| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Private Practice Marketing: 3 Secrets I Wish I Knew When I First Started Out
I don't know about you, but I am still waiting for my first class in graduate school about how to develop, market, and run a private practice. I'm also still waiting for my father to have a discussion with me about the facts of life. My wife and I have 2 kids, so I guess I figured it out for myself. Just like I had to figure out for myself how to market and build a practice. So here are three secrets I wish I knew when I first started my practice. Secret #1 - Grow Rich in a Niche A niche is simply a narrow and specific area in which you want to specialize. The opposite of having a niche is being a generalist. In the private practice therapist world, I call it "Death by ICF." Most therapists will tell you that they work with individuals, couples and families. Well, who doesn't? Doesn't every one? If you say you work with individuals, couples, and families, who don't you work with? Individuals, couples and families makes you sound like you are just a garden variety plain vanilla therapist. It tells potential clients nothing about what you do. It makes no one say "That's the person I want to talk to right away!" Choose a niche in which you enjoy working. What really gives you a kick to do? What do other people marvel at you doing well? Then make sure it is self replicating. Recently I was talking with some friends at lunch and the subject came up about what would need to happen in the economy for each of us to continue to do well in our respective careers. I realized that all I really need to stay in business is for people to keep getting married and having kids. #2 - Return your calls I know it sounds so simple to do, but it's also so simple not to do. I'm always stunned by the number of counselors that tell me about how many days old messages they have on their desk to return. I have a rule that I will try my very best to return a call in the same day I received it. Sometimes it gets a little stressful when I have 8 calls to return, five more clients to see, and a family that for some crazy reason wants me home at night. Here's how I reframe it to help me handle it better: "I've worked very hard for a long time to get this many people to want to talk with the likes of me......." #3 - Return new referral calls within two hours I'm even more shocked by the number of clients that have told me that they were given 3 names, I was the first to call back, and one of the others took a week and the other one never returned their call. Unbelievable. At this point in my practice, as a result of these tips I am giving you, usually when a new client calls specifically and only for me, I still get back to them within a couple of hours. As you are building your practice, many of your clients will be shopping around for a practioner. Be the first one to call back. Practice building mentor coach Jeff Herring, MS, LMFT is the President of BuildingYourIdealPractice.com, empowering private practice professionals to build, market and live the practice of their dreams. You are invited to subscribe to the free Getting Clients Newsletter and our free monthly Practice Building Tele-Seminar
MORE RESOURCES:
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Five Most Common Joint Venture Marketing Mistakes To Avoid Joint Venture marketing has become a highly popular way for small businesses to maximize their profits. When two or more businesses combine their resources synergistically, it creates greater marketing impact and bigger profits than either can have alone. Direct Mail Still Works! Direct Mail CampaignsDespite the proliferation of communication facilitators--mobile phones, faxes, emails, PDAs--the mail still plays a vital role in successful marketing. Direct mail marketing continues to be one of the leading methods for effectively reaching prospective customers because it can be focused, predictable and economical. Hispanic Market Reality and Purchasing Power How many Hispanic people live in the US currently. Well there are 35. AIDA From A Different View - I Call It the 5 Ws My childhood was my foundation for how I write and how I think. I caught on at an early age that writing is an art and it has a very distinct way of reaching out to people depending on how you apply it. Effective Tips For Telemarketers I had a telemarketer call me recently. Here's a rough transcript of the conversation. Design Does Matter The idea that good design can improve how people perceive your business has long been a part of a designer's sales tools.They try to convince you that by improving your image, maybe creating a new logo or changing the way you communicate with your customers you can somehow improve sales and improve your bottom line. Promotional Pen - A Pen by any other Name? Have you ever been among a group of people exchanging contact details? Notice the scramble for that good old-fashioned instrument, the pen. See the woman upturn her purse searching for one and the impatient expressions on the faces of the people with her. How Do You Get Past The Gatekeeper? The best joint ventures are with people in your own network - those that already know, like and trust you. However, there's nothing to stop you from partnering with "cold" contacts - those you've never associated with before, and you would therefore need to build a relationship with. Unique Selling Proposition - Your Competitive Advantage! To capture a larger market share and be viable, sustainable and profitable, you absolutely need to differentiate or distinguish your business, products and/or services from your competitors.In other words, you need to make your business special in the eyes of your customers and/or prospects. Client Attraction Technique #1: Niche Marketing When asked "what business are you in" many business owners often identify an industry, for example, "I'm an accountant" or "I run a beauty salon " or "I own a restaurant." But claiming to be part of an industry is not what attracts customers. Marketing Planning Made Simple - Another Small Business Power Tool Marketing planning must be really difficult and complex, otherwise why would there be so many books written on the subject ? right?Well, I'm just enough of a skeptic to believe that many of these books were designed more to make money for their publishers and authors than to make marketing planning simple and understandable.I spent more than 30 years working with very successful small business people who never wrote a single marketing plan. Networking Events - Lose the Fear and Gain the Benefits "Kevin, are you saying I need to go to Networking events? I hope not because I hate them."No, of course you don't have to go to them. Business Card Design - How to Stand out and Get Noticed One of the most powerful, yet over looked weapons in your marketing arsenal is your business card. If designed properly this little 3 x 2. Utilizing Your Best Hidden Asset To Increase Sales You probably already have in your possession one of the most valuable and powerful assets you can possibly own. But if you're like most business people you probably aren't using it to its full potential. Are Corporate Awards and Corporate Gifts Beneficial for Your Business? With the increased challenges that all companies are faced with, many corporations have implemented various initiatives to continue to grow corporate earnings and shareholder value, some have discovered the strategic value of corporate awards and corporate gifts. From the boardroom to the frontlines to the client across the country, corporate awards and gifts offer many benefits to enhance performance. How to Measure the Benefit Your Product or Service Offers Measuring the benefit of your product or service means putting a specific value on the advantage it offers. For example, it's ineffective to say your light bulbs are brighter and last longer than the competition's. Marketing Secrets #101- Your Most Important Sale Which sale is the most important one you will ever get from a client?I'll bet you're thinking it's your first sale with a new client. Well, it's not. A Guide to Brochure Printing Brochure printing can be easy if you first identify your needs and have a clear sense of your budget. Whether it is for is a real estate listing, a trade show handout, a data sheet, or another application, brochures are a great promotional tool. How to Write Fundraising Letters That Motivate Donors To Make Donations to Your Non-Profit Motivating strangers to give their money away is one of the hardest jobs around. It's difficult to do face to face. Using Purchased Leads A little advice about using leads that you purchase from another source;These are not opt-in leads per-say, that you have gathered using lead capture pages.They might join your list, but initially this is a whole different animal.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 Indexadvertisements.com |
