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Abundant Practice Podcast
Episode #678: How To Get Private Pay Clients
00:09:12
Want a full caseload of self-pay clients? In today’s Ask Allison, I’m breaking down the three-part formula: a clear niche, consistent authentic marketing, and a great client experience. You’ll learn why your niche doesn’t have to box...
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Foreign welcome to Ask Allison. Y' all ask the questions about having a fun and thriving practice and I answer them. We have a worksheet for you today so you can bring this answer into your life. You can Access that@AbundancePracticeBuilding.com links where you'll also be able to ask any questions you have for Ask Allison. If you want more support, we've got some free trainings in there too. If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask Allison library. Welcome back to Ask Allison. Here's today's question. I want to grow my practice into a full caseload of self paid people. How do I do that? Solid question. Before I answer, I want to thank TherapyNotes for sponsoring us. They are my choice practice Management system What really sets them apart is that they genuinely care about your experience. It's not just about troubleshooting for them. They actively implement user suggested features like secure messaging, clinical outcome tracking, real time insurance checks, and their AI feature, therapy fuel. Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and they want you to love it too. Plus they're independently owned, which means no venture capital and no pressure to prioritize their investors over their customers. And this independence allows them to keep their prices fair, to focus on innovation and prioritize customer experience. With over 100,000 therapists already on board, they've proven you don't have to compromise success for quality. If you're ready to see for yourself, try TherapyNotes free for two months with code abundant@theapynotes.com all right, so let's dive in. If you're multitasking, folding laundry, or like walking the dog, come back to me for just a sec because this is really foundational. If you want a full practice of self pay clients who are actually a good fit, the first thing you have to nail is that you have to have a niche. I know some of y' all are probably resisting that idea hard. You're thinking, I really like variety. I don't want to do the same thing every day. And I totally get that. Same here. In fact, in all the years I've had a full and thriving practice, I'd say about 60% of my caseload was made up of my niche and the rest was a mix of clients I enjoyed seeing with different presenting concerns, often related concerns. But that variety kept things really interesting. And I still got to position myself as an expert in the thing I was known for because that's the magic of niching. It helps you look like an expert in One thing which makes you way more trustworthy to potential clients. And when people see you as an expert in one area area, they often assume correctly that they are also highly qualified to work with other issues. Now, especially when we're talking about building a self pay caseload, the next part is huge. If someone is going to pay out of pocket instead of using the insurance they already have, they need to believe that you are the person who can help them. Not just a therapist. The therapist. And how do you help them come to believe that? Through your marketing, your website, your Psychology Today profile, your content, whatever you're putting out there needs to make it crystal clear who you help, how you help them, and what changes for them after working with you. When your messaging speaks directly to your ideal client's pain points and uses their actual language, not psychobabble or jargon, they feel really seen. And when they feel seen, they reach out. I've seen it again and again. Clients saying I read your site and I knew you were the one I needed to talk to. My students talk about their clients quoting back something from their website in that initial phone call. That doesn't come from luck, that comes from clarity. So no, a niche isn't going to box you in. It'll actually make your work easier and your clients easier to connect with when you're marketing so you don't have to like marry your niche forever. I'll just, I need to put that out there. Start with a marketing niche, the thing you become known for and you can let it evolve from there. So let's talk about marketing. You need five marketing strategies to fill your practice. Not 10, not every platform, not whatever is trending this month. You need five. That's plenty. Some of those can be set it and forget it like your website or your directory profiles. Others should be consistent like networking or content creation if you like that sort of thing. But more than five and most therapists lose steam, they lose consistency or they half ass all of it. And a scattered burned out marketer does not attract self pay clients. Trust me, I have seen more than a few therapists try to do everything and they end up doing nothing really well and they don't get the practice they want. Now two of your strategies. Two of these five need to be networking. The not gross kind of networking. This is one of the best ways to grow a self pay caseload. Not because you're out there schmoozing and handing out business cards like you're some kind of at some awkward chamber of commerce mixer. I'm talking Real human connection with other therapists and professionals that are often in contact with your ideal clients. The great part is you're amazing at connection. It's literally what you do for work. You don't have to be extroverted, you just need to be clear about who you help. And you got to be willing to connect in a genuine way with people. And you can do this in a way that feels authentic. Like reaching out to a local clinician you've heard good things about and setting up a quick virtual coffee chat. Rule number one with not growth networking is that you are not selling yourself, you're building actual real relationships. The second thing you need to do out of these five is you need to have a really great niched website. Your website isn't just a digital business card, it's your hardest working employee. It should turn curious visitors into clients. And if you want self paid folks, your website needs to be specific, warm and built with your one ideal client in mind. It doesn't need to be fancy, it doesn't need to have a bunch of jargon, just really clear compelling copy which are the words on your website. And it needs to be easy to navigate. Say who you help, say how you help them, say what they can do next. That doesn't mean it needs to be three sentences long. We need to talk about their daily lived experience. We need to be explicit about what their life is like for them right now. That helps them trust you. And please don't hide your fee. People paying out of pocket want to know what they're getting into. Transparency builds that trust. I always say your website should feel like a conversation with someone who just gets it. That's what people are looking for. So networking and a great website, these are non negotiable. Now pick three more marketing strategies that feel doable and aligned with your personality. That might be SEO if you're more techy, it might be giving talks. If you like public speaking, it could be blogging, vlogging, social media, joining online communities where your ideal referral partners hang out. The what of those three things is flexible. Because I don't want you to choose something oh hey. Because then you won't do it. That's part of what we teach in the Abundance party is to help you select which ones are going to be most likely to be done by you. So that what is flexible but the commitment is not. Of those five strategies, that's your whole marketing plan. Some passive, some active, some online, some in person. Rinse and repeat. You do not need more. There is no magic bullet. This is where a lot of people get taken in by some ad they saw on Instagram or something. There is not one thing that is going to build your practice. That's not how it works. Also, what works for one therapist might not work for another. So don't force yourself into strategies that feel like pulling teeth. If you hate social media, don't do it. Start where you have energy, build systems you don't dread and stay consistent. Because the magic formula for self pay clients clear niche, consistent marketing, a solid client experience and boom. You've got a self pay practice. You've got this. If you want to fast track that process, stop spinning your wheels. Come hang out with me in the bun dance party. It's literally what we're built for is getting you from this is overwhelming to my practice. Feels good. It's full. You can DM me the word party or check the show notes for the link. Today's free worksheet is Common Marketing Strategies for Therapists. DM the word sheets and I'll send you a link for that. It's also in the show notes if you're listening. All right, that's it for Ask Allison this week. Have a really good one. If you're ready for a much easier practice, Therapy Notes is the way to go. Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo code abundant for two months free. I hope that helped. If you have questions for Ask Allison or you want to get your hands on the worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com Links if you're listening, you probably need some support building your practice. If you're a super newbie, grab our free checklist using the link in the Show Notes. I'd love for you to follow, rate and review, but I really want you to share this episode with a therapist friend. Let's help all our colleagues build what they want.