This is the same feedback that I have received time and time again when onboarding new therapy clients. It provides us with a powerful insight about how to stand out in the therapy market.
Honestly this feedback shocked me, and is something that has directly impacted the way that I operate my business every. single. day.
If you apply this information to your practice, there is a very high likelihood of increasing your caseload right away. Let's go!
At some point in my intake and onboarding process, I ask the client why they chose to work with ME.
If you aren't already asking this question, it's not a selfish question- it can provide you a lot of helpful insight about your client like:
What they perceive about your style / technique / personality as a therapist and any assumptions they have about you
Therapeutic preferences they have such as feeling safer with a certain gendered clinician
What they value in a helper / helping-relationship
What their therapy-search process was like
If there are any dual relationships / other commonalities between the two of you
If there are already any interesting attachment dynamics between you and the client
As you can imagine, I get a range of answers as to why someone was drawn to work with me. I'm specific enough in my marketing, that I'm not usually surprised by the answers.
HOWEVER, what shocks me is the number of times someone will say, "I reached out to several providers and you were just the first one to get back to me."
The client may go on to expand that they've been trying to get a hold of providers for weeks, even months sometimes, with truly NO RESPONSES TO THEIR EMAILS OR THEIR VOICEMAILS.
I might not even be their first, second, or third preference but I was the person who responded to their reach for help.
This taught me a valuable lesson- never underestimate the power of a quick reply. My policy for general communications is a 2-3 business-day turn around. My clients who are in urgent need know how to by-pass that. But when it comes to new client inquiries, whether via voicemail, email, or website I try to respond within less than 24 hours, and I believe this has earned me MANY clients.
There was a time in the early days of my business that I actually did the opposite: I waited a couple of days to respond to a new inquiry, because I didn't want to appear too eager. But here's the deal, as a business owner I AM eager for new clients and they are eager for help. There should be no shame in that.
IDK about you...but for me...if I am feeling so unwell that I have decided to reach out to a provider (whether this is mental health or physical health) I am most likely past-due for the support. Every minute counts when onboarding a therapy patient.
In summary, when it comes to building our caseloads, its encouraging to remember that sometimes its not about fancy business strategy, having the best website, or the perfect social media ads..more often than not, its about rock-solid customer service, which starts with timely communication.
It doesn't have to be complicated or fancy.
I hope this encourages you and the growth of your business this week!
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