Marketing a Private Practice

“I’m Not in it For the Money!”

Are you one of those therapists or healers who has said, “I’m Not In It For the Money!”?

If so, you may not have chosen your therapy or healing practice because of the money, but don’t you deserve to live your life free from money worries? My pal, Karin Mizgala, the brilliant financial whiz and I have worked with lots of therapists and healing professionals who do a fantastic job in helping their clients overcome seemingly insurmountable problems.

But when it comes to handling their own finances, well… let’s just say many could use a helping hand. It’s certainly easy to lose track of the financial side of things with so many competing demands on your time and attention.

Nevertheless, bad money habits and practices can seriously impact the viability and profitability of your business – to say nothing of the anxiety, confusion and stress created when things get out of control!

And let’s be straight, here…

Despite all the altruism and compassion you may have -a private practice is still a business. Just like any car wash, dental office, or manufacturing plant. We need to cover our expenses, pay ourselves and our staff and keep up with our taxes if we want to be there for our clients over the years.

And don’t you want enough cash coming in to enjoy a good life now and a secure and comfortable future in your later years?

To run a financially profitable private practice, you need to get honest with yourself.

Can you really say that you know exactly how much money is coming in every month – where it’s coming from — and where it’s going?

Do you know how much, and where to invest money in your practice in order to grow your income?

And…

Do you have a plan for where you want to be financially in the long-term and a concrete strategy for getting there?

If not, now’s the time to do something about it.

Money may not be your favorite topic and you may want to avoid it like the plague. However, if you want to attract more into your life and run a profitable practice, you need to be able to engage in the world of money with confidence and ease.

So here is the scoop…

If you are ready to get the help you need to develop a healthy relationship with your private practice finances, join Karin Mizgala and myself for our Private Practice Finances Made Easy FR.EE Preview Tele-seminar on Wednesday, September 16, 2009.

You can sign up by clicking here.

If you you need to deal with your business finances but are tempted to continue putting it off, I would strongly advise against it.

Why?

Because the sooner you get your financial systems and a plan in place, the sooner you will be successful financially. Yes, really. So join us for this fr.ee call.

Please click on the “comments” button below to add your comments or ask questions about this call or your private practice finances.

Your Private Practice and Your Lifestyle: Are They In Alignment?

Last week I wonderful visit with a therapist client from Los Angeles who was passing through town. It’s always great to meet clients in person especially after I have worked with them for quite some time.

In my virtual coaching business I have been able to work with all kinds of interesting people from various parts of the world. I love this International aspect to my business and wouldn’t change it for anything.

However,  having an International client base is not the only benefit to having a virtual business. A more significant one for me is that my coaching practice is location independent. This means that I can work from any geographical location since I work exclusively by phone and Internet.

In fact, when I began my coaching business over 10 years ago my vision was to spend a fair amount of time working away from my home office in Vancouver. Although I have done this for short periods of time over the years, for one reason or another I have yet work for extended periods away from Vancouver.

After 10 years, I am excited to say that this is about to change…

In the late fall I will  be doing some extended travel while running my business (more on this in the coming months).

People often tell me that I am “lucky” because I work at home, set my own hours, can work in my pajamas (even though I don’t) and can work from anywhere.  When I hear these comments from others, I inform them that the benefits I enjoy from having a virtual business have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with luck.

Rather, these benefits  have to do with having a vision of the kind of lifestyle I wanted and then finding a way to make it happen.

Why am I telling you this story?

I am sharing this with you as a way to encourage you to check in with yourself and assess how closely your business is aligned with the lifestyle that you want to live.

Why Did You Start Your Private Practice?  What Was Your Vision?

There are many reasons why you might have gone into private practice. Perhaps it was to have more flexibility and freedom? Or maybe it was to make more money, or to be your own boss or to work with the type of clients that you love to work with? It could also be that you wanted to work from home or to take more holidays?

Whatever your vision was, how close are you to actually achieving this vision?

If you are not living the life you want is it because you have lost touch with your vision? Have you become complacent or discouraged and given up on your dream? Perhaps you are on the path of making it happen but it hasn’t yet come into fruition? Or perhaps you never had a clear vision to begin with?

It goes without saying that the closer you are to living the life that you want, the happier and more fulfilled you will be. In turn, you will provide a better service to your clients and be a better role model for them.

If you are one of the many who has never established a clear vision, perhaps it’s time you did. Having a vision for the kind of life you want, will inspire you in your work and increase your motivation to take the steps necessary to make your vision become a reality.

If you are not yet living the lifestyle you want, what do you need to do differently?

I would love to hear your comments and personal experiences on this topic. Please add your comment below by clicking on the comments button.

Keeping It Fresh (your therapist or healing website that is)

Below is an article that I just republished in  my newsletter written by Nathaniel Richman of nrichmedia. It discussed the important of keeping your website content fresh…

Too often I witness businesses spending a lot of time and effort putting together a brilliant web site only to leave it as is for two
or three years – an eternity in Internet time. They figure, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

Well, it may not be broke, but it’s just not doing as much for your business or organization as it could be. You need to keep the
content of your site fresh. This is important for both visitors to your site (especially repeat visitors) and search engines.

Let’s look at the first of these.

When people come to your site for the first time, if they see dated material, they’ll probably not take you too seriously – not a good first impression.

If you went into a grocery store and saw milk in the refrigerator that was past  its expiry date, would you go back to that store?
(Okay, not all of us drink milk, but you get the point.)

Repeat visitors will be even more critical if they keep seeing the same material each time they visit your site.

The reason they’re checking back is to see… what’s new?! What if the radio station you listen to never played new songs? How long would you keep listening to it? Probably not very long. True, we do like some degree of familiarity and to be able to see/hear our favourites, but if there’s never anything new, we lose interest quickly.

As for search engines, they look at your site in a similar manner.

If there’s nothing new in a while, they’ll start dropping your rankings,as your site is considered not that important. Makes sense, really.

So, does this mean that you need to obsess about changing your page copy every day or to even hire someone to do that for you?

Not at all (do I hear a collective “phew”?).

There’s no rule, but the more often you can do it the better. A realistic plan for most small to medium sized businesses is to
freshen at least some of the content every two or three months. If you can to do it more often, great. If you can only manage every six months, well that’s still better than nothing.

We’re not necessarily talking about rewriting the content on every page. Again, it’s up to you and your schedule as to how much you’re going to do, but at the very least have a news section on your home page or a top ten list that you can easily update on a regular basis. If you have the time/inclination to update more of your site or add new pages, even better.

Just do something. If it helps, schedule the first day of every even numbered month to update whatever you have time to. Trust me, your site visitors (potential customers) and the search engines will like you for it!

If you haven’t updated your website in a while, perhaps it’s time you did. If you want help making your website the best it can be you might want to utilize The Client-Attracting Websites Home Study Program.

Private Practice Fianances Made Easy

How To Succeed with Your Therapy or Healing Practice in a Recession

Over the past few months several people have contacted me wanting help marketing who have had
a full practice in the past. They were not only suffering from a lull in their client-load, but they were worried
about the future of their practice due to the recession.

Contrasted with that are the emails I have recently received from some former clients whose practices
are so full they are turning clients away. The recession doesn’t seem to be impacting on their practices at all.

What is the difference between these two groups?

The main difference between them is that those who are turning clients away are actively marketing.

Research shows that businesses that succeed in a recession are the ones that increase their marketing.
As a therapist or healing professional, marketing during a recession also leaves you in a much stronger position when the recession ends.

So if you want more  therapy or healing clients, you will need to spend more time out there spreading the word.

Here are a few more things that you can do to get your therapy or healing practice through the recession:

Have a Positive Attitude

People seem to love to talk about negative things. Yes, we are in a recession, but we don’t have to focus on
all the doom and gloom that is out there. Limit the time you spend listening to the news and to people who only seem to want to dwell on the tough times. Reflect on what is working in your practice and stay
focused on your plan.

Look for Opportunities

There are always opportunities around us that we miss. Even when we do see them
we often don’t take advantage of them. Watch for opportunities and grab onto the ones
that are likely to bring you closer to your goals. Be mindful that some of the best opportunities
present themselves when you least expect them.

Track Your Return on Your Investment (ROI)

Do you know where your clients are coming from?
Where are you spending your marketing dollars and what kind of return are they bringing you?
This is the time to take a close look at which marketing strategies are bringing in the most clients and
increase them.

Increase the Value You Provide

Go the extra mile for your clients. Provide better service or add something new to your
existing services. Perhaps you want to create a new article to give away for free to clients, past clients
and existing newsletter subscribers.

Choose to Succeed

One of the characteristics of people who succeed is that they make a choice
to succeed. They seek out information and people to support them. They do
whatever it takes. They have a mindset that won’t let them fail, regardless of what happens.

What are you doing to make sure you succeed through the recession?

Website Content or Website Copy: What’s on Your Healing or Counselor Website?

If you read my December newsletter you will know that starting on February 5 for the first time ever I am offering a website coaching program called the Client-Attracting Websites Coaching Program. This program is for those wanting guidance and advice on how to make their websites attract more clients.

Over the next 5 weeks I am going to be sharing some of the secrets to having a successful website that we will be putting
into practice in the Client Attracting Websites Coaching Program.

By “secrets” I mean the tried and true, proven scientific principals of websites that attract clients.

The sad reality is that most therapists, coaches and health care professionals are still unaware of these principles, and as a
result, their websites are not attracting nearly the number of clients that they should be.

So, here comes the first  secret….

A client-attracting website has client-attracting copy, not simply written content.

Huh?

What does that mean?

Let’s begin with some definitions.

Website content is any content you have on your site.  The main purpose of website content is to provide information to people.
Unfortunately, most websites only consist of content and it’s also what most web designers focus on because they don’t know
any better.

Website copy is also content that provides information, but it goes one step further (and it’s a big step)…

The main purpose of website copy is to get people to take action once they land at your site. This action could be to get people
to sign-up for your newsletter or call you to set up an appointment.

Compelling web copy is the single most important aspect of a healing or counseling website that attracts clients.

People go to your website to find out what you have to offer them. It’s your job to show them how they will benefit from
working with you or from buying something from you. You will have to convince them that they will likely get what they want
from taking the action(s) that you want them to take.

Now of course website content– if it’s well done– will usually attract some clients, but client-attracting website copy will
typically attract a lot more.

How do I know that compelling web copy attracts more therapy or healing clients?

Because it’s been proven over and over.

Many expert copywriters are fanatical about testing their copy.They write different versions of web pages and then test the
results they get. Changing even one word in a headline on a website has been shown to increase response rates by up to 100%
or more.

So, if you want to have client-attracting web copy on your site and want help while you write it, come and join us in the
Client Attracting Websites Coaching Program that begins on February 5.

Writing your client-attracting web copy will be one of the main benefits you will gain from joining us in the coaching program.

I will not only be showing you how to write client-attracting web copy in the coaching program, I will be available to provide
you with personalized guidance, advice and feedback on your copy each and every week for 9 weeks.

I want to help you have your client-attracting website copy completed at least by the end of April, if not sooner.

Sign-up now as the early bird deadline expires January 15.

I can’t wait to “see” you in the program!

Cheers,

Juliet

PS. You can save $50 if you sign up by January 15.Click here to find out more.

PPS. Not ready to join us in the Coaching Program? You can still get the information in the Client-Attracting Websites Home Study
Program and work through the material on your own.  Don’t hesitate though…the price goes up for that on January 16 as
well. Click here for more information.

UPDATE: The next Client-Attracting Websites Coaching Program begins on September 10, 2009. The Early bird deadline expires on August 27, 2009. Check it out.

Your Website as The Hub of Your Business: How to make your counseling or healing website the center of the client-attracting process

Think of your healing, coaching, or counseling website as being like a bicycle wheel…

A bicycle wheel has a central hub from which the spokes are attached.
All the spokes lead out of, and back into, the hub. The wheel would be
unstable without the spokes, and if you tried to ride the bicycle, you would
likely fall off.

And so it is with your website…

Imagine your website as the hub of your counseling or healing arts practice, the foundation
from which everything else is built upon. Your marketing methods are similar
to the spokes in the bicycle wheel–they come out of and feed back into your website.

If your hub (website) or spokes (marketing strategies) are non-existent, weak or disconnected from one another, you likely will have difficulty attracting clients and eventually your business may collapse.

In order for your healing or counseling website to bring you as many clients as possible, your website and marketing strategies must operate as smoothly as a bicycle wheel. They must be solidly built, fit together tightly and be maintained regularly.

If you want to find out more about how to make sure your website fits tightly with your marketing check out the Client-Attracting Websites Home Study program.

You will discover how to how to turn your website into a client-magnetizing hub, attracting all the business you can handle. Click here to find out more.

5 Beliefs That Cause Counselors and Healers to Have Difficulty Setting and Collecting Fees

Calling all Holistic Practitioners, Healers, Counselors and Therapists who have difficulty setting or collecting client fees:

Come and join us on my next FREE teleconference–5 Beliefs That Cause Counselors and Healers  To Have Difficulty Setting and Collecting Fees

Learn how to overcome concerns and
beliefs that hinder your ability to be paid what
you deserve. You can charge more and get your clients to pay.

Date:  Thursday, October 12, 2006

Time: 5:00pm-6:00pm Pacific Time (8:00pm-9:00pm Eastern).

To register:

1. Send an email to moneystruggles@aweber.com

2. You will then receive an email asking for CONFIRMATION that you
have registered. You MUST click on the link in that email to
confirm your registration.

3. You will then be sent an email with instructions for making the
call.

You can read an article at my website on the topic of setting and collecting fees for your counseling or healing private practice.

Are you Afraid to Start a Business?

I read a great post today, 10 Reasons Young People are Afraid to Start Their Own Business.
Dave Pollard reports on a meeting he had with young folks discussing their
desires and fears about starting their own business. I think this list applies to
everyone, not just young people as the fears are universal. Dave also does a good job of dispelling these fears.

Although the entire post is interesting, I found this piece of information particularly fascinating:

A survey a few years
ago by Inc. Magazine found that only one factor correlated strongly
with entrepreneurial success: A previous entrepreneurial failure.

If you are thinking of starting a
practice or are finding your fears are getting in the way  of starting
one, read this list.

Yes, People Want to Help You

Copyblogger points out that People Really Want to Help You. In his post, Brian Clark summarizes  research by psychology researcher Felix Warneken. Warneken found that behaving altuistically  (helping someone when there’s nothing to gain) is innate in
humans, and can be seen in babies sometimes younger than 18 months old.

Yes, people do want to help you especially if you tell them what you need.

Counselors and healing professionals often feel it is wrong or inappropriate to ask others (especially clients) for referrals or help with getting the word out about their practice.  What they don’t realize is that most people are very happy to help. For
example, simply saying something to a client like, "I have room for
more clients right now, if you know anyone who could benefit from my
services, I would appreciate you sending them my way" can make a big
difference in the number of referrals you receive. Many clients will feel good about being able to do something for you and will gladly spread the word. Often, they do know of someone that they wouldn’t have thought about otherwise.

It is also important to remember that the more you give to others, the more inclined they will be to help you. When you approach marketing from this persective, you will not only enjoy the process of marketing more, you will see the results reflected in the number of referrals you receive.

Finally, remember to give for the sheer pleasure you receive from giving. In Brian’s words:

It’s up to you to give, give, give.  You’re not being altruistic, because you do
have something to gain. But you should give like you’ll never get
anything back, and simply accept it when on occasions you don’t. You’re
going to have to work hard to cut through the cynicism and get back to
human nature.