How Do I Run a Doula Consultation?
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Kaely Harrod 00:04
Welcome to doula Tips and Tits. This podcast is a place where we answer one question about doula work, both to support you and to help you support your clients. I'm Kaely Harrod. I've been supporting families in this perinatal space since my oldest was born 12 nearly 13 years ago. I am a birth and postpartum doula childbirth educator, La Leche League Leader and a doula coach. I love guiding and supporting doulas as they work out their doula business. It is a tremendous joy to be trusted in this way. Thank you for joining us on this journey. The doula consultation is really the first moment when a doula is getting to know a potential client and letting the potential client see if that doula is a good fit for them. Welcome back to the podcast. Today we are diving into doula consultations because I have a workshop that is brand new. I'm running it for the first time this month in August 2023. And the workshop is all about doula consultations. So I don't know about you. But I am sometimes a little bit awkward when I don't know what to expect in something. I mean, if I'm honest, I'm awkward anyway, sometimes, but especially when I don't know what to expect. So when I first became a doula and I started doing doula consultations, I really felt like I would arrive at a consultation sort of like, hey, what do you want to talk about? Right? Like, you want to talk? Or should I talk like who's going first? Right? And the reality is that in a doula consultation scenario, I as the doula I'm the one who's running the consultation, right. And so I remember at some point, realizing, like if I kind of came in with an idea of like, this is how I wanted to go, and this is how I normally do it, then I would actually feel less awkward. But also, I was coming in with a kind of competence that my potential clients wanted to see in their doula, right. And so it was a it was a mind shift, complete game changer for my business. In 2018, I started having a minimum of a 90% higher rate. So out of all the consultations, I did 92, sometimes 99%, depending on the year and the month, and all of that hired me. And I really attribute that to a some competence, right, like some showing up with answers that felt like genuine and good, and be having a really clear framework for how I was going to run the consultation. So that I showed up telling my potential clients, hey, this is how this is gonna go. I'll ask you some questions, you asked me some questions, you know. And like, by the end, we both kind of have a good sense of whether or not this is a good fit for you. And me, right, because both of us are interviewing each other, I also get to decide if you're a good fit for me, you get to decide if I'm a good fit for you. So in that shifted everything about how I ran a consultation shifted. And honestly, it became where I could see in the first couple of minutes if this person would be a good fit for me. Now, of course, there were some folks that I felt like would be an awesome fit that didn't end up hiring me. But mostly, I would say the people who haven't hired me, I also didn't want to hire me because I felt like they weren't a good fit. And so what ended up happening was that I actually felt like changing how I did doula consultations also made it really clear for the potential client that I wasn't the person they wanted, right? Which is good, when that's not a good fit for you. So I haven't had to specifically tell anyone over the years like, Hey, I don't think I want to work with you, or I don't think we would be a good fit, you know, together on a team. I will do that if I need to at some point. But I have found that the folks I felt like I would have needed to say that to actually decided that for themselves because we both realized it was not a good fit. So I attribute that to how I have sort of run my Doula consultations how I show up to them. And so that's what this workshop coming up is all about. So I want to share some of the details about it because I think it's vital to your doula business that you get a really good system for running doula consultations, because you'll show up with more confidence and also, you won't feel so defeated if you don't get hired from them right because your show up like I did my part really well. And If I'm not a good fit for them, I'm happy for them to know that and to not hire me. And I think sometimes as doulas we show up with a little bit of a desperate energy, right? Like, we're kinda like, please, please, please hire me. And even when we're I mean, I think all of us have done this even when someone's like, not a great fit, or we feel like I don't know if I want to have somebody do in that month. Still, we let people hire us when we're feeling a little frantic or a little desperate, you know. And so what I want for you is to not show up with that energy. I want you to show up like an absolute doula boss, and be able to feel really good about the doula consultations that you do. Okay. So what is the workshop? So it is called the doula boss blueprint because you're a boss, you're a business owner, you're a boss, mastering consultations for more clients. So what is this workshop? And how is it different from like the webinars and master classes that I have done in the past? So this workshop is an interactive workshop. So it's taught live, it's two hours long. The first hour will be teaching me telling you why and how I do things. The second hour will be troubleshooting. That means you will work with other doulas to troubleshoot and answer questions and kind of come up with a game plan that you can walk away with. And also I will be answering questions and helping you troubleshoot and kind of fine tune your answers to things right. So basically, think about coming to this workshop and leaving with like, an actual blueprint to help you lead your next doula consultation, even if it's that same evening, right? So you're not going to leave with a million questions, you're going to leave with actual answers written out for what you want to say when someone asks you this particular thing. Okay. Now, this workshop, because it's taught live, and because there's so much interaction, there is a cap of 40 people. So one of the things that I have as a pillar of my business is equity, and accessibility, how that shows up is always something I'm exploring, because I want it to show up more, I want to be able to create more accessibility, more equity. And so this workshop is one of hopefully many that will be priced in a way that that sort of you have an idea of like the price that that is recommended, like the full cost of the class. And then there will also be an option to pay what you can starting at just $10. Because I think that there is an access issue when everything costs a ton of money, right. And so this workshop will be $67, full price. And then if you cannot pay the 67, you can pay whatever you're able to pay with a minimum of $10. Okay, so it's taught live, it's going to be on August 16, from 11am to 1pm. Eastern, taught on Zoom, the first hour will be recorded, but the second hour will not be because we're actually troubleshooting the people who are there. So it's something that you want to block in your schedule to show up live too. I want that recording to more be something that you can like, revisit if you need to, rather than thinking about not coming, and then watching the recording later, because you're not going to get what I want you to get out of this workshop, if that's how you do it. Okay. So again, August 16 11am, to 1pm. Eastern, taught live, but virtual, so you can be anywhere in the world and take this workshop $67 full price or Pay What You Can starting at just $10 Only 40 spots are in this workshop. So all of the information to sign up is in the show notes. And I would recommend that you do that today. Because I know when this episode goes out, it will already have some spots filled because I already have some folks that are interested. So I don't want you to delay signing up because I want you to be able to get into this class. If there's enough interest if this is something that you really find valuable and and a lot of people want to do it. I will run a second one quickly so that we have space to do two, I don't want to have it be huge. I'd rather run two then have one with ad because I want you to have space to ask me questions and really troubleshoot your own answers in a very unique and individual way for you. Okay, so grab that link in the show notes. Go sign up for that workshop. I'm super excited to help you figure out your doula consultations and solidarity for all the awkwardness that is the early days of doula consultations. It will get better, I promise. All right, I'll see you in the next Episode
Kaely Harrod 10:08
thanks for joining us for this episode of the doula Tips and Tips podcast. If you learned something today or had an aha moment, we'd love for you to share that on Instagram and tag us at Herat doula, so we can celebrate alongside you. If you found this podcast helpful, we would so appreciate you taking a second to leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app that helps other doulas find us as we do this work together. This podcast is intended as educational and entertainment it is not medical advice or business advice. Please consult your own medical or legal team for your own needs around
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Today, we're talking about one of the most essential skills for any new doula: getting into a rhythm of doing doula consultations well. As a doula, your consultations are your first opportunity to connect with potential clients and establish trust. The better you are at these initial meetings, the more likely you are to build a strong client base and have a successful doula practice.
Quote from the show:
“I remember at some point, realizing, like if I kind of came in with an idea of how I wanted to go, and this is how I normally do it, then I would actually feel less awkward. But also, I was coming in with a kind of competence that my potential clients wanted to see in their doula, right. And so it was a mind shift, a complete game changer for my business. In 2018, I started having a minimum of a 90% higher rate. So out of all the consultations, I did 92%, sometimes 99%, depending on the year and the month, hired me.”
If you are ready to step up your Doula Consultation game sign up for the upcoming Interactive Workshop:
The Doula Boss’s Blueprint: Mastering Consultations To Get More Clients
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/doula-boss-blueprint-workshop
CONNECT with Kaely on TikTok or Instagram
https://www.tiktok.com/@doulacoach
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @harroddoula
Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
