Art postcard by Lulu Kitololo
I hope that you’re well and your week has had some good moments.
If you are new to this newsletter, welcome!
If you are a long-term reader, thank you for being here. I don’t take your readership for granted.
Last week I mentioned that this is going weekly for a while.
This is because I like to experiment with things. :-)
Let’s see how it goes.
Shaping client communication
The way I’ve evolved my practice is through a lot of reflection.
I try to see every problem as an opportunity for learning.
If something’s not working, I ask myself why this could be so and try and find a way to adapt.
At the moment, I’m making sure I wake up early to have alone time. This is so I can run or do some yoga, meditate and write in my journal.
If I don’t do these things I know I won’t have the inner resources to find focus and patience.
I have a few useful frameworks to help guide the way that I understand people.
Some of them I learned while I was a school teacher.
Others I learned while training with the Breastfeeding Network.
Many I learned through reading, and in more recent times, the internet.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to explore them in more detail, and how I use them to shape my communication with my clients.
The Four Tendencies
Gretchen Rubin has a useful model called The Four Tendencies.
She has a free Four Tendencies quiz which you might be interested to try.
The Four Tendencies are:
Upholders
Questioners
Rebels
Obligers
Taking some time to study the Four Tendencies has helped me find ways of adapting my communication style in all my relationships, including in my practice.
Today I’m going to look at Questioners and Rebels.
Questioners
(In case you don’t know, I offer a free 30-minute call to all new clients.)
According to Gretchen Rubin, Questioners value data, information and facts.
If someone starts off an initial call by giving me lots of detail, I know that they will also have a lot of questions.
I may need to interrupt them to ensure that I can ask some questions too. :-)
Questioners find it hard to make a decision and will often say they need to speak to their partner (they will often be more decisive) and come back to me.
That’s completely fine with me and I don’t try to convince them by being overly persuasive.
I try to give them facts and examples and generally be as specific as possible.
Tips for working with questioners
Allow time for questions at the end of a consultation or you will overrun.
Don’t reply too quickly to an email or you may find it turns into a back and forth.
Be prepared to give robust explanations to show your authority, otherwise they won’t trust you.
Don’t give them too many options or they will struggle with ‘analysis paralysis’. Two is enough.
Rebels
There are quite a lot of rebels looking for alternative treatments, so you may well come across this type.
According to Gretchen Rubin, Rebels value choice, freedom and identity.
Rules or guidelines can make them feel constricted or tied down, so tell them verbally about cancellation and payment terms plus especially why they are important for everyone (not just you).
Rebels often ask for things to be adapted for their preferences.
For example, one of my ‘Rebel’ clients requests all his remedies to be dispensed in bottles, not packets. He offered to pay extra, so I don’t mind. :-)
If someone calls me instead of booking a free call, I always suspect they are a Rebel.
They like to do things ‘in the moment’ and ‘go with the flow’ and they want others to do that too.
Rebels often text, call or message me, even though I’ve asked them to only contact me by email.
Tips for working with Rebel
To help them comply with their treatment plan, remember this sequence as it will help them: information -> consequence -> choice
Don’t expect them to book a follow up at the end of the session. They usually prefer to keep their calendar open, so they won’t want to book in at the end of the session.
If you ever find yourself needing someone to be flexible, ask a Rebel. They have a need for flexibility themselves, so won’t mind rearranging.
Try to enjoy their quirkiness and ability to think outside of the box. When they know homeopathy works for them, they will often be your cheerleader.
Gretchen Rubin’s model has been invaluable in helping me understand that everyone is different.
When I take time to consider the type of person in front of me, I can be more patient and adapt my communication style so that I maintain my boundaries.
Practice Reflections
One of my clinics has opened up again, with many types of PPE and hygiene measures in place. I don’t plan to see anyone face-to-face yet, but I am going to work from my clinic room as it will make a change from working at home.
I’ve removed ‘acute’ calls from my online booking system after 3 new people said it was confusing. I’m going to send my ‘client-only list’ an email explaining they can book acute calls by contacting me directly.
I sent ‘hello’ emails to 27 long-standing clients I’ve not seen since the start of lockdown. I’ve already heard back from 10, resulting in 3 bookings, and a couple of catch-up calls and repeat prescriptions. I know people are busy and so I was pretty pleased with 37% of them replying.
All new Radiant Business School
Starts Monday July 6th
Radiant Business School began as a 3-day seminar series in 2016.
Summer of 2017 I wrote it into a 30-day e-course, which evolved into a 6-week e-course during 2018.
The new course is 4 weeks and starts on Monday, July 6th.
The essence of the course is everything I’ve learned through business coaching, multiple marketing courses and 13 years of being in practice (5 of them while my husband was working on his PhD and not earning).
Free webinar to ask me anything!
Monday 22nd June, 9.30 am
I’ve had a few people get in touch to find out more about the course so I’ve decided to offer a free webinar for anyone who would like to find out more.
Register here for the webinar to join live and ask all the questions!
Or, simply post your question and watch the replay.
There’s absolutely no hard sell.
NOTE: you must register in order to be able to watch the replay.
I’m extending the early bird until noon on Monday.
£120 (early bird) extended until 12 noon Monday, June 22nd
£150 (late bird)
Doors close: 12 noon Friday, July 3rd
Course begins: Monday, July 6th
If you’ve already completed Radiant Business School, either in person or online, you should have received an invitation from me to join the new course free of charge in July.
If you have already done the course and not received the email invitation, please contact me.
If you have already signed up, I’m excited to welcome you!
“Invaluable, and just what I needed to move forward.”
“Exceeded my expectations. Actionable, usable content.”
“It’s made a wealth of difference to my focus and self-belief.”
“A fantastic, life-changing course.”
“The guidance and attention to detail is exceptional.”
If you have any questions, please do join us on the webinar.
Unless you are a Rebel, of course. ;-)
This week’s links
I am seeing lots of good resource lists for white people. Here’s one from Kat Vellos, author of two books I have added to my ever-lengthening ‘to-read list’.
This week I’ve been reading Could it be B12: an epidemic of misdiagnosis by Sally M Pacholok. With the increasing number of people choosing to eat vegetarian and vegan, this is something I wanted to educate myself about.
As summer approaches it is clear that we all need to reframe our expectations a little. I like Ingrid Fetell Lee’s blog about ways to find joy in an unconventional summer.
I love a bit of wisdom especially if it is based on Socrates and has illustrations that make me laugh out loud. 25 illustrated ideas that could change your life by Darius Foroux.
This week’s just trust me.
This is all for this week.
A big thank you to Janja for being the 4th homeopath to support this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber. 💌
I’ve updated the list of benefits of becoming a paid subscriber, so there is now a monthly ‘ask me anything’ webinar.
Another big thank you to Nataša, Sarah, Pat and many others who have been sharing about the course.
Thank you!
If you are into Instagram, you might like to follow me on @radiantbusiness.
The comments thread is open, so please feel free to start or join the conversation.
Thanks so much for reading, and as always, please feel free to forward to a friend.
Tracy
xx