How To enforce new policies with current clients

I’ve talked about the importance of breaking up in business in a past blog. So if your accountant’s response time is suspect or your virtual assistant is making mistakes and you’re feeling distrustful, check it out here.

But in this blog, I’m dishing some tips to help you to break up with policies and habits that aren’t serving you or your practice.

You may need to reset expectations or actually start to enforce your policies with availability, lateness, rescheduling, cancellations, etc. This requires you to have conversations with clients.

These are circumstances that we are discussing and role playing in my Make It Rain: A Role Playing Workshop Series.

Here are 3 steps to enforce or reset policies with current clients:

1. Dare to be Decisive

   It’s important that you are clear BEFORE you have the conversation. Questions to ask yourself, “What do you want your client to understand? What is the message you want them to walk away with?”
   

   There’s a difference between identifying a pattern of chronic lateness (and stating that the client needs to try to be on time) vs. stating that you won’t be going over session time moving forward.

   
   Get clear on effective dates of changes and be crystal clear about what will happen if new policies/changes are not respected. If you are charging for cancellations and haven’t prior to that, be sure to acknowledge that in your conversation with the client. It’s an opportunity to modeling ownership and accountability alongside resetting boundaries and expectations.
   

2. Connect to YOUR “Why”

   Why is it important to implement these changes and to have this conversation? What will it change in your life or day-to-day? Connecting to the meaning of this conversation is integral to actually walking the walk and getting out of procrastination land.
   

   Think about the tangible AND intangible benefits! Will charging for late cancellations put more money in your pockets and ease the anxiety you feel when you can’t predict your income? Will ending sessions on time give you the breather that you need in between sessions allowing you to better show up for your next client? Take time to sit with and imagine the outcomes that having this conversation will afford you.

3. Delivery: Remember that Clear is Kind & Kind is Clear

   So you know what you want to communicate and why. Now there’s nothing to it but to do it! Do NOT apologize (i.e. I’m sorry to do this but….)or present the conversation as “bad news”. Do not come in expecting the client to be upset in response to the news. Do not assume anything (except the best!).

   Make your statement kindly and nonchalantly and pause. That’s right. Say it and pause. Give them the space to respond before saying anything else.
   
   I suggest having these conversations at the top of the session. This provides space to explore what (if anything) comes up for the client in response to hearing the new policy/change/boundary. It also gives you ample space to answer any questions and make sure that the client understands what is happening and when.

If you need support on how to communicate changes in policies or client concerns, check out my Make It Rain: A Role Playing Series! This is the space where therapists are having the conversations you’ve been avoiding in safe supportive abundance-minded space. You’ll learn how to implement the boundaries that bulk your bank!!!