Did you see the Harley Davidson sign that said “Your wife just called and she said “Yes!”

Someone told me about it and it sure made me giggle.

But you know what? I read recently that women make 85% of all consumer purchases including new homes, new computers, and - get this - healthcare.

And most of us know that often it is the woman who calls for the counseling appointment - not always but often.

What does this mean to you? Your marketing - your website copy, your tag line, or any other marketing you do should be directed at building trust with women. This is true even if you market to their husbands or boyfriends - as you know the women will Google you to see who her mate is seeing.

What do women want to see then in your marketing language? (Please note the items listed below are generalities and do not allow for individual differences. And I know a lot of these traits apply to men as well. If this isn’t true for you - then please follow what is true for you. )

Women often base their opinion first on relationships. How do you build a great relationship with them?

• Consider writing your web copy or marketing materials from a conversational, storytelling perspective. I don’t mean telling stories about your clients. I mean connecting with those reading your marketing materials as if they were trusted colleagues or people you really like. Let your personality come through.
• You want your marketing language to evoke a sense of community.This is why it is really important to talk in language that your ideal client would use. Show how you understand - show why the web visitor (aka Prospective Client) is not alone.
• Use cosmetics in your marketing material.No, I don’t mean eyeliner or lip gloss. But make sure to break up your marketing text with splashes of color or images that tell a story. This will help her connect with you. I see too many websites and marketing materials that have phenomenal text but are filled with a lot of gray or black words. Now please, I am not suggesting you use colored backgrounds or colored fonts. I am suggesting that you break up that gray text with splashes of quick color graphics.
• Use short sentencesLong sentences may boost credibility in professional journals but in marketing copy, we want snappy, quick, present tense sentences.
• Show your love for this work without saying how “compassionate” you are.The way you do this is by connecting with her pain with crystal clarity. Then move into your “call to action”: “You aren’t alone. Please call me xxx.xxx.xxxx and let’s see if I can help.”
• Provide excellent customer service.Women are very loyal. If you do great things for her, she will tell everyone. Same goes if you don’t. So make sure you start your sessions on time and return phone calls the same day. After the first session, consider writing a hand-written note telling her you are looking forward to working with her. Be the best ‘you’ you can be and your practice will be filled with her referrals.

I so adore working with women and it is fun to write marketing language for them as well.

I invite you to take another look at your marketing materials and see them through the eyes of your ideal client. Are they really good? Could they use some tweaking to be more appealing?

Please let us know what you think in the comment section below.

As always, to your success,

Casey

For years people have been asking me what niche markets are the best. And I tell them that it is more important to consider what you love doing - rather than the latest trend.

Yet there are some interesting developments in our culture that could lead to fun niches - if you love working with these populations.

1) Pets are the new “children” and some people (including the affluent) are giving their pets the same love and attention as children. Don’t get me wrong - I love dogs and cats. (Don’t tell anyone but I used to be the “cat lady” in my neighborhood.) But I am talking about prolonged divorce and mediation due to pet custody issues. Or even couples arguing over how the pets should be “raised.” This could be an interesting niche: “pet conflict.”

2) Gen-Y-ers. These are the children of the Baby Boomers and are very different than their parents or the Gen-X’ers. There can be a market for helping employers (and families) learn how to manage these highly connected, supremely tech-savvy young people.

These are just a couple of interesting niches we have come across lately. But again, I highly encourage you to pick a niche based on what you love (and of course what will make you money) rather than what is “trendy.”

But I am curious, what trends do you see in psychotherapy and how we deliver our services?

I expect we will be going to variable-length sessions when many start adding e-therapy to their mix of services. I envision that those working with executives will be doing shorter sessions via web-cams so the executive doesn’t have to leave the home or office.

Maybe we will be doing marital therapy in private web-chat rooms for couples who are separated by distance such as those in the military. I love the idea of working via technology for those who have disabilities and can’t easily get to a therapist’s office - or for the homesick college student who wants to “check in” with the same therapist she saw over the summer. Therapy over technology could be a Godsend for for those in very rural areas.

I also expect that we could truly offer more to our clients if we developed even better relationships with allied professionals such as attorneys, financial planners and life coaches. A good example of this is the Collaborative Divorce movement.

What do you see as trends in psychotherapy? Do you see new techniques emerging? Do you think we will continue to move toward more “outcome-oriented” therapy? Or maybe you see a return of more psychoanalytic work? And do you agree with me that we will be adding more technological ways of dealing with clients to our mix of services?

Please let me know what you think!

Happy practice building!
Casey

As many of you know, this summer I opened The Therapist’s Leadership Institute - an organization dedicated to raising the image of therapists and psychotherapy within our culture. I am really excited to begin this new venture and sure could use any ideas you might have on how we might do this. Feel free to visit http://TherapistsLeadershipInstitute.org to see what it is all about.

As I focus on the idea of leadership, I remember attending my first Evolution of Psychotherapy conference. As a new graduate student, my professors encouraged me to register.

At that event, I was able to sit at the feet of many of the leaders I had studied in school. Until that point I was unaware that the field of Family Therapy was relatively new.

I smile as I remember how full of wonder I was. I would listen to one clinician in the morning session. He or she would sound so brilliant and clear and had exactly the right theory and technique for my clients. Then, in the next session, the speaker would say the exact opposite of the first speaker. The afternoon speaker sounded just as brilliant and practical. It made my head spin.

It was a glorious event and I will forever be indebted to Jeff Zeig and his team for that event and all the ones that followed.

I absorbed everything I could from many leaders - including Carl Whitaker, Jay Haley and Albert Ellis. Those men taught me so much about the art and science of therapy. They made me laugh and they could also bring me to tears with their success stories. With their passing, these leaders have left a great hole on our field and in our hearts.

And yet new leaders are emerging every day - just as brilliant and just as touching.

I am curious. Whom do you consider as a current leader in the field of psychotherapy? Who touches your mind and heart? And why? I’d love to hear what you think.

May our minds be challenged and our hearts opened as we continue to grow, prosper and touch lives and hearts in this field that we love.

In your service,
Casey

A few therapists have asked me lately if they should take a day job. Their funds are running low as they try and build their practice.

First of all, it bears repeating that one cannot expect to build a full practice in a few weeks or even a few months . Sure, some people do but most people take a few years to build their private practice. So please don’t use your last six weeks of savings (or even six months) to start a practice.

Second, when you are running out of money, it is easy to make some bad choices in your practice. Sheldon Kopp once wrote, "When you are starting out and a gorilla walks into your office with a $10 bill, take it and tell him to lie down on the couch."

That may make us smile but please don’t do it. You must be smart about whom you choose as your client. If you are desperate for money, you may not choose well.

Also, trying to market a practice when you are desperate simply doesn’t work. Clients pick up on it.

Some clinicians have asked me, "Is it a sign of failure if I have to go back and get a job? After all, I left my agency with big dreams for a private practice."

Of course it isn’t a failure. In fact, for some it is a very good and responsible idea . I took (and subsequently left) many psych hospital jobs as I built my practice. I even took a job with the city working with seniors in nursing homes. I taught "dexterity and object orientation." But if you watched the class, you’d call it Bingo.

I’d work for a while, save up some money, and quit. I’d see a couple of clients for a while. Then I’d run out of money and repeat the cycle.

Finally, a colleague told me that I needed to accumulate some money and then get serious about marketing my practice. I did and that was the last time I worked for someone else.

I t is very important that you have the money to fund your marketing efforts . Here are five ways to fund your living and business expenses in the beginning or when your caseload hits a really big lull.

1) If you have a healthy savings account already which will cover your expenses for at least a year, good for you! But when your savings dips below the amount you need for six months of living and business expenses, consider augmenting your savings with one of the other strategies here.

2) You could apply for a loan from a bank or the Small Business Administration . For some this is a very good strategy. For me, it meant more debt and I wasn’t up to it.

3) You could accept money from family and friends . One coach I worked with suggested I borrow $1,000 from 10 friends or family members and go all-out on marketing. Then she suggested I pay them back in one year. There are two things that struck me with this approach (which is why I ignored it.) I have discovered that friends and family often have agendas for you - especially if they give or lend you money. And at that time, I had no idea how to effectively use $10,000. So, I stayed away from this strategy.

4) Perhaps you have additional income and aren’t the sole supporter of your family . Perhaps your spouse makes enough money to support your living expenses and can help with the early funding of your business.

5) You can keep the day job while plugging away at building your private practice until you have at least three consecutive months where your private practice income covers your business and personal expenses. Then say goodbye to the day job!

If you do take a "day job," it doesn’t really have to be during the day. I am referring to a job that pays the bills while you are working on building your private practice.

And try to be creative with those daytime hours. Can you work part time - 2, 3 or 4 days a week - which leaves time for private practice clients and marketing? Can you adjust the time of your work hours? I used to work 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at a hospital and then saw clients from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in my practice. It was a lot of work for a while but I loved it. As your practice builds, see if you can cut back your day job hours.

So, if you are running out of money, consider a taking a temporary job. You will be honoring yourself and your practice.

And me? I really loved the jobs I had. But if I had to take a part time job today, I’d work at Nordstroms so I could get the employee discount. (You think I am kidding?)

Happy practice building!

Love and blessings,
Casey

On the blog, there have been a lot of comments about my two last articles regarding Online Therapist Locators.

Several people shared which ones worked best for them. One person suggested I write an article about which online therapist locators I recommend. Great idea.

First, an important thing to know is that the locator that works best for you may not the one that works best for a colleague. So, how do you choose?

You should act as if you are a prospective client searching for a therapist in your area via the internet. Get online on a computer in or near your office and enter into the Google search box, the terms that you think your ideal client would be entering into Google. What do you think they would be searching for?

For example: Find a therapist 92612 or women’s therapist or find a couples therapist

Since you have done your ideal client profile, you will have a sense of what they will be typing in to locate a therapist on the internet.

Then simply look at which online locators came up.

Second, make sure you are on the free online therapist locators that come with your association membership. For example, CAMFT’s Therapist Finder. I highly recommend it.

And to answer the question, Here are the U.S. ones I recommend:

My favorite: www.Find-A-Therapist.com (This one is awesome - you can be on up to 5 online locators with this service alone.)

www.Counsel-Search.com

www.PsychologyToday.com

www.NetworkTherapy.com

www.GoodTherapy.org

Make sure you look at how many people are in your zip code. It could be a factor for you.

Feel free to share your comments below.

Happy practice building!

Casey

There is quite a buzz over the internet lately about whether or not the economy is negatively impacting therapists.

Several therapists have let us know that their caseloads are down. Of course, that is a usual occurrence in July and August in North America so it is hard to know exactly why this is happening.

And many of you have talked about how the general population views therapy - and their desire to pay only a $20 co-pay for it. This is a real concern.

In fact, I am feeling more and more called to educate the general population about the value of therapists and the powerful benefits of therapy. It is time for therapists to get the respect they deserve. We are as important as surgeons and our culture needs to really understand this. I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Please enter your comments and thoughts below or join me on Tuesday, August 7th for our first Town Hall Meeting on the State of the Nation of Therapy. (For more info, please click here.)

On the other hand, daily I get reports from therapists saying how well their practices are doing. For example, Kim told us this week:

“I have received five new clients in the last month. I spent a lot of time studying your stuff and then put it into action. I think my success is due to 1) patience - not giving up. It took 3 months to get results but I hung in there. and 2) attitude - I have kept a positive attitude. It has been hard at times but I just wouldn’t give up - even though it wasn’t happening right away. I knew it may not happen at once but it would happen!”

What is it that makes one therapist succeed and one therapist struggle? I have lots of ideas but today I will start with an equation:

Passion + Mindset + Message + Focused and Continued Action + What your community believes about therapy (and using insurance) + What you believe about therapy (and using insurance) + Patience = Financially Rewarding Practice

As your e-coach, I ask you to take a look at that formula. Which area of that formula may need your attention?

We are often asked how to change one’s practice from a managed care to a cash-paying practice. So I created a short video for you with the steps we recommend.

See the video box below? Click on the play link under the box. It will take about 15 seconds to load so please be patient.

Click To Play

Happy practice building!