I hope this finds you well and happy! Thanks to all the wonderful therapists I met in the last two weeks. I had the opportunity to visit with therapists up and down the state of California. Once again it confirmed for me that therapists are incredibly wonderful people!

In this issue, we talk about “Where are the $150/hour clients?” I am very excited that many of you are ready to have a cash-pay (fee-for-service) practice. But let’s not look for the client before we know how we can help them. I hope this article will stimulate your thinking.

Speaking of help, last chance to get into the Private Practice Boot Camp. Each week, we will be setting practice-building goals and holding each other accountable. I can’t wait to see our results! If you aren’t already registered, you may want to sign up now. We start on Monday, March 27th. 

Happy spring and happy practice-building!

As always - wishing you continued love and success,

Where are the $150/per hour clients?

Recently someone in the Exclusive Members Program asked “Where are the $150/hour clients?”

Great question and one that many therapists are asking. They want to know how to attract more cash-paying clients and do less managed care work. They want more clients that can afford to pay them a good fee.

But we don’t find these clients by looking for people who have extra money. We begin at the beginning. What problem do you help to solve and who wants to pay you to help them solve it?

If you help parents who are worried that their teen is on the wrong path, you will have potential clients. If you market this service by building relationships with referral sources and prospects in wealthier areas, you will have cash-paying clients.

Many of us have had a problem and when we found someone we thought could help, money wasn’t the most important concern. I have hired coaches, therapists, and attorneys because I thought they could help me. If they charged $25 or $50 more per hour than someone else I could have hired, it wasn’t an issue. I believed the person could help me with my problem now. I liked them and I hired them.

In my workshops, I often ask people if they “shopped” dentists for the best price when they had a root canal problem. Of the hundreds I asked this question, only one did. We just want to be out of pain. It goes back to if I like you and trust you and believe you have the solution to my problem, then I will hire you.

That said, demographics do play an important part. If I am marketing my services to parents of teens in a poor area of town, I will probably find less $150 clients than if I market in a wealthier area. Notice what type of pond you are fishing in.

Many times therapists tell me that no one wants to pay full fee and the competition among therapists is high. I guess I have been lucky in that my mentors never thought this. In fact, all 8 therapists in our suite have full practices and I think only one takes insurance.

So where are the $150/hour clients? They are nearby. They just need to know what problem you can help them with. They need to trust you with that problem.

If you could use some support with this and are in the California area (or would like to visit) you may want to consider our Build Your Full Practice In-Person Workshops in May. We will be in Orange County, CA (near Disneyland) on May 6 and in Sacramento, CA on May 13. I say “give me one day and we will draft your marketing plan to help you double, triple, and even quadruple your cash-paying client base!” Happy practice building!

Check out our free articles and audios in our No-Charge Stuff section.

Curious about the new Exclusive Build Your Therapy Practice Membership Program? Join me for this no-charge conference call and find out how you can connect with our community of smart and savvy therapists who want to attract more cash-paying clients - all for less than the price of a tank of gas.

Saturday, April 1, 2006

10:00 - 10:45 PM Pacific Time 11:00 - 11:45 PM Mountain Time
noon - 12:45 PM Central Time
1:00 - 1:45 PM Eastern Time

Join us for this FREE class taught over the phone where we will discuss how you can learn different marketing skills, get your practice-building questions answered and connect with other success-minded therapists all for the price of two lattes a week. (The call is conducted over the phone in a conference call manner. The call is free except for any long distance phone charges you might incur.)

Register here. (Only registrants will be able to hear the replay of the call.)

“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
- Dale Carnegie

Want to learn how to get more clients from speaking and networking? Tired of managed care? Consider our Self Study Course. It contains step-by-step instructions to help you attract more clients and more money. It contains a 130-page manual and 12 audio CDs.(And 12 CEUs for California and Nevada MFTs and LCSWs. How cool is that?) (Note: Price will be going up on April 1, 2006.)

Have you checked out our “Build Your Therapy Practice with Cash-Paying Clients” exclusive membership program? This is a growing community of therapists and some coaches who get together monthly over the phone and internet to set goals, learn new skills, stay motivated and connect with other success-minded clinicians marketing a counseling practice.
What do your marketing materials say about you?

To build your business, you NEED great looking marketing materials. Materials that are professional, reflect your personality and appeal to your ideal client. If you could use some support in this area, consider Sue Williams of Wallis Williams Design and Marketing. She is the best! She has done all of my design work and most of my clients’.