BUSINESS
Great start
Making a
GREAT START
WITH NEW CLIENTS Mark Shields explains how to ensure that your new client comes back for more…
I
have never forgotten Alistair Horscroft, my first NLP trainer, telling me that if you can quickly build strong rapport with a client you’re 95% of the way to achieving a successful session. He was so right. Rapport opened the locks of doors never opened before, enabled me to get inside the thoughts of clients who hadn’t been able to express themselves for years, and helped me change people’s lives in a single session after only spending an hour with me. Remember, rapport = Client trust, buy-in, commitment, focus, confidence and belief. No rapport = a lack of client trust, speculation, worry, doubt, and disbelief. Establishing rapport is undoubtedly the number one
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HOLISTIC THERAPIST 2021
skill that all therapists have to master but also master with real style and vigour. Get this right and it will make the difference between your success and failure with clients.
Our natural ability to relate to others Some of us seem to flow through life getting on with everyone and, confident in their ability to naturally build rapport with other people. Others struggle, are shy and really find it difficult to strike up small talk conversations with people they don’t know. This is mainly down to selfconfidence and self-belief. We’ve said it before: a lack of understanding naturally breeds fear. We are afraid of what we don’t know and understand.
holistictherapistmagazine.com
