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Do you want to learn how to sell your therapy services successfully? How can a private practice boost its intake calls to convert more clients? When should you discuss finances with a new client?
In this podcast episode, Joe Sanok speaks with Nikki Rausch about how to sell successfully and improve your intake calls to get more private pay clients.
Podcast Sponsor: Heard
As a therapist, you’re probably too preoccupied with your caseload to want to think about bookkeeping or tax filing. Heard can help you out with that. Heard is a bookkeeping and tax platform built specifically for therapists in private practice that helps you track and improve your practice’s financial health. Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned clinician or are in the first year of your practice, Heard will help you to identify areas for growth and streamline best financial practices for your business.
When you sign up with Heard, you’ll work directly with financial specialists to track your income and expenses, file taxes online, and grow your business. You’ll also receive financial insights such as profit and loss statements and personalized monthly reports. You can say goodbye to poring over spreadsheets and guessing your tax deductions or quarterly payments; focus on your clients, and Heard will take care of the rest.
Plans begin at $149 per month and can easily be tailored to fit your business’ financial needs. Sign up now at www.joinheard.com.
Meet Nikki Rausch
Nikki Rausch is the founder of Sales Maven and a Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. She works with solopreneurs and small business owners who are passionate about their products and services and need additional skills to build rapport with potential clients.
Nikki has received numerous sales awards, shattered sales records across industries, and was featured in Female Entrepreneur Magazine. A sought-after speaker, she regularly shares the results of success through illuminating keynote addresses and business-changing workshops.
Visit Sales Maven, listen to Nikki’s podcast, and read her books. connect with Nikki on Instagram and LinkedIn.
FREEBIE: Grab Your Free Copy of Nikki’s e-book, Closing the Sale, when you visit her website!
In This Podcast
- Avoid being too focused on the outcome
- First contact tips for private practices to boost conversion
- When should you have the financial discussion with new clients?
- Advertise your team
- Nikki’s advice to private practitioners
Avoid being too focused on the outcome
Do not focus so much on yourself, and rather direct your attention towards the desires and pain points of your audience. How can you help them?
We do a lot of talking at people instead of talking with people, and I think that’s where the wheels start to come off. (Nikki Rausch)
Sales can feel uncomfortable when you are making it too much about you, and not about the other person.
Focus on how your service or product is going to help your audience instead of only looking at the income or your final outcome.
When you start [focusing on] what’s going on for this other person, do they have a problem? Do they have a need? Do they have a want? And do I have a solution that would meet that need, that want, or solve that problem? If so, then it’s my job to put an opportunity in front of them and let them decide, not decide for them. (Nikki Rausch)
First contact tips for private practices to boost conversion
1 – Consider the questions that you are asking and how you frame them: you want to lead the person to realize that you can help them.
2 – Increase confidence in the client: ask the client questions to find out their key phrases, and then use those words back to them.
I’m going to stand in my place of expertise and I’m going to recommend … “that we start with scheduling you out for one session a week for the next four weeks, is that something you’d like to move forward with?” Issue that invitation, let them say “yes”, and I’m going to say, “great, let’s get that on our calendars now.” (Nikki Rausch)
3 – Schedule the sessions in advance: when your client approves that they want to start therapy with you, schedule out the next batch of sessions in advance.
4 – Preframe with a prospective client: pre frame the sessions to set the stage for what they may experience in therapy which helps to create a sense of safety.
5 – Take the lead: lead the prospective client with a set of questions instead of asking them to “tell you everything”.
When should you have the financial discussion with new clients?
Take your queues from your clients, but realistically, schedule first and then talk money. For the client, it is more about the solution than the money but if you are nervous or scared to talk about finances, your fears about sales and money could be projected onto them.
Advertise your team
It’s really important that when you are talking about your team that you don’t in any way imply that they are “second stream” … what you want to [say] is, “based on what you’ve shared my recommendation would be that you work with X because they are amazing in this area and I think they’re the perfect person for you”. (Nikki Rausch)
If a client calls and wants to work with the private practice owner as their therapist, do not treat the owner as the “top” therapist in the practice.
Advertise the expertise and skill of your team to prospective clients to let them know that they would be well-taken care of within the practice and with whichever clinician you recommend them to.
Take out unnecessary steps and make it as easy as possible for a new client to work with your team.
Nikki’s advice to private practitioners
If people are engaging with you in some way, then they are giving you a buying signal. It is your job to earn their business, and you do that by inviting them to take the next steps with you.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Useful Links mentioned in this episode:
- When you sign up with Heard, you’ll work directly with financial specialists to track your income and expenses, file taxes online, and grow your business. Sign up now at www.joinheard.com.
- Visit Sales Maven, listen to Nikki’s podcast, and read her books. connect with Nikki on Instagram and LinkedIn.
- Slow Down School tickets are on sale now
- Get this 28-step checklist for starting a practice
- Find out more about Group Practice Launch
- Check out Group Practice Boss
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- Ask Joe: Should I start a private practice? | PoP 708
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- Apply to work with us — a decision-making matrix for your next steps
Meet Joe Sanok
Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners that are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.
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