Marketing Your Private Practice - Part II

C.J. Hayden, in her book “Get Clients Now!,” outlines the six basic methods you can use to market yourself:

– Direct contact and followup. Look at who has referred to you in the past. Call and ask if you can take them to lunch to thank them and learn more about how you can help the people they know.

– Networking and Referral Building. If you specialize in infertility counseling, for example, you should get to know a couple of different audiences. The first is infertility docs. They are going to be your number one source of referrals, likely. The second is OB-GYNs in general, with general practice physicians coming in after that. You’ll want to find out if there are any local chapters of support groups, like RESOLVE. You might also want to connect with local pastors or ministers, who might work with parents who lost a child during birth, or before. Send them a letter and business card and then call to follow-up.

– Public Speaking. Look for opportunities to speak and educate prospective clients — which also increases your visibility with referral sources. Or, look for opportunities to speak to groups of your referral sources. Every therapist in the state has numerous opportunities to speak at professional association meetings. Whether you’re speaking to the public or peers, make sure you create a handout with your contact information; have plenty of business cards on hand; and have a drawing or sign-up sheet so you can collect people’s contact information.

– Writing and Publicity. Article writing is another way to increase your visibility. You can write articles to publish on your website, your blog, or for publication in newsletters — for example, association newsletters, or group newsletters. If your area has chapters of national organizations, like CHADD, they are always looking for content.

– Promotional Events. Consider hosting a luncheon for a group practice of physicians. These types of events aren’t limited to pharmaceutical reps. Call the local practice and ask if you can bring in lunch and introduce yourself. Or participate in local community events, like health fairs or outreach events. You can host events for prospective clients or referral sources, or both.

– Advertising. Finally, there’s advertising. This encompasses everything from newspaper and magazine ads to Yellow Pages, direct mail, and much, much more. Advertising won’t get you the results that some of your other efforts will, but it can help increase your visibility and name recognition.

More in Part Three.

Marketing Your Private Practice - Part I

 I often say in my marketing presentations that there is no secret formula or magic bullet to filling your private practice — the key to success is to select a few simple tactics and do them consistently.

I like to use the model developed by C.J. Hayden, author of “Get Clients Now!,” to help you understand how this works. Marketing is like a water system; it’s constantly “in flow.”

You start with buckets of prospects, contacts, leads, and referrals. The first stage is filling the pipeline. The second stage is following up. Then you get to the third stage — which is the “presentation” stage. For therapists, this is usually a phone conversation. Prospective clients either say “yes” or “no.” Yes is they book an appointment. No is “I’ll get back to you” or “No thanks.”

The key questions to ask yourself are: Where in this cycle are you stuck? Which stage needs more work? Do you need more people contacting you? Do you need help getting them to the point where you can talk on the phone for five minutes to see if what they need and what you offer is a good fit? Do you need help following up with folks who don’t say “Yes” right away?

Do you consistently capture the names and e-mail addresses of people who contact you? Few therapists bother to build a database of prospective clients to keep in touch with until they say yes. Even fewer actually keep in touch with those prospects. Yet it’s easy to send an informative quarterly e-mail newsletter to prospective clients who contacted you at one time.

There is also a mathematical formula at work here. The general guideline across all industries is that you need 30 people in your pipeline to yield 1 client. Because therapy clients “self-identify” themselves for the most part, I believe the ratio for therapy clients is actually closer to 6-to-1. For every 6 people who find you, one will become a client.

In order to effectively build your private practice, you need to cultivate relationships. These can be relationships with prospective clients, referral sources, insurance companies, EAP providers, or anyone else in a position to either become a client or send new clients your way.

Build your visibility in order to be in touch with enough people to convert into clients. To gain visibility, you need to market yourself.

Marketing is telling people what you do, over and over again. It’s a process where prospective clients get to know, like, and trust you.

More on this in Part Two.

Therapist Profile - 2011

Are you interested in getting more client referrals? Dozens of therapists have found that The Therapy Directory (powered by Psychology Today) can provide you with new client referrals.


Interested in learning more? Use my promotional code to receive a free 90-day trial of The Therapy Directory, and see for yourself! (Use this link: http://www.tinyurl.com/DBL84B)


Want to build a profile that is a virtual client magnet? I've prepared a presentation, "Building Your Online Therapist Profile" that will help you develop your listing on The Therapy Directory.


You can listen to the recording of the teleseminar using Itunes
OR
Download a transcript of the teleseminar recording.

Want to check and see if your vanity URL is available? Click on the 1&1 banner below and search for the domain you're interested in registering.

Or click here: http://www.tinyurl.com/netherapist

Looking for more help with developing your profile?

Purchase the "The Therapy Directory Sign-Up Kit." For just $49, you'll receive:

• A sign-up kit to receive your free 90-day trial to The Therapy Directory.
• One-year registration of a vanity URL to re-direct to your Therapy Directory profile.
• 15-minute consultation with Bridget to review and revise your Therapy Directory narrative.

If you don't want to purchase the Sign-Up Kit online, you can fax or mail your credit card information to us and we will e-mail you the Sign-Up Kit as an Adobe Acrobat PDF. 

Ready to write your own profile, and don't need the URL or consulting assistance? Sign up for your free 90-day trial of The Therapy Directory here.

Want to learn more about creating your online identity? Purchase the "Therapist's Guide to Branding Yourself Online," an e-book by Bridget (Weide) Brooks for just $19.

For more information on developing your brand:

Once you get your profile up on The Therapy Directory, if you have a fairly "general" profile (not targeted to a small niche, like trauma work), you should be receiving approximately 100 views to your profile per month, and 1-5 clients per month. If you're not getting those kinds of numbers, contact me.

Updating Office Space Listing

I've had several requests for updated information on office space available for therapists (both joining a practice as well as renting space) since publishing the original post in July 2010.

Here is a practice opening I just received:

Office available in gorgeously built-out suite of five offices. Waiting room capacity of 10. Private exit (to avoid entering/exiting through waiting room). South-facing window in 13x13 room. Includes kitchen, bath and shower, storage, fax, and copier. Simple rent. 15 minutes from anywhere in Omaha. Located in the heart of the city (76th & Pacific). Share space with four other mature therapists. PLMHPs welcome. Contact Steve Abraham, LIMHP at (402) 707-0788 or via e-mail.


If you have openings (or are looking for a practice to affiliate with), contact me.

What's Your Job Profile: Gina Fricke

Therapist Gina Fricke, of Peace and Power Counseling, was included in a "What's Your Job?" roundup feature in the Sunday, Sept. 5 edition of the Omaha World-Herald.

Therapist Survey: Subleased Office Space (Part 4)

This is the fourth post in a five-part series of articles based on a July 2010 survey of therapists regarding office space subleases. Previous articles examined fees and amenities offered, an analysis of factors related to deciding which practice to affiliate with, and how referrals and emergency coverage issues are handled.

The most useful part of the survey was the advice given by therapists about renting office space. Experience is the best teacher, and therapists participating in this survey have either rented space from another therapist, or are a "landlord" themselves, renting space to other therapists (or, in some cases, they have experience on both sides of the equation).

Therapists provided guidance for what questions to ask/issues to consider when subleasing space:

• What does my rental fee include? (Billing, scheduling, referrals, consultation group, marketing, inclusion on practice website?)
• Ask about additional fees up front: Are any fixtures to be added or modified, and who will be responsible for paying this fee?
• Ask for a full disclosure of costs for the space and for how much profit the therapist will make from the rent/fees you will be paying them.
• "Consider sharing space with other independent therapists over renting space from a therapist. The costs can be cheaper, there is more equality in decision-making, there are no hierarchies, and there is full disclosure about what you are paying for and what you are getting."
• Will I be getting referrals?

A couple of therapists provided their ideas of a "model" situation:

• "I would want 100% of my counseling fees and pay a monthly rental fee. I would pay per referral, if referrals were given to me. I would not sign a non-compete, because clients ethically should not just be handed over to someone else if I decide to leave. I would want a very explicit plan for how call-ins to the office were handled, and how I would know that my calls would be mine. Personally, I would want my counseling philosophy to 'gel' with others in the office."
• "Try to get office/secretarial support, telephone, and a couple referrals per month."

"It may be helpful to start out renting space from another therapist when learning the ropes of private practice, but it is important to know exactly what is entailed in the contract, how decisions will be made, and what actions will be taken to address concerns about the space or services," one therapist wrote.

Others gave advice on which issues to focus on when selecting a practice to affiliate with:

• "Check for compatibility of clientele and for confidentiality issues."
• Look at the general style of the office (culture, feel, fit)
• "I have done a percentage before, but I believe a flat fee is best, because you know how to plan."
• "Each therapist should share either similar values, or be compatible. They should know the reputation of the persons they are renting with or to/from. When sharing with several people, they all should get a say about who might also join the practice."

It's important to examine the whole financial picture, not just the rental fee.

• "Private practice has many hidden and unforeseen costs: legal, accounting, consultation, and practice building." Consider these when choosing a practice as well.
• "Compare costs and what that cost gets you in amenities."
• "A private practice is a business, and to assume that one gets referrals just for being there is naive. Business development is complex, time-consuming, and costs money."
• "Remember that going out on your own can be challenging too. If you share office space or a building, you can share office equipment, phones, and Internet. This can save you a lot of money. Not to mention electricity and office materials, such as paper towels, etc. In the office I am in, I do not have to clean the office either, as this comes along with the rent."

One therapist provided an innovative suggestion: "If you start with a percentage arrangement, make a cap and change to a flat monthly fee once the cap is consistently reached for six months to one year." This will help the renter decrease his or her overhead as he or she gets more successful.

Be sure to ask about how referrals are handled. 

One therapist noted, "I was fortunate to have a large referral base prior to coming to this office, and I had a lot of referrals that went directly to me. Sharing referrals can be challenging if you are just starting out, but as you continue to build your referral base, people will begin asking for you. In a shared office, this can be challenging, as everyone wants to have business."

One therapist recommends a careful self-analysis before seeking a practice affiliation. "Where are they in their profession? What is needed? How much time do they want to make available to do the support work, marketing, and business development?" Ensuring you select the practice that provides the services you need/expect will make the arrangement a beneficial one for both the subleasing therapist and the practice or "landlord therapist."

Another therapist cautions peers not to simply limit their focus on the financial aspects of the selection process. "By far and away it is most important that you know and trust the personal and professional ethics that the other therapists have in the office you are using. Everything else comes down to money, and that's not as critical."

Compatibility is key. "It is important to know the therapists, or at least talk to them in depth, to see if your personalities are a fit." Another therapist added, "Don't rent from a therapist who wants to tell you how to do therapy. I have never had that problem, but others have."

"Know the dynamics of the other partners with whom you share space. Seek quality, ethical concerns, and professional compatibility. Being picky is best."

Several therapists advised getting the contract terms in writing. "Read it carefully and compare it to either past contracts or standard ones," one noted. Another added, "Get everything in writing, and have each therapist sign it. This prevents misunderstandings and complications at a later time." Make sure the contract notes the specific rights and responsibilities of each party. "Read the contract! Know exactly what you are getting."

And get everything hammered out up front, if possible. "Negotiate before signing; doing so afterwards gets thorny."

Even finding the perfect office sublease situation, getting into private practice can be difficult, as one therapist reminds us. "You need to be fully licensed, in network with many insurance providers, and have a good base of clientele you might bring with you. Even with that, it is difficult for about a year to make any money."

One concluded, "I've been very fortunate, but it's important to have a contract with those in the same office so that all expectations are understood by all."

Therapist Survey: Subleased Office Space (Part 3)

This post reports additional results from a survey conducted in July 2010. Previous posts have examined the costs and amenities available when renting office space and the issues therapists consider when selecting a subleasing arrangement.

One issue for contracting therapists is access to referrals, especially in a large practice. Unless the therapist has his or her own clientload -- or can build one independently of calls into the practice, renting space can make it difficult to attract clients.

Forty-one percent of therapists renting space had access to referrals within the office as part of the rental fee. One-third of therapists surveyed did not have access to internal referrals. Another third received referrals on a case-by-case basis.

When asked about referrals, some responses included:

• "Referrals are not part of the rental fee. However, referrals are frequent."
• "They go to partners first and then to contractors."
• "Referrals (are) provided as appropriate for patients, not as part of fee."
• From a therapist who rented space to other therapists: "If referrals were specifically for me, I kept them or referred them; other referrals were divided up by therapist/renter."

Another key issue is emergency coverage. In nearly three-quarters of the situations, no on-call services are provided for any therapists -- each therapist provides his or her own emergency coverage. In 13% of the situations, renter serve as an on-call therapist for clients (all therapists in the office rotate providing emergency coverage). Ten percent of therapists had access to emergency services through special arrangement:

• "My rent is adjusted slightly to include on-call service for my clients."
• "No coverage for purely renting space, but it would be possible if interdependence desired."
• "Phone coverage includes message service to contact each therapist in case of emergency.