Getting Clients Newsletter December 2004 Welcome to GETTING CLIENTS! Each month we bring you the best information and resources we can find to help you get clients and build your ideal practice. If you are recieving this from a colleague and wish to subscribe Share this newsletter with a colleague! To listen to our Seminar of the Month click here CONTENTS Announcements December 1st Free Seminar- The Enrollment Conversation January 7th Free Seminar- Creating Your Personal Brand How to Get Clients Full Practice Training starts January 5th Our next 90-Day Practice Building Intensive starts January 6th Top Five Tips for Marketing That Gets Results Feature Article: How to Get Clients Using The Enrollment Conversation Cool Resource of the Month Invitations ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. December 1st Free Seminar- How to Get Clients: The Enrollment Conversation with David Steele Private practice professionals conduct a very intimate, personal service. Usually, a prospective client must talk with us about their situation and needs, our services, and connect with us 1:1 before making the decision to hire us. This is the origin of the "Free Initial Consultation" or "Complimentary Session." If you can get someone to enter a conversation with you about their needs and your services, you are halfway home. If they connect with you and believe you can help them, converting them into a client is usually pretty easy. In this seminar we will cover what the enrollment coversation is and how to do it effectively, including: What is an "Enrollment Conversation?" "Formal" and "Informal" enrollment conversations "Broad" and "Specific" enrollment coversations How to get prospective clients to engage you in an enrollment conversation How to conduct an effective enrollment conversation For more information about this and future Free Practice-Building Seminars To subscribe to this newsletter and receive free seminar announcements 2. January 5th Free Seminar- Creating Your Personal Brand with Debra Valle of MarketingU Is your target market loaded with competitors? How do you make yourself stand out in your industry? No matter how large or small your business, you must make a name for yourself that distinguishes you from your competitors! The strongest brands attract more business. Plain and simple. But many find the task of finding a unique point of difference "tooting their own horn" to be daunting. So how can you stand out from the crowd and not feel like a snake oil salesman? Join author, brand strategist, and coach Debra S. Valle for this fun and engaging teleteminar and learn how. The good news is you don’t have to be a creative genius on Madison Avenue to create distinction for yourself or for your business. With Debra’s proven branding process you can create an authentic, compelling and provocative statement of purpose—one that screams distinction. For more information about this and future Free Practice-Building Seminars To subscribe to this newsletter and receive free seminar announcements 3. How to Get Clients Full Practice Training starts January 5th If you do not yet have a full practice, this program is for you! You must survive before you can thrive. To survive in private practice you must master the skills and strategies for getting clients. This 8-week program includes: Weekly teleclasses, Wednesdays 3pm pacific/6pm eastern Step-by-step e-mailed assignments E-mail discussion list for support and feedback Supplemental audio recordings for missed classes, more info E-version of the “How to Get Clients Toolkit.” “I really like the way the content is organized. It seems obvious, simple and easy while being rich and deep.” “Thorough delivery and materials. It's like having a consultant to guide you through to a successful practice. I wish I had this sooner!” “This program is dynamite!” Please join us! Wednesdays, January 5th – February 23rd 3:00pm pacific / 6:00pm eastern For more information visit our website 4. 90-Day Practice Building Intensive starts January 6th Ready to build your ideal practice? Want to work less and make more? Would you like to learn how you can actually have fun building and marketing your business? If so, then join our Practice Building Intensive! We will meet for 12 weeks, Thursdays at 12 noon EST, and you will learn everything you need to have a successful private practice. This step-by-step program includes: E-book version of How To Build Your Ideal Practice In 90 Days Weekly assignments with all the step-by-step instructions needed to complete them Weekly consultation teleclass, Thursdays 9am pacific/Noon eastern, recorded for your listening convenience (web audio recordings also available) E-mail discussion list for your questions, ideas, feedback, and support Access to our exclusive Practice Development Resource Bank, Knowledge Bank, and Audio Catalogue for the best "how to" information and free/low cost practice-building resources Facilitated by David Steele, Mentor Coach and Author of How To Build Your Ideal Practice In 90 Daysand the How to Get Clients Toolkit and assisted by a team of "apprentices." And the REALLY great news is that this 90-day program is very affordable (as low as $29.00 per month!). Now is the time to jump in and get the information and support you need to build your ideal practice. For more information click here 5. Top Five Tips for Marketing That Gets Results Notice we changed the name of our newsletter? Our original name, Your Pinnacle Practice speaks to what we are about- helping you to build your ideal practice and reach the pinnacle of your professional potential. Getting Clients speaks to the top priority of our audience, and we changed our newsletter name to communicate more clearly that we are committed to helping you do so. We are following our own advice! Tips #1 and #2 of our Top Five Tips for Marketing That Gets Results are: Market for your desired audience, not yourself and Always answer these four critical marketing questions: Question 1: WHAT'S THIS ABOUT? Is it immediately clear to the reader what is being offered? Any opaqueness, confusion, question marks? Question 2: WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? The big benefit(s) are very clear and directly stated... not implied; the reader doesn't have to guess. Question 3: CAN I TRUST YOU? How do I know you are safe and credible? Can I find out easily enough if I want to? Is your photo and contact info prominently displayed so I can build a relationship with you? Question 4: DO I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THIS? Do I WANT to engage you? Do I feel COMPELLED to click my mouse or pick up the phone? Do I feel good about myself in deciding to engage you? What's my motivation? Am I being motivated by fear, shame, or being empowered to make a good choice? Am I so excited that I want to tell all my friends? Check out the other tips and the audio program at Top Five Tips for Marketing That Gets Results Table of Contents FEATURE ARTICLE How to Get Clients Using the Enrollment Conversation by David Steele Private practice professionals conduct a very intimate, personal service. Usually, a prospective client must talk with us about their situation and needs, our services, and connect with us 1:1 before making the decision to hire us. This is the origin of the "Free Initial Consultation" or "Complimentary Session." If you can get someone to enter a conversation with you about their needs and your services, you are halfway home. If they connect with you and believe you can help them, converting them into a client is usually pretty easy. Four Types of Enrollment Conversations Formal enrollment conversations (prospect makes an appointment) Informal enrollment conversations (can happen anywhere, anytime) Broad enrollment coversation (free initial consultation, complimentary session) Specific enrollment conversation (providing specific service such as an assessment) Getting Prospects to Engage You 1. In your external and internal marketing, use a call to action that effectively answers the "Four Critical Marketing Questions:" - What's this about? - What's in it for me? - Can I trust you? - Do I feel good about this? 2. Provide choices for contacting you (telephone, e-mail, mailing address, etc) 3. Make it easy to schedule with you (hotline, IM, "office hours," online scheduling, etc) 4. Internal marketing system- newsletter, events, following up by telephone/e-mail, mailings, re-calls 5. Incentives- book, tape, free service, discount (use deadline or "while supplies last") 6. Stimulate word of mouth referrals Conducting an Effective Enrollment Conversation 1. Ask about their previous experience with same/similar professionals 2. Focus on connection, relationship; less on your agenda 3. Ask questions and listen the majority of the time 4. Reflect back goals, needs, challenges 5. Tell a selected story about self or client that helps them know you understand, relate, and gives them hope 6. Provide a "gem" or two of valuable information, feedback, or suggestion to demonstrate value and credibility 7. Ask what they are seeking, want, and need in a helping professional 8. Find something about them to be genuinely excited about ("positive mirroring") working with them and verbalize What NOT to Talk About During the Enrollment Conversation (not a comprehensive list!) 1. Your problems 2. Personal questions unrelated to working together 3. Money or features of your service before the connection is made 4. Small talk unrelated to context of your services after first few minutes 5. Swapping stories 6. Other people (unless directly relevant to context of your services) Checklist for Conducting an Effective Enrollment Conversation Did I ask about their previous experience with same/similar professionals? ____ Yes / ____ No Did I focus on the connection and relationship; less on my agenda? ____ Yes / ____ No Did I ask questions and listen the majority of the time? ____ Yes / ____ No Did I reflect back their goals, needs, and challenges? ____ Yes / ____ No Did I tell a carefully selected story about myself or client that helps them know that I understand, relate, and gives them hope? ____ Yes / ____ No Did I provide a "gem" or two of valuable information, feedback, or suggestion to demonstrate value and credibility? ____ Yes / ____ No Did I ask what they are seeking, want, and need in a helping professional? ____ Yes / ____ No Did I find something about them to be genuinely excited about ("positive mirroring") working with them and verbalize it? ____ Yes / ____ No 8. © 2004 by David Steele / All rights reserved Be sure to join us on Wednesday December 1st for our free tele-seminar- The Enrollment Conversation. Click here for more information. If you are reading this on our website or received it from a friend, and are not yet a subscriber subscribe here. It's free! Table of Contents COOL RESOURCE OF THE MONTH Last month I took the leap into VoIP telephone service, and haven't looked back. It's great! I was able to cut my telephone bill in half and the sound quality is much better than before. "Voice Over Internet Protocol" (VoIP) telephone service is now mainstream with big companies like AT&T now offering it. Vonage is the first and largest VoIP provider, and they dropped their rates to compete with the newcomers into the market. I now pay $24.99 per month (no taxes or surcharges!) for unlimited local and long distance calls to the U.S. and Canada, with great international rates, and all the features you can imagine- voicemail with notification, online control panel and account management, caller ID, call waiting, 3-way calling, etc. There are other cool features, such as virtual numbers (add a phone # from any area code), inexpensive toll free numbers, fax service, etc. If you are already paying for a broadband connection (cable, DSL, etc), I highly recommend VoIP. Vonage offers a free 30 Day Trial and free VoIP phone adaptor that lets you use a regular telephone. If you don't yet have a broadband connection because of the cost, when you factor in local toll charges, taxes, surcharges, etc, you could save enough on your telephone bill to pay your broadband bill! Click here for more information INVITATIONS We invite you to share this newsletter with a colleague. There is a tremendous need for our services, and we need to work together. Practice development is always in need and we want to be the leaders in our field. Please contact us with ideas and resources you have found useful so we can pass them on! We invite you to get the support you need to be successful in your practice. We are available for information, training, ideas, mentor coaching, etc. We invite you to become an affiliate of BuildingYourIdealPractice.com and begin to earn extra income just by sharing our programs and products with your friends and colleagues. For more info visit our website. If you are a private practice professional who received this from a colleague, we invite you to visit our web site and contact us for information on joining us. How do you like our newsletter? Your feedback is welcome! Until next time… David Steele, MA, LMFT Founder and CEO of BuildingYourIdealPractice.com The purpose of this newsletter is to connect, support each other, inform, and build a strong community of helping professionals who want to have thriving businesses and fulfilling lives. Your submissions and feedback are welcome! If you are recieving this from a colleague and wish to subscribe Share this newsletter with a colleague! Our Mission: To provide the tools, information and support to help private practice professionals have their ideal practices in the most effective and efficient ways possible. Copyright notice: This newsletter is copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Feel free to share with others as long as our contact information and authorship is included. U.S. Library of Congress ISSN#:1530-3055 Table of Contents

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