Hope this finds you feeling prosperous and doing well!

I am curious. Do you get nervous when people ask “How much do you charge?” Worried that you might not be worth it? Worried that it might be too much?
I am still on my money theme this week. Liza Carr, a fabulous therapist, sent me this quote:

In 1997, people spent $1.7 billion (yes, billion) on psychic hotlines (this does not include seeing psychics face to face). -Ofer Zur, Ph.D

Do you think psychics worry about telling people their fee? Do you think they wonder if they are worth it?

If so, you are not alone. My voice used to crack when I stated my fee! And I have found this to be the #1 fear of many therapists.

Just for fun, I invite you to think about how you spend your hard-earned dollars.

Do you pay a hair stylist, personal trainer, house cleaner, or massage therapist a similar fee to yours?

Do you resent them when you pay them?

Sometimes this exercise can help us put our fee into perspective so it comes out of our mouth easier when people ask “What do you charge?”

Last week I had two therapists call me with a lot of excitement. Both acquired two new clients in one week! How cool is that.

Now, you know, I strongly believe in the extroverted marketing activities such as speaking and developing referral partners.

But these two therapists were getting clients from an introverted activity - an online therapist locator service!

If you are considering an online therapist locator service, I recommend Counsel-search.com.

When you sign up, just enter affiliate (coupon) code:

casey

and you will get a monthly listing on their online therapist locator service for only $9.99/month and a web site at no-charge to you!

Rich Gilmour, the owner of Counsel-Search.com says “If you don’t yet have a website, friends of Casey Truffo get one FREE!” Just remember to enter your affiliate (coupon) code of: casey

Check out Counsel-Search.com!

Note for Exclusive Members: You can get an additional bounus from Counsel-search! You get the first month’s listing for only $1 by going to the Resources section in the Exclusive Members Site and using the coupon code listed there!

With love and respect,

I am so excited to present you with this article from the fabulous practice-building coach Lynn Grodzki.

Lynn was my very first coach years ago and I am delighted that she offered to let me share with you the following article! To subscribe to her “Private Practice Success Newsletter.” please visit www.privatepracticesuccess.com.

An Expensive Business to Operate

by Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC

In my last month’s newsletter, I discussed the 2006 industry-wide survey from Psychotherapy Finances (www.psychotherapyfinances.com), showing that incomes of clinicians are declining and not keeping pace with inflation.

This month, I highlight another finding of the same survey: Despite declining incomes, practice expenses are still high. This validates what I teach, that a therapy business is an expensive business to own and operate.

“If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.” Stephen R. Covey

Whether you are a sole proprietor or part of a group practice, whether you have a home office or work out of a separate office, your expenses will be a substantial percentage of your gross income, and that makes this an expensive business to run.

It may not seem that way when you have a small practice, because there is relatively little start-up expense, especially with a home office. But when you look at your expenses as a percentage of gross income, you see the true picture.

The 2006 survey reports that expenses of those in solo practices run an average of 30 - 40 % of their total income. Expenses for those in group practices average between 30 - 45%. This is considered a high percentage, in business terms.

To be profitable in private practice you need to keep your income high and your expenses low. Overall, this means you must minimize your reliance on managed care, and sliding scale clients; attract and retain self-pay clients; and manage your expenses carefully so that you can keep as much of your income as possible.

“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” Ben Franklin

Let’s look at two basic strategies that help to keep clinical expenses low:

1) Get organized.

You need to continually track your income, payments, outstanding debt, and expenses. Have a system that allows you to see this data at all times. If you are not using a computer to do this, you are in business the hard way. The survey shows that therapists are technophobic, and only 55% of those in solo practice use a computer for billing. This is one area where getting comfortable with technology can make a difference to a therapist’s bottom line.

One therapist I coached found that just getting her files in order, made it possible to eliminate $10,000 in debt she carried — unpaid bills from existing clients. Before getting organized, she knew she had some outstanding receivables, but didn’t know how much or who really owed her for what. After compiling her records, she was able to present clients with a statement and work out a payment plan.

2) Adopt a consumer model of payment — such as taking credit cards.

The survey shows that accepting credit cards is a growing trend for clinicians. Over half of all group practices accept plastic, but only 23% of solo practices take them. Although you lose a little of your fee due to a percentage you pay to the card company (usually 1.75-3%), you gain flexibility, eliminate outstanding receivables, and have a way to encourage immediate payment.

One therapist gets credit card information from each new client as part of the intake packet. His contract explains that the card will be used for missed session payments. This way, the therapist and client can be assured that the billing can continue in a regular way, even when the flow of sessions gets disrupted.

“don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over .” Warren Buffett

Want other ideas to increase profit and reduce expenses? Check the statements that are true for you in the area of “Profit Drains” or “Profit Gains”.

Profit Drains

I have no business plan or a weak business plan.
I don’t have enough liquidity or cash on hand so I am always borrowing money.
I offer the wrong services to the right people.
I offer the right services to the wrong people.
I am in a location not conducive to getting or retaining clients.
I don’t have a good accounting system for accurate tracking of finances.
I have too much credit card debt.
My income can’t support my lifestyle.
I have poor communication with my clients regarding fees.
I spend too much time doing menial work and too little time earning money.
I have poor self care resulting in feeling burnt-out.

Profit Gains

Every dollar I spend on my business contributes to furthering my profitability.
I have less paperwork come across my desk since I automated my systems.
I only work with serious clients.
I reduced my debt and high interest payments
I pay attention to details of finances.
I collect fees as soon as possible to eliminate accounts receivables.
I put profitability ahead of comfort or appearance.
I have a good accounting system in place to be able to see my finances and budget to date at a glance.
I am a skilled manager of my practice.
I made a list of my expenses and cut them by 50%.
I leverage my time and efforts to get the most money for the least time.
I surround myself with bright people dedicated to my success.
I have multiple profit centers.
I think expansively and build a practice to last well into the future.
I spend 90% of my time delivering service and generating referrals, 10% of my time doing all else.

Fieldwork: Look at ways you can plug your most serious “Profit Drains”. Then find several items on “Profit Gains” you can adopt to increase your profitability.

---

Recently a therapist said to me “I have been practicing saying my fee. In fact my husband calls me throughout the day pretending to be a prospective client and says “What do you charge?” I now have no fear and I can state my fee easily. I know I am worth it!“Wow! This was fun to hear.As I said, it would be great to hear you thoughts on fees and money. You can post a comment here.

I hope all is well with you!

Bob and I had a great time with all the therapists and coaches we met at the Irvine Build Your Full Practice Workshop. It was so fun to see how many therapists want to attract more cash-paying clients! We are looking forward to Sacramento this weekend!

We have a lot of free teleseminars coming up. I hope you enjoy our feature article in this newsletter:

“Do you have a sliding scale?”

Happy practice-building and fee-collecting!

Blessings to you,

Do You Have a Sliding Scale?

Therapists often ask me how to answer this question. If you say “yes” then the prospect will ask you what your scale is or how your scale slides. After all, If I know you have a sliding scale, I will want to pay toward the bottom of the scale.

If you don’t have a sliding scale: I recommend you say “I totally understand that therapy can be expensive. We don’t want the cost to be another stressor for you. Would you like some referrals of places that might work within your budget?” If they respond “yes,” then offer them some low-cost referrals in your area.

Here are my tips if you do have a sliding scale:

1) Know what it is before you speak to any prospect. Do not have a scale that you make up while you are on the phone with the client. If so, your average fee per client will go down quickly and you may end up resenting the client later.

2) Make sure the client is a good fit for you before responding to the question “Do you have a sliding scale?”

3) Respond to this question with “Well, let me think for a second.” (Then pause for 3 seconds.) Then say, “I am curious - how much could you afford to pay?”

4) If they respond to something within your scale, respond “Well, let me think again.” (Pause for another couple of seconds.) Then say, “I think that would work. As I said I have openings on Wednesday at noon or Friday at 3:00 - do either of those work for you?”

5) If they respond with something below your range, you can say what you might have said if you didn’t have a sliding scale. “I totally understand that therapy can be expensive. We don’t want the cost to be another stressor for you. Would you like some referrals of places that might work within your budget?” If they respond “yes,” then offer them some low-cost referrals in your area.

A small but important point here is to make sure you ask a person if they’d like referrals to low-cost places rather than automatically offering them. This is a sign of respect. They may already have referrals and not want any additional ones.

If you’d like to comment on this article or share your thought about sliding scales, feel free to do so here.

Happy fee-setting!

June 12, 2006 - From Zero to Zillionaire with Chellie Campbell

Chellie will share tips from her new book “From Zero to Zillionaire” so that you too, can LAUGH ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK! She will show you how to Treat Your
Money Disorders — Spending Bulimia and Income Anorexia and Become Rich and Happy!

If there’s “too much month at the end of the money,” this fun and enlightening presentation will show you how to mind your money without losing your mind - and change the way you think about money forever.

To register for this no-charge teleclass, please visit here. This call will be recorded so make sure you register even if you can’t attend

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.

Monday, June 5, 2006

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.)

“Happiness is not a reward - it is consequence. Suffering is not a punishment - it is a result.”

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.