By Alexis Costello (Summer 2018 Issue: Business of Being Better)
Ranee Zeller is the owner of Bayside Kinesiology in Australia. She teaches a series of Kinesiology workshops on a variety of topics – today we are discussing business and marketing and how to set ourselves up for success in the Kinesiology field.
“Kinesiology is an amazing tool, it’s so undervalued. We need to start getting it out there and spreading the word and celebrating our uniqueness – not trying to hide under anyone’s banners, but just get out there and blast it!
A: You came on my radar because you put out a lot of posts on social media about meridians and interesting little facts about our physiology, and I noticed on one of those posts that you actually teach a class about abundance and business and so I thought it might be fun to talk about that for this issue of the magazine. Can you tell us a little about yourself and about that course?
R: I’ve been doing kinesiology since about 1994 so I’m a bit of a dinosaur! I started by working with children and they gave me a beautiful education in thinking “what do they really mean by this, when they simply say ‘I don’t like it?’” You have to dig deeper with kids. But through working with children I realized that when you help the moms, you actually help the kids, because the moms are always the heart. I started looking at educating and supporting the moms and basically telling them that they’re doing alright. So, my marketing strategy is targeted towards moms. My avatar client that I use is females between 35 and 55 and I’ve named my niche market client Suzie so I can think “I wonder what Suzie wants today?” and obviously that’s going to reflect what I want today, so that’s nice and easy to do. And I have every sort of client, but I don’t target them, I only target moms in my advertising.
A: For somebody who’s new to marketing and advertising and doesn’t know what you mean; what do you mean when you say your ‘avatar’?
R: Well right away it’s about ‘who do I resonate with?’. Who do you as the practitioner resonate with? Because that’s the important part. It would be useless for me to try to talk to people who are into something like unhealthy living, because I’m not into that, I don’t care about them. My avatar is my perfect client and is someone I can talk to and resonate with. So don’t try to create something (or work with a group) that you think is going to get you money, because it’s not going to work. It’s what you’re passionate about, what you’re drawn to, what you always enjoy doing. Which brings us to my avatar: I know she’s between 35 and 55, I know she’s female and has two children, I know she owns a house, she is average to above-average income, I know she’s motivated by fitness and sport, I know she goes on holidays, she’s interested in her kids and their education and wellbeing; I just know everything about her. So that’s what I mean by my avatar.
A: (laughing) Well that explains why I found your stuff!
R: So it’s working! And I don’t try to hard-sell ever, I just try to make you the Princess-Warrior that you are. I made the conscious choice that I would never market to what’s wrong, I would always market the goal achievements. For example; it’s not about feeling tired and stressed, it’s about being Supergirl and jumping fences. So pick your place and then stick to it always and then stick to your marketing style.
A: What is the Abundance class? Is it about marketing? Is it about changing your relationship with money?
R: It’s about everything, it’s so exciting! It’s for kinesiologists and I’ve got a business plan mapped out; your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, restraints, your marketing, behind the scenes, your clients and all that sort of thing. But more importantly, within the kinesiology I muscle test; is it a physical problem, mental, emotional, spiritual or nutritional? I always bring everything under those five categories. So under ‘strengths’ for example, you would have these five categories. Then I also have all the questions that need to be asked. In my workshop, we’re muscle testing and correcting the stresses that we have, but you can also use this as a sample for clients coming to you for business planning. I did a ton of research (like, way too much research!) in this and every question in there, I am asking the person, ‘have you done this?’ Are you doing this?’ In my 5-day workshop, you’re doing a massive amount of clearing on your own issues in relation to money and abundance and really setting your mind to what you are trying to achieve. I’ve had clients who say, “I want to make $100,000 a year, because kinesiology brings you good money.” You have to swap them over and go, ‘What’s your motivator? Who do you want to attract?’ I think you’re going to be successful when you’re not money-motivated, rather, money is the sidekick from doing something you’re good at and that you love.
A: In your experience then with people getting started, what’s the biggest mistake Kinesiology practitioners make when it comes to starting a business?
R: Not believing in themselves is the absolute number one. Kinesiology is simply learning how to muscle test – every other course you do after that builds on it. But if you’re not confident with your muscle testing you need to just keep practicing. Just asking the body and using this amazing tool.
We’re not very good at asking for help. I think we feel like if we don’t have it all together straight away, we’re the only ones who are left out. One other thing would be trying to do too much too quickly rather than focusing on your cute little niche market. Of course we can help with a variety of things, all kinesiologists can, but that’s not the way to start.
A: To me, a lot of the things you are saying sound like they would apply to anyone in business; are there challenges that are unique to holistic practitioners?
R: We don’t really fit into any platform do we? We’re not nutritionists, we’re not doctors; we just need to stand proud and know that we’ve got an amazing tool. It’s being grounded enough as well as spiritual enough to bring it into a language that my Suzie, my avatar, understands. And then we can make changes really quickly and I don’t know any other profession that makes changes as quickly as kinesiology. The first time I saw kinesiology, it was for my son. Every mom has a story; if we could get every single mom learning the basics of muscle testing to be able to help their child, in the moment of the day – that would be a dream come true.
A: That was the original goal when John Thie D.C. started Touch for Health right? Every street, every neighbourhood, someone in every household doing Touch for Health. So in that line then, in your opinion, how can we make what we do more visible in the world?
R: My first seven years of doing kinesiology, every single Thursday for a couple of hours in the afternoon, I did Allergy Testing in a health food shop. Really basic; I had a few things I could test and could show them, ‘oh look at this, bread is affecting you here and here and here,’ then I would say, ‘for an extra $10 I can show you what organ it’s relating to and you can go home with this,’ and I wrote out a formula with suggestions; drinking water, go outside, etc. and I gave them a pamphlet with my name on it. Now, I did that about 18 years ago and I still have people coming up to me going, ‘I remember you from the health food shop!’ So get yourself out publicly and my advice is to do little ten-minute sessions so that if it feels like it is too scary you can stop and start again, rather than setting yourself up for an hour’s treatment. It gives you the experience to learn a lot of people really quickly.
A: I’ve had the same experience, doing demos on lots of people; and I have found that, often it’s not even the person I work on that comes in, but they told their sister and cousin and friend…
R: So as therapists, we want to work with the innovators. Like, if we get the people who are the talkers and the sharers, they’ll do the rest of the work for us. Each of us can find our own magic in it. I’m not good at video clips or newsletters, but social media where I can just go on there and say how I’m feeling at the moment, that’s easier for me.
A: I was going to ask you for three actionable ideas for things practitioners could do right now to grow their businesses, but I feel like you’ve just given us a list! Any other suggestions?
R: I like getting a mentor, and I listen more than I talk. When speaking with people, I want to understand what they’re actually saying, which is what the kids taught me when I was working with them before. Learn how to understand what the person’s really asking for and be able to change the ways you’re saying something, or to adjust your love language accordingly.
Always stay open and be prepared to learn all the time. A good day is when you learn something new.
A: You mentioned that you did a ton of research in putting together your class; any resources that you would recommend for those who are interested in pursuing this or finding out more?
R: I really like listening to podcasts because I can do that on the go like when I’m driving. I also really like Apps; one I like showing my clients is Visible Body. I can us the App and show them ‘It’s in exactly this place, which is holding exactly this emotion, which is causing this negative belief system,’ and when people get a good visual of it, they’re like ‘oh my gosh!’. I learn from experience (as does Suzie!) and with the workshops that I teach, I don’t want people to be robots trying to find the right answer, I want them to stretch and grow. I also use Apps that show acupressure points and meridians so I can show the person ‘In your body, at this particular point, is the issue we are clearing now’. Seeing it as well as hearing it has great impact.
A: Any particular podcasts? Tim Feris and Seth Godin’s ‘Akimbo’ are the ones I keep to with any sort of regularity.
R: I’m really enjoying Oprah Winfrey’s at the moment: ‘Sunday Conversations’. ‘Up for a Chat’ is good as well, which is about health and nutrition, and ‘The Wellness Couch’.
A: Any other suggestions for business and marketing?
R: Give them 100% for the whole time that they’re there, no more and no less. When they’re gone, don’t give it to them – what you’ve done is enough. One other thing I have my students do is a really thorough balance on themselves on the affirmation: I only attract the clients that I can help. We also need to learn how to ground ourselves and avoid burnout. Just being outdoors, getting fresh air, breathing properly and some sort of meditative experience. For me it’s gardening, yoga and we have beaches next to us.
Be a nice person! Be genuine in what you are actually trying to achieve; not focusing on a dollar value or a time value, just be nice. Send them love. It’s not meant to be hard, kinesiology is meant to be a fun modality.
Read the magazine where this was originally published: gemskinesiology.com Watch the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmGO1FpgMig&t=4s
