Written by Claire Dunkley from Cluzie Clinic
I run a holistic health clinic and academy to train other health practitioners. A lot of how I run my business is based on different experiences I have personally had that have tainted or influenced my decision on what experience I want my clients to feel.
Below I have shared two experiences with you – and I’ll also unpack how you the word ‘love’ (or creating connected value) really DOES have a place in a business setting.
First experience:
Walked in for my first visit to the health practitioner. I filled in a form that went through some of my previous health history. Met the practitioner for the first time and was asked some basic questions about my health in no more detail than what I had completed on the form (which was not referred to BTW….). Discussed the standard treatment plan that is delivered to all their patients. Then got put on a table where five other people were being treated at the same time on other tables (in the same room with no curtains) by the one guy. I experienced about five minutes of actual practitioner manipulation. No discussion was held around whether there was any improvement felt. I was told to see the receptionist to bulk pay for the next ten sessions as a discount is applied if sessions are paid for in advance, and to come back three times in the following week. The whole first session went for a maximum of ten minutes. I walked out feeling like just a number.
Second experience:
I was greeted on time by the health practitioner for my first appointment with a huge warm smile and a touch to the shoulder. I again filled in a form that went through some of my previous health history. Once I entered the practitioners’ room, it was clear he had obviously pre-read my in-depth health history form and asked me targeted questions about my particular issues. He asked me what I wanted from the treatment and what my goals are. He listened to my previous experiences and what I felt had contributed to the issues. He then went on to explain what the specific treatment plan to address my issues would consist of and what the payoff would be for me post-treatment. The words he used made me feel heard, respected and gave me more confidence than what I walked in with. Post the personalised treatment (where I was the only patient he was treating), we went through what had changed and what to expect for the next few days and the longevity of the treatment plan. He also suggested a ten-pack special treatment deal and explained what results I could expect post the completion of that. In leaving, he gave me a little bag of bathroom magnesium salts in order to assist my sleeping issues. The first session was so involved and went for half an hour of personalised time. Plus, a real hug on the way out. I walked out feeling GREAT.
Breaking it down:
It is common terminology in business to design a Business Value Proposition. What is not so common is to hear the term Love referred to in any business conversation.
However, drawing on the great work by Dr Gary Chapman, “The Five Love Languages” and applying it to a business is perhaps a better way to create a Business Value Proposition.
If we look at my experiences from above two treatment experiences and apply the Five Love Languages as described by Dr Gary, there is a definite connection.
| Five Love Languages | First Experience | Second Experience |
| Personal Touch | The only physical touch was during the practitioner manipulation | Warming shoulder touch at greeting and a real hug on departure |
| Quality Time | 10 minutes total time and did not listen to me or ask specific questions | 30 minutes where I felt respected and heard with 100% focus |
| Gifts | Not applicable | Magnesium bath salts |
| Acts of Service | The treatment with five other people at the same time | The individualised and personalised treatment session |
| Words of Affirmation | Not applicable | Constant reaffirming that I am not crazy, and that my experiences are real and building up of my esteem |
What Does Providing Value Really Mean?
In a business sense, you have the word value in your mind so you can create something special for your clients. However, how much consideration and purposeful action have you taken to provide value as a leader in your community, with person to person interaction?
Providing value is less about you and more about what sort of an effect you are having on the other person. How you make a person feel after your interaction is the greatest indication of value that you can provide.
By being conscious of the five love languages and acting in a way that fills the other persons’ ‘love tank’ (their feeling of being respected, heard and cared for), the more value and leadership qualities you will enhance.
Three Top Tools to Provide More Value:
1) Fill Your Own Cup First
Just like a champagne fountain, the first cup (you) at the top needs to be overflowing before any champagne (love/value) can flow into the below glasses (others).
Focusing on what fills up your energy and love bucket first, will then allow you to contemplate how to provide value to others. If you are running on empty, there is nothing for you to give.
2) You Attract What You Act
This one is pretty simple in that how you “think à feel à do à get”, is what you attract into life as well. If you are thinking about how a particular person and how annoying their personality is, you will feel flat and unenergised when you next meet them, which means you will do things (actions) like not smile / listen /engage with them and thus you will get an even greater crappier relationship with them and reinforcing your belief structure that that person is annoying.
If you decide to change your thought pattern about that same person to something positive you like about them, then the end result will be an attraction of the full cycle again but with a positive outcome.
To provide value and be a leader in your community, the first step is to change your thoughts on others and yourself so as to encourage a good foundation to start from.
3) Be the Go-Giver
Another brilliant resource is “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg. Instead of thinking about your own self-interests and how you can manipulate others to do things that you want them to do, you flip it to constantly look for “how can you be of assistance to others”. These can be small things like a smile as you pass a stranger, connecting the right people together, picking up a dropped parcel for somebody else.
By thinking of others first and what their needs are, you are providing immense value. Plus, with good old karma, and point 2 above, giving will flow back into your life too.
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