Archive for the ‘Business Success’ Category

innovative, ground breaking Virtual Conference for Buisness Owners

May 14th, 2010

Are you in business and want to learn about using a Virtual Assistant, or you have a VA, then you’re going to want to join this ground breaking event.

You & Your Client

Building a Prosperous Relationship

May 17th – May 21st, 2010 @ 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM

Join GAVAA this May, for an innovative, ground breaking Virtual Business Conference! Experience a five-day conference with over TEN experts… and learn how to make the most of the VA-Client relationship, regardless of your role.

Register Now If You’re a Virtual Assistant or Independent Professional who utilizes a Virtual Assistant, and you want to learn how to maximize your profits and create a dynamic relationship that grows as the business grows!

You & Your Client Event

Join me 11 AM EST, MAY 19 as I present:

“Want to be a Hero to Your Clients? Discover What Creative Entrepreneurs Are In Desperate Need of and How You Can Profit From Being Their Problem Solver!”

You & Your Client Event

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Posted in Business Success, Marketing, Marketing Strategies | No Comments »

Do You Know What Your Clients Really Want?

May 5th, 2010

handshakeWhen you ask a therapist what they do for a living they say they are a therapist, counselor, social worker, psychologist, marriage and family therapists, etc. Okay, that may be an easy way to identify your profession but it’s not necessarily what your clients are looking for. The problem is when you identify yourself this way you may actually be turning off people from coming to see you. There may be a few people out there who have been looking for a therapist and are so happy to meet you. However, most people are going to politely nod and then go back to their hors d’oeuvers when you introduce yourself that way. You see, when you state you are a therapist, another person may feel uncomfortable (oh no, now I’m going to be analyzed), or they may think, “that’s nice, thank goodness I don’t need therapy”, or “gosh my spouse, child, etc could use some therapy”. So there is an easy way to shift this so that the person you are talking with understands what you do, knows who you work with, and can easily think of someone he/she could refer to you.

First, you need to know who you work with and the results you help them achieve. When you are clear of the type of client you work best with, then you can easily share this. What this does is help the person you are talking with see if they would benefit from your services or if they know of someone who could use your help. People love to connect people together, so when you are clear of whom you work with they will often say, “Oh I know someone who could benefit from that. Can I have your card?”

worldhandsnetworkpeopleSecond, you need to be very specific about the benefits you provide. What are the results your clients get from working with you? If you don’t know the answer, ask your clients. This will help you get crystal clear on the results you help people achieve. People are looking for results not modalities. Research supports that that only 15 % of change is attributed to therapeutic techniques (Hubble, Duncan, Miller, 2006).

Third, you want to convey to your potential clients that you understand them and their problem. Every interaction from in-person meetings to your brochure and your websiteis an opportunity to let your potential client know you understand them. If your website welcomes visitors with extensive information about your modality or uses clinical jargon and terms, or you go into extensive detail about your training, guess what? It’s a big turnoff and your potential client will leave your website quickly because you don’t understand them! (Sorry to those folks out there who talk about accompanying your client during their life journeys and transitions. It may sound poetic but that’s not what your clients are searching for).

Your Assignment: What do well-educated, empathic therapist to do? Do some marketing spring housekeeping.

  1. Clean out all the tired copy on your website and brochures, and freshen it up with what your ideal clients are looking for.
  2. Speak to your clients in the words they would use and ask them what they really want in working with you and how you’ve helped them. So next time you meet someone an networking event you won’t jump to saying you’re a therapist, but instead explain who you help and how you help them. Then watch the referrals start coming in!

nichemoneyIf you need some very clear steps to help you easily describe what you do and the benefits your clients get from working with you, then you are going to want to jump on board the “Niche and Fill my Practice” telecourse  starting May 11th. I’ll walk you through creating your own Niche Blueprint so you can easily share what you do with your potential clients in person and in all of your marketing materials. It’s an easy and fun process that will jumpstart your practice helping you to take action immediately and quickly start to see more clients Resister here: www.businesssuccessfortherapists.com/niche/

Posted in Business Success | 5 Comments »

What action will you take from your learning?

May 3rd, 2010

I spent Saturday among remarkable colleagues at the FL Art Therapy Association conference. It was such a fulfilling opportunity to connect with others across the state who are passionate about what they do and to learn about Positive Psychology, art therapy with trauma, and poverty awareness. There was so much information to digest. Have you ever had that happen, when you leave a conference your head is buzzing?

So, as with all learning experiences, I ask the question, what action will you take from your learning?  Because new information is valuable to help us expand our awareness, however, it is action that will help us make changes. So the next learning opportunity or conference you attend, ask yourself what’s one thing you’re going to do as a result of your learning experience- then go take action!

For

Poppy Terris & Carly Sullens FL Art Therapy Conference
Poppy Terris & Carly Sullens FL Art Therapy Conference

me, my action is clear- thanks to Lisa’s brilliant coaching!

Sonia Thomas, Raquel Farrel-Kirk, Lisa Wasserman
Sonia Thomas, Raquel Farrel-Kirk, Lisa Wasserman

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Posted in Business Success | 1 Comment »

Niche and Fill My Practice Q & A

April 27th, 2010

If you are part of the Niche and Fill My Practice telecourse series you can have your questions answered on the LIVE Q&A call.  Just write down your questions below and your questions may be selected and answered on the third call of the “Niche and Fill My Practice” series.

If you haven’t registered for the call series you can do so here www.businesssuccessfortherapists.com/niche

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Posted in Business Success, Niche and Fill My Practice | 6 Comments »

Want to know what the top 5 areas to specialize in to grow your practice?

April 26th, 2010

Wouldn’t it be nice to know what your potential clients are looking for so you can be of service to them? Imagine how knowing this information could easily position you to step forward in your practice and let those clients know you understand EXACTLY what they need and you are there to help? How would that impact your practice? How would that be of service to your clients?

When you specialize others know what you do and can refer those in need to you. It’s an absolute win:win- for your clients, as well as yourself!

Yet, there are reasons why people don’t specialize, and if you are using one of these as an excuse not to niche your practice, then you will continue to struggle. Here’s the good news- I show you the top 5 areas to specialize in (and a few extra as well) and will lovingly point to the reasons why people don’t niche. The best part, is I will doing this all for F*REE!

So join me tomorrow night as I share my insider strategies on how to niche and fill your practice by signing up here: http://businesssuccessfortherapists.com/nichecall/

I can’t wait to ’see’ you on the call!

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Find Your Niche and Clients Will Find You!

April 21st, 2010

holeinroofDo you see that mess? Well that is my ceiling in the family room of our summerhouse up north. To make a very long story short, our water shut-off valve burst and this was what our neighbor discovered when he went into check on our house!

What a mess- our happy relaxing retreat was turned upside down as over 1000 gallons of water rushed through the bathroom upstairs and down through what was once our ceiling! It was heartbreaking to see the images, and even more heartbreaking to talk with our insurance company!

However, there is something important about this story that will benefit your therapy practice. Once you ‘get’ this you’ll understand exactly why you may not have the number of clients you’d like to see in your therapy practice!

So the heartbreaking news was our home was devastated by water, our hardwood floors damaged, our bathroom completely destroyed, and our ceiling defunct… but it was the discussion with our insurance company that was truly devastating!

Our insurance company adjustor came and made a determination that denied us a claim. Basically, the cost of this damage would need to be paid out-of-pocket. What we are learning in this process will help you in your business, and be the big ‘ah-ha’ that will help you to authentically attract more clients to your practice.

So when we found out our claim was denied by our insurance company, we did EXACTLY what people do when they have a problem. We started to look for a solution!

We did what most people do, and that is we asked people we knew if they had ever had this problem and what they did. We asked a family member in the real estate business if they had ever encountered this problem. We got the name of another insurance company who said they worked with an adjustor company who did exactly what we needed- they took on claims against insurance companies if they believed it was a wrongful determination. Then we spoke to another friend who had a contractor that was an expert in cleanup from water damage, and could help us with reconstruction. We were able to easily search for mold clean-up remediation services, because we knew they would be able to help us with all the water damage and sprouting mold!

Can you see what all of these have in common? They are all specialized experts who have created a very specific and targeted niche. So when we needed help and stared to ask around and do internet research, these experts stood out from the crowd and they were exactly what we were looking for.

The insurance company was able to refer us to the adjustor company because they knew that was their area of expertise (notice there was no competition). The contractor was the perfect fit because he knew exactly what we were dealing with and quickly offered us a solution to fit our needs (of course he was referred because his services matched our needs). The mold remediation specialists were easy to find online in one quick search because their services are so targeted (mind you because they are specialists they charge an EXTREME amount of money)!

So how can this hole in the ceiling mishap help you in your business?

When you niche your practice, you make it crystal clear who you serve and what you offer because you are ready to step in and help your clients with their very specific problems. When you don’t claim a niche you do a disservice to your clients (they won’t know where to find you), as well as your services (you’ll be SLOWLY building your practice and you’ll be poorly compensated for your time)!

So are you niche resistant, meaning you haven’t committed to a niche? Take this quick quiz and see how you score:

  • When people ask you who do you work with you say more than one targeted population
  • When you describe what you do you talk about how your work can help everyone
  • You describe numerous diagnoses you treat in your practice
  • You describe your modality of treatment as your niche
  • You are earning much less than you desire
  • You’ve been in practice for years and you still struggle to get clients

If you score all “Yes”- then it’s time to get an extreme niche makeover!

If you have a majority of “Yes”, you will want to learn how to create a niche that supports you and helps others refer to your practice.

If you do not have a “yes” then whoo hoo! Way to go, keep rocking!

You see there are people out there waiting for your unique brilliance to help them. When you deny stepping into your unique gifts, you deny those clients an opportunity to work with you.

If it weren’t for the all those professionals who found their niche and specialized in their expertise, we would still be looking for help for our house with little success. SO the lesson learned- niche and clients will find you!

Want my insider strategies on how to create a profitable niche aligned with the work you love to do? Join me for a complimentary call where I’ll reveal how to Niche and Fill Your Practice.

http://www.businesssuccessfortherapists.com/nichecall/

If you are new to starting a private practice, or you’ve been in business for years and still missing that magic piece to help you fill your practice, then you are not going to want to miss this F*REE call! Join me on Tuesday, April 27th at 8:30- EST as I share my insider strategies on how to Niche and Fill Your practice.

http://www.businesssuccessfortherapists.com/nichecall/

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Posted in Business Success | 2 Comments »

What’s your area of specialization?

April 13th, 2010

You have taken the time and energy to complete all your coursework, get your license, and now you’ve started your practice. All those years of education didn’t prepare you to when you stepped outside of the comforts of an agency position. However, you are resilient and figured out all the business basics, and even got yourself an accountant, now where are the clients? Yes, in growing your business there is always continuing education- just without CEU’s!

The next step in creating a successful thriving practice is to establish your niche, or you area of expertise. When you create your niche you let the clients whom you are looking for your unique gifts know you are ready to serve them and exactly how you can help.

So if you do not have a niche it’s time to start exploring why and then to take action to make some changes.

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What’s Next in Growing Your Business?

March 25th, 2010

All right, you listened to all the empowering topics last week during the telesummit, and wrote down copious notes, and thought, “yes I can do that”…then what?

Life happened, work happened, things got busy, you got distracted, and all of a sudden you get my newsletter in your inbox and your thinking, “oh yeah, I forgot- I was going to do ________(fill in blank).

Okay, your human, life happens, we get busy, overwhelmed, and one more to-do seems just overwhelming. Or maybe you really don’t know where to start, so you’ll put it off for a bit.

Or maybe you are one of the so many people who share with me that they had taken action, created a blog, or implemented SEO for your website. WHOO HOO! I celebrate your steps, even the ittty bitty ones.

For those of you who seem a bit overwhelmed, and even for those of you who took action and are now wonder what’s next. I’d thought I’d offer some support.

Here’s a way to map out your vision of your business that’s authentic and congruent with your vision and values.

and you don’t need to waste your time with excessive business plans to do this.

1. Where to you want to be in 6-months to a year? Write about it, envision it, and become crystal clear.

2. Why is this so important to you?

3. Have you made a commitment to do what ever it takes to achieve this goal? If so, what does that mean to you?

4. What’s your step-by-step plan to achieve this? This is where you get very specific about what you are doing, the time it will take, the outcomes you desire, what support you will need along the way. Most people get stuck on the “how”. They don’t know what they don’t know, so they keep doing the same thing and operating under the same beliefs and actions. This is where most people get frustrated and spend years wasting time and energy, and often where they give up.

So how can you move forward if you don’t know what steps to take?

You can’t really. However, you can learn.

So it’s time to do some research and explore programs, books, and mentors who can help you with this process.

You see, everything you do should lead you into the next step. Meaning the next step for your clients to work with you, the next step you can connect with people after meeting them, the next step you can take to educate potential clients on the benefits you offer and how they can work with you. There should always be a next step.

If you take the time and write out your response to the 4 questions above you have yourself a map of where you want to go, now it’s time to take the next step and take action.

Depending upon where you are in your practice it could mean establishing your niche (that’s the foundation if you haven’t done this yet), it could be establishing your brand so you clearly convey what you do and who you work with, it could be creating marketing systems so you know what you’re working on and when, it could be developing your ’signature system’ to help clients understand the benefits they get from working with you, it could be creating programs and packages to offer your current clients, it could be learning how to have a “connecting conversation” so you authentically enroll new clients into your practice, it could be designing your ‘profit pyramid’ whereby all of your programs and products are mapped out for the year, so you know what income you are creating and where to focus your time and energies.

Now it’s time to step forward and decide, what’s next. If you don’t know what’s next, how committed are you to learn and take action? It’s every action that you take in the right direction of your goals that will help you achieve what you desire swiftly. So out of the list of steps, decide what you’ll focus on and then take action to learn and implement it- really it’s that easy!

If you are in need of support and want to move swiftly to create more income then I invite you to learn more about the 6 month ‘Create A Business I Love’ blueprint for an authentic 6- figure + business platinum program

I’ll show you the blueprint to create a profitable authentic practice quickly, so you can implement the strategies and see results!

**PLUS THE 1st 4 PEOPLE TO REGISTER GET THIS BIG BONUS**
(and there’s only 2 bonuses left)
Two individual laser coaching calls to get clear about your business and
where you’ll take action to create income quickly!

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Posted in Business Success, Help many more people, Leverage Your Time, Listening to Your Heart, Marketing | No Comments »

Change is Inevitable; Struggle is Optional

March 22nd, 2010

If you are in private practice, this is a good motto to adopt. You see the belief that as a therapist you need to struggle and get paid minimally for your services, is truly optional. There is a beautiful liberation when you discover that you have these transformative and empowering gifts you share with our clients, which can dramatically change their lives. When you value your time, freedom, and the work you do, you create a space to consider how you can easily and gracefully bring these gift to others.

So I ask you to take a look at any of the areas you are struggling in your business (from getting more clients, to connecting more with colleagues, being paid well and consistently, to creating your niche). Here’s where you get to work your magic. Look at these areas with gentleness and curiosity, as you would another. What is the struggle telling you? Are there areas you need to let go of, things you need to do less of, more support needed, clear direction, less confusion? What does the struggle what you to know?

I like to use my art and ask the question and see what is revealed. Often using the art allows me to get in touch with thoughts and feelings I was even unaware of.

When you become aware of the struggle, you can make changes.

So ask yourself after doing this exercise, “What’s next”?

Then allow yourself to truly listen.

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Posted in Business Success, Listening to Your Heart, Mindset | No Comments »

Celebrating a successful telesummit- what did you learn?

March 18th, 2010

Phew! What a remarkable week it has been following the Therapist Resource Telesummit. We had people all over the globe listening and writing in to share their experiences! Thank you. Here’s a well said comment from Dr. Ralph Wilson:

Laura,
Thank you from this grateful individual; I am sure that you have received many notes of thanks. The telesummit has already been worth many times more than the Platinum early signup fee that I paid.

I am now busy into implementing changes and additions to my practice because of what I heard and what I found on several websites of presenters and others that I found during this intensively creative week. The event has been catalytic.

Thanks for your dynamic presence via the Internet. This is a deeply gratifying time to be a human being, we are activating rich potentials that are being unlocked through teachings such as yours.

Ralph Wilson, N.D., Counselor
www.NaturalConnectionsHealthcare.com

What’s one thing of value you are taking away from the telesummit?  I’d love to hear what you learned and are implementing in your practice!

Laura

Posted in Beliefs and Money, Business Success, Help many more people, Marketing | No Comments »

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