Podcast 49: Is the Knowledge-Action Gap Stopping You Finding Clients?
Jan 21, 2021
Do you want to make a living as a therapist, coach or healer? To do this you must market yourself to attract clients to your practice. And there are many ways to do this – there’s definitely no one size fits all approach.
But if you want to help people, knowing you need to market yourself isn’t enough, you have to take action. And this is where many practitioners struggle - marketing is constantly on your to-do list but it moves from one week to the next, and before you know it, another month has gone and no marketing has happened.
Maybe you get sidetracked researching and learning different strategies, but never actually do them. We’ve all been there; you want everything to be right, but end up procrastinating overtaking action.
You probably see it with your own clients too – they know they should eat a healthy diet, or do the mindset work, or look after their skin, but they don’t. Many of these clients will go from practitioner to practitioner trying different approaches desperate to change, but they just don’t do the work necessary.
There is something about the work - they either don’t want to do it, or it scares them, so they stay stuck. It’s not they don’t know what to do, they’re getting in their own way and the same can happen with you and your marketing
What is the knowledge-action gap?
The knowledge-action gap is a way we sabotage our success. It’s where we fail to follow through on the things we commit to – New Years Resolutions are a classic example of this.
We may have the knowledge but that is far removed from actually taking the action required to succeed.
Resisting taking action
Resistance is just your subconscious way of trying to keep you safe and protected. Our brains are wired to anticipate anything that may be uncomfortable and move us away from it. Anything that pushes you outside of your comfort zone, will trigger fear and resistance.
Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of visibility, basically fear of any kind will make marketing your practice more challenging. These fears will cause you to procrastinate and stop you from taking the action you need to move forward.
Recognise and address any fears
If you find yourself procrastinating around your marketing, take some time out to think about your fears around marketing or being successful. Write them down as they come up and reflect on each one in turn. Seeing them written down in black and white can be really freeing and help you gain perspective.
Work on letting go of the fear using your preferred personal development technique or approach whether it’s NLP, EFT, journaling, talking to a trusted friend, or meditating. Do the work you need to let the fears go.
When I feel stuck, I write my fears down on pieces of paper and then I have a little ‘letting go’ ceremony where I burn each one individually and replacing it with a positive affirmation. I then include the affirmations in my morning routine to reinforce the new messages I’m sending myself.
What marketing are you procrastinating over?
What areas of your marketing are you resisting doing? Are you avoiding finishing your website? Have you got a brilliant new service you haven’t shared? Should you have emailed your hot leads to invite them to work with you? There will be certain things you’ve been putting off or avoiding altogether.
I’m embarrassed to admit I procrastinated about starting the Holistic Business Matters podcast for years. I knew I wanted a podcast - I’d done one years ago with a practitioner friend which I loved, and it provided great value to my clients. So, I knew what to do, but every year it would feature in goals but never happen.
I discovered I wanted it to be perfect – and it was never going to be, so I avoided doing it and did other projects instead.
I knew I was sabotaging my success, so I joined a programme and got the accountability I needed to help me to make the podcast a reality. I’m now at episode 49 and it’s just part of my routine, but I had to find a way to take the action required.
Do you really want to do this?
Think about the activity or project you’re procrastinating about – what will completing it achieve for you and your business? Do you want to do this and is it the right thing to help you thrive as a practitioner?
Are you willing to do the work necessary, even if it scares you? You may know what you want, but are you willing to do the work necessary to achieve it?
If you’re not willing to do the work (and can’t outsource it), give yourself permission to let go of it and move on.
Start from where you are
You have enough knowledge; you need to start putting it into practice and take action. It’s the gap between knowledge and action that keeps you stuck. You may have all good intentions, but unless you’re prepared to do the work, you will stay stuck.
What do you already know how to do that will help you find clients for your business?
Create your plan of action
You know what you want to achieve, so break it down into achievable steps so you know what you need to do first – and do it – today.
Knowing where to start and the steps you need to take will lessen your resistance to marketing and stop the procrastination.
Now commit to taking continued action and book the time in your diary to do the work.
Celebrate your wins
As you start to move forward, celebrate all of your wins along the way – big and small. This will help you to see your progress and keep you motivated along the way. Before you know it, the project will be done or the marketing activity will just be something you do.
Accountability
Having someone keep you accountable is one of the best ways to keep taking action. There are lots of different ways to keep yourself accountable including working with a mastermind group, setting your intentions with a business buddy, or hiring a coach-mentor to help keep you on track. Do whatever you need to do to make sure another year doesn’t pass without you acting on the knowledge you have.
If you’re struggling with your marketing and finding clients, I can help you. Book a free discovery call and find out how working with me over 12-weeks can get you moving forward and taking the right action to build the practice of your dreams.
Podcast 49 show notes:
- (02:48) What is the knowledge-action gap?
- (03:25) Are you resisting taking action?
- (04:25) Recognise fears and address them
- (06:10) What marketing are you procrastinating over?
- (08:18) Do you really want to do this?
- (09:28) Start from where you are
- (10:21) Create your plan of action
- (11:20) Celebrate your wins
- (11:58) Keeping you accountable
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