How to Avoid the 7 Biggest Business Mistakes Health Practitioners Make - Part 1

Most natural health practitioners that I have worked with made
several of the 7 biggest business mistakes - year after year.

This is Part 1 of 7 articles.

Mistake 1: Being a Jack of All Trades

Most natural health and massage practitioners have a wall full of
certificates of different modalities they have studied in. If you are
one of them, you might be missing out on one of the most important
ingredients to success.

Who is Successful?
Have you ever studied the natural health practitioners in your town
that are really successful? One thing they all have in common is that
they are known for one really specific thing: either one modality or
one type of problem they are treating.

When you hear other people talking about them; they will always refer
to that same thing. When you look at their marketing materials; it
will highlight that one important thing.

Being a Specialist
So why are specialists doing so well?
The obvious reason is that it is much easier for clients to talk
about a specialist and refer her or him on. Before they come they
would have heard a specific message about that person (be it from
another client or any marketing material). When they are there, the
experience matches what they heard and so they can pass that same
message on. With a generalist, it is often hard to clearly define
what they do and the message is weak.

The more subtle reason is that they are becoming more successful with
their treatments by concentrating on one problem and learning
everything about it. There is no question about it, no matter how
much you study theoretically, only practice and experience can really
make you a master in what you do. And focusing your energies on
becoming a master in one specific area will get you there much
quicker than spreading yourself too thin.

The Fear
The biggest fear seems to be that you are losing clients if you
cannot offer a broad range of services.

As long as you are talking about potential clients you might lose, I
would encourage you to focus on being a specialist. You have probably
tried the generalist approach in the past. Today you have exactly as
many clients as that approach could bring you. If you want to get
ahead, become a specialist and see how the outcome improves.