3 Reasons to Identify A Niche For Your Private Practice
When starting out, especially as a new therapist, it can be tempting to want to help everyone. I’ve heard many therapists describe themselves as “generalists”.
The thinking is that the more people we can potentially serve, the more clients we will get, right?
Uh, wrong…
The reality is, that clients don’t want to work with a generalist, and they typically aren’t attracted by marketing that caters to everyone.
Clients want to work with someone who specializes in them and what they are going through. When you “niche down” and speak directly to one client type, you do three things:
Reach more people
At first, the idea of focusing on a small group of people can seem counterintuitive. We’re afraid that we’ll reach fewer people. The reason you actually reach more is that when you are too broad in your messaging, people don’t pay attention. The more specific you are, the more it grabs the attention of the right people and the more likely they are to pay attention to you and reach out to you.
Fill your practice faster
It can take a long time to fill your practice as a new therapist. The reason being is because most of us start out as “generalists”, targeting a broad range of people. As a result, most people don’t pay attention to what we’re saying because it isn’t relevant to them. When you hone in on one client type, they pay attention faster and are more likely to reach out because they trust that you are the right therapist for them.
Work with clients you love
One of the benefits of “nicheing down” is that you can focus on the clients that you truly love to serve. You get to choose who you work with and what types of issues you treat. In this way, you stay within your scope of practice and get better results. This is a win-win for both you and your clients!
When you get clear about who you work with, how you can help them, and what results they can expect it is easier to craft your message. This makes marketing a whole lot easier because instead of trying to speak to everyone, you’re really only speaking to one person. You can get super specific about what they’re struggling with, what they’re afraid of, what they’re hoping for and what they need. When you do this, your ideal client will feel as though you’re talking directly to them! What better way to build trust?
Therapists who focus in on a specific niche fill their practice faster and get more enjoyment. Ultimately, this means a more sustainable income and less burnout!
As a bonus, you’ll also begin to generate word-of-mouth referrals! When you work with clients you love, they’ll love to talk about you! Pretty soon, your current and former clients will become your primary source of advertising.
Niching lets you cut through the clutter and chaos of the internet with a clear marketing message so you more easily inspire the clients that you love to work with to take action and work with you.
So how do you do this?
You do it by following this simple 4 step process:
Figure out who you love to work with.
Figure out what transformation you love to facilitate for this population.
Figure out the language they use when they talk about their pain, problems and what they want and need you to help them achieve.
Communicate your desire and ability to help them achieve this result in their words.
Need more support figuring out how to implement this process in your own practice?
If you’re still dreaming about private practice, or getting ready to launch, join our Launch Your Practice Program that will walk you step-by-step through everything you need to do (including finding your niche!) to build, launch and grow your own private practice.
