Helping Hands For Coaches

“Change before you have to.” Jack Welch

Over the next week, I’d like to share a 3 part e-course with you that will help you clarify what it really takes to thrive in private practice in 2012 and beyond.  In particular, this e-course is all about innovation.

Why is innovation so vitally important?  Because the practitioners who recognize and adapt to trends the fastest will generally create the most success and prosperity.

I want to make sure that you are aware of these trends so you’re not getting left behind.  I’ve had many practitioners contacting me lately saying that over the past 1-2 years, their numbers are down significantly.. and they can’t figure out why.  Sure, the economy may have something to do with it.  But they get a sense that there are much more controllable factors at play that are undermining their success.

When we normally consider what innovation means to our practice, we tend to go right into ‘clinical’ mode and invest in the latest technology, gadgets, or seminar program to take our skills to the next level.  Yes– these are certainly important aspects of your practice success, but only if they are coupled with innovative marketing.

Innovative marketing:  Combining Online Technology With Personal Creativity

Most practices continue to dwell in limitation because their marketing lacks innovation.  If you find yourself doing the same things to promote yourself as 95% of your competition, you’ll only get about 5% of the results you could have in your practice.

In 2012, it’s highly likely that your  local market has too many practitioners for you to simply throw up a basic website, get a brochure and business card, do good work, and get a ton of word of mouth referrals.

Yes, you need all of this to be successful.. but it’s a matter of HOW you use it that will make or break your practice.

For instance, how do you get referrals for your practice?  Just wait until your clients tell others about you?  Hand out business cards to them?

What would it look like to get innovative in the way you get referrals?  How about setting up a specific page on your practice website that is JUST for friends and family of current clients with a special offer to try out your services?  On that page, you can integrate video to create more professionalism and warmth, Facebook to build social proof, and instant click calls to action through online scheduling.

Can you see how this is exponentially more powerful than just using business cards?

This is but one example of how the internet has completely revolutionized how any small business attracts the right audience.

If you’re not using online technology in ways such as this, you’re already behind the game..  and– if you have been feeling more challenged to get clients in the door–  this is likely a major reason why.

What About Facebook?  Do I Really Need It to Sustain My Practice?

Well, I would say it’s not quite yet a necessity, but it certainly gives you quite an advantage over other practitioners who aren’t using Facebook.

There’s a lot of hype around social media that honestly turns me off.  I don’t look at Facebook and Twitter as the ‘magic bullet’ that will solve all of your challenges in getting clients.  What these sites CAN do effectively is help you build deeper relationships with current, past, and prospective clients.

Social media gives you yet another avenue to stay in touch with anyone and everyone who has ever expressed interest in your work.  I definitely recommend having a customized Facebook fan page that has:

• your brand/logo
• a lead capture form
• an invitation to ‘like’ your page

You can check out an example of this here:    My customized fan page

Facebook is an extremely innovative website, largely because so few other practitioners are doing much with it.  This is concerning, as the average consumer has come to expect a Facebook presence for any legitimate business.  If you get a custom fan page, build out your network of fans, and integrate Facebook into your website, email marketing, and off line practice-building methods, you’re definitely innovating in a way that few of your competitors are.

Remember– Facebook is a major asset for your practice in that it breaks the ice with prospective clients who don’t know you or your work deeply enough to make an informed decision.  By sharing great content on your fan page, you’ll build trust and good will with your fans, many of whom will be swayed in the direction of utilizing your services because they feel like they know you, even if they have never personally met you.

Read that last statement carefully-  creating this dynamic in your marketing should be one of your main goals in 2012 and beyond.  Online technology and social media allow you to build relationships with way more people than you ever could in the ‘real’ world.

By the time a client calls you, your website, articles, and social media content should have already given them a clear view of your work, values, and expertise.  This is a beautiful thing, as there’s much less selling or convincing that needs to be done if the client comes in for the first consultation already educated about the services you offer.   By utilizing online technology in this way, you’re preventing what I consider to be one of the greatest causes of burn out for holistic practitioners– having to explain over and over what we can and can’t do.. and specifically, overcoming unrealistic expectations to produce results lightning fast.

In part 2 of this e-course, I’m going to expand on some of the concepts laid out here, plus introduce a very powerful concept that I call Instant Authority.

For now, here’s what I want to make sure of:

• You have an updated website that is NOT set up as a generic template, that has lead generation, social media integration, good search engine optimization, and professional graphics.

If you don’t have this in place yet, click here to review our 2 web packages.

• You have a customized Facebook fan page where you can connect more deeply with your target market, convey expertise, and stay in touch with anyone who has ever expressed interest in your work.

If you don’t have this in place yet, click here.

Be sure to look out for the next part of this e- course in the next couple days!

all the best, Kevin Doherty

hi everyone,

Here’s the next lesson in our 3 part e-course on innovative marketing.

Enjoy,  Kevin

If you’ve been following my coaching work for some time, you’re already aware that I consider your practice website to be the critical hub that your practice revolves around.  Whatever you are doing to get more patients/clients in the door centers around having a strategically designed website that positions you as an expert and builds relationships and trust with people new to your work.  Here’s an overview of 10 of the best traffic generation strategies for your website.

1.   Your Current Patients/Clients ~ This one is easy to forget, but it’s really one of the most important steps you want to take with new clients.  You should have a script in place for sending new clients directly to your website before they come in for their first visit.  When they land on your site, they should have access to educational resources that will make them a more informed (and therefore higher quality) patient and help them see how you’re an expert in your field (which will build trust before they even come in).

While you’ll never get the lion’s share of your website traffic from current clients, it’s important to remember that they are by far and away the best source of traffic you have, simply because they have already committed to working with you.

Another important point here is that your current clients should be telling others about your work, and the best way to do this is to have them send people they know directly to your practice website.  This works far better than handing out business cards.

2.   On Page SEO ~ Search engine optimization is all about making your website as friendly as possible with the major search engines.  This means showing Google, Yahoo, and Bing what you do, where you do it, what you treat, and who your ideal client is.  The reason SEO is so important is because there are likely hundreds if not thousands of people looking for your exact services every month on the search engines; SEO is how you position yourself in front of them so they end up calling you– not your competition.

This process begins with on page SEO, which mainly involves setting up the right keywords that your audience is typing into the search engines on your site.  There are actually a number of elements that go into effective on page SEO, but the keywords used on the site are the most important aspect of this process.  After reviewing hundreds of websites for holistic practitioners, the vast majority have never had the on page SEO done which is why they are not getting much traffic to their site.. and they are left completely confused about how to get clients online.

On page SEO does not guarantee high Google placement; it really depends on how competitive your local market is.  If there are lots of other practitioners competing for that online real estate, you’ll also need to do some off page SEO.

3.  Link Building/Off Page SEO ~ Once your on page SEO has been set up, the next step is to get as many links as possible coming back to your website from other, high quality websites on the internet.  While there are many ways to do this, the most effective way by far is article marketing.  When we do off page SEO for our clients (and I do this on all of my own personal sites), we use a very powerful software called Article Samurai.  With this software, we write short, original articles, spin them into infinite variations so each one looks unique, then distribute them to roughly 500 article directories and blog networks.  Each directory allows 2-3 links back to whatever website we want to link to, and each link is set up as the specific keyword we want to rank for.  The more of these links you have, the more likely you will be to beat your competition and own those coveted top spots on the major search engines.

Most practitioners are ranking high on Google because they have an old domain name, their main keyword is their domain name, or there just isn’t much competition.  In essence, they land there often due to luck or time.  Getting more links than anyone else is the secret weapon to strategically dominating online searches for your local market.

4.  Facebook ads ~ Facebook advertising is one of the most exciting forms of online marketing right now, as there is great  potential to get a lot of qualified traffic for relatively cheap.  You can go to http://facebook.com/advertising and set up ads that link directly to your practice website.  The ads can be incredibly targeted, which is why many businesses are thrilled with the results.  For instance, you can target your ad to show up for people on Facebook who:

• are female
• between the ages of 25 and 50
• have a college degree
• have expressed an interest in health, yoga, spirituality, nutrition, and personal growth
• live within a 20 mile radius of your office

Frankly, you can’t get much more targeted than that in your advertising!   If you send your traffic outside of Facebook directly to your website, expect to pay quite a bit more per click.  Keeping your traffic within Facebook will actually be quite a bit cheaper.  You can do this through your Facebook fan page.

5.  Facebook fan page ~ Having a customized fan page for your practice is one of the best strategies you can implement right now, as your fan page is a great way to build trust, share great information, and generate leads and interest.  The fastest way to get more fans to your page is through Facebook advertising.  You can set up ads that go directly to a customized landing page where you tell the visitor exactly what to do when they get there (i.e.,  ‘like’ your page and opt in for free info).

The more fans you get, the more traffic you’ll get to your practice website.  If you have 1,000 fans and you post a message to your fan page wall that links back to your website, you may get anywhere from 15-100 people going to your website from Facebook, depending on how compelling the post you made is.
You also want to set up a fan page box on your practice website, so people can ‘like’ your fan page right from your website, as long as they are logged into Facebook.  Your fan page is really a 2nd website for your practice.  It’s such a versatile marketing tool.. and it will only become more relevant to your practice success in the next couple of years.

I am in the process of creating about 6 new training videos on Facebook fan page marketing and advertising that can only be found in the Prosperous Practitioner membership, which you can learn more about by clicking here.    The first 3 in this series are just now being uploaded.

6.  Twitter ~ You can build out a large local following on Twitter, and regularly send out Tweets that link back to your practice website.  You can also link your fan page to Twitter so that each time you post to your fan page, it automatically goes to your Twitter profile.  You can do this by going to http://www.facebook.com/twitter

7.  Blogging ~ It’s often said that he/she who has the most and best content wins the game of internet marketing.  If you want to dominate your local market, getting more back links to your website is key component #1.  Having more content than anyone else is key component #2.  You want to have the most content-rich website in your local market.. and blogging is the best way to achieve this goal.  With WordPress, you can log in anytime and write keyword optimized blog posts that can potentially rank well in the search engines.  You can then syndicate that content to your fan page, Twitter,  Linked In, and to your email list.   I recommend writing 1 blog post per week for your practice and then implementing a consistent syndication strategy for this content through your entire social media network.

8.  Online Video~ Here’s an easy way to stand out from the crowd and position your practice differently than anyone else:  Have the best Youtube channel in town!  How many practices are truly leveraging this strategy?  Very few.  This is why NOW is the time to think outside the box and be creative in your marketing.  Video is the best marketing medium to solidify your reputation as a thought leader and expert.  Plus, given the fact that Google now owns Youtube, you can often get your videos ranked high on Google as long as they are keyword optimized.

The more Youtube videos you have, the more traffic you’ll get to your website.  Just be sure to include a live link to your website in the description box of your video.

9.  Classified Ads~ When it comes to traffic generation, it’s important to think off line as well.  You can set up cheap classified ads in your local paper similar to this:

Struggling with back pain?  Grab our free report and discover the 5 secrets

to healing back pain without side effects.  Go to www.backpainsecrets.com right now!

This is a classic direct response form of marketing where you get people onto your email list, then build a relationship with them through follow up email marketing.  You can also do this through display ads, but they are way more expensive, and you can often get a pretty decent result just through classified ads.

10.  email marketing~  Are you building an email list for your practice?  If not, you’re missing one of the most critical marketing systems in existence!  Your email list is a built-in network of prospects, current, and ex-clients who have all expressed interest in your work.  Whenever you write a new blog post or create a new video, your email list should know about it.   Many people get more traffic to their website from their email list than any other source.  There’s a lot I have to say about email marketing, but for now, just be sure you set up an email marketing system on your website using a service like Aweber.  You can thank me later!

I hope these 10 tips help you out!  If you need a website or you are getting the impression that your current website could use an overhaul, you can click here:   Dream Practice Websites

Now, go get some traffic!

Kevin

hi everyone,

I just made a new video where I break down some of the key features of my new practice website.  This will give you a lot of great insights into making your site as Google friendly, modern, and professional as possible.  Your website should be at the center of all your marketing efforts.  For it to work well, there are a few key features you’ll need to implement.  This video will give you a solid overview.

Click the arrow to watch..

You can click here to learn how we can help you build a website that positions you as an expert and attract new clients online.

–>  www.DreamPracticeWebsites.com <–

Suzanne and I did a couple of content-rich teleclasses today and I wanted to share the recording for each with you here.  In this first one, Suzanne interviewed me on 3 steps to getting more clients online.  In this teleclass, I shared a ton of really important information on how to use the internet to build your business.

You can listen to it here–>  3 Steps to Get More Clients Online

In this second one, I interviewed Suzanne on how to create a lifestyle business that leverages your talents and knowledge to work on a bigger scale, help more people, and create more personal freedom.

You can listen to it here –> 7  Secrets to Creating  a Lifestyle Business

Set aside a couple hours and be sure to listen to each of these teleclasses, as Suzanne and I shared a vast array of highly useful content to help you take your business to the next level.

enjoy!

Kevin

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If you see at least 20 clients per week in your private practice, you already know how frustrating it can be when people don’t show up or they cancel at the last minute.  I have worked with quite a few practitioners who see this as one of the greatest practice struggles they face.  From lost revenue to a choppy schedule, missed appointments can severely undermine the positive momentum of a practice.  Let’s talk about a couple of simple ways to prevent this from happening in your practice.

There are 5 main tips I want to share with you:

1.  Make sure that you have a set cancellation policy for your practice.  I recommend $50 for less than 24 hours notice.  I will usually be flexible for the first no show or late reschedule if I think the client had a genuine reason and they are otherwise committed to the process.

2.  Tell your client this (or have your receptionist do so) as you are checking them out for their first appointment–  “I run a really busy practice here, so if you need to reschedule or you are going to miss an appointment, please just do your best to give me 24 hours notice.  I have a cancellation policy of $50 if I don’t get 24 hours.  Is that agreeable with you?”

Get your client to nod in agreement.

Stating this directly to the client and having them agree to these terms will heighten their commitment to be responsible and respectful within your practice.  People need to hear this directly in order to take it seriously.  Plus, when they hear you state your cancellation policy, they will know that you are serious about enforcing it.

3.  Create a welcome letter to your practice that goes in your new client welcome packet for all new clients, and clearly state your cancellation policy in writing on that letter.  Refer to this letter when you are in step 1 above with the client.  Once they hear it from you and then see it in writing, it adds yet another level of formality that makes them realize that they are dealing with a professional business that has set policies.

Some practices even have the client sign a form that states their cancellation policy.   I would recommend this if this issue has been a major concern within your practice.

4.  Offer pre-pays and automated billing –  If it’s legal in your state, this is a great way to minimize the financial damage caused by no shows or last minute cancellations.  If the client pre-pays or is on an automated billing cycle, then you will be compensated automatically for a violation of your cancellation policy.  Just be sure the client is aware of this when they initially sign up for their package.

5.  Investigate any limiting beliefs about your self-worth — You may be ‘attracting’ less than ideal clients because of certain beliefs you are holding onto about the value you can offer.  If people regularly don’t show up or disrespect your policies, you want to do both an external and internal audit to assess what is causing this to happen.  This external audit has to do with ensuring that you have the right policies and systems in place to prevent potential problems.  The internal audit is all about carefully examining your own belief system to see if there are some less than helpful story lines running the show that are undermining your success.

If you follow these tips closely, you should see a dramatic reduction in no shows and last minute cancellations.  The theme that ties this all together is conveying the impression of being a highly professional business owner who deserves to be taken seriously.  Make sure that your office environment, attire, practice website, brochure, and business card all convey professionalism.

I hope this short post helps you out and enables you to run your practice with less stress than before..

keep me posted,

Kevin

We have been getting tons of questions coming in about the CYOE coaching program that

starts on Wed. 1/25 at 11am PST /2pm EST.   I thought I’d clarify a few aspects of the program

here for you.

Who is this program for?

The program is designed specifically for holistic health practitioners, therapists,

acupuncturists, naturopaths, and chiropractors.

What exactly will we be covering ?

Over the course of 2 months, you’ll learn every single marketing strategy that is proven

to fill a practice with high quality clients.  You’ll also learn the most important practice

management systems and how to set them up.  We’ll be spending quite a bit of our time

expanding your financial blueprint and setting the stage for a much higher level of

success.

You’re basically learning all of the critical skills necessary to ensure the sustainability

and prosperity of your practice in this new era of technology, social media, and the internet.

On top of this, you’ll be given a very powerful model for creating multiple passive income streams

through information products.

What is a webinar/teleclass and how does it work?

A webinar is a live  webcast where you can see my computer screen

and I will take you through a powerpoint presentation and use the internet

to convey specific points.

A teleclass is basically a conference call where you get on the phone with other group

participants and listen to a presentation, then ask questions.

Will the weekly calls be recorded?

Yes, all weekly webinars or teleclasses will be recorded

and uploaded into the forum.

What if I’m not sure that this is right for me?

If you want more patients, freedom, money, and fulfillment in your

practice, then the odds are very good that the CYOE program will be

very helpful on many levels.  Try the program out for 30 days and if you’re not finding

it helpful, you can get a full refund.

I don’t want to market my practice using aggressive techniques.  Should

I still sign up?

Yes– the approach that I teach is 100% education-based utilizing the most

effective online and offline marketing strategies available.  I have seen many

other consultants recommend aggressive tactics and I think this is a big reason

why many practitioners are drawn to my work.  You CAN build a successful practice

being authentic, humble, and non-aggressive.  That is the approach we will focus on.

How much personal coaching can I expect?

At the end of every weekly webinar, there will be time

to ask questions about anything you’re working on.  Plus,

we will have 2 alternate coaching call times where you can get

personal support.  Lastly, the online forum is a great place to post

questions and either I or other group members will help you out.

How long do I get access to the training materials?

The Ning forum where all the content is posted will be available

for at least 1 year— longer if I get requests from people to extend it.

I have never done business coaching for my practice before.  Why should

I consider it now?

If you look at the most successful people in any field of endeavor, just about

all of them will attribute much of their success to the mentoring and coaching

they received along the way.

In your case, it’s likely that you never learned the business and marketing skills

that are crucial to your stability and longevity as a private practice owner.  Skillful

business coaching can dramatically fast track your success and help you avoid the major

pitfalls that cause so many practices to struggle.

I’m just starting out in my practice.  Is this the right time to join?

Absolutely.  This program will give you the foundation that you absolutely

MUST have to be successful in your practice in 2012 and beyond.

I’m already pretty successful.  How can the program help me?

Many practitioners have taken the CYOE program who were already doing

quite well, and across the board they have all said that the tools and support

they received from the program will help them increase their practice from

20-50% very quickly.

Anything you’re doing right now that IS working– we can very likely make it work

even better.

The investment in the program is a lot for me right now.  What should I do?

This is exactly why you need it!  Don’t you want to develop the mindset and skills

that will enable you to completely blow apart your financial limitations?  This is

exactly what this program will help you do.

I’m ready to join!  What’s the next step?

Go to http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/cyoe

We will be starting Wed. 1/25 at 11am PST / 2pm EST.

As you likely know by now, the Create Your Own Economy coaching
program is starting tomorrow.  I have just a few spots left; you can secure

your spot here before I close the program in the next 24 hours by clicking here:

http://buildyourdreampractice.net/cyoe

I wanted to share a quick story that will shed light on a very powerful
resource that we all have to draw on the to create the practice and life we
desire.

Now, you may not know this about me, but I am a HUGE tennis fan.  I play
about 6 days per week and am completely obsessed with this sport.   The
one thing that has always held me back from playing at the level I really
want is my serve.

For the past 2 years, I have tried as hard as I can to ‘improve’ my service
motion, endlessly working on the mechanics, ball toss, timing, and so on.  But
my serve continued to let me down in the big moments of matches.. and frankly,
it has always felt awkward.

Well, last night I decided to practice serving in a new way.  My intention was to
let go of all that I knew about serving, and instead let my body do what felt right.

At first, I habitually resorted to the same old methods, trying hard to hit it in..
analyzing all the details.. and judging myself for the mediocre result.

After hundreds of practice serves that felt like a total struggle, I decided to strip
away all the mechanics and just walk up to the line and hit the ball without
any pretense or thought.

I felt my body and mind relax, threw up the toss, and cracked the best serve
of the night.  Then, I hit about 40-50 in a row in exactly the same way.  Over and
over–without effort– pounding the ball wherever I wanted in the service box.

I literally could not miss.  It was an exhilarating break through, but at the same time
felt like the most natural state to reside in.. like it had been there all along
and all that I had to do was clear away the mental clutter and surrender to
the deeper intelligence within.

For over an hour, I hit the best serves of my life.. and it felt as easy as breathing.

After reflecting on this experience today, I have come to realize that the way I
built my practice had the exact same elements of both struggle and ease.

I know firsthand what it’s like to put a lot of will power and force into building
a practice.. and the frustration and burn out that inevitably ensues.   You may
be experiencing this right now– you’re working too hard for too little result… or
you dwell in confusion a lot of the time, as you’re simply uncertain where you
should put your energy, so you burn a lot of Qi worrying about things.

I also know what it’s like to completely surrender and trust the process.. and
have MAJOR break throughs that led to doubling my practice very quickly.
When I have relaxed into the ‘zone’ of my practice, things just take off– and
FAST.

I truly believe that the key to your success is to train your mind to get in this
‘practice zone’ on a regular basis, so that your business development
comes from a state of natural flow– not force or will power.

This is the basis of our work together in the CYOE program.  Yes, we will
focus a lot on marketing and practice management– but all of this
information is useless to you if your mind is working against you ( i.e.
trying too hard to ‘make things work’).

Getting into the practice zone is the ultimate antidote to the declining
economy, stress, a deficiency of clients, burn out, and financial struggle.

Here’s why good coaching is so important– Unless you have the right
guidance, community, support, and focus, you’ll inevitably struggle WAY
more than you have to in your practice and life.  Why?  Because our
society is hardwired this way.. and we are all highly vulnerable to this
limited way of functioning.

Coaching is what gets you out of this trap, so you can build your practice
coming from a state of creative flow, ease, and enjoyment.  It’s not only
possible– it’s your natural state to live this way.

Remember– the doors close tomorrow, so if you want 2 months  of
deep support and community getting you into the zone and developing
the skills most critical to your success in 2012, then NOW is the time:

http://buildyourdreampractice.net/cyoe

To Getting in the zone!
Kevin Doherty

“What Can I Do TODAY to Attract More Clients and Increase My Practice Revenue?”

This is one of the best questions you can ask yourself on a daily basis.  There are always actions you can take that directly affect your bottom line.  Most of us, however, get in the habit of putting a million things before this question– our paperwork, admin stuff, organizing our office, paying a bill, buying a new technological gadget, and so on.

We tend to avoid this question because it often puts us at the edge of our comfort zone.  It compels us to take action in a way that stretches us.  As a result, we tend to focus on tasks that keep us comfortable– but typically have NOTHING to do with increasing our revenue and seeing more patients.

When you get in the habit of asking this question on a daily basis, you’ll start to put revenue-generating activities first.. and you’ll get more comfortable stepping out of your comfort zone.  Eventually, you’ll find that the actions that directly lead to increased business are seen in a much more positive light.  They may not be comfortable, but they produce excitement in your practice.

What this boils down to is that the actions that directly build your business and generate revenue revolve around marketing your practice.

This entails getting out in your community, building relationships, networking, reactivating old patients, and sharing your message with as many people as will hear it.  Every day, you have the choice to initiate these kinds of activities– or hide in your office doing things that keep you distracted from building your business.

So, what are you going to do TODAY to build your practice?  Let me know in the comments sections below!

Kevin