As a consultant to hypnotists I am asked many times about different approaches to business and ways to work with clients. Many times different isn't right or wrong, it's just different. But then again, sometimes when something is different, it is being done incorrectly.
In some cases there is either right or wrong and there can even be degrees of something being done wrong. Maybe something you are doing that's different in the way of building or running your business isn't completely wrong but it may only be slightly effective as opposed to another method or approach that would work much better.
Here's an example: When speaking at the NGH Solid Gold in Las Vegas a few years ago a woman told me she didn't do convincers / tests with her clients during induction and deepener and that she was comfortable with that. She had some success but as you can imagine, most times her sessions were not as successful as they could have been as she was basically working with her fingers crossed hoping the client was in a deep enough hypnotic state. In this case her "different" approach was not completely wrong for she was having some success in sessions but she was wrong in her approach about 80%. You can't do what we do well and be guessing at it.
On the other hand, one hypnotist may use advertising as a practice building technique and someone like me may use advertising almost never, which is true, and use more publicity and do equally as well. That's a case of different just being different.
This is one of the great advantages at what we do in our work as hypnotism professionals of having options and there being no set mold however.... beware at what you choose to tamper with and be different at as some things are just necessary basics that should be followed.
"The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there."
Tom Nicoli
That's kind of strange that a hypnotist would not bother doing any type of convincer or testing... I can't understand the logic of not doing something so simple yet so valuable?
steverAnyway, I like your thoughts about practice building using advertising vs. publicity; I have listened to your podcast where you describe the enormous difference in results that you experienced between free PR and paid advertising in the same publication. I have great respect for your accomplishments as both a hypnotist and business person.
I look at paid advertising as a lazy way of getting leads (and I am generally lazy so that is the approach I take, for now). I wonder, do you feel that this is a sort of self-limiting belief? The thing is, I understand and believe that free PR is much more effective, but for some reason I do not see myself putting forth the time and effort to "pound the pavement" so to speak. I would rather just pay for the exposure.
I rationalize this by saying to myself "Well, it's just like outsourcing a part of the business" (sort of like how you outsource production and fulfillment of CDs). Do you think this is a lame rationalization?
Similarly, what do you think about hiring a PR firm to handle getting you into media? Of course that is no longer "free PR" (pretty expensive in fact) but again, I think to myself, why should I be doing the PR work when I can just hire someone else?
Also, would an outside advertising or PR agency have a more impartial view of my business and how it benefits clients, which would make their messages more effective (as opposed to me writing copy that talks about subconscious vs. conscious, which no one really cares about).
11:34 AM EST