We go live at 1pm today! Our one-off webinar, How to Attract Your Ideal Client and Get Fully Booked, takes place at 1pm (UK time) this afternoon – live only, with no replay. If you’re already booked, we can’t wait to see you there – have your joining link ready. And if you’re not, the very last places are going: check availability and book here now.

Today, hundreds of Practitioners will spend an hour with us learning how to attract their ideal clients. So it seems the perfect moment to talk about what happens next – the moment a prospective client actually comes looking for you.

Earlier this month we published a guide for the public on choosing the right complementary therapy, and it ends by sending readers to one place: our Practitioner directory. Every day, people arrive there looking for a Practitioner exactly like you. Your listing is your shop window – and we want that window to show you at your absolute best. The wonderful news is that transforming it rarely takes more than half an hour. Here are six quick wins, each one something you can do today.

1. Add a warm, professional photograph – this is one of the most fundamental and important steps in getting your CMA listing to pop!

People book people. Before a prospective client reads a single word, they look at your photograph – and the science here is striking: research published in Psychological Science found that people form judgements of a face – including trustworthiness – within a tenth of a second of seeing it. A listing without a photograph is therefore at an enormous disadvantage, however superb the Practitioner behind it. You don’t need a studio shoot: a clear, friendly, well-lit head-and-shoulders photo, taken against a plain background with a genuine smile, is perfect. Ask yourself one question: if I were nervous about booking my first-ever session, would this face put me at ease?

2. Open with words your clients would use – not your colleagues

Here’s the single most common thing we see: listings written in the language of our profession rather than the language of the people we serve. Your prospective client may not yet know what “zone therapy” or “somatic integration” means – but they know exactly how they feel. Open your listing by speaking to that: who you help, and what changes for them. “I help busy professionals unwind tension, sleep deeply and feel like themselves again” will connect with far more readers than a list of technical terms – and you can showcase your credentials, proudly, immediately afterwards – and don’t forget your membership of the Complementary Medical Association speaks volumes about your deep commitment to professional excellence – so do use the CMA logo proudly on your website and in your promotional literature.

3. Show exactly how and where you practise

Make it effortless for the right person to see that you fit their life. Do you see clients in person, online, or both? Which days? Where, exactly – town, area, landmarks, parking? If you offer online sessions, say so prominently: for many disciplines this expands your potential clientele from your local area to the entire world. A reader should never have to wonder whether you’re actually reachable for them – because a reader who wonders is a reader who moves on.

4. Make contacting you completely effortless

Now for the moment of truth: the reader wants to get in touch. Is your email address current? Is your phone number correct? Does your website link work – and does it lead somewhere that continues the good impression your listing began? These details sound almost too basic to mention, yet they are among the most common reasons an interested enquirer gives up. Test every contact route on your listing today, exactly as a stranger would, and fix anything that falters. Sixty seconds of checking can be the difference between a booked client and a lost one.

5. Let others sing your praises

I’m not a betting woman, but if I were, I would bet that you are probably rather modest about your own brilliance – which is precisely why you must let your clients do the talking. A short, genuine testimonial (shared with your client’s written permission, and always respecting confidentiality) gives a prospective client something no self-description ever can: proof that people just like them came to you and were glad they did. If you have lovely reviews elsewhere – on Google, for instance – drawing on that goodwill in your listing works beautifully too.

6. Put a ‘seasonal refresh’ for your CMA listing in your diary

Finally, the win that keeps all the others working: keep your listing alive. Diaries change, prices change, new qualifications arrive, photographs age. A listing that’s visibly current tells a reader “this Practitioner is active, engaged and ready for me” – while a listing that has drifted says the opposite, however unfairly. The simplest fix we know: put a fifteen-minute “listing refresh” appointment in your diary at the start of each season. Four times a year, and your shop window never gathers dust. While you’re at it, your Member Hub is full of resources to help you present your practice at its very best – including our guide to displaying The CMA logo, one of the most powerful trust signals your listing and website can carry.

You’ve worked hard for this – let us help you show it

Every one of these quick wins exists for one reason: you have worked long and hard for your qualifications and your skills, and you deserve to be found, chosen and booked. The CMA actively sends the public to the directory to find Practitioners like you – our job is bringing them to the window; these six wins make sure they love what they see.

CMA Members – If you’d like a hand with any aspect of your listing, our team is always delighted to help – simply get in touch or drop us a line at [email protected].

And if you’re joining us at 1pm today – see you very soon indeed!

About the Author

Jayney Goddard MSc, PG Dip Ed, FCMA, FRSM is the Founder and President of The Complementary Medical Association (The CMA), the world’s leading professional body for complementary medicine. With more than three decades at the forefront of complementary and integrative healthcare, Jayney has dedicated her career to raising professional standards across the sector and to championing rigorous, evidence-based natural approaches to health and longevity. She is the author of several best-sellers, including Rewind Your Body Clock – the Complete Natural Guide to a Happier, Healthier, Younger You (Watkins/Penguin Random House), which debuted on the Amazon charts at No. 1 among ALL books on the platform. Jayney is a sought-after international speaker and a passionate advocate for the safe, ethical integration of complementary medicine within mainstream healthcare. Through The CMA, she supports a global community of Practitioners, Fellows, and Approved Suppliers committed to the very highest standards of practice.

Reference

Willis J, Todorov A. First impressions: making up your mind after a 100-ms exposure to a face. Psychological Science. 2006;17(7):592–598. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01750.x