Jennifer Sneeden Helps Counselors Get Fully Booked While Staying Authentic | Episode 26

09/11/20 • 35 min

A Counselors Journey To Private Practice

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Marketing doesn’t need to be icky. Through marketing, you can impact people by creating from a place of service. This is the ultimate message because it’s never about “how can I get clients?” Instead, it’s about “how can I serve clients?” Be who you are and be your genuine self. Please share your message, knowing that other people will hear it and connect with it.

Jennifer Sneeden explains how to get your phone to ring during COVID. COVID is the most significant opportunity that clinicians have been offered. Most of us are still shut down, and most places worldwide do not provide in-person visits. If we can think of ourselves as problem-solvers rather than clinicians, we can reframe our work differently. There has been a split in the past six months; half of the counselors are busier than they have ever been. The other half of counselors are struggling to find clients.

The counselors that were sneaking by before COVID are now starting to deal with their problems. However, the people that had marketing in place are doing exceptionally well. So, the counselors who are struggling to get their phone ringing need to think about it this way:

What is the problem you are solving as a counselor?
It’s up to the clinician to modify what we are offering during COVID.
The issues our clients were facing before COVID are not the same problems that they are facing during COVID.
Put together something unique for your clients. For instance, you can put together a fifteen-minute check-in with your clients each day.

Counselors are problem solvers. However, this doesn’t always come through in our marketing. Our clients want to see their therapists as other humans. They want to feel connected with their counselors. Clients don’t necessarily care how many certifications their counselor has. Instead, the counselor needs to focus on being another human in their marketing rather than someone with 1,000,000 credentials. If the problem you are trying to solve is getting more clients, then no anxiety certification will help you get those clients.
Once you figure out which problem you are trying to solve, the next step is consistentcy. Jennifer says it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it’s consistent. The fact that you have a beautiful office doesn’t mean you’ll have clients. The biggest thing you can do is to do something consistently. The most significant problem that Jennifer sees is counselors are their best-kept secret. Get the word out there!

Learn more about Jennifer: https://thrivingtherapypractice.com

Are you interested in receiving help with your counseling business?
CLICK HERE

Thank you for listening.
Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.
I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.
Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/AdhUc-Rq_xw
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com/

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Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

What is the problem you are solving as a counselor?
It’s up to the clinician to modify what we are offering during COVID.
The issues our clients were facing before COVID are not the same problems that they are facing during COVID.
Put together something unique for your clients. For instance, you can put together a fifteen-minute check-in with your clients each day.

Learn more about Jennifer: https://thrivingtherapypractice.com

Are you interested in receiving help with your counseling business?
CLICK HERE

Support the show

Previous Episode

5 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Counseling Practice | Episode 25

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.
5 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Counseling Practice

1. Boundaries. Make sure you have boundaries in your personal life and your professional life. Your family calendar should not be mixed with your business calendar. The mixture will emotionally and mentally drain you; it will not let you think clearly in one area. For instance, when you write a blog for your business, you start thinking about what you're doing later with your family. The blurred line does not allow for a healthy entrepreneurial mindset. Take a step back and ask yourself, do I have boundaries between my personal life and my work life?

2. Work With Those Who Are A Good Fit. When we get out of graduate school, we see the massive list of specialties that we can work with. If you click all the specialties, you think it will increase someone's chance of working with you. However, there's a difference between your ideal client and just any old client. Take time and draw out your ideal client. Who do you really want to work with? When there's a tough session, will you still be excited to work with them again? Once you figure this out, it will reduce downfalls later down the road.

3. Make Sure That You Build Connections. It's essential to build relationships in private practice. Go to conferences and communicate with other professionals in the field. As a side note, if you're out there in graduate school, it may help create a social media platform. Create a Facebook group of other graduate students who are in the same field. That way, when you transition into private practice, you'll have a community and stability.

4. Figure Out What To Charge. When I started my journey, it was challenging to discuss the price with my clients. I would ask myself if I could offer my services for free. I know that's not possible, but it isn't easy to grapple with the price. First, we need to be comfortable with setting our fees. When we can hold integrity, we remain connected to who we are at our core.

5. Know How To Start And Close A Session. You need to know when to end the conversation. I struggled with closing a session. It can be awkward and difficult if you don't know what to say. You need to have a better structure. If your session is 45-minutes long, then end at the 40-minute mark. You can allow those five minutes to be transition time and scheduling time. In the intake session, please share with your clients what they can expect from closing a session. That way, there's a rhythmic system as things continue in your private practice.

BONUS: Learn More About Marketing. "If you build it, they will come." That's not true anymore. I wish I knew more about marketing before starting my private practice.
Are you interested in receiving help with your counseling business?
CLICK HERE

Thank you for listening.
Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.
I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.
Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/PisyoAI4Dbo
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com/

Support the show

Next Episode

Adding Blogging To Your Counseling Private Practice | Episode 27

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Today is all about marketing, but I want to give you a different approach to marketing. You want to market, but you're not sure how or what to look for. So I want to introduce you to an idea. We are going to put a lot of ambition behind this. You are lending me your ears because you are ready to grow and move your practice forward. I will start with an idea and walk you through a process that you can implement today.
For example, if your practice is all about relationships, then it's time to start a blog about relationships. Please keep it simple and use your blog to create content. That marketing will be something that lures people into your practice. Here are some things that you need to keep an eye out for:

Content: think about your keywords. Whenever you do your blogs, utilize the keywords from your market research. Either find a marketing expert or analysis on your own. Get your hands dirty and find those keywords. Then, write your content. Toss your keywords in the title.
Images: images allow a person not to have to read something but look at something related to the post. Find a picture of a couple holding hands and smiling. That way, readers will connect with the image whenever you are marketing, that you have keywords, and your writing combines with what you share.
Audience: make sure that you know who your audience is. Think about who is reading your content. If your practice is all about supporting couples, then it wouldn't make sense to include an article about teenagers. It will broaden you too much. It will make it more difficult for people to find you.
Readers: readers will lead to passive income on your blog. If you visit a website, you'll see tons of ads on there. Bloggers have many readers who go to their site, so advertisers will pay to be on the website. Having a large number of readers can be a goal for your blog.
Products: sell your products using your blog. Create a workbook and sell it using your blog. Include the workbook on your blog posts and advertise it to your readers.
Metrics: measure the effectiveness of your marketing platform. You know what your goals are and who your audience is. Now it's time to look at a system of measurement. How are you going to measure that your blog is working?

Are you interested in receiving help with your counseling business?
CLICK HERE

Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com/

Support the show