Hypnotherapist Erika FlintReduce No-Shows and Increase Conversions with this Three-Step Process

by Erika Flint, BA, BCH, A+CPHI

Bringing in a regular stream of new clients is part of every hypnotist's practice, and one of the most frustrating elements of bringing in new clients is the dreaded no-show.

A client signs up for a complimentary consultation, then doesn’t show up for the appointment.

Here's a three-step process to reduce no-shows and increase conversions:

Step One: Encourage Clients to Schedule Sooner by Limiting Your Calendar

If you allow your clients to schedule a consultation three weeks in the future, they’re more likely to no-show. There is a direct correlation between when your client initially connects with you, and how soon you conduct a consultation with them. The rule of thumb is, the sooner, the better - ideally within two days.

At our office, we accomplish this by setting the appointment calendar to only show availability up to two weeks in the future, and nothing further than that.

Consider the mindset of your client when they connect with your business – they’re likely in some state of desperation, and they want help now. However, they may also be busy, and if you give them the option of scheduling with you weeks in the future, they may take that option. Unfortunately for you and your client, by three weeks into the future, the urgency of working with you may have been reduced, or de-prioritized. Now your client didn't get help, and you didn't get a new client. Your client will continue to suffer with this issue until it becomes difficult again in the future.

Step Two: Personally Connect with Clients Immediately After Registering to Increase Engagement

Automated calendaring software can be helpful. Displaying a calendar that allows your potential clients to self-schedule a complimentary consultation online with you is convenient for your potential clients and your practice.

However, there's a downside to all that convenience. Think of the phrase "easy come, easy go." Clients who self-schedule online, are more likely to no-show.

To neutralize this issue, reach out personally to your client to increase engagement.

Engagement is a measure of how connected you are to your client, and how connected they feel to you. The more engaged your client is, the more likely they will show up for their consultation.

If they called to schedule a complimentary consultation and talk with you or someone on your team personally, then you likely have high engagement with that client already. They received a warm greeting, and a personal answer and felt cared for by you and your practice. You don't need to follow the two-step process below. You already did it.

Alternatively, if they talked with an answering service or self-scheduled online – they haven't actually spoken with your business on a personal level yet. So they're at higher risk for not showing up to their appointment.

Here’s a quick exercise for you to consider. Imagine your potential client just got off the phone with you to schedule a consultation. What do you want them to think? How do you want them to feel?

I want our potential clients to think, “I’m so glad I called, and I already feel better. I’m looking forward to my appointment with them.” We want to foster the same sentiment with the follow-up sequence below.

Client engagement is the key. We want our potential clients to feel connected to our practice, to us, to our work. We want them to feel heard, and cared for. There are many hypnotists, many solutions, a lot of potential ways our clients can get help. We want them to know that working with us is their best option.

At our center, we have a two-step follow up process for online self-scheduling.

Step One: Client requests a consultation online
Clients can self-schedule and request a consultation. It is not yet confirmed. In the automated email response, we let our clients know that we'll reach out to confirm their appointment within the next few days.

Step Two: Personalized follow-up to Confirm the Consultation
After receiving an online request for consultation, we send a personalized email to the client asking them to confirm their appointment and answer a single question. Complete this within twenty-four hours. You can also follow up with a phone call.

The single question is the key – we want to engage with our clients, and get a response from them.

Here are some of the questions we'll ask in the follow-up confirmation email, depending on the issue they want help with:

  • How long has this (smoking, wanting to lose weight, not sleeping) been an issue for you?
  • What’s the primary reason for your consultation? (if not asked already)
  • What else have you tried to (lose weight, stop smoking)?

The question should be easy to answer. And we're not looking for the answer; we're looking for a response. Their reply serves as confirmation. Once the appointment is confirmed, it is changed in our calendar system from "request" to "confirmed."

If the client does not confirm their appointment by responding to our phone or email, we cancel it to make room for other potential clients. Doing this will save you time, energy, and heartache.

Step Three: Remind Your Clients to Show Up Using Multiple Methods

Email reminders aren’t enough. Many reminders from automated systems will end up in spam folders, unseen.

Automated phone call reminders or text messages also aren't enough because they’re not personal. They can easily be ignored.

Use multiple methods to remind your clients, including phone, email, and text, and make it personal.

You may wonder what is the point of automated systems if you're just going to send a personalized email or text reminder anyway?

And you’re right. There is no substitution for personalized communication from you to your potential client. It is worth it to your business to reach out to potential clients personally. Make time for this. You already did half of the hard work of getting them to reach out to your business, keep that relationship strong by personalizing your communication.

Don’t risk losing your potential client because you didn’t take the time to send a personalized reminder.

Engagement is the Key

Through all of these steps, there is one theme – and the idea is engagement. We want to engage – to connect on a personal level, with our clients. To love them, and want to help them solve their issue. Treat them as you would a good friend who called you for help. Would you send them an automated response? No, you'd reach out personally. The world is starving for connection, for intimacy. Doing so helps them feel heard, cared for, and that we can help them solve this issue that has likely been bothering them for years, maybe decades in their life.