Ideal Practice
Ideal Practice
#59. Clear Communication Serves Everyone: How to Handle Tough Conversations in Your Private Practice
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Do you dread having certain conversations with your clients?
We've all been there. Whether it's talking about something as simple as your upcoming vacation or as hard as confronting their overdue account - we hate feeling like the bad guy with our clients.
But mastering this skill is critical to the success and sustainability of your business.
So in this episode, we'll dive into the nitty-gritty of tackling some of the challenging discussions that are just a natural part of any private practice.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- The kinds of common situations that call for carefully managed, but direct, communication.
- How to think through the best structure for having those conversations, including how to soften the blow in a way that makes sure your clients feel heard.
- Strategies for dealing with the emotion that may come up as well.
And we'll talk about how to set boundaries that work for both you and your clients, while keeping that relationship strong.
Not sure what to say, how to say it, where or when?
Don’t worry. I’m here to help - and you’ve got this.
~Wendy
xoxo
P.S. if you’re enjoying the podcast as much as I hope you are (!), could you help me spread the word? Who are two friends or colleagues you know who could really use a boost of encouragement each week? Who else needs this kind of teaching? Please share this episode with them - and thank you!
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Wendy Pitts Reeves, LCSW
Host, Ideal Practice
Private Practice Coach and Mentor
www.WendyPittsReeves.com
Wendy@WendyPittsReeves.com
You're listening to Ideal Practice, episode number 59. As a healer, i know that sometimes it feels like you. You're the only one your clients can count on. So when you have to share a message or give them some news that they may not like, it can be intimidating and you might find yourself putting it off. But learning how to say what needs to be said, even when it's uncomfortable, is part of your role as the leader in your business. So let's talk about how to do that. Okay, that's what we're gonna dive into today, so stay tuned. Hi, i'm Wendy Pitts Reeves and, with over two decades of experience in the private practice world, i've built my six-figure business while learning a lot of lessons the hard way. This is the first podcast that shows you how to apply the principles of energy alignment and strategy to build a practice that is profit-centered but people forward. So I'm Wendy Pitts Reeves and I'm a professional and I'm a professional and I'm a professional and I'm a professional and I'm a professional and I'm a professional and I'm a professional people forward. This is the ideal practice podcast. Hey guys, and welcome back. This is Wendy. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of the ideal practice podcast.
Speaker 1:We're gonna talk about something that's a little tougher today but yet is quite common, and I decided I wanted to do this because I had this come up with a coaching client recently where I was working with someone who had a part-time job at an agency sort of setting and was running a practice on the side And the time had come to make the leap into full-time private practice, which meant she had to give her clients at the agency some bad news. She was leaving and she was really stressing out about it, because it always feels bad when you have to say something like that to people that obviously you care about. Well, as I coached her through that, i realized that this is something we all have to deal with all the time. There are all kinds of situations where we have to say things to our clients that can be uncomfortable. Now, depending upon the kind of work that you do the area of healing arts that you are in, this may or may not be a common thing for you, but if you're on a business, it's going to happen. I mean, i'm a psychotherapist, so in our world we are often saying the things out loud that nobody else will say right, that kind of comes to the with the territory, but it is a whole different animal when it is from the business perspective And when you're not just talking about something difficult in the family that needs to be addressed. You're talking about something that you're doing that is going to have an impact on your client, and I know you guys you struggle with this because you care so much and a lot of you put off making some of the changes you need to make, setting the boundaries you need to set or doing some of the things you just need to do to make your business run better or to create the practice that really works for you. So learning how to have these kinds of conversations with your clients is important As part of running a practice where you are making certain changes that you've got to tell people about.
Speaker 1:For example, i am currently working with a client who is very actively working towards moving away from an insurance based practice and into a self pay practice, and just today she asked me so I've got all these folks who are on insurance and, knowing that this is coming at some point, i've got to start telling them. How do I talk about that with them? Indeed, how do you? I'm going to tell you how today? Um, i have worked a few times in the past with people who needed to make changes in the hours that they served clients. And in particular, i am remembering an energy healer that I worked with who, by golly, saw people six days a week, sometimes seven, and uh, it's early. On in my work with her I was able to get her to stop doing that, but she had to start telling people that she was no longer available on weekends. That same thing has come up with a couple of therapists that I've worked with. It's not unusual that when people start a practice on the side around a job, that they may agree to see people at unusual times, like Saturday morning, sunday afternoon, but the job goes away at some point when you make the leap into full time, private practice And suddenly you might kind of like to have your weekends back. So that happens.
Speaker 1:In my own practice There are all kinds of times, like when I stopped seeing children I used to work with. I've worked. I have worked with everything from three year olds all the way up, like you name it. I've. I think I probably have done it at this point, but at some point along the way I stopped working with children. And then I stopped working with like 10, 11, 12 year olds, and I was known for working with adolescents. And then the time came when I stopped doing that. I used to work with couples And then the day came when I made a decision that that was not the best use of my talents, because there are other people who are better at that than I was.
Speaker 1:So you may change something in your practice, about who you see, about where you work, about the hours that you were available. Those kinds of changes are going to come up. That's just. That's the nature of the beast. And there's always, always going to be the conversation about your rates. Whether you like it or not, my friend, every few years you're going to have to be talking with clients about raising your rates. That's even if you've got an insurance based practice, you still have to talk about that from time to time. So all of these are pretty common situations where you've got to tell a client something that you're like Oh how am I going to say that? So let's talk that through a little bit And I'm going to share with you some of what I share with my my client that I was coaching around this.
Speaker 1:First of all, i want you to think about the structure, the how of what you want to say. You need to think about is this something that you need to say in person, face to face, or is it something that you could notify them just with an email or a letter or even a phone call? Is it? if it's something that's not too major, you probably could notify them in some of those sort of more casual ways? If it's something really pretty important, like that you're no longer going to be taking their insurance or that you're leaving this group practice and moving on your own, i think those kinds of practice, those kinds of conversations, are better held face to face And, yeah, you're going to be uncomfortable, but I think that that is the more honorable thing to do And it gives you a chance to literally see their reactions, which you may not pick up on in a text or an email or a phone call. You will be better prepared and better able to address it and handle whatever comes up as a result of that. So your first decision to make is how do I tell them this? How do I tell them this? Now, if you decide that you, it probably is something you need to say in person.
Speaker 1:It is perfectly fine to have something ready to go that is a written sort of backup, for example when I have made, say, changes in how I did things. For example, at one point I shifted from people just calling me about appointments to doing online, where they had to actually schedule online through a tool instead of just calling me. Well, i had to talk to them about that in person because I had to explain how it was going to work. But I also had an email ready to go the very day that I told them that that laid out all the instructions for using the new system. Now, that's not a lie, the thing. That wasn't that serious, but I did have that email ready to go after I told it to, after I went over it with them in person.
Speaker 1:On a more serious note, the day that I made the decision to walk away from insurance reimbursement completely. Now I've been working on it for a few years, but there was a moment when, like enough is enough, i'm done. That very day I started talking to clients about the changes that were going to be coming And I developed a letter that described that that I could mail to people I wasn't actively seeing. So think about this at any given time. You have your active clients that you are seeing right now that you talk to all the time, but you also have people that you probably have worked with in the last six months, maybe a year, maybe a year and a half or two. You can decide how far back you think it's worth it to go.
Speaker 1:But when I stopped using insurance, i felt like I needed to notify pretty much everyone I had worked with in the last couple of years. So I wrote a letter that I could mail to the people I was not actively seeing. I also had a stack of that letter like I printed out copies of it on my desk that I had in my hand so that as I talked with clients about it in person, i could literally physically hand it to them. Now, part of that was because I needed to cover all my bases people I was seeing and people I hadn't seen for a while but might be coming back, because that happens. But also it gave them a tangible resource that could return to, because y'all know how this is when you hear something that's big news, you don't always catch the details, you don't always remember exactly what was said, you don't always understand it. So giving them something that was tangible in writing that they could refer to when they left, that also helped them. It helped me because I could. I could have them sign. In certain cases, i would have them sign something or related to that that I could put in their chart. So there are lots of reasons for doing that.
Speaker 1:But how to say it? in person versus virtual, or by phone call or by letter, or perhaps a hybrid of those two? that's the first thing you got to figure out. The next thing I think it's worth figuring out is your timing, especially whether this is something that they need short notice on or advanced notice on. If it's something kind of light, like the example I gave of switching to an online scheduling tool, well, heck, i was doing that right away. I wanted them to start using that in the next week or two. I could tell them that immediately. But when I made the decision to move away from insurance, of course that's a bigger deal. Raising your rates is a bigger deal. Letting someone know you're going to be leaving the agency or leaving a group practice, leaving wherever you are and moving somewhere that's a bigger deal. When it's a bigger thing like that, i would opt for a much longer runway.
Speaker 1:My personal favorite is to give somebody 90 days to get used to something when it's a big change. Now, if you're raising your rates 10 bucks, 20 bucks, 25 bucks that's not actually as big a deal as it might feel like And 30 days might be enough. 60 days might be enough. But if it's something that's going to impact your clients enough where they have some decisions to make, like how they're going to continue seeing you, what format their payments might make, whether they might want to change the frequency, whether they want to see you at all, maybe they want to wrap up, maybe they want to move, maybe they might want you to refer them. Whatever, you need a reasonable and I feel like sort of generous amount of time to make that kind of change. So if it's a light issue, a light change that you're making, you can give them just a week or two's notice. If it's a more serious thing, i would give them 60 to 90 days notice Lots of time to get used to the idea. Another thing to think about when you've got to give somebody hard news is how can you soften it in a way that will make it more palatable, that will make it easier for them to receive. Now, a few weeks ago, i recorded a few episodes where we were talking about travel.
Speaker 1:If you are giving them something short, like I'm going to be gone for a while, that you know, two weeks notice, four weeks notice might be helpful. If you're dealing with a particularly fragile population, you might need to give them more time, maybe a month's notice, but generally a few weeks notice is fine for something like that. However, if you're, if you're making a big change like leaving or moving or retiring, what could you do to soften that? It might be letting them know where you're going to be so they can find you and follow you if they want to. Now, if you have the misfortune of working someplace that has a non-compete clause that forbids you from telling your clients where you're going I just can't tell you how many issues I have with that. But if that's the case, then yeah, you do need to let them know much further in advance that you're going to be leaving and start helping them with the transition, because it sounds like they will probably have to go to somebody else.
Speaker 1:But you can soften the blow by giving them plenty of advanced notice, by giving them opportunities to, for example, wrap up with you, or perhaps you could record something, maybe you make a little three-part video training that's going to walk them through something that you know they could really benefit from, even after you leave. Those are all kind of little ways of sort of helping them, but the biggest way, of course, is helping them find somebody else and doing whatever you have to do for that. Those are some ways that you can soften the blow. If it's something like a financial change, you're changing the insurance that you accept or you're stopping it altogether, or maybe you're already self-pay but you're raising your rates, or maybe you're changing something like your requirements around late cancels or no shows, or maybe you're changing something about the deposits that you require for an intensive, Something like that. Those kinds of things you can soften the blow by offering packages, offering payment plans, offering a refund policy that is fair and that you can live with, by offering, perhaps, a discount if they make certain choices or opt into a certain way of working with you. You can get creative in all kinds of ways around how to make it more palatable to them, even if it's going to cost more.
Speaker 1:Alright, if you're going to be gone for a short time, just arranging coverage while you're gone, letting them know that they are in good hands, that you're going to be out of the office for a while, but your colleague so-and-so, who is outstanding and whom you adore, is ready to help them with anything that comes up while you're gone. Something like that can help. So bottom line here is, as you are thinking about sharing this news with them, that, for whatever reason, might feel uncomfortable, find ways to give them enough notice. Say it in a way that they can hear it in person and in writing, or maybe by phone call, and soften it in whatever way you can. Alright, developing a ritual to say goodbye is a really good one, if indeed that is where this is going, because sometimes that's where it's going And that's okay too. Helping them negotiate, that is really awesome. So that's some of the structure for how to think about it.
Speaker 1:Now I want to talk about a little bit more, about the strategy overall with all of this, and essentially what I want to say to you is that clear communication and firm boundaries serve everyone y'all. The clearer you are, the more direct you are, the better it is for everyone. Now I've already talked about like for big changes. You want to give them a lot of notice, but what I really want you to do is allow them to feel what they feel, the number one thing. This is what I said to my client today. We were talking about how to talk to her people.
Speaker 1:The number one thing that your people want, that your clients want from you, is they want to know what's going to be okay. I think of this like if you are a parent those of you who are parents or if you're a favorite aunt you've dealt with this somewhere along the way. You know, when our kids get hurt, they look to us for reassurance am I going to be okay? You know the three year old who falls down and scrapes their knee and then they look to you first to see if they're going to they should cry. And if you're like, oh my gosh, oh no, are you okay, they cry. If you're like, ah, you'll be alright, they don't right.
Speaker 1:So when you have bad news to give a client, they're going to be looking to you first really to say am I going to be okay? So your first message is yes, here's what's going to happen, here's why, here's how, here's what's going to look like And you're going to be okay. I'm going to make sure you're okay. We're going to, we're going to manage this together and it's going to be fine. I want you to allow them to feel whatever they feel, whether it's anger or disappointment, or anxiety, or fear or sadness. All of that is completely normal And I want you to offer reassurance when it's appropriate. Yes, i want you to make sure they're going to be okay, but I do not want you to apologize. Please stay away from apologies. Resist the temptation to say I'm so sorry, i've got to let you know this is going to happen. Don't do that.
Speaker 1:If you're leaving, you're leaving for a good reason. You're excited about something, you're going somewhere, you're retiring, you're moving, you're stepping out on your own. Whatever it is, you're making a change in your life and your worth. It's good for you. If you're raising your rates, it's because it's healthy and appropriate and it's time. It's what's good for you. If you're going on vacation, it's healthy and appropriate and good for you.
Speaker 1:So don't apologize. Just say I need to let you know about something that's coming up in my practice, or I need to let you know about some changes I'm going to be making in my business, or I need to let you know about something that's happening in my life that's going to be impacting our work here. I want to share that with you. Just lay it out there like that, my friends, and remember they will follow your lead and they will follow your energy. That's why I don't want you to be apologetic, because when you're making a change, that's good for you, it's good for you, and if they were making a change, it was good for them. You wouldn't want them to apologize either, would you? No? And honestly and here's the cool thing what's good for you may even be good for them too, which is why I say a lot of times what feels like bad news isn't always.
Speaker 1:For example, self-pay, shifting into a self-pay model, means that they get to invest in themselves and that they get to break free from the tyranny of managed care. Self-pay gives them more freedom and autonomy. It does for real. That's not I'm not blowing smoke there. It really does. You know that this is true. So when you make that kind of decision, that's good for you, but it's also good for them. If you're taking a vacation and you're going to be gone for two weeks or a month, that means that you will be a rested healer, a rested practitioner, a rested provider who will do better work when you get back and they'll be happy for you And, honestly, sometimes they don't really mind a little bit of a break either.
Speaker 1:The fact that you have the courage to make big changes in your life or in the way you run your business, that models self-respect, that models courage, that models that shows your clients what it looks like when someone makes changes that are for their own well-being. That's a really good thing And your ideal clients will get it. Not all of them will. I'm not trying to be polyanna here. Some people are not gonna appreciate it, some people are not gonna love whatever it is you're doing, but the ones who matter the most, the ones who really are your people, they will totally get it All right. So I want to pull this to a close and just say remember, You are the leader of your practice, you are the leader of your clients and your energy is key here.
Speaker 1:If you're not careful, you will carry too much responsibility For their lives, for their well-being, for the choices that they make and for their ability to cope with life on their terms. I Know people have problems. I know the problems are real, but this is a mutual, a shared Relationship between you and your clients. You are responsible to them. You are not responsible for them. Let me say that again You are responsible to them. You are not responsible for them. Your clients are adults or they are in the care of adults.
Speaker 1:It's really important that you see them as resilient, because a lot of times, they won't see themselves that way. They need you to see them, though, and you know what? when it's all said and done, you have a right to have a life. You have a right to be happy. You have a right to have a practice that works for you. You have a right to make changes when you need to, to make something better. That's always, always, always a good thing, and For the clients that that doesn't quite work for well, you can help them find an alternative. Right, there's always a way. So That's really what I want you to think about today. I want you to think about how you tell them in person or not, in whatever way, when you tell them, and I want you to tell them directly, cleanly, without apology, with compassion, whatever it is that you've got to say, and then the two of you will move forward from there and everything's gonna be just fine. It really is. So that's what I've got for you today. I hope that's helpful. I hope it gives you a little bit of encouragement and perhaps some guidance on the next difficult conversation you need to have with your clients. And with that I Will let you guys go and I'll see you next week right here on ideal practice. Bye now, hey guys. Before you go, i'd love to offer you just a little dose of extra support.
Speaker 1:We talk a lot here on ideal practice about specific strategies for moving your practice forward, and when we do like today, i hope I hope you're inspired, i hope you're fired up, even like I'm so ready to do this, wendy, yeah. But I also know that when you sit down to actually try some of the things you learn here on the show, you might struggle a little Sometimes. When you decide to implement a new strategy or try a new idea, what seemed perfectly clear before, all of a sudden, well, it just isn't. That's completely normal y'all. The idea is the easy part.
Speaker 1:Taking imperfect action is how you move that idea forward, and the good news is I can help you with that. It's amazing What a difference it can make just to talk through your ideas with someone else out loud Someone who gets it. It's even better if you can actually work on those ideas at the same time. So if you have a problem you want to solve or an idea you want to try, but you just don't know where to start, a quick start consult might be just the thing. This is a unique standalone session that I offer that gives you access to high quality coaching without the expense of a full-blown coaching commitment. It's also a great way to test the waters and just see what coaching is even like. We don't just talk about your business around here. We work on it together, and you can learn more about this over on my website at windy pits. Reeves comm forward, slash kansat.
