Erika Flint, BA, BCH, A+CPHI, OB
Cal Banyan, MA, BCH, CI, DNGH, OB, MCPHI
I’ll never forget my first "real" job (aka not baby-sitting). It was the summer after 5th grade. I was old enough to get my own job picking raspberries at a local farm. I worked about 6 hours a day and made enough money to buy my own BMX - a chrome GT.
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It wasn’t hard work, and it wasn’t easy either.
The money meant a lot and I could spend it how I wanted. I picked the bike frame I wanted and tricked out the bike with the seat, peddles and rims I wanted too.
Money offered freedom and fulfillment back then, and it still does today.
However, I still get questions from hypnotists regarding money nearly every week.
How much should I charge?
Should I sell single sessions, or packages?
When should I raise my rates?
The biggest issue I notice is that many hypnotists, especially ones who have never owned or ran their own business before, really don’t know how to manage the process of pricing and money, and often have some mental and emotional blocks when it comes for asking for money and knowing what to charge.
So I decided it was time for Cal Banyan and I to cover the topic of money, and specifically money blocks on the Hypnosis, Etc. podcast.
Money Block List
Here’s the list of the top 5 Money blocks that hypnotists face and how to avoid them in your practice :
Doing free sessions and not charging at all. It’s tempting to offer free sessions - especially to friends and family, or folks in need. However it’s been proven time and time again that people don’t appreciate what they get for free. What this means is that clients who experience free hypnosis are less likely to get results. This is bad for the client, your practice, and hypnosis in general because clients will think that hypnosis doesn’t work. If you want to give something away to be of service to your community, offer a free class to the local cancer or senior center on self-hypnosis, or provide a video that people can follow at home, then contact you for private sessions. The free material online is effective because it helps to grow your business while being of service.
Not charging enough for your hypnosis sessions. It’s common for hypnotists to undercharge for their services. Some of that is because of lack of experience in knowing how to price, for others it’s lack of confidence in themselves. You may hear people say “charge what you’re worth”, but you really should charge what it is worth to your client to have the problem resolved, and then charge 1/10th of that price. This means your client is getting a 10x return on their investment. Charging what you are worth is a somewhat egotistical slant on the service you are offering, flipping that to what it is worth to your client, is a more heart-centered approach and usually feels better when considering how to price your services. Consider a client who has spent the last 20 years trying to lose weight, and once they work with you they finally lose the weight and keep it off forever! What is that truly worth to them? Most would agree it’s worth at least a few thousand dollars to solve that problem. Think about a problem you’d like to solve in your life, and what if it could be gone forever, what is that worth to you? Email me and let me know.
Not requiring pre-payment for hypnosis sessions. Don’t make this mistake. I had to make it myself a few times before I finally understood that some people have good intentions to follow through, and some just don’t know how to say “no” to working with you. By offering them a space on your calendar without them providing you a financial obligation in form of a non-refundable deposit, you have lowered their chances of showing up, and at the same time you’ve blocked off time on your calendar for a different client who may have really needed it. Always take pre-payment. At our center clients are not added to the calendar of any of our hypnotists until they make a deposit. The other element here is that when you require pre-payment, you are telling your clients that your services are valuable and in-demand. This means your clients perception of working with you and excitement about the process increases, and they’re even more likely to get great results.
Not signing clients up for session packages. Most of our clients come to us with issues they’ve been struggling with for years. A single session of hypnosis can provide relief but it’s very unlikely to provide a full resolution or solution to their issue. Consider someone who stops drinking or smoking in a single session, then a week later their friends aren’t happy about the change, so they start smoking or drinking again. The work we do with clients needs to be complete - and the only way we can do complete work is to work with our clients over a period of time so we can help them through all the changes. Most clients need more than one session to resolve their issue anyway - however a single session can provide tremendous relief. To get a full resolution, more than one session is necessary. If that’s the case, then why do so many hypnotists offer single sessions ? Some are concerned the client won’t sign up for a series or package of sessions, others feel bad or believe they’re “supposed” to offer single sessions. If you truly care about your client and want the best for them, then offer packages that are based on your previous experience working with a similar issue, and what your client presents as their primary concerns. A single session may help your client feel good for a week, but without a full resolution the issue can come back and now your client thinks, well hypnosis didn’t work either. Your reputation - and the reputation of hypnosis suffers along with your client who is likely to get more and more discouraged.
Never guarantee your hypnosis sessions. A guarantee sounds nice, and many online marketers will suggest that you add a guarantee to your services. However this is also not in the best interest of the client. Why? Because when offering a guarantee many clients will believe that there is nothing for them to do. That all the work is the hypnotists’ or hypnosis itself. Our clients are required to show up and do the work, it can feel like magic, but there’s still work involved on the part of your client!
Scroll down to watch the video for more details on this important topic. Many hypnotists will skip this type of content - please understand how important it is for the benefit of your practice to stay in business, and for your client, to understand how to deal with money and resolve any money blocks in your practice.
“ A single session may help your client feel good for a week, but without a full resolution the issue can come back and now your client thinks, well hypnosis didn’t work either. Your reputation - and the reputation of hypnosis suffers along with your client who is likely to get more and more discouraged. ”— Erika Flint on offering single sessions vs. packages to clients
The underlying message of this episode is that hypnotists do their work not for the money, but to serve their clients- so the money aspect is often overlooked. Pay attention to how money is flowing in your life and your practice, and if things aren’t working, address it. We want you to stay in business and make enough money so you don’t have to have a second job, or another form of income - this is in the best service to your clients.
From my heart to yours,