5 Essential Steps to Be Ready for the Autumn Client Surge by Jayney Goddard MSc, PG Dip. Ed, FCMA, FRSM. President, Complementary Medical Association

Why September is the second January

Ask any experienced practitioner about the rhythm of the year and they will tell you the same thing: something shifts in September. The school run resumes, holidays are packed away, diaries fill up again – and, almost without noticing, people start putting themselves back at the top of the list. The aches that were ignored on the beach get attention. The sleep that never quite recovered over summer becomes a priority. The “I really must do something about that” finally turns into a search, a phone call, a booking.

This is not just anecdote. Behavioural scientists call it the “fresh start effect”: research from the Wharton School found that people are measurably more likely to act on their health and personal goals immediately after a “temporal landmark” – the start of a new week, month, semester or season – because it draws a mental line under whatever came before. Few landmarks are as vivid in British life as the first week of September.

For those of us in complementary medicine, September therefore behaves like a second January – and it arrives with far less of the guilt-laden, resolution-fatigue baggage that the real January carries. People are not punishing themselves; they are returning to routine and looking for support that feels sustainable. That is exactly what we offer.

The question is simply this: when that surge of intent arrives, will it find you?

Five ways to be visible and ready

1. Refresh your CMA listing before the rush, not during it

Your CMA listing is often the very first place a prospective client encounters you – the CMA website receives a huge amount of traffic from people searching for a fully qualified practitioner – and it carries the weight of independent professional recognition that a social media profile never can. Take twenty minutes this week to look at it through a stranger’s eyes. Is your photograph recent and welcoming? Does your description explain, in plain language, who you help and how? Are your availability, location and contact details current for the autumn?

Small updates make a disproportionate difference. A listing that is complete, current and confident does the work of a warm introduction – and it does that work at three in the morning when the person searching cannot sleep and has finally decided to act. You can update your listing at any time from the Member Hub – that you can access by logging in , and if you would like a hand getting it to its best, the CMA team is always happy to help.

2. Reopen the conversation with people who already know you

The easiest client to book in September is the one who saw you in March. Past clients already trust you; they simply drifted, as people do over summer. A short, warm message – not a sales pitch – reminding them that you are here and that autumn is a good time to check in is one of the highest-return activities available to any practitioner.

Keep it human. “I hope you had a lovely summer – I’m opening up my autumn diary and thought of you” will outperform any polished template. Do make sure you are contacting people lawfully: the ICO’s plain-English guide to marketing to existing customers explains the “soft opt-in” that usually applies to people you have already treated, and our recent article on what the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 means for practitioners covers the wider picture. Then give them a simple, single way to reply or book.

3. Say something seasonal – and say it now

Content works best when it meets people in the moment they are living. In September, that moment is about routine, resilience and recovery: settling sleep patterns after late summer nights, managing the return-to-work or return-to-school stress load, supporting the body as it moves indoors and the days shorten, and getting back to movement after months of doing less. Every discipline in complementary medicine has something valuable and evidence-informed to say about at least one of these.

Choose one theme that sits squarely within your scope of practice, and share it – a short article, a social post, a two-minute video, a paragraph in a newsletter. You are not selling; you are demonstrating expertise and generosity, which is precisely what turns a browser into a booker. If you would like a refresher on doing this well, our recap of the recent Masterclass, From Booked to Fully Booked: 5 Ethical Marketing Takeaways, is a good place to start. And Members can, of course, display The CMA logo alongside their content, which lends every post the authority of professional accreditation.

4. Make booking effortless

Intent is fragile. Someone who has finally decided to seek help will abandon the attempt if they meet a dead link, an unanswered voicemail or a “contact me for availability” with no obvious way to do so. Before September, check every route into your practice: your website, your listing, your social profiles, your voicemail message. Can someone see when you are available and book, or at least request, an appointment in under a minute? If not, that is the single most valuable fix you can make this week.

5. Plan your diary before other people plan it for you

Being ready for a busy season also means protecting yourself within it. Decide now how many clients you can see well each week, block your admin time, and hold a little contingency for the referrals that always seem to arrive when the diary is fullest. A practitioner who is calm, present and unhurried in October is one who planned in August. Fully booked should never mean overwhelmed – and the clients you see when you are rested are the ones who rebook.

For Clinics, Spas, Retreats and Training Schools

The same logic applies at scale. Clinics and Spas can build a simple “autumn reset” offer around existing services rather than inventing new ones. Retreats will find that September enquiries convert well when the messaging speaks to renewal rather than indulgence. And Training Schools should remember that late summer/early September late summer/early September is when many people decide to retrain:  furthermore, the person searching for a practitioner today may be searching for a course by Christmas. Make sure your CMA-Registered status is visible wherever they might look. Remember to put the CMA Training School logo on your website and course materials – support your “findability” by ensuring that your CMA website listing is up to date and that everything you offer is clear in this listing –  and my final piece of advice on this is to ensure that wherever you use the CMA logo, which is our globally registered trademark and only available to registered members and my final piece of advice on this is to ensure that wherever you use the CMA logo(which is our globally registered trademark and only available to actively Registered Members), the logo is a live link to your listing on the CMA website. If you’re unsure about how to do this, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for advice. the logo is a live link to your listing on the CMA website. If you’re unsure about how to do this, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for advice.

Attracting them is half the job

Everything above is about being visible and ready when the autumn intent arrives. But being found is only the first step – the second is turning that first contact into a confident booking, and then into a client who stays. That is exactly what Angie Litvinoff and I will be working through, live, in the free CMA webinar How to Attract Your Ideal Client and Get Fully Booked on Wednesday 16 September at 1pm UK time. We will look at defining precisely who you serve, introducing yourself in a way that lands in under a minute, and removing the small hesitations that stop people pressing “book”.

Bookings have been extraordinary, and, as always with our live sessions, there will be no recording or replay – so if you would like to be in the room, reserve your place here. And if you would like to go deeper still, the CMA Practice Mastery Academy takes practice-building step by step, in your own time.

September is coming. Let’s make sure it finds you ready.

Reference

Dai, H., Milkman, K.L. and Riis, J. (2014). The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563–2582. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901

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.