How To Write (Ridiculously Effective) Pages For Your Therapy Website Part 3

In this series, I’ve been walking you through 11 keys to writing great copy for your website pages. Great copy helps your conversion rate, meaning more of your website visitors will turn into clients. Here are all eleven keys.

1. Identify your Superpowers
2. Find your authentic writing style
3. Write to a person (or a small group of people)
4. Identify their pain
5. Identify their hope
6. Express what you believe about therapy
7. Make each page simple
8. Use headlines, not greetings
9. Give a clear call to action
10. Create a logical structure for your site
11. Edit out any professional jargon

In this post I’ll walk you through the last 5 keys.

Make each page simple

When you write a page on your website, it’s tempting to include a lot. You don’t want to leave out anything that your potential client needs to know about you, your therapy practice, or the issues you help with. There’s so much you want to share with your potential clients!

Step away from the keyboard.

We read web content differently than we read print content. Assume your readers are skimming. Rather than reading through the content in order, your visitors read across the top of the page, then quickly read only some of the rest of the words on their way down the page.

Visitors tend to engage on a website by clicking through to view more pages rather than by reading entire pages.

Give your visitors a comfortable experience on your site by keeping it clear and simple.

Focus on making one main point per page.

Got more to say? Add a blog to your site and start writing articles for those visitors who want to go deeper.

Use headlines, not greetings. 

Don’t use a greeting such as “welcome to my website” or “This is a safe place.” Those kinds of headlines waste precious real estate.

The headline is the first thing your visitors will read, and for some it may be the only thing they read. Use your headline to say something important about your right-fit client or the way you help. In part 2, I told you that you need to identify and name 3 things: your potential client’s pain, their hope, and one key that helps them heal in therapy. Your headline should be a statement or a question that focuses on one or more of those three elements. Don’t try to summarize your entire practice in your headline. Say something simple that pulls your visitor to read further.  

Give a clear call to action. 

What do you want the visitor to do? Make that clear on every page. Your call to action may be to set up a free phone consultation, call you, or schedule online. Tell the visitor exactly what to do. Even if you have a contact page, you’ll also give a call to action on every page.

Create a logical structure for your site. 

There’s not one right way to structure your site. Imagine the journey of your right-fit client and consider what pages you’d most like them to see. Make those pages easy to find and linked at the top of your home page. Is there one specialty you want to focus on more than all others? Place that front and center so that your right-fit client can’t miss it. Ask a few different friends to look at your site while you’re sitting with them. Watch how they navigate your site and see if there’s anything you need to shift to make it easier or more logical.

Edit out any professional jargon. 

Who is your right-fit client? Unless they are a therapist, you’ve got to edit out the professional jargon. As therapists, we’re so used to talking about our work that we forget how much we’re speaking therapist.

Do a jargon audit, looking through every page and finding places where you’re using words most people don’t use often.

The one place on your site where some of those jargon words may belong is on your about me page. When you talk about your training and experience, you might use some words the average person wouldn’t be familiar with. When you use those words, explain what they mean. After your jargon audit, invite a friend who doesn’t speak therapist to read your copy. Ask them to point out any jargon you’ve missed.

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How To Write (Ridiculously Effective) Pages For Your Therapy Website, Part 2

In my last post I went through the first 2 keys to writing ridiculously effective pages for your website. Let’s tackle 4 more. First, here's the whole list. 

1. Identify your Superpowers
2. Find your authentic writing style
3. Write to a person (or a small group of people)
4. Identify their pain
5. Identify their hope
6. Express what you believe about therapy
7. Make each page simple
8. Use headlines, not greetings
9. Give a clear call to action
10. Create a logical structure for your site
11. Edit out any professional jargon

Now I’ll focus on the keys 3 through 6.

Write to a person (or a small group of people)

You’re trying to speak to everyone and you have to cut it out. When you write to everyone, you reach no one.

You invite an entire imaginary committee into your head as you write your website. You’ve got past clients, current clients, imaginary future clients, colleagues, mentors, family, friends, and even frenemies, all in your head, voicing their opinions about everything you write. You’re trying to please all of them and offend none of them.

You’ve got to write to a person or a very small group of people every time you write, and you’ve got to be willing NOT to please everyone else.

It’s ok if some of your friends or family members read your site and say “this site would really put me off.”

When my mother looked at my therapy site with its mention of “cutting edge therapy,” she said it would scare her away. That’s ok! She is different from my right-fit client. My center works with couples in the Bay Area who insist on the cutting edge for just about everything in their lives. My mom lives in a small town in Wisconsin, and she’d be looking for a different therapist.

Please ask your committee to leave your head. Instead, try writing to just one person or a very small group. In my Superpower program I take you through an in depth process called “the right-fit client exercise” to identify exactly who you need to be speaking to and how to speak their language. In that process, you choose actual people to design your business around and write your web copy for.

You may worry that you risk limiting yourself and excluding important potential clients if you get too specific.

That’s not likely. You are at risk though: for standing out. (See what I did there?)

Once you’ve figured out exactly who you’re writing to, and you’ve kicked everyone less helpful out of your head, you can try the next keys.

Identify their pain

Your right-fit client is asking: Does this therapist understand what I’m struggling with?

Write down what your right-fit client is struggling with. Don’t name every problem you can think of. Choose the things they are most distressed about when they choose to call you.

Describe that struggle in the words the client would use.

Let’s imagine a client named Becca. She’s in the middle of a break up and she’s in a depressive episode for the first time in her life. She’s feeling alone and hopeless.

Becca looks at 2 websites.

Website A names depression among a long list of other issues and then focuses on the methods the therapist uses.  Becca may keep searching and plan to come back later.

Website B talks about about what depression feels like and gets it right. Becca may go ahead and take the next step to make an appointment.

Take some time to sit with and write about the pain your right-fit client experiences when they are getting ready to make their first appointment with you. Use the words they would be likely to use.

Identify their hope

What’s on the other side of therapy? If the pain you’ve described is the before, what’s the after?

We’ll use Becca and her depression as our example again. If she’s struggling with depression now, what’s the hope? It’s not just a lack of depression.

Maybe she hopes to feel alive again. Maybe she hopes to enjoy the simple moments of life that feel flat for her right now. Maybe she hopes to find motivation to get important things done.

Think about the people you’ve helped work through their pain and come out the other side.  Write about the relief your work brought them.

Never oversell or guarantee results. Describe what is likely and possible.

Express what you believe about therapy

You’ve got strong opinions about therapy. You’ve got stuff to say about why therapy works and how your clients get better. Grab your laptop and write about one of those beliefs. This doesn’t have to be ground-breaking, and you don’t have to be the only person who holds this belief. Brene Brown wasn’t the first person who thought vulnerability was an important aspect of mental health. (Not that you have to be as compelling as Brene Brown. You really don’t.)

Make it simple and focus on one belief or opinion rather than several.

For example, perhaps you believe that one key to recovering from depression and awakening health is to speak one’s truth. In therapy, you give a lot of attention to helping your clients find and speak their truth. Name that.

I’m not done! Next time I’ll cover the final keys. If you ignore the last 5 keys, your copy might be pretty terrible. That’s not a scare tactic. I’m telling you because I love you and I want you to reach the clients who need you.

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How To Write (Ridiculously Effective) Pages For Your Therapy Website, Part 1

This is what you want to hear from your next client:

“As soon as I started reading your website, I knew you were the right therapist for me.”

When you hear this, you know your website did its job. Its job is simple: to convert your potential right-fit clients into actual clients.

You might be wrong about what it takes to get your website ready to do that job for you. (No offense. I used to be wrong about this too.)

You understand that you need to choose the platform (wordpress, squarespace or another). You know you need to choose a pleasant visual design and a great photo. If you haven’t done those things yet, you may be overestimating how much time and energy they’ll take. You can either create a simple and professional DIY site or you can hire someone to put it together for you. For my ideas on what to spend on your website, read this.

What you may underestimate is how much work it will take to write great copy (words) that will speak directly to your potential right-fit clients so that they understand that you are their ideal therapist.

Great copy is what it takes to hear those wonderful things from your next clients. Great copy is what your website needs to do its job. 

Without great copy, your website will be just ok. It hopefully won’t scare clients away, but it won’t convert many people either.

You could hire a copywriter. You could pay someone talented and experienced to write your pages for you. Before you do that, you should know that:

1. A good copywriter will cost a lot.
2. Even if you hire a copywriter, you’ll need to go through an extensive process to prepare the writer to take over the job.

Given the cost, most therapists choose to do their writing themselves. I’m dedicated to helping you write great copy. It’s a huge part of what we do in The Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program.

So let’s dive into HOW to create great copy for your therapy website:

The keys to writing a great therapy website

1. Identify your Superpowers
2. Find your authentic writing style
3. Write to a person (or a small group of people)
4. Identify their pain
5. Identify their hope
6. Express what you believe about therapy
7. Make each page simple
8. Use headlines, not greetings
9. Give a clear call to action
10. Create a logical structure for your site
11. Edit out any professional jargon

I’ll go through the first 2 keys now.

 

Identify your Superpowers

What are your Superpowers?

What are the qualities that set you apart from other therapists and other people in general? When you’re in your zone of genius, what are you doing and how are you being with clients?

We dedicate an entire 2 weeks in my course to helping you identify and talk about your Superpowers.

A couple of the questions we explore in the course are:

1. What would people who know you and love you the most say about how you relate to people?
2. What do you stand for?

Describe what you’re like to work with and what sets you apart from other therapists. Emphasize what makes you different rather than what makes you better. You’ll say most of this on your about me page, and you may sprinkle it in other pages too. You’ll use very little real estate on your site to talk about yourself, so choose those words well.

(It’s your website so why will you say so little about yourself? Because 90% of your website should be about your client’s struggle and journey.)

Use your authentic voice

Copying someone else’s writing style won’t work.

Have you ever observed someone else communicating in a certain way and thought, “That is working really well for them. I should communicate that way.” If you’ve tried it, you know it just falls flat.

You do you.

The words on your site should be written in your authentic voice, the way you communicate when you’re at your best. Maybe you’re funny, emotional, mindful, concrete, calm, or fierce. You might stand up passionately or speak gently. When you communicate with your authentic voice, you’re powerful.

Here’s an example of two therapists who specialize in working with clients struggling with depression. (I made these folks up).

Tina is a goal oriented, energetic therapist. On her site she says:

“You shouldn’t have to wait any longer to feel better. If you’re ready to jump in, take action and make some real changes, I might be the therapist for you. ”

Tarika is a gentle, thoughtful therapist. On her site she says:

“You’re suffering. It’s time to slow down and stop pushing. I will help you lean into your natural wisdom.”  

There are as many authentic voices as there are therapists.

Before you start writing or overhauling your website, find yours.

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Registration Is Open. Here's The Most Important Question To Consider

Registration opens today for The Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program. If you’re ready to register, here you go! 

If you’re considering joining the Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program, but you’re not QUITE sure, you might have some of these common questions or concerns about taking the plunge.

• I’m not sure if I can afford it.

• I’ve tried coaching programs before.

• Can I really turn my business around in 3 months?

• I want to add something besides 1:1 therapy sessions to my business, and I don’t know if this program will help me with that.

I address these 4 concerns right here.

But there’s another concern that deserves more attention. It’ that important.

I don't know if I'll really make use of the program. 

Have you ever paid for an online course and NOT done the work? That’s a bad feeling. You invest the money, get excited about learning and taking advantage of the structure of the program. 

Then you fall behind... and then you stop. You let the course sit there. You tell yourself you’ll get to it when you can. 

Now when you consider a course, even if it looks like the perfect fit for your needs, you fear that you won’t do the work. 

And there is work to do!

This program is set up for you to DO STUFF throughout the program. The entire course is action oriented. You’ve got homework with deadlines. You get feedback from me on every assignment. The homework will bring you closer and closer to the practice you want. I also give you a bonus challenge for every lesson. 

What if you just want to absorb the information and wait to do the work...someday? 

I don’t think that’s a good use of your time and money. 

Accountability

You’ll be on calls and on a private facebook group with a small group of your peers who are also dedicating 14 weeks to turning their practices around. Watching other therapists make changes and take risks is inspiring. It makes you want to do more. 

From September 1st forward, you’ll be guided through a process to identify the weak spots in your business and address them. You’ll be encouraged to shift your business to take full advantage of your unique strengths. 

A therapist in this group usually makes at least one of these big moves: 

• Changing their business from a general practice to one with a clear specialty
• Adding one or more clinicians to their practice
• Adding a new service to their practice that leverages their time
• Starting an overhaul of their website

You still need accountability after the program ends!

That’s why I created the Superpower Alumni Program, free for all alumni of the Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program for at least a year after you join. In the alumni program, you're part of a monthly group video call with me and a private Facebook group where I check in every day. 

To decide if it's time for you to register, ask yourself where you want to be at the beginning of 2017, after the program is over. 

Where will you be in 2017 if you commit yourself to this program?

Where will you be in 2017 if you don’t?

Here’s the spot to register or find out more about the program.  

Registration closes on August 31st. 

Are you claiming all the expenses you can in your therapy biz? FREE TRAINING

Is your bookkeeping system (really) set up well?

I thought my bookkeeping systems were great. Then I learned how my bookkeeping could be doing much more for me and my business.

Your therapy business is relatively simple, so you might think you don’t need any help from a bookkeeper. You can do all of your bookkeeping yourself.

Here’s the thing: There’s a difference between getting ongoing help from a bookkeeper and getting help from a bookkeeping trainer.

Now I am totally converted to the idea that we all need some help from a bookkeeping trainer.

I thought I was doing everything correctly with my financial systems. I keep my own books and I probably always will. If you are familiar with this blog, you know that I love systems and I love to track. I track every dollar that comes in and every dollar that goes out. I’ve got a business budget and projected earnings for my practice. I LIKE to take a few minutes every day and a couple of hours every month to track my money.

I don’t need a bookkeeper to take over my daily and monthly financial tracking.

My accountant doesn’t complain that my business figures are missing anything.

So far I’ve avoided working with a bookkeeper. I’m self taught. I do things the way I do them. I don’t need any help! (I always thought).

I sat down with bookkeeper and bookkeeping trainer Andi Smiles recently, and I started to question that.

With her open smile, lavender hair, and unique personal story, she made me feel comfortable right away. I met with Andi because I was looking for a fabulous bookkeeping trainer to guest teach in my Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program. I wanted a pro to guide my therapists in setting up their bookkeeping systems correctly and to answer all of their bookkeeping questions.

I wanted to find the right bookkeeper; someone who would fit with the safe energy that my groups tends to have, and who would not scare my wonderful therapists away from looking at their finances. Two of my awesome therapist clients had loved working with Andi.

When Andi told me about her approach to finances, I knew we had found our woman. She wants small business people to develop loving and transparent relationships with their finances. She’s about empowerment rather than fear or intimidation.

She founded a non-profit serving women in Peru, so she knows how to use financial systems to make great stuff happen. (Have you seen the paperwork involved in starting a non-profit?)

I told her some common questions therapists ask:

How do I deal with credit card fees on my schedule C at tax time?

What exactly can I claim as a business expense?

What kind of bookkeeping system is best for my simple business?

What’s the best way to pay myself?

Andi told me how she would answer all of those questions. Not only did I love the way she answered, but I also realized I wasn’t keeping my own books in the most effective ways. I’ll be taking notes along with the other therapists.

In the Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program, she’ll take the reins for an entire lesson. She’ll  teach the foundation of how to set up the bookkeeping systems for your therapy business. Then she’ll talk to our small group for 90 minutes on a Q and A call to answer individual questions.

Even if you don’t sign up for the Superpower program (starting next month), I want you to get some help from Andi. I’ve invited her to co-present a free online workshop for you. 

(Sorry, this workshop is over.)

We’ll focus on just one important area of bookkeeping in this free online workshop: claiming expenses for your taxes.

You want to claim everything that you can, because you want to take home as much profit as you can. On the other hand, you want to be very clear that everything you are claiming is legitimate. If you ever get audited, you want to know you’ve claimed expenses correctly. Andi will show us how to do that.

Claim your spot and be there. Remember, it's free! Don’t worry if you can’t be there live. Sign up and you’ll have access to the recording for 48 hours after the workshop.

Sorry, you missed the workshop, but sign up right here to get practice building help dropped in your inbox each week. I’ll never share your email address. You can easily unsubscribe any time. You'll know about the next training too!

Ivy's Practice Is Thriving MORE Since She Claimed Her Niche

Spotlight on Ivy Griffin, MFT in Sacramento, California

About a year ago, Ivy ran a general therapy practice. She had a lot of clients, but she was starting to feel overworked and even burned out. She worked hard in the Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program and made some big changes to her business.

She embraced the niche of Highly Sensitive People. She’s created an online coaching group for highly sensitive women and an engaging blog for highly sensitive people. She's created a free audio and worksheet with tools for HSP's. As an HSP myself, I freaking love her content.

Ivy had the same fears about narrowing her niche that most therapists have. Ivy had been getting a lot of calls for adolescents, because that’s another niche she’s well trained and experienced with. She didn’t want to suddenly start saying no to all of those people.

Listen to or watch my brief conversation with Ivy about the changes she's made in her business in the past year. 

• She shares why she's more sought out than ever.
• She answers the question: "What would you tell a therapist who is afraid the claim a niche?"
• She talks about the changes she's made to her business model now that she's embraced this niche.  

 

Links

Flourish, Ivy’s coaching program for highly sensitive women

The Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program

Kick-Ass Systems To Run Your Therapy Practice With More Freedom

Systems aren't sexy, but they can make a huge difference in your therapy practice. 

Many good systems cost a bit of money. Some systems tools cost over $100 a month and may be totally worth it if they save you time or money. 

My favorite systems don’t cost a thing. I'm about to geek out about my checklists.

Here's how I stumbled upon the life-changing magic of checklists. 

Until a few years ago, I wasn’t using checklists in my business. I had a to-do list and strived to get things done at a rate faster than I added to it. I did pretty well with this for a long time. Then I noticed that some administrative tasks kept hitting my to-do list every day or every week.

Lightbulb! I created a checklist with all of those daily and weekly tasks so that I didn’t have to remember them each time.

This checklist, called “daily administrative checklist,” lives in the notes section of my phone where I still check it daily and update it every time I need to add or edit a new regular task. I noticed right away that this checklist helped me become more efficient and on top of things.

My first checklist worked so well that I started making more checklists. Now I use more than 10.

Why am I so strange? Oops, I mean, why am I so in love with checklists?

When you use systems in your work, your work gets easier. You don’t miss steps, and you don’t have to think through what order you’ll do things in every time. Think it through carefully one time, and you’re set.

Checklists improve customer service. Using checklists, you always remember to take steps that impact your clients.

When you use checklists, you know exactly what to do so that even on those days when you’re feeling spacey or dumb, you can just follow your checklist.

Checklists make you efficient. When you start using checklists, you get stuff done much more quickly.

Ask a virtual assistant, office manager or any incredibly efficient and organized person, and they will tell you they use checklists. They’re part of every well-run business, from the solopreneur next door up to Google.

Here are some signs that you should embrace at least one checklist in your business. 

• Your to-do list is out of control.
• You hold a ton of information in your head.
• You sometimes drop the ball.
• You feel pressed for time.
• When you have an hour available to get stuff done, you’re not sure where to start.

Start with one. 

Maybe you don’t want 10 or more checklists like I have. I already admitted I'm strange, right? A year ago, I only had a few. Start with one. You’re probably holding at least one checklist in your head. Turn it into a physical checklist.

Then use it and get comfortable with it. Once you experience how much it helps you, you’ll probably want to create more.

Here are some checklists to consider creating:

Daily administrative tasks checklist: all the things you have to take care of and wish you could hire someone to do, written down in one place. This might include writing session notes, answering emails, charging credit cards, sending invoices, and even using other check lists.

Potential client checklist: steps to bringing a new client into your practice, from 1st contact to 1st visit.  

Blog publishing checklist: the steps you take after writing a blog post to get it up on your site and then sent out to social media and shared over email. (I’ll share an example of this below).

Social media checklist: the steps you take to check in and contribute to social media platforms.

Payday checklist: the steps you take to calculate your owner’s draw and/or profit every month or quarter.

Monday checklist, Tuesday Checklist...you get it. You can break down your tasks and  assign them to particular days.

What should your first checklist be?

Pick a task or set of tasks that fits at least one of these criteria:

• It’s important
• It’s got a lot of steps
• It’s got to get done often
• It’s complicated
• It’s unpleasant but really helps your business

Ready to choose one?

A good one to start with is the process of responding to a potential client.

I’ve created an example of that for you. Borrow it if you like, and adjust it to fit your situation.

• Return call or email (within 2 hours when possible)
• Enter person’s information into spreadsheet (inquiry tracking spreadsheet)
• Follow up again after 24 hours with email or phone call offering next steps (Tell them how to contact you again or how to set up an appointment online.)
• Schedule free consultation.
• During consultation, give next steps.  (Schedule or tell them how to schedule, tell them you’ll call again to follow up.)
• Update information on inquiry checklist after consultation (You’re done if they aren’t a good fit.)
• Enter client into practice management system
• Enter appointment into schedule
• Send email with forms and confirmation

Where should you keep your checklists?

Put your checklists wherever you’ll actually use them. For me, that’s the notes section of my iphone. For you, it may be a physical notebook, a set of spreadsheets, or even a set of paper lists on your wall. The right spot for your checklists is the place where you’ll be able to find them every time you need them.

Do checklists sound boring? Uncreative? Stifling?

You won’t be using checklists for the most creative parts of your life, but they will give you more time and energy so you can let go and be creative more of the time. When you lean on checklists, room opens up in your mind and in your day. There’s less stuff to remember, so you spend less energy trying not to forget.

Bingo! MORE room for creativity.

Are you ready to set up your business like a true boss? Check out my program, The Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program. Registration opens up soon.

Want more practice building tools? I'll drop an article in your inbox each week. Unsubscribe any time. No spam ever. 

Building Your Therapy Practice Isn't About Self-Promotion. It's About Listening

Here's some common bad advice for therapists trying to build their practices. 

Bad advice: To build your therapy practice, you've got to promote yourself. 

Truth: To build your therapy practice, you've got to use your listening skills in new ways. 

 

When you hear “marketing,” you think self-promotion. You imagine selling yourself and talking yourself up. This isn’t one of your strongest skills, and you kind of hate doing it. You may even withdraw from marketing activities because self-promotion makes you uncomfortable.

Self-promotion has a (small) place in building your practice, but listening has a WAY bigger role. I bet you’re pretty great at listening.

When you use your listening skills to carefully consider what your right-fit clients are saying and feeling, all of your marketing actions are more powerful.

What do I mean by "use your listening skills in new ways?"

 

I’ve created an in-depth process for listening, and the gist of it is this:

Pay careful attention to what the people you love to work with are saying, and build every aspect of your business around that.

The listening process to take your business where you want it to go

 

In my Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program, you learn a process to use your listening skills in the building of your business. You already know how to listen as a therapist. This is about listening as a business person as well.

I call this process the "Right-Fit Client Exercise."

Using this process, you can (re)create your whole business, including your marketing plan and the services you offer.

The process I teach in the program is the one I use for my own therapy practice, The Bay Area Relationship Center.

I use this process when I write a blog post, create a page for our website, or make changes to the services we offer. I review it pretty much any time I make a decision bigger than whether to fluff a pillow.

 

An example of the listening process

 

When we added premarital counseling to our list of services, I sat down to create a new specialty page on our website about it. Before I wrote a word, I began the Right-Fit Client Exercise. After working through the exercise, I was clear about which couples are the right fit for this service, and how they think, feel and talk about their issues. I was ready to create the content for our new page and many blog articles to support it. I knew what I needed to say and the tone to use.  

Without that exercise, I would have stared at a blank page or written some bland copy that you might find on thousands of other websites.

Once you learn this process, you'll come to rely on it too. 

If you’re ready to build a bold and unique private practice, the one that only you can build, consider my Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program. It happens twice a year, and the next one starts September 1st. Get on the interest list now and you’ll have a chance to register one week before everyone else.  

Want more free stuff? Sign up below and we’ll drop valuable practice building tips in your inbox each week. Never spam. (gross). 

Bad Advice: Compromise More To Build Your Therapy Practice

I’ve been asked recently what’s the worst business advice I hear therapists receiving. One of my all time least favorites is this one.

Bad Advice: To build a therapy practice you need to compromise as much as you can on who you're willing to see, your fee, your methods, and your schedule. 

Truth: You need to get clear on what puts you in your zone of genius. When you work in your zone of genius, you can build a more successful practice with less effort. 

It’s not your fault if you’ve taken or given this bad advice. You hear it all the time from well-meaning colleagues and even some practice building coaches. “Lower your fee. Be flexible about who you’ll see. Add more convenient hours. Use the methods clients are looking for most.”

You’ve heard this so many times that you may not even notice that it’s based on an assumption. It starts to just feel true.

When you have a downturn in your practice, you immediately begin to lower your fees or offer hours you don’t want to work, or you take on clients you don’t really want to work with. Maybe you start researching a new insurance panel, even though you decided you don’t want to accept insurance.

You begin to look for places to compromise AWAY from the business of your dreams. You look for ANY way to bring in new clients.

You may be able to pay the bills this way, but you won't get the business of your dreams. 

Maybe you tell yourself you’ll get the business of your dreams later. You tell yourself that once you’re successful, then you’ll start working the way you want to. Then you’ll set your schedule and fee the way you’d like and you’ll focus on working with the clients and methods you’re the best fit for.

If you’re making compromises that take you further and further away from the kind of private practice that you do the best work in, you’ll never get there. You’ll end up with a private practice that drains you.

You’ll still be a good therapist and you’ll still help people. You just won’t be as great as you could be, and you won’t be as successful as you could be.

What should you do instead of compromising?

Focus on finding and stepping into your zone of genius as a therapist. That's the path to building the practice of your dreams. 

What’s your zone of genius?

It’s the zone you’re in when you’re doing what you’re uniquely good at, and when you’re adding the most value to those around you.

You know you’re in your zone of genius when you experience flow (losing your sense of time) and you feel most energized by your work.

When you’re clear on what it takes to get into your zone of genius as a therapist, you can take steps to do more of that and less of everything else. That’s the path where you’ll help more people and build a successful business.

Step back and figure out how to set up your life and your business so that you’re working in your zone of genius more of the time.

In The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks makes the argument that when you insist on doing the work you are meant to do and nothing else, you increase your success and creativity. He cautions against settling for working in your zone of competence or even in your zone of excellence. Your job is to insist on getting to your zone of genius.

That’s a pivotal part of my method. In my Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program, I take therapists through a process to step back, identify their Superpowers, and then rebuild their practices around those Superpowers. I say “Superpower”, Hendricks says “zone of genius”. Tomato, tomato. Potato, potato.

Even after you decide to go after your zone of genius, it takes some courage to stay on that path. When you have a downturn in your caseload, you need to breathe and slow down for a moment and remember your strategy.

Important disclaimer: 

When you’ve found your zone of genius and built your practice around it, you’re not going to be in flow every minute.

Even when you’re charging a fee that works for you, working your ideal schedule, and using the methods you love with the clients you work best with, sometimes this work is hard.

Sometimes you hit a place with a client where you feel stuck or muddled.

That’s what consultation, training and self-care are for.

This is not about living a flawless life. Rather it’s about returning to that center of your best practice over and over again.

Worried that searching for your zone of genius will take too long because you've got bills to pay NOW?

If you’re thinking “But I don’t have time for that! I need to bring in clients now," here’s my answer. 

Let's look at an example of a therapist working through the zone of genius/Superpower issue: 

A therapist I’ll call Latrice learned EMDR. She went through training levels one and two, started using EMDR with many of her clients, and found she was helping people faster and more profoundly than ever before. For several months, she focused on doing as much EMDR as possible. She increased her session length to 75 minutes so she had time to take her clients through the process.

Then Latrice’s practice dipped. Her caseload and her income decreased. She panicked and began looking for compromises to bring in clients fast. She applied for an insurance panel. She answered requests asking for therapists with different specialties. She changed her schedule back to 50-minute sessions to accommodate more clients per day. Within a few weeks, her attention was off of building an EMDR centered practice, and on to building whatever kind of practice she could. When she asked her colleagues for advice, they encouraged her to take what she could get.

Let’s look at what Latrice might do if she ignored that advice and went after her zone of genius instead.

She would take on the singular goal of building a private practice around her EMDR skills. She would use some of her temporary down time write articles about the way she uses EMDR to bring transformation to her clients. She would get together with colleagues and tell them about her experience with EMDR. She would offer EMDR when appropriate and helpful to all of her new clients. She would reach out to other EMDR therapists and find a consultation group to help in her learning and to build her sense of professional support.

So is there no room for compromise?

Compromise has a place in every practice. It should allow you to help more people within your successful practice, not allow you to scrape by.

At times you may choose slide your fee or make other compromises IN ORDER to be in your zone of genius. You may adjust your methods to meet a client in the right place.

You won’t be compromising out of fear, rather you’ll be compromising out of generosity.

Take one step toward your zone of genius.

Begin to shift your practice so that you are in your zone of genius more and more.

Here are a couple of questions to chew on to start figuring this out:

How would you set up your practice if you could only do the work in which you feel the most effective and most inspired?

When was the last time you felt inspired and energized by your work? Write down or talk about everything that contributed to that feeling.

If you’re ready for a process to help you find your zone of genius, I’d love to be your guide.

Want more advice to build your unique and successful practice?

How To Set The Fees For Your Therapy Practice

If you haven’t read it yet, here’s why I think you’re setting your fee wrong. If I’m right about that, you’re losing a bunch of money every week and every month because you’ve made these mistakes. I don’t actually think it’s ok for you, lovely therapist, to be just scraping by.

It isn’t too late! You can use this process to figure out what you should charge next time you raise your fees. Start right now and set a new fee with your next new client.

Here's the process I suggest for setting your fee. 

Calculate two important numbers.

First Number: bottom line

First, find out how much money you need to earn in order to cover your business expenses, personal expenses, and taxes. Then add some business savings and personal savings to that number.

Calculate these numbers:

• Business expenses
• Business savings
• Taxes
• Personal expenses
• Personal savings

If you’re not totally sure what your expenses are, it’s time to start tracking. We tend to underestimate our expenses. If the idea of tracking makes you itch, find a system that you don’t hate, and then use that system and make it your own.

When you calculate your business savings, imagine the business you’d like to be running and make a plan that includes taking steps to get there. Plan for consultation, training and other business investments.

When you calculate your personal savings, imagine having enough for your unexpected expenses now and your retirement later. Don’t forget to throw something in your plan for self care.

Now add those babies up.

Take a deep breath. You’re doing great. You’ve arrived at your bottom line income need.

 

Second Number: number of sessions

Now figure out how many sessions you’re comfortable having every week. What is the number of sessions per week that would leave you feeling full of energy and ready for more next week? What’s the number of sessions per week that leaves you enough time for networking, marketing, continuing education, and a lovely personal life?

Now you can figure out your average fee: 

(Bottom line income) divided by (# of sessions) = average fee

Your AVERAGE fee must equal at minimum your bottom line income need divided by your ideal number of sessions.

Track your fee so that you know what it actually is. Don’t just estimate. Therapists almost ALWAYS overestimate their current average fee.

Here, I’ll prove it. Guess what your average fee is right now. Got it? Ok, now find out if you’re right.

Add up all of your sessions for last month and divide by the number of sessions, and you’ve got your average fee. I bet it’s lower than the number you would have guessed.

Now that you’ve calculated the average fee that you need to cover your bottom line needs, take a look at your sliding scale. If you don’t have a sliding scale, you can skip the next paragraph, because you’ve just landed on your fee.

All of the fees you collect must equal that needed average fee. That means if your needed average fee is 125, and you choose to have several sessions where your fee is $60, your full fee will be much higher than 125.

Here's an example.

Please don’t take these particular numbers as any kind of recommendation. I use an example because examples help me learn and grasp things, and you might be the same way.

Jackie figures out her bottom line income need. She started off with a very small amount for business savings and personal savings.

• Business expenses: 1300
• Business savings: 400
• Taxes: 2,000 (Find out what your individual situation is here.)
• Personal expenses: 7000
• Personal savings: 1,000

Total: 11,700

Then she calculated the number of sessions she is comfortable having each week, taking into account cancellations, vacations, and folks who will choose to come every other week:

20 sessions per week. 

She decided to hold on to 4 lower fee slots each week at $70 each, totaling 280 in income per week, or 1120 per month (assuming she works 4 weeks per month, or 48 weeks per year).

That means the remaining 16 sessions per week (or 64 sessions per month) need to bring in 10,580.

She calculates that she needs a full fee of 165.

If Jackie had used the method most therapists use, she would have ended up with a lower average fee and she’d be faced with barely scraping by or having too many sessions.

Feeling uncomfortable?

“But I’m not comfortable setting that high of a fee. It makes me gasp.”

“I couldn’t even afford that fee myself.”

“I don’t have enough (experience, training, balls) to charge that much.”

If you wait until you feel comfortable with raising your fee BEFORE you do it, you’ll take a VERY long time.

Or maybe you're saying this:

“I want to prioritize seeing people who can’t afford a high fee.”

That’s awesome. You get to tinker with the numbers. If you choose to make less, you’ve got to find ways to feel good about that choice. Perhaps you’ll need to move to a more affordable city or find other significant ways to change your financial picture. Embrace your choice. Then when you see a colleague charging 200 per hour, you will feel at peace knowing that your business model feels right to you.

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