How to Network with People | Marketing Your Psychotherapy Private Practice
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With all the awesome advances in technology we have access to in order to help us build our practice, networking wins out when it comes to marketing in private practice. In this video I share with you why you should be networking and how to do it well.
This video is geared for therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field.
Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.
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Music Credit:
"Up Here" by Ikson
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This video is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.
First off, for ya’ll youngins out there, what is networking?
When I first started out, I thought networking meant going to stuffy meetings and exchanging business cards with others in various fields like physicians and lawyers. This kind of gathering isn’t totally fruitless, but this isn’t the kind of networking I’m talking about here.
I’m talking about pulling out you’re inner scrappy self and meeting people. Like for real, face to face!
Sit down and make a list of your networks. Who are your networks? All the people you already know in life! Start with your mom, the rest of your family, friends, neighbors, former classmates, old teachers, coworkers, intramural sports buddies, dentist, grocer, chiropractor, and so on. People you already know are your base of potential referring networks.
Be social! Not the social media kind of social. The face-to-face kind. You know, when you meet people in-person and actually talk to them? Don’t get me wrong, I love me some social media networking, but the face to face stuff is the ticket. [I told you this video is all about old-school networking.] If you meet people through social media, try to connect in-person when possible! I’ve already connected face to face with some of you who have found me through KZfaq, Facebook, and Instagram and are local to the Bay Area [“call me!”]. Stay in touch with your networks and offer to treat people to coffee or hop on a short call when relevant topics come up. I love this tip because being a genuinely good human being to the people around me is who I want to be regardless (and hopefully you do too), and it has the bonus impact of building your referral networks. As people see your character, they’re more likely to refer to you.
Don’t oversell your work. If you’re meeting someone face-to-face for coffee to network, don’t spend the whole time talking about your therapy work. Talk to them like a person. Because they are a person. Ask them questions about who they are, talk about life, make a genuine connection. If they know you’re a therapist they will naturally send clients to you when they know someone in need of support. Keep in mind, your character and integrity are your brand. You don’t need to sell your work as a therapist, you just need to be yourself to highlight your trustworthiness.
I know these tips may sound so simple, and maybe even stuck in the stone age, but I assure you an hour spent face-to-face with a human being is going to bring you more referrals than an hour spent in front of your computer screen. If you’ve already got a website and an office set up, get out there and meet with people!
I have a goal for myself of meeting up with about 2 people per month outside of the people I interact with in my usual day-to-day routine. Give it a try! It could be someone in your yoga class that you’ve always wanted to get to know or it could be reaching out to a fellow therapist you found on Psychology Today or Instagram. Don’t make it too complicated and get out there!
If I’m honest, this isn’t just good for business, it’s downright healthy to interact with other humans more often. So go take care of yourself and boost your business at the same time by meeting with your networks. Until next time, from one therapist to another, I wish you well.