Last week I was working with a 
new client helping her to develop a marketing plan for the next three years. Getting her to tell herself (and me) the truth about her practice was a bit like washing a water-phobic dog! She had access to the information – how much money she was bringing in, how many clients she saw in a month, etc. – but she couldn’t find the courage to tell the truth.
Are you seeing as many clients as you would like to see? Or, is your practice limping along?
I dare you to tell yourself the truth . . . so you can do the work you were meant to do by building a strong and vibrant private practice.
If you want more clients than you currently have, then you have to start by telling yourself the whole truth. (And, yes, if you work with me, then you need to tell me so I can help!)
Here are some troubleshooting questions to help you see more clients . . . .
- Do you have a website?
- Is your website working for you?
- Are clients calling you?
- Are you turning those calls into appointments?
- Are your clients showing up to their initial appointments?
- Are your clients continuing to book appointments with you?
- Are your clients telling others about your fabulous work?
And, if you are answering “no” to any of those questions, call me (303-660-4989)! Let’s see if I can help you turn that “no” into a “yes” and more!
Tamara,
Working with a coach such as you is a lot like working with a therapist. It works best when we can get honest. Sometimes, the reality of where we are at can be difficult to look at when it is short of our dreams.
I have found, once a person can get honest with their starting point they are able to set a clear direction and put a solid game plan together with all the great suggestions you have mentioned above. Also, when a person develops a clear sense of where they are starting the progress made becomes positive motivation, “Look how far I have come!” I love to hear my clients acknowledge their accomplishments. Also,I can see the sense of vitality they enjoy when they begin to experience success.
Warmly, Brenda
Hey! Brenda! Welcome back! That is the trick for all of us, isn’t it?! I have worked with more than one couple in counseling that is just on the edge of making that leap to embrace their integrity and ‘fess up . . . to their individual roles in perpetuating their drama, to fighting unfairly, to their own self-sabotaging, etc. It’s just so hard when we are the ones being asked to step up and look at our own participation in and our own responsibility for the situations that we are in.
And, of course, the same is true in our practices, isn’t it? It’s hard to say “The phone isn’t ringing” or “I’m seeing only two clients” or “Clients come to their first appointment but never come back” when we want full and thriving businesses. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the truth. But, you’re right, Brenda. Instead of hiding those facts in shame, it’s much more productive to deal with that shame (just as we ask our clients to) and learn to embrace the truth. Those uncomfortable truths hold gifts for us if we’re just willing to be open to them – positive motivation, clarity of vision, etc. It’s so much easier to blame a struggling practice on the doctors that “won’t refer” or colleagues who are “too territorial” or a “bad economy.”
I think, Brenda, what you and I both know and share with clients is that there is a need and a demand for therapists even in . . . perhaps especially in a bad economy. But if you are a therapist who can’t embrace the truth and doesn’t know how to effectively market your practice in 2012, . . . then you are struggling and it is hard and your efforts to grow your practice can be quite frustrating. If that’s true for you today, I want to encourage you to reach out to Brenda or me or any one of a number of business coaches or consultants that can show you the shortcuts to troubleshooting and growing your practice. There really is room at the table and a need for all of us!
Tamara,
Your way of talking about the struggle to be honest with yourself is so well said.
Also, thank you for the generous support of letting people know they can call me for coaching. I am a Board Certified Coach and love helping people create a life they love living in bringing their dreams to life.
With Gratitude, Brenda
There’s always room for more :)!