Someone asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks. It was a question about my practice and it was a simple one, “where are your next 20 clients coming from?” Well I didn’t even know where my next one was coming from:, here, there or anywhere. I was very much at effect in my business and not cause.

One of the first big changes was my approach to attracting people. In the past I focused on what I did. Now the focus is on who I can help. The focus is very much on helping people rather than trying to sell what it is I do.

When you look at your practice, who are you serving? If you find yourself making general statements that really don’t identify individuals, then it is likely you are just talking about what you do. When we talk about ‘who’, what we mean is a group of people you can easily communicate with, and who are likely to have issues that you can help with and are willing to pay for that help. This is why the first step in the strategy for building a practice is research.

The next step in getting clients is putting together systems. A system is no more  than defined repeatable actions put together in a rational and logical way to achieve defined goals. That is to say, if you carry these actions out then these are the likely consequences and results.

What happens with most practitioners, is they tend to do random things. They hHaveing a burst of putting out leaflets, different business cards, a bit of a website and so on. Lots of simple actions,  not put together in a way that is reasoned and logical.

What you need is a joined up marketing approach for your practice. From the first time a person gets to know about your existence to working with them has to be a smooth journey. Most practices are not like that. It’s rather like having a brand-new expensive car. You know, with that new car smell. Then on the seat next to you is a very large bucket full almost to the top with sloppy yellow paint, and there’s no lid on it. So each time you accelerate hard, brake hard, turn left or right aggressively, paint will slop out. This is the marketing system most practices have. People just slop out rather than staying in the bucket.

A joined up practice is about a consistent message and approach, from the moment as people first discover you to building a long-lasting relationship with you.

Typically, to build a successful full practice you will need between three and five well-defined systems. You will need to know how each one works, and how to help prospective clients move through the process.

For example, something as simple as a business card can be used in multiple ways. The ways you choose to use it need to be practised. What you say to people as you handed them out, and, if they respond, what you can do next.  For you to feel confident in using the approach you needs to know what to say and have practised it enough to be that you’re confident you’ll say it intelligently and simply.

In The strategy for a full practice this mostly occurs at stage three.

You can move from client gathering happening by accident to happening by on design.

An additional benefit of putting together systems is you come across as a professional, which means you can get paid what you are really worth.

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