How%20to%20Turbo-Charge%20Your%20Private%20Practice

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How to Turbo-Charge Your Private Practice
Kathleen Brehony, Ph.D.
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The Business of Clinical or Coaching Practice
As a Clinician or Coach, you are a small business
and must think like a business person especially
in terms of your marketing efforts.
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Tools of the Trade
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The Business of Building and Growing a Clinical
or Coaching Practice

• Develop a Business Plan
• Goals (e.g., How many clients do you want to
  work with? Will you specialize?, etc.)
• Values
• Culture
• Time Frame for Accomplishment of Goals
• Action Steps
• Create Supportive Materials (e.g., intake forms,
  pricing, agreement forms, etc.)
• Create Marketing Plan to realize and align
  business/professional objectives with behavior

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Why every private practitioner needs a business
plan
APA Monitor Volume 31, No.6, June 2000
"Not having a (business) plan doesn't mean your practice won't have a direction. But the direction will be one of circumstances rather than your vision of what you want your practice to be." -- Lynn GrodzkiBusiness CoachSilver Spring, Md.

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Business Plan Dos

• Develop a vision
• Conduct market research
• Analyze your competition
• Set financial goals
• Create a marketing plan
• Adapt standard business plan templates
• Get feedback
• Revise as you go along

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Brainstorm!
But be aware that there are significant
differences between the way you may ethically
market a coaching versus a clinical practice
(e.g., testimonials, etc.)
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Target Your Market

• What kind of clients most interest you?
• What kind of clients are you trained to work
  with?
• What are you good at?
• What do you love?
• Why do you want to be a clinician or coach?
• What are your professional and personal
  experiences?

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Personal Branding
What is your practice or coaching company name?
Do you need one? Do you have/need a logo?
Your service niche - Positioning
How do you package yourself and your business?
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Who will be your clients?

• Age
• Gender
• Educational Level
• Geographical Location
• Income Level
• Ethnicity
• Profession/Industry
• Psychological Needs
• Personal Interests

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Understand the Marketing Cycle in order to get
clients in the pipeline
Prospects
Contacts
Leads
Referrals
CLIENTS
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Manage and Keep Track of Your Prospects,
Contacts, and Leads
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Marketing Get the Word OUT!

• The Four Ps Price, Product, Place, Promotion
• Target Markets (Who are your ideal clients?)
• How best to reach your target?
• Website and Electronic Media
• Direct Mail
• Advertising/Publicity
• Public Speaking
• Writing/Publishing
• Referrals and Strategic Partnerships

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The Four Ps of Marketing
PRODUCT PRICE PLACE PROMOTION
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Promotion
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Professional Marketers believe that capturing
the prospects attention accounts for at least
80 of the effectiveness of a marketing campaign
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All Marketing Efforts should focus on BENEFITS to
the prospect, not on yourself
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Attention Interest Desire Action
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Specific Marketing Goals REQUIRE Specific Action
Steps that are

• Dynamic

• Doable

• Something youre good at or willing to learn

• Effective and Cost-Effective

• Consistent

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How do you stand out in a sea of other coaches or
clinicians?
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CoachingThe Bottom Line

• 73 of all coaches make less than 10,000 in
  their first year
• Only 60 of all second-year coaches have managed
  to find 10 paying clients
• Less than 11 of all coaches make more than
  50,000 by their second year in practice
• The average coaching fee is 160/hour yet, 53
  of coaches make less than 20,000 a year
• 30 of all coaches are still not able to
  generate 10 paying clients
• Only 9 of coaches make more than 100,000 a year

Source Stephen G. Fairley and Chris E. Stout
Getting Started in Personal and Executive Coaching
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Becoming one of the 9 of Coaches who earn more
than 100,000/year
Professional coaching is no different from any
other small business. To be successful in
coaching, you must become successful in running a
small business.
Source Stephen G. Fairley and Chris E. Stout
Getting Started in Personal and Executive Coaching
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A survey published by Psychotherapy Finances
(October, 2000) found that 23 percent of
clinicians are taking steps to leave their
practices. The constraints of managed care -
limitations on treatment plans, more paperwork,
and lower fees - were commonly cited reasons.
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20 of Psychotherapists now include Coaching
as part of the professional services they offer.
Source Psychotherapy Finances Newsletter,
September 2000
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1999 Income Survey American Psychological
Association
Median income for doctoral level clinical
psychologists working full-time (35 hours/week)
- 65,000Median decrease in income due to
managed care from 1998-1999 was 15
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Building Your Practice Through
Advertising

• Can be very expensive
• Need to look at cost/value ratios (e.g., CPM)
• Typically, Advertising is least effective for
• Small-business owners Companies with small
  marketing budgets Businesses that offer services
  rather than products
• Carefully target your market
• Experts suggest you need to run ads in a series
  of five or six before you can see your true
  response rate
• Understand and respect the ethical standards for
  your therapy discipline with regard to
  advertising

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Most cost-effective Marketing Tool isPublicity
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Elements of an Effective Press Release
1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2. Contact Information
3. Headline
4. Dateline
5. Five Ws Who, What,Where, When, Why
6. Recap
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More About Press Releases
Only issue a press release for a newsworthy event
or occasion
Define and Identify Target Press/Media
Capture attention with a vibrant, powerful
headline
Double-space Press Release
Press Release should be no more than three pages.
Ideally it will be one page.
Carefully target your editors and producers
Put your Press Release on your website (more on
websites later)
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Promoting Yourself in Print
Flyers Letters Display AdsBrochures
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Use Words that Sell
Did you know that the difference between the
right word and the almost right word is the same
as the difference between lightning and a
lightning bug?
Mark Twain
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Building Your Coaching Practice Through
Columns and Articles
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Building Your Coaching Practice Through
Publishing

• Books
• Magazine Articles
• e-Books and Online Publishing
• Self-Publishing

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Roles in the Book Publishing Business
Publisher
Agent
Editor
Writer
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The Literary Agent
Why you need a literary agent to sell your book
manuscript
The over the transom days are gone. Agents
create a filter that screens submissions for
editors.
Editors
Agents
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4 Functions of a Literary Agent

1. Commissioned Salesperson
2. Literary Legal Counsel
3. Editor
4. Intermediary Between Author and Publisher

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But Do you want to write?
Or do you want to HAVE WRITTEN?
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In order to author a book, you must love the
creative process of writing
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Options for publishing a book if you dont love
(or want) to write

• Ghost Writer
• Co-Author

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Myth About Writing and the Creative Process
A major myth about writing is that writers never
make false starts or mistakes and that every word
flows smoothly and perfectly onto the page.
That myth is believed because we only see
products not process.
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We can all improve our writing skills if we are
motivated and persevere
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Writing is a Two-Stage Process
1. The Muse
2. The Container
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The Muse
Letting things flow Dont worry about
details Right Brain
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We are naturally creative and this creativity
pours through us when we get out of its way.
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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to
remain an artist once he grows up.
-- Pablo Picasso
Picasso is Correct
Dream by Pablo Picasso
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Our Natural Creativity Declines with Age
Research by George Land and Beth Jarman reveals
that we are all creative. Their data show that
98 of children (ages 3-5) score at genius level
creativity. Only 32 of 8-10 year olds, 10 of
13-15 year olds, and less than 2 of 25 year
olds score similarly. From Breaking Point and
Beyond. SF Harper Business, 1993.
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The Container
The Skill and Craft of Writing Left Brain
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Fear feeds the Inner Critic

• Failure
• Rejection
• Ridicule
• Exposure
• Success
• Change

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It is dangerous to bring the Inner Editor in too
early in the writing process
We get stuck or we stop
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First Stage of WritingStart with a Writing
Exercise

• Get in a relaxed state of mind
• Ignore punctuation, spelling, syntax, pagination
  etc.
• Write quickly
• Ignore the Inner Critic

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Second Stage of Writing
Shape your work into just the way you want to say
it! This is the construction phase
Critique yourself in an honest but compassionate
way
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Self-Critique
ALLOWED This doesnt quite work for me. This
part might need more detail. Im not sure that
transition takes me where I need to go. This
part doesnt make sense yet. Are there other
ways of saying this that would be clearer? Is
that behavior consistent for this
character? After you get the story down, Ill
help with grammar and punctuation. I really
like this part. Nice job on that character (or
point).
NOT ALLOWED This sucks. You suck. Youll
never be a writer. No one wants to read this
crap. What makes you think you can
write? Just give it up. You better keep your
day job. Youll never get this right. Plus
youre too old to begin as a writer. You dont
have enough formal education to be a writer.
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Maya Angelous Writing Process
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Writing Tips

• Use Action Verbs
• Use the Active Voice
• Show AND Tell
• Write in Scenes
• Consider using the Present Tense
• Cut the Fat

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More Writing Tips

• Metaphors, Similes, Symbols When in doubt,
  dont!
• Use the very Best Word
• In general, use shorter sentences
• Be aware of Rhythm, Meter, Shape Pace
• Make the reader feel

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Take advantage of every resource to improve your
writing
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Building Your Practice Through

• Seminars
• Lectures
• Workshops

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Tips for Powerful Workshops

• Have content (Coaching or what you do as a
  therapist is the side dish not the main course)
• 2. Be Entertaining
• 3. Stick with core points
• 4. You should be passionate about your subjects
  and desire to help others know what you know
• 5. Leave time for QA
• 6. Have a leave-behind with contact information

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Set up your own workshops and offer them for free
or for a nominal fee to attendees.
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Offer some workshops/keynotes to your target
market for FREE in order to get known.
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You will have to work your way up the ladder to
earn significant speakers fees. But each event
gets your name out to potential clients and
builds your opportunities to do more speaking.
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Building Your Coaching Practice Through
Contests
This is not appropriate for clinicians
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Building Your Practice Through
Local Radio

• Can do radio programs from anywhere by telephone
  (called phoners)
• Target the right programs
• Public Radio Stations are good for features/talk
  shows
• Choose Show(s) then make Contact

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Radio Tips

• Will they call you or you call them? In either
  case, have the telephone number for the studio

• Hello. Youre on the air! Yikes!

• Listen very carefully especially if you are
  being interviewed on the telephone

• Make a location reference unless the program
  will air in multiple locations

• Use the hosts name a few times make sure you
  know what it is and how to pronounce

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More Radio Tips

• Speak in short, concise blocks sound bytes

• Reframe when necessary to tell the audience what
  you want them to know

• Use a corded landline phone whenever possible

• Disable Call Waiting if you have it

• Have a glass of water and your notes/materials
  nearby

• Turn off your radio

• Banish all animals and small children from the
  room during your interview

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Building Your Practice Through
Local Television

• Local can mean where you are giving a talk or
  workshop
• You need a hook
• Target the right programs/producers

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Television Tips

• Arrive on time (actually early)

• Keep responses brief and to the point

• Wear makeup (including men)

• Dont wear a bright white shirt

• Smile Look excited, enthusiastic

• Make eye contact with interviewer

• Dont look at the camera

• Make a copy of the show on your VCR

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National Media Exposure

• A newsworthy event or issue
• Great perseverance
• Luck

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Building Your Practice Through
Professional Media Kit

• Bio
• A good photo (Headshot)
• Brochure If you have one
• Testimonials/Press Releases/Clippings
• Contact Information
• Questions to ask you (if being used for the
  media)
• Any other relevant information about you and
  your coaching practice

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Building Your Practice Through
Direct Mail
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Building Your Practice Through
Websites
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Websites

• Establishes you as a professional
• Clearinghouse of information, testimonials,
  speaking schedule, etc.
• Makes it easy to contact you by email, phone,
  snail mail
• All your competitors have them

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Building Your Practice Through
NewsletterE-Newsletter
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7 Ways an e-Newsletter will help grow your
practice

• A cost-effective way to stay in touch with your
  clients and prospects on a regular basis
  including international prospects
• Effortlessly spreads the word about you and your
  coaching practice
• Credibly and subtly promotes your practice
• Instantly positions you as an expert in your
  field
• Can capture the email addresses of your website
  visitors (e.g., sing up for free newsletter)
• Increases the stickiness of your website by
  posting current issues on your website
• Promotes your speaking engagements, books, and
  other activities

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e-Newsletters

• Easy to do
• You do not need to be a computer whiz to do
  these yourself also many commercial services
  available to design them if you prefer that
  (e.g., www.enewslettersonline.com)
• Flexible can offer them to announce your
  workshops, events, etc.
• Extremely inexpensive especially when compared
  to print/direct mail newsletters only costs are
  your time to write content and produce the
  e-newsletter

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Building Your Practice Through
Trade Shows
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Building Your Practice Through
Bridge Lines/Virtual Groups

• Maintain contact with clients
• Capitalize on synergy of group dynamics
• Low cost marketing

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Bridge Lines/ Conference Calls

• Offer free groups on interesting subjects to get
  people interested in the work you do as a coach

• Allows you to maintain contact with prospects
  and clients

• Zero to very low cost in terms of money and time
  expended

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There are numerous companies that offer Bridge
Line services. Check them out. Start with a
free one at www.mrconference.com.
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Building Your Practice Through
Gift Certificates
Not appropriate for clinicians
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Building Your Practice Through
Connections and Networking
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How are you perceived?
Be conscious of your persona/presentation/image
in personal demeanor and your marketing tools
(e.g., biz cards)
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You only have one chance to make a great FIRST
IMPRESSION!
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Network and Tell People What You Do

• Become active in networking group, service
  club, Chamber of Commerce etc.
• Always talk about results and benefits (not
  features)
• Have a well-designed elevator speech
• Get to know people Attend 2-3 meetings a
  month and stay active in that group
• NOTE For clinicians, Networking is for referral
  contacts not for clients themselves

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Networking v. Cold Calls

• Only 1-5 of cold calls lead to a successful
  sale
• About 15 of referrals are successful when a
  name is given out
• Success rate leaps to 50 when a phone call or
  email is sent on your behalf
• Success rate catapults to the 70-80 range when
  the person who can make the introduction attends
  the meeting or phone call

Source Sandler Sales Institute
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Networking/Connections Defined

• Every time someone gives you a recommendation,
  suggestion, or idea about something thats of
  interest or value to you, thats networking.
  Every time you do the same for someone else,
  thats networking. By fostering the power of
  cooperation, networking links people to one
  another for the mutual benefit of everyone
  involved. Networking involves
• Creating opportunities for meeting people
• Making contacts
• Building strong relationships

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Action
Make a list of all the times over the last
week that you have done someone a favor, given
someone encouragement, provided someone with a
valuable or interesting piece of information,
asked for help or advice, made a recommendation
to someone, or given a referral. You are
already an active networker!
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Successful Networkers

1. Are aware of opportunities and people all around
   them. They move opportunities into
   possibilities.
2. Have a helpful attitude.
3. Constantly sharpen their communication skills.
4. Constantly develop their relationship building
   habits.
5. Make networking a lifestyle not just something
   they do from time to time.
6. Realize that the heart of networking is people
   caring about people. It is most powerful when
   genuine human caring fuels it.

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Elements of Powerful Networking

• Give and receive information, contacts
  referrals
• Introduce people to one another
• Make requests -- ask for information, names,
  ideas, validation, encouragement, recommendations
• Send notes, cards or email Stay in touch
• Exchange business cards
• Attend community, professional and networking
  events
• Talk with people beef up your small talk and
  conversational skills, introduce yourself, take
  action!

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Knowledge for Powerful Connections

• You must understand your own values, principles,
  goals, and vision in order to recognize people
  who are in alignment with you on those issues
• You must understand and communicate the
  characteristics of your client base so that you
  can help your strategic connections recognize
  good prospects on your behalf
• You must appreciate the importance of good
  documentation, including supporting materials and
  tracking/evaluation strategies
• You must appreciate the importance of follow-up

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1. Make a chart of your network and the
important areas of your life.
Area of Life People Already in My Network People to Bring Into My Network
Career Ron Lu Ann
Hobbies Linda Kay
Health Michael Ken
Finances Judy J.P.
Spirituality Ruth Nancy
Relationships Matthew Nicholas
Personal Development Allison Phil

1. Contact all the people who are already in your
   network and let them know how important they are
   to you. Tell them how much you appreciate them.
2. Contact the people you would like to add to your
   network and invite them to join you for coffee or
   initiate some way to further your connection to
   them.

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Fill In the Blanks
Area of Life People Already in My Network People to Bring Into My Network
Career
Hobbies
Health
Finances
Spirituality
Relationships
Personal Development
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Model for Business Connections
Accidents
Acquaintances
Associates
Actors
Advocates
Allies
Source Anne Baber Lynne Waymon Make Your
Contacts Count
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Self-Assessment

1. I know how to initiate a conversation comfortably
   and professionally.
2. I find it easy to approach people I dont know at
   all or dont know very well.
3. At a typical networking event, I introduce myself
   to at least half a dozen people.
4. When I listen to people, I am fully present and
   focused on what they are saying.
5. I try to think of specific people who could be a
   good prospect for my network colleagues.
6. After an event, I can name at least three
   valuable pieces of information that Ive learned
   from others.
7. I can point out examples of assistance or
   resources Ive given to my contacts.
8. When my key contacts talk about me, I notice that
   they can describe what I do vividly and
   accurately.
9. When I get a business card or referral card, I
   put the information in my Rolodex or data base.
10. I follow up on all new contacts with three to
    five days.
11. I am able to fit staying in touch with key
    contacts into my daily/weekly/monthly routine.
12. I initiate or attend at least one networking
    meeting (breakfast, lunch, etc.) each week.

Rate yourself on each of these questions using a
10-point scale where 1Never or Almost Never and
10Always or Almost Always
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Networking at Warp Speed

• Rules for Speed Networking
  Exercise
• 1. Spend a few minutes writing down your
  elevator speech Remember BENEFITS!
• Move to the person to your left and each spend
  one minute telling each other what you do and the
  benefits to your customers. Clearly describe
  your ideal prospects. You will have one minute!
• Move around the table (to your left) until you
  have exchanged information with everyone at your
  table.

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Actionfor Powerful Connections

• Take a colleague to a networking event and make
  a point of introducing her/him to at least 6
  other members
• Take notes! Understand the client base of your
  networking connections so that you will recognize
  prospects for them
• Swap business cards and referral cards
• Follow-up by sending along a personal note and
  some marketing material
• Follow-up by referring ASAP to suitable
  potential alliances
• Never deliver a cold referral -- Always
  prepare your referral for contact by your
  colleague
• Follow-up by entering new information on your
  interactive database
• Plan to attend or host events which further
  cement the good relationships you are developing
  with your strategic alliances

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The Underlying Secret of Superior Networking
Give more than you get!
No person was ever honored for what he received.
Honor has been the reward for what he gave.
Calvin Coolidge
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A Metric for Networking Success
No Business Cards left at the end of the
year.Order More!
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We must constantly fine-tune our business and
marketing plans.
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Building Your Coaching Practice Through
ReputationCredibilityEnthusiasm
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• Identify which marketing strategies you are good
  at and like to do
• Reality Check What is working? Change tactics
  if necessary

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over
and expecting a different outcome!
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GET THE WORD OUT!!!!
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Action Steps Must Be Consistent and Persistent
Do 5 simple things every day to promote your
practice
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RememberAll of this is to help build your
platform as a coach or clinician!
Write a Marketing Plan
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Action Steps must be Specific and Concrete!

• Goal I want 10 new clients

• Process I will need to put in 50 hours of
  focused marketing

• Reality I have 7 hours each week to market my
  services -- it will take about 7 weeks (50
  divided by 7) -- to get my 10 new clients

• Strategy I have chosen Direct Contact
  Marketing and Networking

• Concrete Steps I will put the following steps
  into my calendar

It has been estimated that it takes 5 hours of
focused marketing to obtain 1 new client (source
Steve Mitten)
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To Effectively Develop Your Practice
Set Aside Regular Time
Put Your Action Steps and Activities INTO your
Schedule Dont just get around to them when you
have extra time, because you wont!
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Chart your Progress and Keep on Top of Your
Coaching Business

• The Gantt chart offers graphic display of
  activity durations. It is sometimes referred to
  as a bar chart. It lists activities and other
  tabular information on the left side. Activity
  durations are shown in the form of horizontal
  bars on the right side of the chart, with time
  intervals over the bars.
• Able to see the status of each project task at
  any point in time.
• Able to see overlapping or parallel tasks

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Gantt (Time x Task) Chart
Timeline
Action Steps
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Simple but not Easy
Is there anything stopping you?

• Fear

• Inertia

• Obstacles

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The only place where Success comes before
Work is in the Dictionary!
111
Short and Long Range Planning
Go back and look at your original Business and
Marketing Plans

• Are you on target? Do you need any mid-course
  corrections?

• Are your goals now the same as they were when
  you first considered them. If not, how are they
  different?

• Are the Action Steps you formulated up to the
  task of realizing those goals?

112
Pilots constantly make small mid-course
corrections in order to get to their destination
You should too!
113
There is no Universal Marketing Strategy One Size
Does Not Fit All!

• Experiment. Be Creative. Be willing to refine
  your tools.

• Persevere and dont give up on a particular
  strategy too soon.

• BUT Observe results Dont continue down a dry
  path forever. Change your tactics when necessary.

114
Your Path as a Coach or Therapist and as a Person

• Follow your passion/live consciously and
  purposefully

• How authentic are you?

• Learn everything you can

115
Let your clients know that you are accepting new
referrals and ask them for introductions and
testimonials (Note This is appropriate for
coaching but NOT for psychotherapy).
116
Know your Elevator Speech cold so you can tell
anyone, anywhere, what you do with an emphasis on
benefits to clients!
117
Offer a FREE sample coaching session to prospects
and potential referral sources especially people
you believe could be Rainmakers
118
631 Formula for Coaching
If you contact six qualified prospects (qualified
by age and income), at least three will agree to
a sample coaching session. And if you give three
qualified prospects a great sample coaching
session, at least one will become your client.
Age 25-65, Income 45,000 Source Steve
Mitten, Marketing Essentials for Coaches, 2003
119
Continue to sharpen your coaching and/or clinical
skills. Take classes, go to conferences
meetings. Be around colleagues to share
information, teach/learn, and support each other
120
Sri Ramakrishna
Seek knowledge like a man whose hair is on fire
seeks a pond!
121
Give away your knowledge, spirit, and joy in the
process of helping others. Putting good things
into the world is like a boomerang. It will come
back to you.What goes around, comes around!
122
Self-Care
123
Remember what your 8th Grade Health Teacher
taught you to take good care of yourself!

• Diet
• Exercise
• Adequate Sleep
• Practice Good Wellness Behaviors
• Stress Management
• Take Time to Play, Relax, Laugh
• Social Support
• Be Aware of your Boundaries

124
Your Most Important Coaching or Clinical Tool is
You!
It is your character, wisdom, humor,
intelligence, compassion, and creativity that
will allow you to stand out in a sea of coaches
or clinicians.
125
Your Life Is Your Message
Mahatma Ghandi
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Thank You andGodspeed on Your Journey
Kelly
www.fullpotentialliving.comkbrehony_at_earthlink.net
252-473-4004
Kathleen and Co-author Dorothy