Creating Consultations that are Unique to you, your business and your clients -By James Vivian

You may disagree with me but when it comes to the hierarchy of what’s the most important part of the work we do as therapists, for me it’s the consultation.

There is of course the act of client care and customer service and whilst this may be why I got into the industry to begin with, it’s the consultations that keep me here and keep me on track.

Recently I have been speaking publicly about consultations and as I’ve been doing so my conversations have been less about ‘these are the questions we ask in our consultations’ and more about ‘this is why we ask these questions in our consultations’.

You see, whilst I can share with others the format, the questions, the style and the nuances that we use in our clinic for our clients, for our treatments and our philosophies, these don’t always translate to other therapists in their treatment room.

And it’s for this reason that the consultations that you are offering in your business must be unique to you, your treatments and your clients. You may already have your consultations perfected. But don’t forget that consultations can always be improved upon and they should evolve alongside our businesses and clients’ needs and wants.

About 7 or 8 years into being in business I sat at my desk one day and thought about all the clients that had come in for a treatment or treatments and not returned. Whilst I adore feedback and go in search of it, I believe it’s mainly the positive feedback you receive as opposed to the negative. So, I decided that clients most probably do not return because of:

- Expense

- Time limitations

- Too much downtime/discomfort

- Simply, they didn’t like me

So here is where I took a good hard look at my consultation and decided to get on the front foot to try to avoid people coming and going and to – and here’s what I think consultations are all about – get on the same page with clients.

Ascertaining information from the consultation process, such as a client is on a budget, or they don’t like doing lots to their skin at home, or that they cannot visit a clinic regularly can certainly help us get on the same page about the extensiveness of their homecare and treatment plans, as will information about whether a client is up for and able to undergo downtime and discomfort.

I will preface this by saying that even though a client may say they are on a budget, or have a preference for a simple routine at home I will still let them know that I will recommend them everything they need to know to get the job done and then it is up to them to share their feelings about it, as after all, getting advice specific to their concerns is why they visited in the first place.

It’s a delicate balance of maintaining control and allowing a safe space for them to speak freely. I believe these sorts of conversations, and more, make for much happier and successful long-term relationships.

For us, inclusivity is a core value so we use our consultation form to enquire as to a clients preferred pronouns as well as any accessibly needs, such as physical, emotional or intellectual so that we can best prepare and care for accordingly. For questions like these, it’s less about just asking the question and more about what you do with the information to ensure that your clients feel comfortable not just at their first visit, but throughout their journey.

It’s also essential that you don’t gloss over answers like these because you feel uncomfortable to ask. Not mentioning a clients accessibility needs will only make things more uncomfortable down the track e.g. a client recently wrote that they were hearing impaired so I asked them what I could do to ensure they understood me. They simply said please speak slowly and clearly. Done.

And whilst I’m on this topic I want to take a moment to share how important I think it is to know the reason why every single question is asked on a consultation form as there should be an important reason why they exist on your form. It should be as if you could say to each client ‘the reason we ask this question is…’. This will allow your consultation to be more than questions on a page that a client fills out. Make it less of a consultation, and more of a conversation!

Above are a few examples of how previous experiences and current values have shaped the way our consultations are performed.

We often get comments such as ‘That was such a detailed consultation’ or ‘I love that you ask these questions. I’ve never been asked these before’.

So, if you feel that you’re getting to the end of a consultation and still have unanswered questions about how to best create a homecare or treatment plan, or still feel like you haven’t quite worked out who your client is and why they booked in with you, think about the sorts of questions you could ask to get on the same page with them.

It might seem uncomfortable at first but believe me when I say that asking questions in the consultation avoids having to have uncomfortable conversations later on.

Reach out and share with me some of the questions you ask on your consultation form that are unique to your business and your clients.

@jamesvivian