Do Your Referral Sources Know How To Find You?

Sep
22
2011

When you make the transition from student to professional . . . or from employee to self-employed, you need to make sure that your emails look like you mean business, too.

I’m not talking about psychobabble and I’m not talking about academic-ese.  I’m talking about thinking like the Chief Information Officer of your business (because you are the CIO) and making it easy for folks to find you by using an “email signature.”

Here is how you do that:

  • Use your legal name with your credentials – no nicknames;
  • Include the name of your business if it is different than your legal name;
  • A professional email address – no more aol, gmail, hotmail, etc.  (Hint – A professional email address adds credibility.);
  • A street address – rather than a PO Box or no address (This, too, builds confidence in you.  It gives the impression that you are serious, stable and here for the long run.);
  • A web address including http//: . . . (Some browsers won’t recognize a URL without the http//: . . . ); and,
  • If you have them, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook addresses.

Savvy marketing means putting yourself in the shoes of your clients and your potential referral sources.  You want your name to be in front of their faces as often as possible – so that they don’t forget you!  And, you don’t want to make them have to search for your business card just to find your contact information.

In fact, make it as easy as possible to contact you and to refer to you. So . . . go ahead!  Turn this into your “email signature” and use it with every single email you send out.  And, don’t forget to hyperlink to everything you can in your signature!  Make it E-A-S-Y for everyone to send clients to you!

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Related Posts

Seth Godin’s post, 8 Things I Wish Everyone Knew about Email

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Guest Posting Guidelines, The Knowledge Market, & Running Conversations

Sep
12
2011

Hi, gang!  I’m taking a day off from posting today.  Instead of sending you new info, I’m letting you know about a few odds and ends here on my blog . . . .

  • I’ve gotten several requests to guest post on this blog.  I finally have my guidelines for guest posting put into writing.  I hope you’ll take a look and then let me know if there’s something you would like to write about.  I’m happy to introduce you to our community here at Private Practice from the Inside Out!
  • And, if you aren’t quite ready to share your wise words with everyone else, then perhaps this is a good time to remind you that The Knowledge Market is this evening.  If you’ve got questions about marketing your private practice online, here’s your chance to talk with me or Beth Hayden and get free advice and information ! You can register right here.  Do it now!
  • And, finally, so many of you have requested to be notified about running conversations on the blog that I’ve had a plugin installed that will allow you to do so.  At then end of comments, you can sign up to be notified by email whenever someone adds to the particular conversation that you are interested in. (You might want to go back to the Social Media LoveFest for Mental Health Professionals and Coaches to get notified when others add or update their info and websites.)  I’m hoping we see the conversations just get meatier and meatier!

I’m having a bit of a technical glitch on the website today but hopefully, by Thursday, I’ll be back on track!

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How To Announce Your New Private Practice in Mental Health

Aug
22
2011

Ask Tamara . . .

Are you thinking about leaving your currentImage of Red Question Mark place of employment to venture into private practice on your own?  If so, you may share Barbara Salkewicz concern.  Barbara is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Brick, New Jersey who wrote me earlier this month.  She says . . .

Hi Tamara,

Hope this note finds you enjoying a great summer! Once again thank you for all the generous advice and information you give to all of us. I have been doing preliminary planning to start my own practice for some time now awaiting the alignment of the planets so to speak.

Well, recently I was offered an office to rent in a local psychiatrists office for a very nominal fee. This fee includes not just the office space but her staff for appointments and billing etc. My question is what is the most appropriate way of letting my current clients know that I am starting my own practice.

I am currently on vacation and would like to get things moving as I am sure a good portion of my clients will follow me and I would naturally like to have this base to start with. I have been experimenting with various letters but would value your input tremendously.

Thanks so much for your help!”

How wise of you to leverage the relationships that you currently have with your clients!  It’s the honorable and right thing to do.  According to the American Counseling Association, your employer does not have the relationship with your clients; you do!

Barring any non-compete clause that you may have signed with your employer, you have every right to take your clients with you.  One of the best ways to do this is to send out a celebratory announcement to each one of them with the details of your transition.  What that may look like is this:

Barbara X is please to announce the opening of her new private practice . . .

Location:  4452 South Edgewood Terrace, Fort Worth, TX 76039

Telephone:  817-446-6869

Hours:  Monday – Thursday
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

New Clients & Referrals Welcome!

And, even better . . . follow up your big announcement by hosting an fabulous open house – inviting your friends, colleagues, and potential referral sources – to meet the psychiatrist you will be sharing an office with and to show off your great new location, too!  (On Thursday, I’ll be talking with you about how to host a flawless open house.)

If you’ve already taken the leap to move into private practice, I hope you’ll take a moment to share your experiences and how you handled letting your clients know that they were welcome to follow you to your new office.


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WOW On The Web (Series) – Of Course You Can!

Jul
5
2011

Beth Hayden and I just finished the first of our new four-part webinar series on building trust and credibility online.  What fun to work with such a highly motivated group of therapists and coaches! Today we covered how to identify your ideal client.

Several of you have asked if you can join the series late.  The answer is “Of course you can!”  You can register here.  And, when you do, you will receive

  • a downloadable recording of each of the four sessions,
  • access to your private class pages with additional links, information, and resources,
  • as well all of the handouts that are being distributed to participants!

Next Tuesday, July12th we’re talking about WOW-ing Your Ideal Client Online.

On Tuesday July 19th, we’re covering the Very Best Places to Position Yourself to Communicate with Your Ideal Clients.

And, on Tuesday, July 26th, we’re jumping in with both feet to help you Get Noticed Online . . . by Your Ideal Client and by the Search Engines, Too!

Of course you can join us!  Sign up now!



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TIME SENSITIVE ANNOUNCEMENT . . . Announcing WOW On The Web – Building A Container Of Trust And Credibility Online!

Jun
30
2011

You guys ROCK!  Last night I co-hosted with Beth J. Hayden the first webinar Image of Special Price Labelfor The Private Practice Online Survival Guide. Board Certified Music Therapist JoAnn Jordan stepped in at the very last minute to act as our professional twitterer.  Thank you, JoAnn!  You were fabulous!

We had folks from as far away as Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Great Brittain, and Australia with us!  I saw lots of my LinkedIn colleagues and the Social Media LoveFest gang there, too!  We had a full house and ran out of time before all of the comments and questions could be heard and answered. (As a first timer, I guess I have a bit to learn about hosting webinars!)  This morning, Beth and I are continuing to hear from those who attended last night.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  Thanks so much for making this a HUGE SUCCESS!

As a “thank you,” we want you to be the first to know that we kick off a 4-week series next Tuesday, July 5th at 11 a.m.  It’s called WOW on the Web – Building a Container of Trust and Credibility Online.  Here’s what you will be learning in this series:

  • How to identify your ideal client (and why that’s so important to building your credibility);
  • How to connect with your ideal client through your website (while while at the same time building credibility with search engines);
  • The very best place to position yourself for building trust and credibility with your client; and,
  • Tips for attracting the attention of new clients and search engines.

And, we’re throwing in lots of video tutorials to show you exactly what we are talking about!

When you sign up by midnight tonight, you will receive a special price and can attend all four webinars for $79. Feel free to take advantage of our offer and sign up now.

Tomorrow the series is still affordable at just $99 for the entire series – less than the cost of one clinical hour – so we hope you’ll tell your colleagues, too!

I look forward to seeing you there!

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