How to Attract Adolescents as Your Ideal Client

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Ideal Client

Is your ideal client adolescents? Q&A was part of Next Level Practice, the most supportive community for therapists starting a private practice. In this video, Joe answers the question based on how to attract adolescents as your ideal client.

Question: How to Attract Adolescents as Your Ideal Client

Rachel: I’m looking to focus my practice on adolescents and families and would love to know how to brand my niche. I’m a school social worker full-time in a middle school.

Adolescents as Ideal Client Answer

Joe: I would do some events aimed at those parents and maybe even some events that are low-cost summer camp type things. You want to look at your state laws with regards to how to host a summer camp, or a half-day thing. If you think about tweens and teens, that’s a tough group if parents are working full-time. So, if you hosted a three-hour or four-hour thing every day for a week, and you make it $100 per kid, or $200 per kid to make it worth your time, that could definitely be a great way to offer something that then gets people in the door.

Summer Camp

You may want to hire someone else that would help you with that, for like $15 an hour. It just depends on how big you want to go. Especially with summer coming up, I know a lot of parents with tweens and teens who don’t really know what to do with their kids. So that could be a good way to structure it.

I ran a summer camp for kids (adolescents) that were on probation. On the Monday of the week, what we did is we had a local chef come in and teach us how to cook something. So, they gave us a list of what we needed to buy, and we went to a grocery store, bought all that, and then they taught us how to create a dish, and we ate it for lunch. And then, on Tuesday, we just did a fun activity. Wednesday, we did something like board games and then a hike outside. Thursday, we did some other social skills building activity, and then, Friday, what we did is we went and visited that restaurant. So, it may be worth it for you to start a small program, or at least test it out. It wouldn’t have to be a week-long thing, maybe it’s just like a one-day thing where, at lunchtime, the teens and tweens gather – and you want to be clear about the age group, because if it’s an 11 year old and a 17-year old that’s a little weird – and have  someone that comes in and teaches them how to make lunch. And then, you guys go to their food truck for dinner. That could be a fun thing to do, while you’re also talking about social skills and life skills.

Facebook Groups

Some other things that are really helpful is connecting with different moms groups within Facebook. There are so many moms groups, in every community. Some trade things, but there’s also ones that are more advice based. I’d connect with the admin for that group and just let them know that you’re a local therapist and you want to provide value in that Facebook group. You’re not going to be pitching your services, but you’re going to jump in and answer questions that maybe are a little more complex. And that, if there was ever a weird issue, you’d like to be a support for that admin. That admin may allow you to do Facebook lives from that group to talk about different mental health issues.

I would then make your Facebook profile have what your business is and linked to your business very clearly. Also, if that’s your focus, I’d say you want to also be on Pinterest. Create some content on Pinterest, i.e.: five things that teens are going through. Talk about technology and the brain and sleep and those things that are really hot topics right now. Look at the things that are trending and steal that trend – that’s called ‘trend jacking’.

Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC

joe-sanok-private-practice-consultant-headshot-smaller-versionJoe Sanok is an ambitious results expert. He is a private practice business consultant and counselor that helps small businesses and counselors in private practice to increase revenue and have more fun! He helps owners with website design, vision, growth, and using their time to create income through being a private practice consultant. Joe was frustrated with his lack of business and marketing skills when he left graduate school. He loved helping people through counseling, but felt that often people couldn’t find him. Over the past few years he has grown his skills, income, and ability to lead others, while still maintaining an active private practice in Traverse City, MI. To link to Joe’s Google+ .