• Creativity
• Curiosity
• Determination
• Persistence
• An open mind

Creativity Is Essential For Therapists

Therapists must be creative in their promotion. Don’t be afraid to “think outside the box”. Open your mind and let your imagination run free. Use those ideas in your promotional plans. This doesn’t mean everything you try will work perfectly. You will need to make adjustments, but your promotional efforts get a little better with each change.

You need to grab the attention of potential clients. What can you do that will grab their attention and that will be unique and memorable? These are the kind of things you need to do.

Promotional Success for Curious Therapists

Are you a curious person? Do you like to learn more about the things around you? You will benefit from finding a way to use that inborn curiosity to offer better therapy to your clients and potential clients.

Curiosity can help you discover new ways to promote your work to potential clients. Whether you offer one specialized type of therapy or a cafeteria style list of therapy options, you should keep looking for better ways to promote them.

Did you notice how curiosity and creativity work together? An open mind is great benefit for your creative abilities.

Effective Therapists Show Determination and Persistence

Determination and persistence are two qualities that some people believe are positive traits, while others consider them to be negative. Their perspective depends on how you exhibit these qualities. Determination and persistence are positive traits, but you can drive other people crazy if you are overly persistent or determined in an irritating way. Ask yourself - are you persistent or obnoxious? There is a big difference between those two traits.

As a therapist, you need to be persistent. This applies to your medical school training, learning and honing your craft, choosing which therapy to focus on, finding a position or starting your own practice, promoting your practice and many other elements of being a successful therapist.

When you are persistent, you see a project through to the end or until you reach your goals. However, how do you react when you approach someone and they aren’t interested? Do you continue to pester them even when they are obviously not interested? This applies to clients, friends, family, doctors, therapists and other people you encounter when promoting your practice.

There are very few people who respond in a positive way when they are pestered and badgered and especially when you want them to buy a service or product. They may agree to a consultation to get rid of you, but they won’t work with you on a long term basis. These are the kind of people who give you a wrong phone number or they call and cancel their appointment. Will they make an effort to help promote your practice? Or will they make an effort to avoid you? It’s likely they will avoid you and not refer their friends to your practice.

You can get good results without being a pain. Be enthusiastic and persistent, but there are times when you need to take ‘no’ for an answer. Make the rejection positive by asking if there are specific reasons why they aren’t interested. Use these comments to improve your approach or your practice promotion. Any time someone turns you down you can learn something about how to improve your approach, your technique and your promotion.

Keep An Open Mind in Your Promotion

We never know where the best promotional ideas will originate. When people approach you about an idea, give them a chance to share their thoughts and suggestions. This is a time when you need to keep an open mind. Consider the idea and decide if the suggestion is useful for you. If you don’t understand the idea, ask questions and get some additional details. Many of these ideas are sketchy or will have limited details. But often suggestions can give you ideas to use, or they may spark new thoughts and ideas.

The simple answer is to give people a chance to share their ideas. If the thoughts are useless, then toss them out. Very few suggestions turn into wonderful ideas, but you will never find the golden nuggets if you don’t open your mind.

As you hone your promotional skills and develop these qualities, you can become a successful therapist who knows how to promote your practice in an effective way.

Kim Richardson - the therapists' coach - helps you make a success of your therapy business. To download your FREE 7 Part mini course please see his small business coaching website.