Establishing a steady stream of referrals that brings you more clients than you can imagine is a goal for most mental health professionals in private practice. This series will take you on a road trip; the purpose of which is to give you a whole new perspective and purpose when it comes to marketing your practice. Each message builds on the last. Learn what it takes to build your business and feel good about how you do it.
This is the first of a 10-day series of messages created just for you. Today, we’ll start our journey from Point A (not enough referrals) to Point B (a strong referral network). Today — we are packed and ready to go!
Day 1: Know your destination and why your headed that way
Are you one of those private practitioners that shies away from marketing your practice because you are uncomfortable with the process, and because you are unsure about how to do it professionally and ethically?
I was once in your shoes. For years, I struggled with cognitive dissonance with regard to marketing my practice. How could I do what it took to fill my book, and maintain my integrity and professionalism?
Here’s the secret: Lead from your heart
Why do you do what you do? My guess is that (like me) you exist to serve others. You have a burning desire to help people who are in pain, in trouble, or in need. You want to use your skills and experience to make a difference in the world. You are willing to work hard and provide a valuable service to your referral sources and clients. You want to be a resource for others.
If those things (and others like them) are true about you — then THAT IS YOUR HEART! If you lead from your heart, you have a responsibility to let folks know about who you are and what you. People are looking for solid referral sources. They NEED you and your services.
The first day of your journey is to know where and why you are going — your destination and your purpose. Need an example? Mine looks like this:
I exist to serve others by fostering greatness
My mission is to help mental health professionals build successful and sustainable private practices. I do this by empowering and educating them, and providing the resources and support they need to succeed
How about you? What are your purpose and destination? Once you define them, (once you know your heart), marketing will take on a whole new feel. You will see that when you lead from your heart, you are grounded in professionalism, ethics, and integrity.
I can’t agree with you more. Having a clear purpose and mission statement is critical to set the direction for our work and our life. It can take some time for that statement to really come from the heart; and this alignment of heart and purpose seems to be what opens the space for our best life to manifest. I found that shifting the question from “What is my life purpose?” to “What purpose does life have for me?” brought forth the mission statement twhich really started my journey.
@Dr. Carolyn Faivre – Shifting the question as you did really does make one dig deep. Thank you for sharing that perspective.
this caused some jitters. just writing “i exist to” was a shake-up for me.
but yes, it makes me feel my presence.
thanks for filling up with gas and showing how to build the map.
@Al – Welcome aboard! Presence is the basis of what we do. Acknowledging it is powerful.