3 mistakes practitioners make with packages

I’ll admit, it took me a while to figure out my packages when I first started my Functional Health Practitioner business.

Despite the training and input mentors gave me about creating packages, I offered customized packages for every client that walked through my virtual practice door.

At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing by creating personalized packages to address their symptoms and budget. 

However, this led to a lot of disorganization and overwhelm that took up a ton of my time. It distracted me from not only doing things to get more clients but also from being fully present with the clients I had. 

Instead of presenting myself as the expert, I essentially was an order-taker.  

And as an outcome, I wasn’t getting results in my business or with my clients.

So I decided to give packages a try by adopting the 90-day and 6-month program approach taught in just about every business training out there. 

However, the confidence in my new programs was quickly crushed when I realized they weren’t meeting my clients’ needs.

Even as a Functional Health Practitioner running lab tests, it’s practically impossible to predict exactly what will come back on lab tests to indicate what a client needs, how long their protocol will be, and how long it will take them to feel better.

The clients I enrolled in these timeframe-specific programs ended up needing more than 90 days or even 6 months.  Based on the lifestyle recommendations guided by their test results, adding in their initial supplements and making some dietary changes could take a month. If their stool test came back with a variety of pathogens, the protocol to address them could be anywhere from 2-6 months.

I felt terrible selling them into a program that wasn’t seeing them to the end of the transformation I had promised during the consultation.

Needless to say, the specific timeframe package approach isn’t always the right fit for Functional Health Practitioners like us who are running a series of lab tests and guiding clients through a transformational healing process.

This is when I decided to break the mold of the typical practitioner package approach and develop packages that would fit my clients’ needs, and my needs too.

In this video and blog, I share the top 3 mistakes practitioners are making with packages and the best practices to use instead to meet your and your client’s needs.

Over the years, I did a lot of different health and life coach business training, trying to sort things and build my business.

I always found myself having to reinvent what I was taught because what we do as Functional Health Practitioners is slightly different from the typical coach in most industries.

Functional Health Practitioners require more science, complexity, and bio-individuality in their work with clients than other coaches do. This is the beauty of how we get clients such amazing results, and at the same time, it can make it challenging to create concise packages to meet your client’s needs, and your financial needs too.

Knowing your niche is the single most important factor in creating packages that work. 

When you’re clear on who your niche (aka ideal client) is, then you can create packages that are guaranteed to meet their needs.

(Note: If you’re unclear about your niche check out this blog I wrote)

Assuming you know who your niche is, here are the top 3 mistakes you might be making with your packages as a Functional Health Practitioner and the best practices to apply instead…

Mistake #1 – Custom Packages
This is a no-brainer, given the part of my story that I shared with you already.  Creating custom packages for every client that walks through your practice door only leads to disorganization and overwhelm.

It’s like reinventing the wheel every time you enroll a client, making it impossible to establish a workflow process that you and your client can follow.

It eats up your time with measly administrative tasks and distracts you from doing the more important things in your business and with your clients.

Instead, establish yourself as the expert and create concise packages that are aligned with who your niche is and the transformation they are looking for.  Don’t just be an order-taker, because clients are coming to you looking for someone who can confidently give them a plan. 

Create packages based on the standard series labs you would want every one of your ideal clients to do and the set of topics you know you’ll need to address with them in order to get results.  This is what some would call your “signature system.”

Mistake #2 – Set Timeframes
Your work as a Functional Health Practitioner is unique and your client’s cases are too.  They’ve already been shoved in various healthcare and alternative therapy boxes that didn’t meet their needs.

Your clients need someone who can meet them where they are at, guide them along the healing journey, and see them to the end. Trying to predict and fit all of that into a 90-day or 6-month window isn’t always going to work.

Instead, give yourself the flexibility to give them the support, accountability, and guidance that they need to get results and give you a shining testimonial.

Creating packages based on a total number of sessions instead of a timeframe allows you to meet with the client more frequently in the beginning when they need it, and less towards the end as they become more comfortable and compliant doing the work.

This also gives you the flexibility to see them through whatever the lab test results might throw at you. 

Mistake #3 – Not Calculating Your Time
I get it. As a Functional Health Practitioner, calculations and processes may not be your zone-of-genius.  You’re more focused on helping people heal.  Luckily for you, these are my zones of genius, and calculating your time is critical to pricing your packages right and building value in what you have to offer clients.

Most practitioners don’t establish healthy boundaries with clients or consider ALL of the time involved in working with them.  This quickly leads to burnout. 

You didn’t get into the business of health-building to only have it break down your own health.

It’s important to set clear boundaries with clients about communication, access to you, and what their responsibilities are for success.  All of which can be built into your packages.

Your packages should clearly outline exactly what a client receives or has access to.  Your prices should be calculated based on ALL of your time spent inside AND outside appointments.

For example, to establish healthy boundaries and create a container for communication with clients, I include one email check-in between each coaching session, and this is listed in the package details.  When calculating the price for my packages, I consider the time spent to send and respond to each of those check-in emails based on an average worst-case scenario (clients who need higher touchpoints).  

If an email check-in exchange starts to go down a rabbit hole, I kindly let the client know the conversation is better had in more detail during their upcoming session and if needed we can bump it up sooner so that I can give them the support they need. That way, I’m working within the time I calculated for my packages and not giving it away without pay.

Learning from my mistakes with packages in the past is what helped me build a step-by-step solution for supporting a multiple 6-figure health business that helps heal hundreds of people while working less and taking better care of myself.

I know when you apply these package best practices they will help you do the same too.

And to help you get this right so you can get your business going or growing, click here to get my Package Creation Worksheet!