Ideal Practice
Ideal Practice
#68. Not Talking About Money with Clients is a Mistake. Here’s Why.
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Like it or not, money is part of every relationship you have with your clients, and how you think about that and manage that is important.
But if you're torn up inside about that fact, well - you are not alone. In fact, I think most of us struggle about this in one way or another.
But what if we change that?
What if we thought about money, and its place in our work, in a whole new way?
Rather than fight its presence, why don’t we acknowledge it, embrace it, and learn how to work with it?
That’s the beginning of what it means to create a practice that is profit centered, but people forward.
And that’s what I want to explore in this week’s podcast.
We've got a shorter show for you today. Let me know what you think about it.
To your success,
~Wendy
xoxo
P.S. “Okay Wendy - So you’ve got me thinking….”
If that’s what you find yourself saying as you listen, would you please share a little love with a 5 star review and a few words over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify? Doing so helps me bring this conversation to others and help more healers. Thank you!
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FREE RESOURCE: The IP360 SCORECARD
As a coach of mine used to say, running a business is a full contact sport. There are SO many different parts of it to keep up with, manage, think about, and create - at every step of the way. How do you know what to work on first or where to focus your energy? How do you tell where your weaknesses are and where you're solid?
Well I’ve got you covered! The IP360 Scorecard, based on the 7 Pillars of an Ideal Practice, is designed to give you a practical, actionable, big-picture review of your practice as it stands. And you can complete it in less than 10 minutes.
Click on the link below to get your free copy today.
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 68. Today, we're going to talk about one of the most uncomfortable subjects that any therapist, healer or wellness professional ever has to deal with, and that's the simple fact that, like it or not, money is a key part of any relationship you have with any client, no matter how beautiful and special that relationship is. So, rather than fight that, why don't we welcome it? Yeah, that's where we're going, 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. This is the Ideal Practice Podcast. Hey guys, thank you so much for tuning in. Welcome back to another episode of the Ideal Practice Podcast. This is Wendy Wendy Pitts Reeves, your host, and I am really happy to be with you today. How are you guys doing? How's your week going?
Speaker 1:I had my violin lesson today and I want you to know I learned a new song. It's very fun, or it will be someday, it's not yet, but I look forward to tackling it. Had that this afternoon, came home, had a little summer supper on the back porch, and now I thought I'd like to hang out with you for a moment before I call it a day. Before I dive into today's conversation, if you don't mind, I wanted to share with you a note that I got from one of my clients this week. This was so sweet. I have a client that I've been working with for a little over a year and she has decided to stay on for another six months or so, and because she's made tremendous progress and is doing so well in so many ways and she sent me a note when she made the decision and I just want to share with you, if it's okay with you I asked her if it'd be all right if I did and she said it would. So I want to share this with you because this is an example to me of kind of what it's all about. So she wrote to me. She said, dear Wendy.
Speaker 1:She said yesterday I had a moment in my office when I thought I love my life. That just got me right off the bat. When I read that I was like, oh my gosh. She said she had just put her hat in the ring to work with three different kinds of clients who in the past would have been too intimidating, but her confidence is higher, so she doesn't worry about that so much. She also submitted a proposal to speak at a conference and when they asked her she would be willing to be considered as a keynote speaker, she said yes, which was huge, and she said whether or not any of that stuff happens that she was just so excited and energized that she's ready to take on these challenges that she just couldn't help but just sort of be really happy, she said to me. She said working, and this is a quote.
Speaker 1:She said working on my private practice has been a process of working on myself in new ways, and your unwavering enthusiasm, support and the structure to hold me accountable have made these changes possible. I've set an intention to see my private practice as a source of happiness and an expression of my true self, and a year after working together, I see even more clearly that that's happening. Can't wait to see what the next six months bring. That was Margie, who's in the Raleigh Durham area, margie Hattori and I. I just love that so much because I have seen the growth that she has made and I have seen her claiming more and more what makes her unique and bringing that to like literally the marketing, the messaging, but also the work itself, the clinical work itself, and she's just really blossoming and I just I just love getting that. So I wanted to share that with you guys, hope that maybe you will be inspired by that, because that's what I want for all of you too.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about money. Yep, that's what we talk about here on ideal practice, isn't it? And we talk about this a lot for a reason. And I want to start today by sharing a story with you that some of you may have heard before, some of you may not, but it's a common story and I'm going to guess I bet some of you can relate to this. So a few years ago a young therapist came and joined my group practice and she was just getting her business off the ground. She was kind of learning the ropes, she was sort of figuring out all the back end of that, but clinically she was rocking. She had a full practice. It was going like gangbusters. She was really good at what she did. She was very popular, she was in a fairly specific niche, which helps, and she, like she, was fighting off clients. She had more, more calls than she could keep up with, honestly, but she was really struggling with the money side of things. So see if you can relate to this.
Speaker 1:For one thing, most of her clients were on insurance plans, in some cases to insurance plans. I don't think she had much, if any, self pay at that point. That meant she had to keep up with their accounts and she had to collect co-pays. Well, she wasn't collecting co-pays because she had no idea what most of them owed. In fact, she had a hard time making herself even look at their accounts. Now she had some billing help. She had someone who was helping her to process claims and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:But you know how this is when you work with insurance, claims get messed up a lot, right, and especially in the beginning when you're just kind of getting started and getting all the systems figured out. So they were kind of a mess at that point and I remember that she sometimes went months and months without getting paid for certain clients. But she could not bring herself to even look at those accounts and she said to me I don't really want to know, I don't want to know how much they owe me, because I'm afraid that if I know it will affect the way I feel about them. So think about that, because I knew I instantly got what she meant. So, because she was afraid it would make her feel bad, she just sort of avoided the whole thing. And you know what happens when you avoid a mess it doesn't go away, it gets to be a bigger mess, right? So she had no idea what they owed her.
Speaker 1:She wasn't collecting the copays when they were due and when she did, have clients who, would you know, wanted to pay her, like actually brought physical checks in. Hey, honey, I know I owe you, can I pay you? She did not want to touch the money, she didn't even really want to look at it. So she would say oh, you know, just drop that over there on the on the desk, I'll, I'll catch that later, Sure thing. And we'll go and take her seat in her chair and invite them to their to their seat, and would begin with the session.
Speaker 1:She was literally in every possible way physically, emotionally, energetically, strategically pushing away money. So what that meant was she had a practice that from the outside looked like it was busting at the seams, but behind the scenes she wasn't making hardly anything, and I don't know this for a fact, but based on my own experience, my guess is she was losing a lot of money, because when you don't deal with those kinds of things, at some point you run into a timely filing issue and if it's been a few months, sometimes you can't collect on that money, no matter what. So it was really a mess and she was embarrassed by it, she was frustrated by it, she was beating herself up about it. She didn't really want anybody to know about it and when she shared that with me I was like oh honey, I totally get that. I did totally get that because that's where I started. I could relate so completely. I also, in the beginning, literally did not want to touch money. So I'm curious about you Can any of you all relate to that?
Speaker 1:Do you have clients, perhaps, who pay you online or pay you? Maybe they've got, they've given you a card, so you process the card and you never even have to think about it. You don't even have to talk about it. It's just completely as if the money doesn't even happen or it doesn't exist, like you can just sort of ignore that. That's a factor. Well, I understand that. Do you have clients who pay you in cash or, believe it or not, a check? I still do, yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, how does that make you feel when a client hands you money? Or when a client pulls out their card and says what do I owe you for today? What happens inside? What happens to your energy in that moment? Do you feel yourself sort of shrinking a little bit? Do you instinctively not want to look them in the eye? Do you find yourself even turning away a little bit, or maybe picking up your phone to get your square app open or something, but anything that's just sort of like ignore the moment.
Speaker 1:If you do, you got a lot of company, because, see, here's the thing that I know about us healers, therapists, wellness professionals of all kinds Many of you are awesome at what you do, and if not you, then people around you. Maybe this isn't you, maybe this is other people in your office, and if so, that's okay. It was certainly me, but the truth is, a lot of folks who do this kind of work, who do this rich, life-saving work, are awesome at what they do and conflicted about what they're paid and completely torn up inside about money. I so get that, and that's why I want to talk about this, because I want to challenge you. I don't want to just talk about strategy. I want to talk about the energy of this issue, and I want you to think about money in a whole different way. I want you to think about money as a living entity, as an energy that has its own presence, and, rather than pushing it away, I want you to invite money into the room. I'm saying it that way on purpose. I want you to invite money into the room because, like my colleague that I was sharing that story with, she was doing everything in her physical power to keep money out, and I was the same way.
Speaker 1:When I started my practice, I literally did not want it in the room, I did not want to touch it. I came up with my own way for clients to pay me where I never had to look at it. That was a mistake, a really expensive mistake, and I think today it was a therapeutic mistake as well. So this is why you will often hear me say that I feel like your practice needs to be profit-centered and people-forward. Nobody talks about this this way. Nobody else does this One of the things that we have to learn how to do is be not only just be comfortable with money, but let it be at the center of our business, because it is the lifeblood of your business and if you don't have that and that lifeblood isn't flowing easily, then you don't have a business or you want for long right. Your practice needs to be profit-centered, people-forward.
Speaker 1:When in my work I'm sure many of you will be able to relate to this when in my work as a psychotherapist, which I've been for a very long time, I have often felt like that, my job was to get out on the table and say out loud what everybody knew but nobody was talking about. Can you relate to that Like I? Often feel like I was the truth teller in the room. You can see it on people's faces. Back when I worked with families and when I worked with couples and with individuals, there are certain things that I could see, I could feel I could figure out, I knew and I needed to say it out loud because they were thinking it right. Somebody in that group was thinking it and so I did. I often would say that say what they say, say the quiet part out loud, and my direct approach was often appreciated. In fact, I kind of got a reputation for that.
Speaker 1:Clients liked it, because you know how this goes Once it's out on the table, well, we can do something with it right. We can study it, we can work with it, we can understand it, we can heal it. Whatever it was. This is how so many of us get into trouble. Whatever the issue is that we are uncomfortable with that. We avoid, push away, turn our back to try not to think about it doesn't go away, does it? It just gets bigger. In fact, you know the saying what we resist persists.
Speaker 1:That's true of pretty much everything, isn't it? Well, money is no different. It's the same thing, because if you don't address the role that money has in your clinical relationships, in your client relationships, for one thing, you're missing what I feel like is a really important therapeutic opportunity. That is, you have a chance to celebrate their decision, to celebrate their willingness to invest in themselves in this very tangible way. It's awesome. It's awesome when people choose to spend real money, good money, on their own health and well-being and when they are willing to do the work to get the results that they need Through you. That's, that's totally worth celebrating. But it's also true that if they are not paying or if there's a problem with their payment in some way and you ignore that, you're enabled you. Well, I'm not gonna say you are. There's a good chance you may be enabling them in some way and if so, the odds are good that you are doing that Exactly when they need you to hold them accountable.
Speaker 1:I have coached therapists who were letting clients build up Accounts, who owe them literally like over a thousand dollars, and you know what? There's no judgment coming here, because I've done that too, because they just couldn't face the discomfort of having you know that conversation with a client. But they don't start out y'all, owing you a thousand dollars. They start out owing you a hundred or a hundred and twenty, or a hundred and fifty or seventy five, and when you ignore it, well, you see where that's going. Not only is there a chance that, by not Acknowledging the role that money has in your relationship, not only does that impact the work, it also y'all, for the bottom line is it can hurt you and hurt your family. So it's really not good for anybody To pretend like this isn't there. Nor is it something that we need to treat with shame as if it was something terrible, because it isn't all right.
Speaker 1:So, rather than avoid it, I want you to invite money into the room and I want you to acknowledge its presence in your relationship. I Want you to talk about it and I want you to deal with it. For example, before you even get started, you could say something like hey, so good to see you today. Come on in, have a seat, listen, let's get the red tape out of the way before we dive in. What do you say? How are you going to take care of today? You're going to write a check or do you want to go ahead and process your card? What do you want to do? Let's get that taken care of before we get started. Or hey, susan, listen, it's so good to see you before we dive in.
Speaker 1:Today, I do need to talk to you about something. I wanted to go over with you your account. I just realized that. And Then you go on and tell her whatever. You just realized that she had an outstanding co-pay, she needed to pay, that the session that you had three weeks ago wasn't going to be covered, that she still had a no-show. She had to pay for whatever it is.
Speaker 1:I just realized that and then you address it whatever it is, or Something like let's say, somebody doesn't show up, or they at the last minute, or they had to cancel the last minute, and you're going to send them an email, or you perhaps leave them a voicemail and you might say something like hey, john, listen, I'm so sorry you missed your appointment today. I totally get that. I'm happy to reschedule, but Since this is the second time that's happened, I do need you to cover that before we can move forward. Would you like to mail in a check, or do you maybe want to drop that by? I will certainly be in the office tomorrow, if that's what's easier. Just let me know what you'd like to do.
Speaker 1:See what I'm doing here. It's easy, clear, direct, matter-of-fact and Warm. Here's the thing. Your clients are thinking about this already, so you're taking the pressure off of both of you. When you just bring it up, address the elephant in the room, get it out on the table, let them know in very clear, simple, direct terms how, when and how much they need to pay you. They'll appreciate it, trust me. I Want you to invite money into the room. What you will find is that this will completely transform the way it feels to be working with your client because, instead of having this important part of your relationship to be something that you are trying to Deny, to hide, to act like it's something to be ashamed of, you welcome it into the relationship, you integrate it into the whole. That is your therapeutic connection and that's a good thing. That's always a good thing. So stop pushing money away. Okay, invite it into the room.
Speaker 1:Now, before I wrap this episode up, I do want to mention just real quick for some of you, if you have not already done this, I want to make sure you know Are you aware that you can download a free tool from my work, my website, that will help you do a kind of a quick overview, like a little quick assessment, of the overall health of your practice. Did you know that? Have you been paying attention to that? If not, I would love for you to take advantage of that. I call it the IP 360 scorecard, the ideal practice 360 scorecard. It's a really quick and easy download. It's a tool that you can use to score yourself in key areas of your practice and when you work through it you will know exactly which areas are strong, where you're really doing great and where you might want to put a little bit of attention right, that can be super, super helpful.
Speaker 1:This uses my proprietary seven pillars framework. It's the seven pillars of an ideal practice. This is all based on my decades of experience of what it really takes to have a healthy, full, balanced, happy private practice. And not only that. When you do this and y'all, it'll take you I don't know, maybe 10, or 10 minutes to fill this out. You'll learn a lot just from that. But not only that. Once you've completed that, you're also going to get some guidance from me on how to think about those scores in the context of the phase of development that your practice is in, because that also helps. There are certain things you work on at different phases that you don't work on at others. So I think you're going to find it really helpful.
Speaker 1:And the best part is the whole thing is completely free. If you have not done this yet, or if you have, but it's been a while, it's useful to go back and redo it every so often. You can get your copy over at my website. Go to windypitsreevescom forward slash 360, the numbers three, six, zero. Again. That's windypitsreevescom forward slash three, six, zero. We'll be sure to put a link to it in the show notes. Go get your copy today, put it, fill it out and figure out where your practice needs to grow next. I think you will like it. So that's what I've got for you today. I hope this gets you thinking a little bit. I hope you welcome money into the room that that's part of your ideal practice, so that it is healthy and thriving and solid, because that's where I want you to be. Have a great week, everybody, and I will see you next time right here on the ideal practice podcast. Bye now.
