8 Tips to Reach Private Practice Success with Networking

Ready to step your private practice growth up a notch and at super speed? Networking is a powerful strategy that enables you to influence the influencers; to leave an unforgettable — and profoundly profitable — impression on health professionals that already have the trusted ear of your potential clients.

How can you maximize the positive effects of your private practice networking?

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8 Private Practice Networking Tips

1) Listen well

The first step may appear to go against the grain, which is why it works so well. Consider why others are attending private practice networking events or networking for their business… Chances are they want private practice growth too.

When you meet, introduce yourself, share your elevator pitch (read about this at number 3) and then listen. What do they do? How could you help them? Who do you know that might be a perfectly aligned contact for them?

Listening has a number of benefits. By listening well, you gain insight into whether this person shares your values and similar ethics, and if you are interested in building a business relationship together.

2) How can you help?

Have you read Robert Cialdini’s book Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion? If not, I highly recommend the read… It’s a game-changer.

In it he discusses the principle of reciprocity. How humans have been trained across cultures and throughout history to give back to those they owe. And while this may sound overtly marketing-focused, I want you to flip this on its head.

Therapists love to help!

It’s what you do. And by helping those you feel ethically aligned to through private practice networking introductions, you are able to assist them to make the difference they are here to make.

If you refer appropriate clients to them for share care, your clients will likely get better results.

And by helping you’ll be remembered as the kind, helpful person you are anyway. This builds credibility and increases the odds they will reciprocate this behavior and refer you the clients you are able to best help.

It’s win-win-win; for them, for you and for those clients who need more effective care.

Note: What if you have the same ideal client and therapeutic approaches as someone you meet? I’ll discuss that in point four.

But how does this new contact know exactly how and who you can help? I’m glad you asked…

3) An unforgettable elevator pitch

When you are invariably asked on meeting someone for the first time, ‘What do you do?’ How do you answer?

If, like most people, you provide the generic ‘I’m an [insert occupation]’ you’ve just missed a crucial opportunity to provoke interest and discussion. See in the USA we hanker over our occupations like we do celebrity. We seem unable to resist inquiring about a new contact’s line of work, and this is, of course, more true during a networking event. Otherwise, why would you be there?

It’s time to craft a perfectly honed, authentic elevator pitch.

What is an elevator pitch?

It’s a 30-second decisive spiel about what you do, for whom, and how you can help. And I’ve heard some truly terrible ones! How can you turn your pitch into, well, a non-pitch sounding, natural introduction that connects, interests and invites discussion with your new contact?

Here are some how-to tips to create the perfect elevator pitch for use in private practice networking…

A. Get clear

Years of education, experience, and clinical consultations are difficult to condense into 30-seconds or less. Yet any longer and your new contact will be bored and think you are disinterested in them (this is a BIG mistake in networking)! Clarity and accuracy are key.

B. Deeply understand your ideal client

If you are to become mind-bogglingly successful at private practice growth (yes, it is possible) you need to deeply understand who you best serve. And it’s NOT everyone! Think about the illnesses and conditions you excel with and the clients that suffer from these. Go through your client database, if needed. Consider also the people you most enjoy working with. Make notes. Define your ideal client (this article will help) and include it in your elevator pitch.

—> Still not sure about your ideal client? Take our ideal client quiz to help you pinpoint exactly who it is you work best with. <—

C. Tweak your language

We naturally speak differently than we write. And while crafting an eloquent literary piece might work well in academia, it won’t help you connect face-to-face during a networking situation.

Once written, read your pitch aloud. Does it sound like you? Is it something you would spontaneously say? If not, it needs work.

Think you’ve got it right? Ask your family and friends to listen critically. Do they think it sounds authentic and incorporates the language you would use in everyday speech? Take their feedback on board. Authenticity is essential in building trust and professional relationships.

D. Practice until perfectly natural

Once you’ve perfected and critically assessed your pitch, read it out loud again. How does it sound to you? When you vocalize this, note if there are places where you stumble. Or that feel false. These indicate areas to rework your words.

Authentic and sharp? Great! Now practice. An ill-practiced pitch infuses insincerity, the diametric opposite of what’s required for successful private practice networking.

Need some inspiration? These examples will set your inspired mind racing.

4) Think and act strategically

It’s lovely to meet new people but successful private practice marketing requires strategy. After all, you have a limited number of hours and emotional resources at your disposal so you need to maximize your results…

And on that note, before you attend any networking events, read The Private Practice Guide to Networking Events.

That said…

If you meet someone who is essentially in direct competition with you; listen, be polite and move on quickly. You seek those able to boost your private practice growth; the likelihood is the most beneficial connections will be with complementary (not competitive) professionals.

Are you an addiction counselor? A local doctor could be a great contact, another addiction counselor less so.

A CBT therapist focused on depression? A great working relationship might exist with the neighborhood pastor or priest, and you’ve got it… another CBT depression therapist might prove less beneficial to you both.

5) Step into the limelight… (but don’t hog it)

It can be confronting meeting new people however this is what private practice networking is all about. Be bold. Step out of your practice and get out there! Be friendly, open, interested, and follow the first three steps.

6) Better than a business card!

Where do most business cards end up?

You guessed it! The bin, down the back of the couch, or maybe lost in the well-intentioned Bermuda Triangle of the office filing cabinet. If you want to create instant rapport, credibility and compel your new contacts to refer clients your way, there is a better way.

Give them a copy of your book.

Not written one yet?

Easily solved! Let me show you how.

These simple steps will have you holding a copy of your own book faster than you could have imagined.

Before we dive in, I’d recommend you perform a cyber search for a company who can ‘print on demand’. You can have your book formatted correctly, once completed. Then you can purchase only the number you need. If using your book for self-marketing purposes there is no point chasing a traditional publisher and losing your copyright or paying a fortune for a stack of books to take up residence in your home. Createspace is Amazon’s platform and works well.

Now…

A. Think back to your ideal client in step 3. Who are you best able to help and who do you like working with? What is their main issue? Great! Write this down.

B. What are their greatest challenges and which strategies do you incorporate in therapy? Write chapter titles and subheads for each. Congratulations! You’ve just written your table of contents (TOC)!

C. Here is where the rubber excitingly hits the road… and you don’t have to write. That takes too long.

– Most smartphones have a recording facility. Make sure it works well and records clearly. If it doesn’t, purchase an inexpensive suitable microphone. Sit down with your TOC, choose a chapter or subhead, press record and talk. Once you have finished that section, name and save it.

Or

– Hire someone to interview you about your TOC. Record in its entirety over one long session or via several shorter conversations. Again, name and save.

D. Once you have your recordings, upload them to REV.com for transcription. It’s a bargain at only $1 per minute. Your transcript will usually be completed and returned within 24 hours.

E. Find an inexpensive, professional proofreader and editor to turn your transcripts into a book. Not sure how? Head to Upwork.com It’s an easy-to-use platform that allows you to upload a project, find a freelancer, agree on a price and begin. At the completion of the job, you release payment. By this point, your book is coming together well.

Or

You are free to edit your transcripts if you have the time and skill.

F. Add worksheets and exercises.

What homework do you give clients to complete in between therapy sessions? Written forms and exercises can easily be included in your book and add value and bulk.

G. Add other pages.

Scan other therapy books. You’ll need pages at the beginning for your inner cover, TOC, copyright, dedication, thank you’s, how a reader can contact you (including your practice website — if you haven’t got one yet get one promptly, social media, email, phone, etc). At the end, you may wish to include some information about your therapy options (I’d strongly recommend you do).

H. Head to Fiverr.com (or Upwork again) to have your printable cover designed.

I. Get your book formatted appropriately (again, this can be done through Fiverr or Upwork)

J. Send it off to your chosen printers, get back a proof copy, approve it, and voila! You are now an author with a book that will maximize your networking potential.

Note: This book is to add value, credibility and play an important role in your marketing strategy. Don’t (yet) aim for bestselling status, it’ll take up time and delay completion.

Additional note: You do not need a War & Peace doorstopper. In fact, thinner is more suitable for this purpose as it is less costly to print. 100 pages is fine, and yes, this includes exercises, dedications, everything.

I’ll say it again, the aim of this book is as a powerful marketing piece so you can help more people… not the time exhaustive creation of a masterpiece.

Once your book comes in, its time to network and share it with those that can make the biggest difference.

7) Stay Connected

Met a great contact? Great! Follow up soon. In fact, contact everyone you meet who gels with your ethics because you just never know.

Many people spend their valuable time attending networking events or organizing face-to-face introductions with the aim of enhanced private practice marketing… and then inextricably don’t follow up. If you want to be a successful networker, take follow-up action.

Call or send an email. Mention a comment, passion or place they traveled so they know you remember them. Comment on their social media on occasion. If you see something that might help them — like a media callout that’s right up their alley — pass it along. Refer people their way when suitable to do so.

Note: Take a pen with you. When someone shares their business card with you (most won’t have a book) wait for a discrete moment and write some memory-jogging notes on the back of their card.

8) Be cyber-connected

Private practice networking occurs both on and offline so attend digital events and connect with other professionals online. Again, be memorable and offer value.

Ready to dive in to networking?

Great! It’s a powerful strategy. As I mentioned, this strategy can kick your private practice growth up a notch… and at super speed.

Just like one of our clients, Jason Polk, did. He went from seeing his first clients during his weekends while working full-time at an agency. In just over one year by using the combined power of networking and his Brighter Vision website he resigned from his full-time job to focus on his private practice. Jason shares his story here.

>>Want more awesome therapist marketing tips? Sign up for our 8-part email course and we’ll show you how to get more clients through your website. <<