Have you ever felt like you’re going on a ton of consultations and not getting hired? I polled ten successful doulas (meaning they are booked for months out with ideal clients) and found that they were getting hired around 85% of the time. That means 8 out of 10 consultations they do with prospective clients result in booking a client - which is amazing. Here are their top 5 secrets to success:
Their ideal clients find them.
They market their services to clients whose ideals fit their own. Doulas who love yoga market to prenatal yoga classes. Doulas who deeply align with a particular birth class philosophy become bffs with all the teachers in the area who teach those classes.
2. They do very little talking during the consult.
This was by far the most common answer. During the consult they model what they will do during the birth - hold space for their clients. This means being a present, active listener (read my article on active listening here). Additionally, their elevator pitch on their services is whittled down to a few concise sentences. One doula said "I practiced my doula spiel over and over again until it was short and fluid. That way I didn't ramble on at consultations and had more time to listen to my prospective clients. It is so much more professional to be articulate."
3. They mirror the prospective client’s body language, tone of voice and energy.
This is the best way to build instant rapport with anyone. Read my article on mirroring here. People feel more comfortable with people who seem more like them.
4. They leave their prospective clients with useful information.
They bring a couple handouts with great resources on them (books, local classes, educational websites for pregnancy, etc). This models what types of guidance you’ll be able to offer as their doula.
5. They make sure the client can afford their fee before they meet with them.
This one is HUGE! Sometimes people assume that if their fee is on their website, the prospective client has seen it. Not true. It’s frustrating to spend time with a couple and then find out during the meeting they can’t actually afford your fee. During initial email or phone contact, double check that they know what you charge. If it turns out they can’t afford it, you can refer them to someone in their price range.