Tag: business excellence

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25 Ways Highly Successful People Make Us Feel Better About Ourselves

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Life Skills, Mindfulness, Private Practice Advice.

Think for a moment about someone that you’re drawn to – can you picture him or her? You can probably identify certain qualities they have such as being charming, gracious, generous, sincere, honest, genuine, open, kind, compassionate, giving, loving…

However, we can gain additional insight into what makes them highly successful by reflecting on their behavior. What is it that they do that brings out the best in us?

When you mindfully observe the way they interact with others, their speech and their actions, then you can model their behavior within your own life. As you read the following list of 25 positive behaviors of highly success individuals, imagine how each item makes you feel. Then you can begin to comprehend how you can use these behaviors to extend this feeling towards others…

1. They step forward with hand extended, head slightly tilted forward, smiling, and expressing sincere delight when meeting you rather than waiting for you to come to them.

2. They respectfully call you by the name that you introduce yourself as, rather than presumptuously giving you a nickname.

3. They are fascinated by you, asking you who, what, where and why questions without prying into off-limits, personal territory.

4. They respect your personal space. If you’re a hugger, they’ll hug you. If you’re uncomfortable with physical touch, they won’t force the issue. (This involves some sensory acuity on your part. Always take your cues from others!)

5. They make you feel important, maintain eye contact as they attentively and patiently listen to every word.

6. They willingly reveal themselves openly and honestly as they show their genuineness.

7. They always keep confidential information confidential.

8. They avoid gossip by tactfully changing the conversation or walking away.

9. They listen more than they speak.

10. They give without expecting anything in return.

11. They recognize even the tiniest of efforts and expresses appreciation for what you’ve done and why you’ve done it.

12.They encourage you to reach your full potential.

13. They trust that you’re doing your best, and they look deeply into each situation for the reasons why you’re doing something rather than jumping to conclusions.

14. They lead by example and willingly “roll up their sleeves” to pitch in where there’s a need before being asked.

15. They are mindful of your feelings, expressing joy when you’re celebrating, expressing sincere sorrow when you’re saddened.

16. They dignify you and bolster your self-esteem and self respect by asking for your help and your opinion.

17. They wait to be asked before giving advice.

18. They look for and focus on the positive in you.

19. They remember their own mistakes, thereby giving you a pass when a mistake is made.

20. They don’t give up on you.

21. They sincerely and openly express their approachableness and humanness while maintaining professionalism.

22. They let you blossom as they gift you with freedom to express yourself within the necessary business or personal boundaries that must be set.

23. They collaborate rather than patronize.

24. They recognize everyone is at different stages of their life’s journey and they encourage, support and guide without stealing your freedom of choice.

25. They make you feel special, smart, and valuable.

Most extraordinary individuals have not achieved their personal and professional greatness by themselves. They’ve learned that we often need to see ourselves through the eyes of others before we can make real transformations. If you’re anxious to make a difference and would like me to mentor you, please contact me so you can reach your full personal and professional potential.

3 Ways to Improve Client Satisfaction in Your Private Practice

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Private Practice Advice.

Are you going from feast to famine as you try to build a sustainable private practice? That can be so frustrating and stressful! It may even harm your health and relationships, if you don’t find an effective solution soon.

One thing I’ve learned over the past 13 years is that consistency is vital for making your clients feel comfortable working with you. It’s like when you go to a familiar business, with a familiar logo and you receive predictable service. Even if you aren’t consciously aware of it, your brain sees that consistency as reassuring and safe. The moment something is out of place, however, a red flag of warning goes up.

Here are three areas of business where consistency really matters when you’re trying to improve client satisfaction:

#1 Create a communication protocol.

The first point of contact is often when they telephone your office to schedule an appointment. Take a moment and consider how your prospective clients feel when they call you. Do you have a system in place for communicating with them promptly?

If you’re just starting your private practice, you may not have a support staff yet. It can be very difficult switching roles between therapist and office worker. Of course, you can’t interrupt your session with a client to run and answer the phone. On the other hand, ignoring that message until late in the week or possibly even the next week means they’ll likely call someone else. When they call you, they expect help fairly soon. Since you worked so hard to get them to call you in the first place, you don’t want lose clients by neglecting them.

Here’s a great solution:

On your answering machine leave an assurance that you’re there to help them and that you’ll return their call within 24 hours or less. And then do so.

Make it a priority to return phone calls promptly. Scheduling specific times on you daily calendar ensures that you have the time you need. If you schedule client visits back-to-back with no time in between for office work, you’re going to feel rushed and overwhelmed. Leave yourself some room for call-backs, you are going to feel more at ease and relaxed!

#2 Establish a clear cancellation and rescheduling policy.

Is it becoming more common for people to skip or cancel their appointments at the last minute? If you don’t train your clients to honor their appointments with you, your business will suffer and they won’t benefit from regular coaching and/or therapy.

Here’s a great solution:

At your initial session, clearly outline your policy and hand them a copy of it.

When making a new appointment, reinforce your policy by saying: “I’m committed to helping you on DATE and TIME. If you need to cancel this appointment, we require 24 hour’s notice or we will charge you X amount of money because this time is vital for giving my clients the best care possible. ”

It would be a mistake to either charge their credit card for a missed session without letting them know that’s your policy or letting their lack of attention slip by unnoticed. Of course, you can make exceptions if there’s a legitimate emergency. You can address this on an individual basis.

#3 Confirm your client’s perception of his or her goals.

Your clients come to you with an idea of what they want to achieve, but they may not have the words to convey that to you clearly. And over time, these goals may change. So it’s important to check in with them regularly to see if they’re satisfied with your working relationship and their progress.

When you do ask for feedback, it’s good to remind them of their progress. When they get discouraged and want to give up, don’t let them simply slip away.

Here’s a great solution:

When a client quits before their goal is reached, why not get her back through a free “Reconnect Session”? If you can’t afford to offer free individual sessions, you could include them in a group session for free. This expression of care may win them back as a steady client.

Building a sustainable private practice involves thinking and acting in a way that supports your business, you as a therapist or coach, and your clients. Want to know the secrets of keeping a steady stream of clients coming into your private practice as others transition out? I’d be happy to help. Contact me and we can schedule an appointment to discuss strategies that work.

Neuroscience Unlocks the Key to Emotional Control and Business Excellence

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Controlling Stress, Mindfulness.

How do you feel when you see a top-performing athlete play a perfect game? Or when a motivational speaker holds an audience in the palm of his or her hands? Or you see a husband and wife still in love after 50 years of marriage? Don’t you admire them greatly and wonder to yourself, “How do they do that? I wish I could do that. Oh sure, they were born with the gift and they’ve practiced a lot to get it right. But I could never do that.”

Why not? Why shouldn’t that be you…performing excellently in your field or creating powerful and supportive relationships that last a lifetime? “Because, Maria, I let my emotions get the better of me. My mind keeps telling me negative stories about what I can or can’t do. And there are people in my business or family life who know how to push my buttons. I just can’t seem to control what I think or say and how I react.”

I’ll let you in on a secret… These successful people know a technique that taps into the way the brain works and the natural processes for becoming more effective. Jim Fannin has made this technique famous – The 90 Second Tool™. But people have been using it for years and you can too.

Neuroscience, the study of how the brain works, has discovered three vital ways the brain functions when processing our emotional responses:

Your brain is made of two hemispheres. The left hemisphere is where we process the present. The right hemisphere is for connecting to the past or to the future. (I’ll share more about how this applies to emotional processing in a future blog post.)

Your brain believes what you think, whether it’s reality or not, if you replay it or visualize it long enough. Do you doubt me? Well, remember a time you heard a noise late at night and you thought there was a criminal in the house. The more you thought about it the more your brain believed it and made your body become defensive, the heart beat quickened, the muscles tensed, all in preparation for attack. When in truth, if you attach a true meaning to the sound – the furnace came on – you can go back to sleep.

The hormone, cortisol, is released in stressful circumstances. And it triggers the fight or flight response. But here’s the thing…cortisol only stays in your system for 90 seconds. How you react after those 90 seconds is really on you – the choices you make and your thinking process. You can ward off that emotional loop of fear, anger, frustration, by using those 90 seconds effectively.

Can taking 90 seconds to calm your mind and visualize a positive outcome really make that much difference? Absolutely! Remember, your brain doesn’t know the difference between something real or imagined. What you visualize becomes its reality!

Want to change your reality by harnessing your brain’s power to create a more satisfying life? Contact me and I’ll show you how to do it, so you can excel in business and in your relationships, too.

Tag: business excellence

25 Ways Highly Successful People Make Us Feel Better About Ourselves

3 Ways to Improve Client Satisfaction in Your Private Practice

Neuroscience Unlocks the Key to Emotional Control and Business Excellence

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