Research done by the Natural Therapies Research Board (NTRB) indicates there are three primary reasons some professionals stand out above the crowd. They are more successful because of these three things:
1) Credibility
You can build professional credibility by doing a few simple things. The more of these you accomplish, the more credible you become:
Obtain a professional degree from an accredited school that enjoys a good reputation in your profession. If your school does not meet this criteria, take additional training from a school that does and label it as "post graduate studies completed at ..." and name the school that is both accredited and reputable. If you already have a doctorate, you can label this additional work as "post-doctoral studies completed at ..." and name the school.
If your state or province offers a license in your profession, that license will add credibility to your professional practice.
If your state or province does not license your profession, then you can gain credibility only by being certified by an independent, accredited certification board that has a good reputation in the industry.
If you do not qualify for a license issued by your state or province, then certification in another profession will help you gain credibility in the other profession. If you become certified as a health or nutrition coach or specialist that can be included in your profession, that will also help you gain credibility in your chosen profession. Health and/or nutrition can be included in just about any alternative, holistic, integrative or natural health, nutrition, therapies or wellness profession.
Caution: Do not practice any licensed profession without a license in that profession. But you can practice any non-licensed profession in your state or province with good credentials. Good credentials come from an independent, accredited certification board.
Become a member of an accredited and independent professional organization serving your profession. It's actually more credible to belong to no professional associations than to belong to one or more captive, self-serving, self-accredited organizations. Choose wisely.
Become active in your community through a service organization that appeals to you and gives you an opportunity to meet other professionals and prospective clients.
In everything you undertake, just remember that to be successful requires credibility.
2) Build a Professional Website
According to the Natural Therapies Research Board, every successful professional in their study had a professional website. None of the struggling professionals had a professional site. Here's what NTRB considers a professional website:
The main page tells visitors what's on your website and has links to those pagers or folders. The main page looks like a site belonging to a professional business. The images on the main page enhance the appearance and tell the story about your business.
You need a "contact page" that tells the public, your prospective clients and your clients how to reach you by email and telephone. You can add more information if you like, but email and telephone are the two most important pieces of information for your contact page.
You need an "about page" that tells the public, your prospective clients and clients about you and your business. The key word here is KISS -- keep it simply simple. Do not brag, just tell readers the most important degree you have. Do not go on and on, just tell the reader what you do in one sentence or two. Make your content on this page short and powerful. Add a link to your contact page at the bottom of your article.
You need a "reference page" that tells the public what other people think about your services. Most professionals just list the first name -- and possibly the first letter of the person's last name -- of the people they quote on this page. They keep a file at the office with the actual quote or their notes about what the person actually said.
You can add as many pages and folders as you want for prospects and clients. The key to a good professional website is the four pages just described.
Own your website and the name of your website. Register your domain with a registrar that offers private, locked, protected and guaranteed registrations like Secret Registrations.
Host your domain with a company that offers unlimited access to your site with as close to 100% uptime as you can find. NTR Board recommends Host Zilla and Web Hosting Pad.
3) Coach, Educate, Mentor, Teach and Train Everybody
Successful professionals coach everybody all the time. They gain credibility by following the first two steps outlines above. Then in public or at work they focus on the other person by using appropriate coaching techniques.
Successful professionals educate, mentor, teach and train anybody who asks them for information or asks them a question. They do these things in the following manner:
They find a venue where they can present a free public service program, lecture or workshop and donate their time one to four times a month to present this information at no cost to those who attend.
Such venues include public libraries, new age shops, natural foods stores, and any building with a public classroom.
Topics that seem to draw interested people are things like: "Free Stress Relief Techniques That Really Work" and "Free Pain Management Tools" and "Working with Angry, Anxious or Depressed People" and "How to Make More Money in Less Time" and "How to do (blank)". Note: Fill in the (blank) for better results.
If you feel uncomfortable doing public presentations, take heart in knowing that more than 80% of the successful people interviewed said they were uncomfortable making public presentations in the beginning.
Be prepared to hand out a flyer with an outline of the key points in your presentation. Also add your name, web address and contact information to the flyer. Business cards will also work, but research shows people hang onto flyers longer than business cards. Flyers with an outline of your key points seem to work even better.
If you don't know how to effectively coach your clients and the public, we recommend Natural Therapies Coach to you.
