Concessions + discounts
+ early bird extended
We are approaching winter without a pandemic for the first time in two years, for which I am so grateful.
This time last year I don’t think any of us would have predicted the global and economic events that have happened during 2022.
The combination of Mercury in retrograde and the downturn have brought me all kinds of communication problems. Maybe you too?
But, Mercury is now out of retrograde as of today (until next time!) and a new month always brings a feeling of new energy.
The brighter afternoons are very welcome and I am enjoying the colours of autumn. 🍁
October is always a busy time in my practice, and hopefully for you too.
Lots of people want to get their health issues sorted out before Christmas/the end of the year etc.
Next Friday, 7th October, I’m offering Skills and Checklists for a Thriving Practice - and I’ve extended the early bird until 9pm this evening.
Notes, templates and all sorts of other good things to make your life easier.
Click the button to find out more. 💡
Concessions + discounts 👛
Making a good living from homeopathy is all about reciprocity.
We exchange, time, care, energy and expertise for money.
This time last year I offered a webinar on Money Wisdom - the business of being a homeopath.
I plan to offer that workshop again in next year, but in the meantime, I thought it might be good to talk about concessions and discounts.
Many years ago I attended a workshop with Michelle Shine (author of What About the Potency).
She said many wise words over the course of the day, but one thing in particular really stuck in my mind.
“Charge well for what you do and you can afford to be generous.”
She said.
Charge well.
Be generous.
I love the intention and energy behind that.
Concessions as a strategy
When I was starting out, I offered a concessionary fee to anyone who asked.
It’s a great way to get more people through the door, including single parents and students.
If you have recently graduated, offer generous concessions and make that obvious and visible on your website and in any other places you are marketing your practice.
Tell all your friends and family that you are offering concessions for students and single parents, or seniors.
Suggestion: Make sure there is a clear difference between your standard and your concessionary fee, and make it affordable. If there isn’t much of a difference between the two, it won’t feel generous to the person seeking the concession.
Tell your concessionary clients that if they are ever thinking about cancelling an appointment because they can’t afford it, to get in touch. I am not advocating you treat people free of charge as a rule, but I have done this at times, and the person has always been very grateful. Sometimes people’s circumstances change, or they refer you to people who can pay your full rate. Sometimes it’s just good karma. Trust your instincts.
When your concessionary clients do well on homeopathy, ask them to write testimonials or leave you a review.
Discounts for those under 25s
I no longer offer concessions to new clients but I recently decided to offer a discount for young people under the age of 25.
It’s a great way to get them into homeopathy, and they often come back later if they are trying to get pregnant, have a baby or something else comes up.
Tell your family and friends that you offer a special rate for young people, but it’s not on your website.
Young people under 25 are often straightforward to work with, so you might find they only need 30 minutes for a follow-up.
Young people are often happy to leave a review on Google as they are the generation that has grown up with the internet.
Tips on being ‘affordable’
With current or long-standing clients, if you know their personal circumstances and you are concerned about their ability to pay you can simply send an email saying:
“If you need homeopathy and you are worried about it being affordable, just let me know and we can work something out.”
We can feel under pressure to be ‘affordable’ for people, but it is good to think about what this actually means.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had patients tell me they are worried about money, only to find out they’ve just come back from a lovely holiday. 🌴
If you live in an area where there is a Waitrose and people send their children to private schools, you should not be overly worried about being ‘affordable’.
If you would like to know more a) systems and b) strategies for increasing your earnings from homeopathy, I hope you will join me on the webinar next week.
How about you?
Do you offer concessions or discounts?
Please do share in the comments if you would like.
I promise to reply. ✨
Brain food
How to fast-track ROI (return on investment) from your first blog post
Skills and Checklists for a Thriving Practice (early bird ends 9pm today)
As always, thank you for reading.
Tracy 👩🏼💻
Excellent to have such clarity for a major change. Your follow-up on this change is very interesting. Over the last 3 years or so, if someone asks me for another bottle of eg. Narayani Injury Mix I have been directing them to Helios or Ainsworths. The time and trouble for me to prep, pack and send was ridiculous in terms of payment even with charging P & P!
It introduces people to the wonderful homeopathic pharmacies who offer a fantastic service.
Your email today has spurred me to Ainsworths and Helios sites to investigate the Combo's that they offer and of which I was completely unaware. What fantastic resources! Another bonus: people can find more Ready-Made help. Depending upon which site you view there are Combinations for a very wide range of scenarios eg Jetlag, Chemotherapy. Ainsworths list is wider-ranging.
These combinations also lend weight to homeopathy being useful in many situations that might surprise people.
Thank you so much Tracy for an eye-opening newsletter!
Fascinating, Tracy! I have had a difficult year healthwise and have considered retiring. Instead, I worked through the issues that stressed me in my practice. I wrote an email to my patients, asking them to re-register with me, understanding my new terms. One of them is around both paying for remedies and for quick postage (incredibly expensive in Canada). I used to include this in my fees. My U.S. patients have always ordered their own (I do the sourcing). The thought of actually selling most of my enormous pharmacy gave me such a feeling of liberation as I read your email, that I think that may be my next step!! Thank you.