If you work in a crowded (or competitive) area for therapists, you’ve got a great opportunity.
When I say that, you might be surprised. I hear from therapists every day that they are worried that they can’t thrive because they work in areas with a lot of other therapists.
What living in a crowded market actually means is that you have to speak to a more specific niche in order to stand out. That's the incredible opportunity. You don’t need to call out to all of the people in your niche. You can gear all of your language, both online and in person, to the kinds of clients you like working with the most.
When you are considering how to reach the people with whom you most want to work, conventional business advice tells you to focus on the problems your clients are looking for help with. Your ideal client is out there looking for a therapist who can help them with ________.
Fill in the blank with depression, relationship problems, parenting issues, anxiety, substance use issues, distress over a life event, grief, infertility, body image issues…
That’s a fine place to start, but it’s not enough in a crowded market.
Think about the clients throughout your career who you have felt most fulfilled by working with. Go beyond the niche and look for patterns of what kinds of sensibilities, values or personality traits these people share. Do they tend to be sarcastic and skeptical? Do they tend to be spiritually driven? Are they over-achievers? Are they highly sensitive? Do they identify as misfits?
I know that as a therapist you meet all of your clients where they are and you attune to each of them in very different ways. Without de-valuing any of your clients, take a moment to think about who you work best with. When you take a bird’s eye view on your practice, see if you can find common themes with those people.
I’ll use myself as an example. As a business coach, I don’t market to all therapists. The therapists I work best with tend to be highly sensitive or deep thinkers. They are neurotic in the most loveable sense of the word. They don’t just want to build profitable practices. They want to build practices that reflect their deepest values, and they feel that what they put out there on their websites should reflect what they truly believe. They tend to be passionate about social justice whether or not they apply this directly to their work. If they have tried other business coaches, they have often felt unhappy with the lack of understanding they experienced. If you’re still reading this, you may be in the tribe I’m describing.
I get to be picky and specific like this because there are plenty of therapists out there for everyone.
I encourage you to explore and get specific about who you really work best with. If you’re in a crowded market, there’s really no better way to build your practice.
Is it time to get some help taking your practice to the next level? Apply for a free consultation now.