases it is a family member or a friend that is close to them. At the very least, you will get their number or a phone call from the person referred to you. One out of every three clients has given me a new client simply through a follow up phone call.
Why would they call you?
You helped their friend. You cared enough to follow up. In the case of the Feel Better Center’s policy: there is no charge for the initial consultation and if they receive no relief, we honor our Money Back Guarantee.
You are never too busy. No matter how large a client base you have; make the time to follow up on each client. Follow-ups make the difference.
I sincerely hope this basic outline will help each therapist become more aware of just how important follow-up contact can be. I try to contact each of my clients regularly. Some of which are away defending our country against terrorism. I want to stress most emphatically, EFT works. And in most cases the effects are permanent.
Blessings to all,
John Russo
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