Getting Clieints Newsletter

David and Jeff have close to 50 years combined experience in their own private practices and have coached and mentored hundreds of other private practice professionals to build successful practices.

Note: How to Get on Oprah has been rescheduled due to a family emergency. Watch this newsletter and our website for more information.

You must survive before you can thrive. To survive in private practice you must master the skills and strategies for getting clients.

FEATURE ARTICLE

After more than 20 years in private practice, and then having the privilege of mentoring hundreds of private practice professionals through Relationship Coaching Institute and BuildingYourIdealPractice.com, I have learned five secrets and five distinctions that are critically important to getting clients and building a successful practice:

Distinction #1. Practice vs. Business

Your practice is helping your clients. Your business is all the other stuff that comes with the territory of being in private practice, such as paperwork, billing, marketing, etc.

Why is this distinction important? Most private practice professionals prefer to work with their clients and resist some or most business activities, which can seriously sabotage a practice.

Recommendation: Identify business activities you resist and find ways to implement them effectively.

Secret #1: Your business will take care of you, only if you take care of it.

Distinction #2. Marketing vs. Sales

Marketing is communicating what you do, which will generate prospects. Sales is converting prospects to clients.

Why is this distinction important? You can market till the cows come home, and not get any clients! Many private practice professionals resist selling, which becomes an obstacle to getting clients.

Recommendation: Implement effective strategies for converting prospects to clients that fit your values and personality.

Distinction #3. Selling vs. Enrollment

Selling usually refers to attempting to influence someone to buy a tangible product. Enrollment is building a relationship with a prospective client and inviting them to work with you.

Why is this distinction important? Many private practice professionals feel like they are “selling” themselves and are uncomfortable with the enrollment process, and as a result struggle to get clients.

Recommendation: Reframe “selling” to “enrollment” and focus on authentically connecting with your prospective clients, being of service to them, and building your relationship with them.

Secret #3: Be "The Chooser." Fill your practice by enrolling the clients you want to work with.

Distinction #4. Your Services vs. The “Real” Product

Your services are what you do to help your clients. The real product, however, is YOU!

Why is this distinction important? You offer a very intimate, personal service that requires your prospective client to like and trust you.

Recommendation: Prioritize connecting with your prospective clients and building your relationship with them individually.

Distinction #5. Bluebirds vs. Boulders

“Bluebirds” are prospects that are so attracted to working with you they almost enroll themselves become clients. “Boulders” are prospects that are interested and attracted, but have reservations and questions and require effort and follow-through to enroll.

Why is this distinction important? Many private practice professionals focus on the bluebirds and don’t follow through with the boulders. They interpret the boulder’s behavior as not interested or ready; then struggle to fill their practice because they don’t have enough bluebirds. Since you offer such a personal, intimate service, many, if not most of your prospects will feel vulnerable and experience fear, and need your support to make the leap to hire you.

Recommendation: Design your marketing and enrollment systems for the boulders, and the bluebirds will follow. Learn and practice effective enrollment strategies to help boulders overcome their fear and resistance.

Secret #5: No-one is successful alone. Just as your boulders need your support, you need support to learn and apply the skills needed to get clients and build your ideal practice.

The common theme of the above secrets and distinctions is that private practice professionals tend to sabotage themselves by focusing on what they want to do, and resisting what they don’t want to do. We want to help our clients and make a difference in the world, and don’t want to put our limited time and energy into activities that take us away from our mission.

Well, what you resist, persists. Much of what we might resist above can be addressed simply by reframing the way we interpret that activity. We might hate selling, but love to connect with people and build relationships, which is effective enrollment. If a prospective client appears genuinely interested and attracted to working with us, but has reservations (a “boulder”) that is NOT the same as someone who is not interested in working with you, and reframing their resistance as fear might be helpful.

It is critically important to understand that marketing alone will not create clients, and we must identify, learn, and practice the skills and attitudes necessary to effectively get clients. They didn’t teach this to you in graduate school, so you must embrace learning to get clients as the final piece necessary to your career success. I recommend taking this as seriously as any graduate school class or professional training and get the information and support you need to be successful.

Please join us on Wednesday May 3rd for our next F*R*E*E Monthly Practice Building Seminar -

"How to Survive & Thrive in Private Practice"

with David Steele and Jeff Herring

Subscribers - watch your e-mail inbox for an invitation with the bridge number to join.

For more information about this and future Practice-Building Seminars

To subscribe to this newsletter and access our seminars

Table of Contents

COOL RESOURCE OF THE MONTH

Join our next 12 -week Get Clients - Full Practice Training program that begins May 10th

Join our next 90 day Practice Building Intensive that begins May 11th

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some frequently asked questions about BuildingYourIdealPractice.com (BYIP) and our programs.

FAQ #1: What's the difference between your two practice-building programs?

Answer: The Get Clients Full Practice Training focuses on the skills and strategies of getting clients (working IN your business), while the Practice Building Intensive helps you design and build your ideal practice (working ON your business).

FAQ #2: Which should I take first?

Answer: If you are clear about your niche(s), are able to market and develop prospects, and your priority is to get clients, we suggest taking the Get Clients Full Practice Training first. After all, you must survive before you can thrive.

If you are not clear about your niches, have no idea where to start with your marketing, don't have prospects and aren't sure where to look for them, OR, if you already have a viable practice and want to transition to something more fulfilling, we suggest taking our Practice Building Intensive first.

FAQ #3: Other practice building programs cost so much more, why are yours so affordable?

Answer: When you are struggling in your practice, you must make careful financial decisions. We understand that, which is why we are a membership program. Our intention is to provide support for our members as long as needed, so we are motivated to effectively help you to be successful and continuing to provide value to retain you as a member. If we do a good job, we retain our members and grow. This is a win-win!

FAQ #4: How do I join?

Answer: There are two ways to sign up for these programs:

1. Join BYIP as a member

Our membership programs are designed to be extremely affordable and you can choose from three levels of support:

The Pinnacle Club includes once per month individual coaching, every other week small group coaching, and the tele-programs above
The GoGetter's Club includes every other week small group coaching and the tele-programs above

Becoming a member of BYIP involves an enrollment fee and a low monthly fee, allowing you to participate for as long as needed very affordably, and can be cancelled at any time. In addition, members have the support of the BYIP community and are welcome to contact David or Jeff and staff at any time for support when needed. We want our members to be happy and successful!

2. Register as a non-member

If you wish to participate in one of our programs but are not ready to join BYIP as a member, you are welcome to register and pay the non-member rate. We are confident you will want to join BYIP once you experience our high quality programs and exceptional member support, and will waive the Tele-Program member enrollment fee if you decide to join after registering as a non-member.

To register for one of our programs as a non-member, visit the program registration page link below and scroll to the bottom of the page, selecting "Non-Member Registration."

12-Week Get Clients Full Practice Training

90-Day Practice Building Intensive

FAQ #5: What kind of professional can benefit from your programs?

Answer: Our programs are for you if:

You are committed to the private practice of your profession as your life-long vocation
You have the passion, experience, and training needed to help your clients experience success in your area of expertise
You offer a rather personal, intimate service
You are ready to do what it takes to be successfully self-employed doing what you love with the clients you want to help

This includes private practice professionals such as:

Traditional helping professionals: Coaches, Chiropractors, Counselors, Hypnotherapists, Massage Therapists, Physicians, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Social Workers, and others…

Alternative practitioners: Acupuncturists, Bodyworkers, Craniosacral therapists, Energy healers, Feng Shui Consultants, Intuitives, Naturopaths/Homeopaths, Reiki practitioners, and others…

Independent service professionals: Accountants, Business and Management consultants, Nutrition and Weight Loss consultants, Lawyers, Personal trainers, Technical Consultants, and others…

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

Jeff Herring, MS, LMFT
President 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 receiving 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

Getting Clients Newsletter

May 2006

CONTENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEATURE ARTICLE

COOL RESOURCE OF THE MONTH

Frequently Asked Questions

INVITATIONS