The New Year is a great time to remind current clients about your cancellation policy. One easy way to do this is to give all your clients, new or old, a copy of your policy once a year. You might give them a “Private Practice Policy Statement”. In general, this simple document has:
- Your hourly fee or day rate
- Your cancellation policy
- How you want to be paid
- Confidentiality information
Mine is one sheet and has my mission statement at the top and a paragraph on each of the four above points. Often times, I’ll say to current clients, “Happy January! Let’s hit a couple of house keeping items before us start. I wanted to give you another copy of my policy statement, so you remember my cancellation policy. It works like this….” I’ve talked to many women who tell new clients about their 24 hour cancellation policy, only to have it slide into forgetfulness six months later. Remind your clients once a year about your cancellation policy and you will keep a lid on last minute cancellations and no-shows that never pay. Remember, every day you are training your clients how you want them to treat you. (This is one thing I discuss in my new ebook, How to Set and Raise Your Rates, publishing in March 2007)
