Dear Therapist Colleague,

I get it. You are tired of learning new marketing strategies only to have someone (me included) tell you that the old ones aren't working anymore. 

Well, this year - there is very good news.

First, let's remember why you hung out our shingle in the first place. You wanted to:

Set your own hours. Take only the clients you want. Negotiate your own fees. Take time off when you like. And in some cases, no more working for someone you don't respect.

Being in private practice is very rewarding. But you need clients.  To attract the clients you want, refresh your marketing strategies (before all the other therapists do). You can relax, though. You know how to do this.

I started my practice over 15 years ago without a clue how to get a client. One day when I found myself annoyed that the intake person hadn't sent me a client. Then it dawned on me - I was the intake person and I wasn't getting any intakes!

It didn't happen over night but as I hired business mentors and tried different marketing strategies, I figured it out. My private practice became full with a waiting list. 

But you are way ahead of where I was when I started - you have already learned about websites and marketing.

On the other hand, if you are like most therapists, you are quite tired of marketing. You chose this profession to be a clinician and to help people - not be a marketer. You are probably tired of learning all those marketing strategies only to have to learn new ones as technology changes.

Well, then this is your year! This is a 'back to basics' year.

Don't be a secret in your community. Reconnect with old referral sources. Make new ones. Enjoy facilitating a group discussion on your favorite topic. 

This year it is "back to the community." 

If you want some more tips - I invite you to get your copy of:

Practice Building for  Therapists in 2010 90 minute audio series

 

And by the way, here is the "Cliff Notes" version of what I discovered when starting my practice - and even now. I hope it helps you to avoid my mistakes and have the thriving practice you want and deserve.

"Private Practice Lessons for Success"
painfully learned by me, Casey Truffo, and shared so you can avoid them.

1. First and foremost, a private practice is a business.

My husband Bob, the retired accountant, says this well: "If you have business expenses, you have a business."

I wish I'd had him around when I opened my practice. I spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to get clients. For example, I spent $13,000 on a website, logo and stationery. I spent hundreds of dollars on brochures in an unsuccessful attempt to attract clients.

I mean, seriously - when was the last time you hired a service provider based on a brochure? Never. Don't waste your money.)

For every dollar (or hour) you invest in your marketing, you want a whole money tree to grow...or maybe a money orchard.

Every dollar you spend on your business should be an investment - like planting a money seed. You want to earn a lot from each seed (investment).  Make sure you have a business orientation to your practice. (If you don't, no worries, it can be learned.) Remember - you are the business owner. Let's take care of business.

2. Learn what attracts clients now. 

Here is the absolute best part: you are ideally suited to do what works in 2010! Build relationships with prospects and referral sources in your community.

Others will tell you it is all about getting a better website or doing more with technology. But just because something sounds like a good idea doesn't mean it is. (Case in point: those people who tell you they can get you on the first page of Google for only $300 a month. Run from them!)

This is important as we are in a unique time - both culturally and with technology. Take a look at the internet. While it promised to be a great marketing tool for therapists, it has actually created more competition for therapists.

Choose your mentors wisely. Find mentors that have not only been successful in their own private practice to attract cash-paying clients - but who study what the current market is attracted to.

These days, you are competing for clients not only with the zillions of other therapists in your local area (who have websites), but globally too. Online therapy means that a client is not limited to his or her community to find a therapist.

The self-help market wants your client. Technology has made this easy. Anyone can pop online to read, listen to, or view potential solutions to relationship problems, emotional struggles or even existential angst.

Further, this is a time when our culture, perhaps for the first time in decades, is unclear (and maybe even uninterested) in the value of psychotherapy. Day and night, slick ads run on TV encouraging people with sadness to "get happy" with some miracle pills from their doctor. Who wants to do the 'hard work' of psychotherapy, if our problems can be solved with a pill?

What does this mean for the private practitioner? We must understand our times and our culture. Dorothy, we aren't in Kansas anymore.

I don't mean to sound all doom and gloom. There is actually some great news.

I believe there are terrific opportunities out there and enough clients for most private practitioners to have full practices. Really! We must be aware of cultural shifts that impact how our world sees therapy in order to effectively market those practices. That is why I encourage you to choose mentors that understand and talk about this. There are some great mentors out there; just do your research.

3. Take action.

Once you decide whom you wish to serve in your psychotherapy business - and create a marketing plan to attract them, then implement the plan.

I say this because it is so easy to create a plan, do the steps once, shelve it and report that "marketing didn't work."

Once you know what to do, then just calendar and do it - and reap the rewards

Just as we don't make a deposit just once in our bank account and expect the money to last forever, you must take regular and consistent action on your marketing plan - week after week. To make this easier, make sure you pick marketing activities that work with your marketing personality type.  Not all marketing activities work for every therapist.

(Trust me: I tried to be an extrovert for years only to end up exhausted! When I figured out how to market as an introvert, I fell in love with marketing and my practice - and income - grew.)

4. Measure Don't forget to measure your results. You've invested time and money into this business. You want that money tree (aka income to your practice) to grow from the investments (both time and money) you've made.  5. Repeat what works. With your new business orientation, you will want to know what works. You can save a lot of time and energy (and have a lot more fun) by focusing on your results and repeating what works.

Know what works and then repeat it - and save yourself time, energy and frustration

That's it. That is the overview of how to build a full and rewarding private practice. These lessons were learned painfully and I hope they save you time, energy and that pain I felt. Here they are again:

1. Learn what works now. (Save time and learn it from people who already know.)
2. Craft the plan.
3. Take action steps to implement it.
4. Measure from where the money is coming.
5. Repeat what works.

With a business approach, a solid (yet nimble) marketing plan, and a huge desire to succeed - you can have the practice you really want! And you'll reap those private practice rewards: You'll help more people. make a great living and manage your money in a way that supports you and your family. And perhaps most importantly, you'll work for someone you really respect.

How cool is that?

I wish you amazing success!

Could you use some more practice building mindset shifts and strategies?
If so, please keep reading....

You deserve that full practice. And my goal is to reduce the confusion - and even fear - around attracting cash-paying therapy clients. I want to share what I've done and what I've taught over 30,000 therapists to do to attract clients.

"First of all I want to say THANKS SO MUCH! Once again, I feel like this has been a life-changing experience for me. I'm so excited about what comes next!!!" - Vondie Lozano, www.vondiecounseling.com

 

Let me tell you what I believe will work - now in 2010 - to build a psychotherapy practice. You don't need to figure this out yourself. Let me help.

Please get your copy of my newest 90 minute audio series:

Practice Building for Therapists in 2010 90 minute audio series

 

"Without Casey Truffo's excellent guidance through her seminars and website, I would not have the powerful website now on the web. Check it out I know you will agree." - Susan Lindau, www.lindaucounseling.com

 

In this audio series we will explore:

How to shift your thinking from "private practitioner" to "private practice business owner" so that you are set up for success. How to make friends with money. (No matter how great the marketing plan - if you don't feel good about money, you won't attract the clients you want.) How to not get ripped off with internet marketing schemes.

You must have a marketing plan that works in our culture today. Last year's strategies may not work this year. So do yourself a favor. Learn what works now.

The four marketing personality types. Once you know yours, you can reduce that overwhelmed feeling - and get a sense of what might work for you. You may even surprise yourself and end up liking the process!

Whether or not you want to market a specialty to attract clients. (While this was once touted as mandatory, let's take a second look at it based on today's cultural changes.)

The minimum marketing one needs to get started - as well as suggestions for those who've done the basics and want to increase their marketing efforts

What I predict will be the best way to attract clients in 2010. (Hint: Speaking.)

 

This is a content-rich 90 minute audio series, filled with as much content as I could. We'll have some exercises and new ideas to get your energy up and your mindset shifting.

But please don't misunderstand. This audio series is only 90 minutes. It is the beginning. It is for the person starting or restarting a practice - or for those who want to get current on the cultural and technological changes in 2010 and how that impacts today's private practitioner.

This audio series is the foundation - designed as a quick-start - to get you thinking bigger and moving into action. And if you decide you want more practice building support later, we have other programs - including our upcoming 4-part teleseminar series "Fill Your Appointment Book with Speaking" and our very exciting 3-day, live and in-person event "How To Make a Bigger Difference: Marketing Makeover Magic" April 15-17, 2010 in southern California to further support you in your private practice business success.

"Every time I talk with you I get a new client. You've helped me so much." - Judy Hochenauer, Ph.D, www.doctorjudyh.com

But, for now, let's build that solid foundation. Let's look at how you need to think and what you need to do to get those clients in the door....so you can make the difference you became a therapist to make.

Please get your copy of:

Practice Building for Therapists in 2010 90 minute audio series

 

Holding the vision for you,
Casey

P.S. I really do get it. You want to help people - more people. You want to have a great reputation in your community You want to earn more money. This practice is your dream. I'd like to support you in that dream.

If you are ready to shift into the business owner mindset and identify what you need to do next to attract more cash-paying clients in 2010, please get your copy of this 90 minute audio series.

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