The idea behind 90 for 90
As I look back over the various client-contact moments and sessions – going all the way back to the beginning of my professional career – I’m looking to see clearly the elements that were crucial to the best outcomes. I can’t get past the conclusion that the first contact and that first conversation set a positive tone for what followed.
Following right behind the active decision to seek help is the largely emotional, subjective experience of that first encounter.
It needed to turn out to be a reasonable version of what the client hoped would be true when they decided to go through with the process.
That’s why I want the session to be 90 minutes – more than a 50 minute hour. That’s long enough, but not too long. Plenty of time for the client to tell his or her story. A lot of back-and-forth can occur. Questions. Follow-up. The fact that a good session can be calming, hopeful, insightful, informative, and concrete about the next steps more than compensates for the fact that, yes, the problem isn’t entirely solved in one session.
That $90 for those 90 minutes is very inexpensive and something even people with modest incomes can afford. I honestly believe that people value something they pay for more than something that happens for free. And because my premise is that it’s entirely possible that someone will get enough of what they’d hoped would be the case from that 90-minute session, such that there isn’t even a minor nudge or suggestion for further consultation time, it actually encourages and enhances the likelihood that one session is enough and well worth it.
Shaun Kieran
Hello@ShaunKieran.com
(207) 767-3864
