Building your Business Image
Beverly Price, RD, MA, President, Jump Start Consulting
As
I travel around the country and meet other professionals I always like
to share their good ideas. This month I have selected comments from
a couple of medical professionals I have a great deal of respect for.
The Business of Counseling- Molly Kellogg, RD, LCSW, helps you with
your struggle to balance the needs of your clients with your needs as
a business owner? This potential conflict occurs in several areas. This
article will address the issues of fees and missed appointments.
From a therapeutic perspective, these are boundary issues. The fee
is what defines the relationship as professional, not personal. The
more you treat the fee as a given, the more the client will feel safe
with your professionalism. It may be hard to transition from receiving
a salary to collecting fees directly from the person you are helping.
Remember, clients are used to this: You are the one who needs to get
used to it. They need us to remain business-like. That means being calm
and clear when discussing the fee and insurance.
I struggled for years with the discomfort of asking clients for money.
Now it is easy since I have learned to split the business person part
of me from the personal part when discussing my fee. I finally acknowledged
that I am both a businessperson and a caring person who does it this
work because I love it.
Are you willing to slide your fee down for some clients who struggle
financially? If so, with only your business and no specific client in
mind, decide what you are willing to do. When asked about it you can
then simply state the policy. For example, when asked, I say that I
am willing to slide down to $X per hour (about 75% of my usual rate).
I then remain quiet. The ball is in the client's court to decide if
he/she can afford it and how often.
About cancellations and no shows: Have a policy, make it clear, and
stick to it. (My office policies are available at http://www.mollykellogg.com/moreprivate.htm)
Imagine you have an office manager who makes you stick to the rules.
Make sure you think the policy is fair and then stick to it. A clear
policy is better for the client even if the client doesn't like it.
Write the policy down on your website, in your waiting room, in a form
you have clients sign or send ahead of the first visit. Offer a chance
to discuss the policies.
Remember that the policy is not about the client and so the late cancellation
fee is not a punishment. It is simply a matter of holding that time
in your schedule for the client. As it gets closer to the date, that
time is locked in. Therefore, the client is responsible for it.
These issues are not just about you making a decent living. These policies
involve professional boundaries and therefore your effectiveness. Just
as self-disclosure can help or hurt your work depending on where you
draw the line, setting appropriate business policies enhances your counseling
process.
Resentment around these issues is your sign that you (and your clients)
need you to stand up for your business. If you feel stuck, ask for help
from a colleague or supervisor.
Beverly Price is a Registered Dietitian, author, newspaper
columnist and public speaker who made a name for herself with her unique
approach to nutrition counseling. After 11 years in private practice,
she sold Living Better Sensibly -- one of the largest private nutrition
practices in the country - to an independent nutrition-counseling firm,
and started Jump Start Consulting specializing in management and marketing
strategies for dietitians and other healthcare professionals, along
with distance learning products for continuing professional education.
http://www.gettingthatjumpstart.com/
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