[DoulaAlicia]

Hello Ladies,

I was hoping you would have some good advice for me. I'm a fairly new doula. I trained in April, started taking clients in June. I'm working with a volunteer agency so I'm doing most of my clients for free right now. I'm also taking private paying clients. I've been to only 2 births right now. I have three more schedule between now and November so far. 2 of those are free, one paying.

I've been to THREE interviews with paying clients. One hired me off the bat and said she loved me and felt comfortable with me. One lady didn't hire me I assume. SAid she would call back but didn't. And the third said they would call back in a week or two so I'm now waiting. I felt like all three interviews went really well. We talked, got along, laughed. BUT when it came to the question of my experience I always felt that they were very uncomfortable with my "inexperience".

Do any seasoned doulas have advice for a newbie? How do I get past this uncomfortable hump at interviews?

Thanks so much,

Alicia

 

[dewi]

Alicia,
It is a catch 22.
When you have more experience you usually have more confidence on the interviews. I am not convinced it is the "experience" that gets the bookings as much as the sense of self-assured confidence in what you're doing that clients feel from the doula.

Confidence about what you do, along with your ability to communicate your capabilities gives the client reassurance you can help them. Also excellent business practices helps tremendously (more then most doulas think!) return phone calls promptly, mail your info quickly to prospective clients, punctual for appt, dress appropriately, have phone numbers of references with you written down, try not to have an uncontrolled noisy household in the background when on the phone with clients, etc... all this contributes to your overall image, and does contribute to getting the booking and the interview.

A lot of Professional doula experience is not the be all and end all of being a doula, or getting the bookings. It's confidence. Until you have a lot of clients experiences to draw on for your confidence, try to draw privately on your confidence as a person with significant emotional resources and rich life experiences that makes you your feel capable to help others.. Plus don't forget you really, really are experienced; (you are a mom, breastfed, birthed) don't shortchange your self!

Learn to finish your interviews with an instruction to give to the client.
Such as asking them to call you within a week to let you know their decision. If you do not hear from them, you follow up with a friendly courtesy call to see if they wanted to reserve your time (that gives you back the control and the reason for the call). If not, tell them it was a pleasure to meet them. I find most clients forget to call even when they want to book you!

BTW, I looked at your website (it's perfect and a wonderful site) my impression is you are still somewhat young (in your 20's). In my experience, it is sometimes hard to book clients if they feel you are too young and still look like you are a "babysitter". As obnoxious as this sounds I hear it all the time from clients who interview the younger doulas in my service (even when they have significant experience and are moms).

Dewi
(doula service owner since 1991)

 

[DoulaAlicia]

Thanks for the letter Dewi!

I think my confidence is "mostly" there on interviews but I know what you mean, I could have more confidence. I do take care to call back immediately, dress in kahki and polo when I do interviews. Do you dress nicer than that? I bring references with me with phone numbers etc. I bring a brochure I created about doulas and my services. I bring a letter about myself. That is what I leave with them.

And I do ask them to call within 7 days. The last couple said it may be up to two weeks, which is fine.

Yes, I'm young and I look young. The first lady (who did love me and hire me) said I looked 16. I'm 28. haha. But she thought I was really great but she was confident and on child #4. I think it is first time Mom's that are more uncomfortable with me. I try to keep my prices low but in the area that I live most people are very comfortable financially so that doesn't help too much.

Another woman I'm serving right now who is 28 said she REALLY wanted someone her age so I'm perfect. (But she is a volunteer client so that doesn't help the wallet. I guess I'll just have to find those who really fit with me.

Tell me about owning a doula service. I was thinking about it for the future. How does yours work? Do you have a website I could peek at?

Thanks again for the letter,

Alicia

 

[dewi]

It is a crapshoot who clicks with a particular doula. Most first time older moms (professional women) really do like a more motherly (or someone closer to their age) to help them, and they don't usually book a young woman in her 20's.

In my experience looking young is typically not an advantage for a doula. But don't worry you will be getting old soon enough (LOL). On interviews dressing more maturely in a casual skirt and tee shirt might help, and Not having so much information about your age could also help (on the other hand that is part of your identity and uniqueness of what led you to this work so leaving it out is tricky). When you start having more clients you will not have to rely on your own personal story to get you work. I do not think it is an advantage to publish your own birth story; it is more professional when your are a bit withholding about your own birth and postpartum experience unless specifically asked.

I agree that your rates are very low (especially for a community of financial means). I think you should charge closer to the going rate in your area. People of means don't respect lower rates they think suspiciously of why are you so much lower then the other doulas.

My business was a natural evolution of growth; I was too busy to handle all the clients I was getting. When I was training to be a Childbirth Educator some of the women in training with me said they did not want referrals since they hated the business part and would prefer if I took a small portion of their money and took care of all the business stuff and sending them on bookings or for the interview and handle all the business and money related stuff.. . I then had the luck of getting many bookings and referrals from a friend who was a doula that was moving, she referred all her clients to me. I also was mom friends with three midwives that had separate practices and they referred to me. I was happily swamped early on and really built up my business when a brilliant long article about me and another doula ran in the New York Times in 1997. I was also the co-founder of the NYC / ICAN chapter in the early 90's and that led to a lot of work.

Since the late 1990's I always have between 8-13 doulas working thru my service (they can be as busy as they like). We are exclusively postpartum and only take clients that plan on breastfeeding.

I was also trained as a lactation consultant and a cb educator, these two things I do not do professionally. I like being a ppdoula and running a service. But all that knowledge is invaluable and I get my referrals from cb educators and LC's and labor doulas in my community since I don't offer any of those things for clients. No conflict of interest, I refer back to all those other professionals!

My website is purposely very simple and not detailed. I like people to email me or call me; I enjoy talking to prospective clients. I also like to snail mail information packet to clients.