How do you measure your private practice success? And are you comparing apples to oranges? Tracking client numbers month to month can be misleading if you ignore seasonal trends. Summer can often signal a slowdown in client appointments, and this can feel frightening. Comparing your performance to this time last year can be reassuring, and help you to focus on how you can use your extra time to find more clients.
Welcome to the Good Enough Counsellors podcast, where today, the focus will be on what to do if you’re currently experiencing a slowdown in your appointments or the number of new client inquiries. Save this episode for the future, so that you’ve got it to turn to whenever you’re experiencing a lull. We’ll look at what you can do to quickly address the gaps in your schedule, and think of ways that you can reach more people. Rather than worrying about spaces, why not take action to address them?
Measuring Client Numbers in Private Practice
First, let’s return to that idea of comparing your numbers.
This was one of the first pieces of advice that I received when I set up in private practice. At the end of each week, write the total number of paying appointments you’ve had in your diary, and then you can build up a picture of what your practice looks like over time. Nowadays, you may have a digital calendar and it may be more useful to keep those figures in a spreadsheet. However, the principle holds true. It’s helpful to compare like with like.
It’s quite likely that if you compare the summer quarter, that’s July to September, with the spring quarter, April to June, you’ll see a decrease in numbers, and that may lead you to doubt whether your marketing and counselling is good enough. You start asking yourself, are people not finding you because your directory profile has stopped working? Are people leaving because you’re not helping them? It can feel very demoralising to have these doubts, and it may even lead to you not wanting to acknowledge your numbers, but please do start recording them if you haven’t already done so. Your future self will thank you, and here’s why.
The fact is seasonal fluctuations are very common. There’s a whole host of reasons why your client numbers and inquiries may be decreasing. People are taking time off from their normal lives and going on holiday. Parents are more engaged in childcare than during term time. Routines are disrupted, and people find it more difficult to attend therapy.
Finances may be stretched to afford days out and holidays, or people may be taking on seasonal work and have less available time. They’re more likely to be moving around, such as the transition between college and home living, and they may be out and about in the sunshine and simply have a better mood than when there’s less light and outdoor living. If you’re part of the Good Enough Counsellors Facebook group, you’ve probably seen some posts over the last month with people saying they’ve had a slowdown. It’s really not uncommon for that to happen in the summer. Therefore, if you’re recording your client numbers, compare this month with the same month last year.
Taking Action on Increasing Client Enquiries
You may find yourself pleasantly surprised that your client numbers are relatively stable. You’ve just forgotten that seasonal fluctuations happen. And even if you do look and think, I was busier last year, carry on listening because I’m going to give you some ideas about what you can do about it. You can use your emptiest summer months to market yourself so that you can attract new clients. There’s so much you can do to both improve your existing marketing efforts and to find new ways to reach people.
However, you do have to face down some of the things that can get in the way of you taking action. It’s very tempting when you’re faced with gaps to give up. You look at the spaces and they prove your self doubt. You have always suspected you couldn’t do it and that it is too difficult for the likes of you to be able to succeed. Making it in private practice is something that other people manage, not you.
When you’re not getting new clients those thoughts can resurface with your inner critic triumphantly telling you, I told you so. I said you weren’t any good. You should have believed me. You’ve wasted time and money on this. And so on.
These thoughts have consequences. They lead you to fear that you’ll be unable to earn your living, and further catastrophic thoughts follow. And as I discussed in episode 25, those fears can stop you in your tracks. It’s important to try and move away from your sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system. Move from those activated thoughts and feelings to a place of calm.
When you’re more relaxed, you’re more likely to be in flow where you’re so absorbed that ideas and action can happen almost effortlessly. Switching off can empower you in new ways. I remember waking up one morning and a whole stream of ideas about an advent calendar of self care arrived in my head. So if you’re thinking of giving up, the first thing to do is to stop trying for a while and look after you. Surround yourself with self care, and you may be surprised at how that helps your practice. Another problem you may face in thinking about how to fill gaps in your schedule is you just don’t know what to do to reach out to people.
Not many therapists are also trained in marketing, and those that are have normally worked for large companies and haven’t been involved in promoting a one person business. It’s very different working for a marketing department than it is to be selling your own services. If you need more ideas to market yourself, have you downloaded my free worksheet on 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients? You can find the link in the show notes of this episode. Download it, and then receive more explanation and help via email.
The course that it’s based on, Find Your Next Five Clients, is currently – in August 2024 – available to members of my coaching Therapy Growth Group.
Strategies to Increase Your Private Practice Marketing
There’s so much you can do to increase your marketing and promotion quickly. Let’s start with what you’ve probably already got in place and see if you can amplify it. For example, if you have a Counselling Directory entry, have you tried buying a top spot? In your directory advertising or on your website, have you doubled down on the clients that you’re attracting?
A counsellor I know has found the majority of clients she’s attracting are young men struggling to form relationships. That knowledge can inform her to write an even more targeted profile to draw more of them in. Equally, who’s in your local area? One of my Therapy Growth Group members noticed it was mainly young women attending the counselling centre where she rented a room. She changed her profile to attract them and immediately began to receive more inquiries.
If you’re already paying for a directory entry, are you fully utilising it? How about your Google My Business entry? Are you optimising it? For example, have you completed all the information, added photos, updated it with posts? If you’re comfortable with clients leaving reviews, do they know they’re able to do so?
Alternative Marketing Methods to Directories
I’ll always remember my coach telling me, think of ten ways to attract one client rather than one way to attract ten clients. Are you relying solely on one way, in other words, advertising in a directory, to attract all your clients. How could you diversify your marketing efforts? Remember, if you’re merely relying on a directory or two, you’re only going to reach those people who are actively looking at them. What about other people who may be interested in counselling, but don’t know about directories, or feel nervous about contacting a stranger on the Internet?
Sometimes, what could be termed old fashioned methods are successful, especially with people who are not Internet savvy. You may be able to reach people who’ve been thinking they need help, but haven’t yet taken action to look for it. For example, Tracy Carlisle, who features in Episode 2 of this podcast, had success by leaving business cards in local shops, hairdressing salons, and nail bars. Some of the old fashioned methods can also be the ones that work most quickly, and this can be very helpful if you’re experiencing a summer slump. These methods are what are termed high touch, and that’s why they work.
Much of the Internet marketing that therapists use, such as relying on websites and directories, are remote and low touch. They take a long time to work because people don’t know who you are, and they don’t have much trust in you. Whereas high touch is when you utilise your existing relationships, and it involves closer contact. It’s high touch marketing methods that people can find the most difficult to do. Although, technically, they’re quite easy.
They’re also one of the cheapest ways to market your practice as they don’t involve the outlay of any money. All they take is your time. What they involve is you talking to the people you know about your work and the fact that you have availability. Therapists can shy away from this idea for several reasons. They may feel uncomfortable telling people they’re counsellors because they’ve experienced jokes or intrusive questions about the role.
It may feel uncomfortable to be touting for business amongst friends, and of course, counsellors cannot be their friend’s therapist, so why bother anyway? However, word-of-mouth referrals are often the most trusted source of information about a therapist. You’re not seeking to counsel your friends. You’re asking them to spread the word about your service. A friend who recommends you because they know how kind you are will speak warmly of how helpful you’ll be.
They’ll encourage the potential client to take that first step of getting in touch, and may even follow-up later to see if they’ve taken it. Often, the people who are being referred will not look elsewhere. They’ll come straight to you. If you’re starting out in private practice, telling people about your new business can harvest your first few client inquiries, Reminding people you know that you have availability during the summer and asking them to share your details may also result in referrals. One of my coaching clients, who is a counsellor, kick started her private practice by having a discussion with a friend who then organised an opportunity for her to offer psychoeducation in the workplace.
This led to self referrals and a whole new niche. It’s a great example of how high touch marketing works. Knowing about the success of high touch marketing may help you to overcome your reluctance to do it. The problem is it’s much less anonymous to reach out to people you know than to sit behind a keyboard and advertise to strangers. If strangers don’t like you or don’t read what you’ve said, you’re really not going to know about it, and you probably won’t mind too much.
But with friends and family, the risk is that you’ll be rejected. That makes it so much harder to find the courage to speak. The first time I reached out to someone I knew, I felt absolutely terrified. So here’s some tips that helped. Reframe what you’re doing as sharing.
You’re sharing something that you’re passionate about rather than selling. You know that therapy makes a difference to people’s lives. You’re not asking for a favour as such. You’re trying to connect with people at a deeper level by telling them more about what makes you tick. You don’t have to be gung ho and go in with a complete sales pitch.
It can be something that you talk about as part of a conversation. For example, when replying to a question, such as how are you, you can reply, I’m really excited because I’m opening up some new spaces so I can see more clients, or or I’ve spent the day writing advertising for new clients. Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be interested. However, it’s likely that some people will be, and it can be quite surprising. You may receive a number of referrals via one particular acquaintance.
However, you won’t know unless you try. So give it a go and focus on the people who are supportive and enthusiastic. And at the same time, surround yourself with self compassion, Remind yourself that it’s okay to feel nervous, but still take action. Taking these steps can help you help more people and boost your confidence at the same time. Rejection does happen, but sometimes knowing that doesn’t necessarily make it any easier.
It’s helpful to have support around you, both to encourage you to take action and to be there when things don’t go according to plan. Who are your biggest cheerleaders? Are there people around you who will be there for you through thick and thin? Perhaps peers, supervisors, or a mentor like myself. Connecting with other therapists not only provides support, but can also be a route for referrals, as other therapists often prefer to signpost to people they know.
How about having a chat with me to find out how I can connect to you with other therapists and find your tribe. Just contact me via josephinehughes.com.
How to Take Action to Market Your Private Practice
Now, it’s all very well having all these ideas about how to grow your practice. But what steps will you take next in order to address your summer slump? After listening to the podcast, I suggest you do the following.
Download the 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients worksheet. And if you need clients sooner rather than later, take a look at the first column. Which of those items have you already done? Which of those items could you work on or revisit? Break each idea down into small, doable steps.
What looks the quickest and easiest? What plays to your strengths? That’s where you’re going to start. Next, identify the times during the week that you’d normally see clients, and diarize it as marketing time, not to be interrupted by anything else. Think about what works for you in terms of getting things done.
For me, I like to visualise how I’ll feel when I succeed, and I like to have a deadline where I’ve promised to deliver something. For other people, it might be things like minimising distractions, working alongside someone else, time management techniques, or rewarding yourself for action. Remind yourself why you’re doing this, both for the intrinsic motivation that you want to help people via counselling, and the extrinsic motivation. It will pay your bills. Marketing isn’t rocket science, and there isn’t some great secret out there that you’re missing.
Really and truthfully, it’s about learning what works for you and doing more of that. With time and practice, there’s no reason why you can’t have a successful private practice and be able to weather the summer slumps. Thanks for listening. Do come and join my Facebook community, Good Enough Counsellors. And for more information about how I can help you develop your private practice, please visit my website Josephinehughes.com.
If you found this episode helpful, I’d love it if you could share it with a fellow therapist or leave a review on your podcast app. And in closing, I’d love to remind you that every single step you make gets you closer to your dream. I really believe you can do it.