I’m not really sure how well this post is going to over with you guys but I just want to vent . . . .

I went to lunch this week with a colleague who has just recently ventured into private practice and, truthfully, he’s having a really hard time getting that first client.  You can relate, right?  You either are right there with him starting your own practice or you remember when you were back there hustling trying to get that phone to ring.  It’s a hurdle for all of us to get that first warm body in the office . . . and it feels like it’s never going to happen . . . until it does.

So Jason and I are dining in this great little Japanese restaurant and the conversation goes like this . . . .

Jason:  I’m starving to death!  I still don’t have a client yet.  And, I don’t know what to do!

Me:  What have you tried?

Jason:  Well, I’ve sent out my business cards and brochures to treatment facilities and I’m showing up at networking events every month.  I’ve been meeting therapists and community providers.  I’m reading books on marketing and how to get clients.  I’ve joined the Board of a local non-profit and I’m offering my services at a reduced rate.

Me:  Wow! That sounds like a lot of work!  Are you getting any referrals?  Are clients finding you?

Jason:  Oh, sure!  I’m getting 4 – 5  phone calls from potential clients each week but not one is making an appointment.

Me:  (So I have a hunch that one of the things that Jason is doing is keeping The Secret That You Absolutely Must Tell.)  So Jason, it sounds like your referral sources don’t really understand who you want to work with.  They are sending you unqualified referrals.

Jason:  Oh, no!  They know exactly who I work with!  I’ve been very clear that I work with XYZ.  It’s on my brochures and my business cards and that’s exactly how I introduce myself when I’m networking.

Me: Well, then, let’s look at how the conversation goes on the phone.  What do you say when your potential client calls?

Jason:  Oh, I’m very personable!  You know me . . . I can talk to anybody!  I tell them what my credentials are and what I offer – individual therapy for XYZ.  Then I ask them if they have any questions and if they want to book an appointment.

Me:  OK, Jason, so those are important things to cover but there might be a better way to cover them.  What I’ve found to be useful is . . . . (This is where I’m telling him about my 98% conversion rate to booked appointments and what my process is.)

Jason:  (And, THIS is the response I got.)  Yes, but . . . that takes up too much of my time to go through all of that and anyway, it’s all in my disclosure statement. . . . Anyway, I’m really great at marketing but I’m not getting any appointments booked. Blah, blah, blah.

Well, Jason says that he knows all about marketing but I’m not so sure he knows much about how to make a sale.  After all, if he did, he would be speaking the language of his potential clients, booking appointments with them, and seeing clients in his private practice.  Instead, he’s busy telling me how much he knows about marketing.  He’s not interested in learning how successful therapists do those things.  And, I’m not interested in telling him.

There!  I’ve said it! And, I’m feeling better already!

Back in May I wrote a post telling you The Secret that You Absolutely Must Tell.  So today, I’m telling you that it’s also important to tell who you absolutely do not want to work with. 

For me, that’s Yes-Butters!  So, I’m wondering who is it for you that you absolutely do NOT want to work with?

Tags: Appointments, Business Card, Fee, Work with Tamara

David from Longmont, Colorado wrote  . . .

Tamara, I attended your workshop at the Colorado Counseling Association’s Spring Workshop, The In’s and Out’s of Private Practice. Thanks so much for being so generous with your information!  I remember you encouraging graduate students to go ahead and get business cards.  I am a graduate student and don’t really know what I need to put on my business card before I graduate next year.  Can you help me out?”

Hi, David!  Thanks for attending our workshop.  I really enjoyed working with you guys!  Here’s a link to an earlier post on business cards.  For a graduate student, I would suggest that you include:

• Your legal name;
• All forms of contact information that you are comfortable sharing;
• A statement indicating the graduate program that you are attending – something like “Masters student, University of North Texas, graduating 2012″; and,
• You might also want to include 1-3 areas of special interest.

Once you get your business cards, pass them out liberally. They are your least expensive form of advertising and will help your colleagues and professors remember you years later.

Tags: Business Card, Work with Tamara

I just realized that many of you are asking about what’s happening in the 2009 Annual Series of Private Practice from the Inside Out and I haven’t been very good about letting you know.  Here’s what they’re saying after our last session . . . .

It was really good for me to look at my low confidence and speak it out loud.”

“Direct feedback on my business cards and brochures was the best part about our class today.  It took the concepts we had talked about and it made them practical, usable and real.”

“My energy and excitement continues to grow as we talk about (and as I write / journal about) building our practices.”

“I am encouraged and motivated to do get my business cards made . . . and to create the language I want to use for my business.”

If you are interested in joining me for the 2010 Annual Series of Private Practice from the Inside Out, drop me an email back channel and I’ll put you on my tickler list!

Tags: Brand, Business Card, Continuous Learning, Fee, Menu of Services, Name Recognition, Niche

If you still haven’t taken the time to have a business card made for yourself, then you are making a big BIG mistake.

Here’s two things that you really need to know . . . .  Your cheapest form of marketing is a great business card. They can cost you as little as six dollars for 250 at an on line printing service like VistaPrint or they can cost you as much as several hundred dollars for 1000 from a local printer like Maverick Press in Littleton, Colorado.   Your design, choice of paper and quantity ordered factor in to your final costs but any way you figure it, your business card is your least expensive marketing cost and is the most versatile tool you will use.

The second thing you need to know about your business card is that once you hand it over to another professional and leave the premises, it serves as a reminder of who you are and how to reach you. Think about it . . . .  I told you about that old adage “last in, first out.”  That means that if your business card keeps your name in front of other professionals’ eyes last, then your name is the one that is likely to be recalled when they are ready to call with a referral.  Last in, first out.

And, here’s one more thing you need to know about having a business card.  It’s the professional thing to do.  No CEO, no professional, and no office manager is going to refer clients to you until you take yourself seriously enough to get decent business card. Think about it. . . .  Having a business card implies that you are serious about your professional services. . . . It implies that you have some degree of stability i.e. your address, website, and phone number aren’t changing daily. . . .  And, it implies that you have something of value to offer.

Still putting off getting that business card? P-L-E-A-S-E!  What’s keeping you from taking that step?  Let me know and I’ll be happy to nudge you along!

Tags: Business Card, Professional Image

This is the second part of an 11 part series on How To Build A Great Marketing Kit.

Read the introduction here.

No marketing kit is complete without a professional business card. (I tell clients to design and purchase their business cards long before they get out of graduate school.) If you don’t have yours yet, here are some things to consider:

• Content – Your first business card only needs to have your name, phone number, mailing and physical addresses, email (and web URL if you have a website). Business cards are used to jog someone’s memory and to provide contact information.

• White space – Design your business card with lots of “white space” or “negative space.” In other words, you don’t want it cluttered up with an extraneous information or busy graphics.

• Photo – There is considerable debate about whether or not to put your photo on your business card when you work in the mental health professions. I choose not to include my photo on my business card, believing that it looks more professional to leave the photo off. However, the counter argument is that by putting your face on the card, a potential client / referral source can get comfortable with you faster. What I want to emphasize here is that if you choose to include a photo, don’t use one of the snapshots that your partner took. Invest in a professional photo (headshot) for your business.

• Logo – Once you are in private practice for yourself, research shows that it is important that you begin to develop a brand for yourself — a succinct image and message about you and your body of work. This image and message is your logo and it will be used on your business card, your letterhead, and any other digital or print media that you will use for your practice. I chose to work with web designer, Joel Bass of Invincible Fuzzy Thing to develop my website for my clinical practice and graphic designer, Jennifer Gunther of Nudge Creative to develop my logo for Private Practice from the Inside Out.

• On the Back – You may choose to place a variety of things on the back of your business card or simply leave it blank. You may place a map or directions to your office. You may include a space to indicate when your client’s next appointment is with you. Or, you may include a tagline, quote, or other information that you believe might be helpful / memorable to your clients.

(If you would like feedback on your business card design, feel free to include it below in your comments and ask for feedback. I’m sure my readers will be happy to offer an opinion. Or, if you prefer, you can send it to me back channel and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.)

Tags: Business Card

Working on your business is not the same as working in your business.   That came as news to me when I first read Lynn Grodski’s primer, Building Your Ideal Private Practice.  I used to think that if I was seeing my clients or charting notes on my clients that I was working on my business.  After all, this is why I went to graduate school — to learn the clinical piece.

It’s Not Enough

Unfortunately, the clinical knowledge and skills of psychotherapy did not begin to prepare me for the business end of private practice.   As long as I wanted to work in an agency or hospital for someone else, that would have been good enough.  However, for those of us who have the entrepreneurial bug and yearn to be in business for ourselves . . . the clinical knowledge and skills are only half of the private practice package.  In fact, you can easily and quickly starve to death if you know nothing or do nothing to work on the business end of your practice.

Working On Your Business

To paraphrase Lynn Grodski, “working on your business is at least as important as working in your business.”  And, working on the business means spending time, money, and resources to create and sustain a healthy flow of clients coming into your business.  Some of these tasks include:

• Developing ideas for new services;
• Learning about new marketing strategies;
• Re-working packaging for your services;
• Branding for your business;
• Designing business cards, letterhead, postcards, and advertising;
• Networking with other professionals to educate them about your business;
• Creating (and using) a marketing kit;
• Writing articles / books for publication;
• Drafting informational brochures for client education; and,
• Updating your professional vita;

To work on your business means recognizing that your work in private practice extends far beyond just the skills of counseling and psychotherapy.

What I’m Doing

Today, I have met with my graphic designer, Jennifer Gunther of Nudge Creative, to rework my business card and letterhead.  I have vetted a potential printer for my print needs. I have collaborated with my blog designer, Beth Hayden of Basics of Blogging.  I met another colleague for lunch to brainstorm about my marketing needs. I’m writing this post for my blog.  These are the things that I am doing to work on my business today.

What about you? What are the ways that you are working on your business today?

Tags: Articles, Brand, Brochure, Business Card, Packaging, Resume