I was given a book to read by a friend the other day; it looked like a quick read so I gave it a shot. It is called The One Minute Sales Person. As I was reading, I found it really hit home. I was amazed at how easy it was to change the word "salesperson" to "hypnotherapist" and have almost every word still ring true.
Reading self-improvement books as a "self-improvement professional" is really an essential element of the job. Not only does it make you take an objective look at yourself now and then, it really stimulates and refreshes your therapy with clients. I encourage you to make it a priority to read one self-improvement book a month. I recommend that you start by reading The One Minute Sales Person which I'm sure you can obtain at any major bookstore.
To provide you with a short summary, becoming a One Minute Hypnotherapist is all about your attitude and approach to your private practice. If you're trying harder to build your private practice and feeling frustrated and stressed over its slow growth, then this concept is for you. Many of you, I am sure, have heard of the 80/20 rule. I can tell you from my experience at HMI that it really is true that 20% of the hypnotherapists account for 80% of the client hours. What is it that these 20% are doing that the others aren't? They have all had the same schooling. They really aren't better looking. I have seen their marketing campaigns and it isn't that either. So what is it?
Perhaps they have unwittingly stumbled upon the principles in this book that make them the One Minute Hypnotherapist. Enough pre-amble; here is a short thumbnail introduction to the principles:
"The other person, the one so many people call a "customer" or "client," is in fact a person. If you treat them as a commodity, or as anything but a person, you reduce yourself to a peddler." The "One Minute" principle says that "you will have more fun and enjoy more financial success when you stop trying to get what you want and start helping other people get what they want." In other words, you need to remain conscious of the difference between your goal (making money, being successful) and your purpose. Your purpose is to help people get the good feelings they want. "The fastest way to achieve your goals is to stay focused on your purpose." Your purpose is to help people solve problems, seize opportunities and take action to feel better about themselves. If that's not your focus, then you're just trying to get your hands into your client's pockets.
The next time you're in the position of talking to a prospective client about hypnotherapy, take One Minute to reflect on this question before you speak: Am I more concerned with trying to get what I want? Or am I genuinely concerned with helping the other person to get what they want? When you catch yourself thinking about yourself, just get right back on your purpose and focus on the other person. If you're like most people you will feel less stress and "sell" more when you are focused on helping the other person. "Selling On Purpose" isn't an issue of being nice, but of being smart. It is the single major difference that sets apart the top twenty percent from the other eighty percent.
The "One Minute" concept starts by focusing on what goes on in your mind during the one minute before you speak or meet with a client. Often people go over what objections might come up or what they might do wrong. That one minute is the most crucial time. We must be careful not to engage in a mental rehearsal of what may go wrong. Rather, we should take one minute to see the entire encounter running smoothly from beginning to end. This is called the "One Minute Rehearsal." This is based on the principle that whenever you are successful it is because you have chosen, consciously or unconsciously, to use the positive thoughts that created your success.
In summary, the first step to becoming a One Minute Hypnotherapist is to take one minute before you speak or meet with your prospective client to remind yourself that your purpose is to help them get the good feelings they want. Then mentally see the "Happy Ending", i.e.. your client feeling the way they want to feel. Then visualize yourself getting want you want: more success and less stress.
There are more key points and additional steps that I have not covered. The One Minute Sales Person lays them out completely and easily. I can't recommend this book enough for what it can do for your practice. It is amazing how small adjustments in your thinking can have dramatic effects on the outcome you desire. If you want more success with less stress, then I highly recommend you invest in this book and apply the principles that it teaches.