Marketing Private Practice

[psychedaboutpsych123]

Hi all,

I am looking to start a small private practice on the side of my primary job in a hospital. Because I am going to keep it small, I am NOT accepting insurance. I'm listed on Psych Today and have a website, but that's it (no insurance website listing because, well, I'm not taking it right now).

Every day I regret not paying more attention to the one private practice didactic I attended in grad school.

Any suggestions on how best to market a private practice? THANKS

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[AbnormalPsych]

 

[WisNeuro]

Join your state association and see if they have a practice division listserv. Calls for referrals get sent in our daily.

 

[smalltownpsych]

In addition to the website and Psychology Today, I get referrals from a couple of practitioners I know. Depends on what kind of practice you are looking at doing and who you know as to where to put the energy.

 

[PsyDr]

1) You're trying to get into the most competitive payor market out there... on a part time basis, likely in one of the least desired time slots. That's a challenge.
2) What population likes YOU? Forget what disorder you treat. Forget what population you like. Who likes YOU? Suburban? Urban? Men? Women? Young? Old? Children? Some specific ethnicity? Some specific type of religious type? Some specific occupation? Some specific hobby? This is your market target.
3) Among your defined target, who has MONEY to pay for your work? What factors make you know they have money? Look for those factors.
4) WHERE are they? Church? Schools? Lions Club? Comic book store?
5) Define WHY they benefit from your services, as opposed to other services. Maybe you offer something scarce, or private, or have time slots that no one else will take, or a CV that comes from the Ivy League.
6) Now get an answering service, then a website, then business cards, then all the rest of it.
7) Create an elevator pitch using the above. 15 seconds. Who you are, what you are selling, why your service is better than the alternative, and something memorable.
8) Contact the top guy at #4. Offer a talk, with a takeaway that shows benefit. After the talk, give #7, hand out business cards.
9) Be patient. If you market too aggressively, you'll have to turn people away. That will destroy your long term survivability.

 

[texanpsychdoc]

1) You're trying to get into the most competitive payor market out there... on a part time basis, likely in one of the least desired time slots. That's a challenge.
2) What population likes YOU? Forget what disorder you treat. Forget what population you like. Who likes YOU? Suburban? Urban? Men? Women? Young? Old? Children? Some specific ethnicity? Some specific type of religious type? Some specific occupation? Some specific hobby? This is your market target.
3) Among your defined target, who has MONEY to pay for your work? What factors make you know they have money? Look for those factors.
4) WHERE are they? Church? Schools? Lions Club? Comic book store?
5) Define WHY they benefit from your services, as opposed to other services. Maybe you offer something scarce, or private, or have time slots that no one else will take, or a CV that comes from the Ivy League.
6) Now get an answering service, then a website, then business cards, then all the rest of it.
7) Create an elevator pitch using the above. 15 seconds. Who you are, what you are selling, why your service is better than the alternative, and something memorable.
8) Contact the top guy at #4. Offer a talk, with a takeaway that shows benefit. After the talk, give #7, hand out business cards.
9) Be patient. If you market too aggressively, you'll have to turn people away. That will destroy your long term survivability.

This is really awesome advice, and is consistent with other sources I've researched on the topic. I will admit, my first run at an LLC back in Ohio was interesting. I was operating in a small farming town 40 min. west of Columbus where the mean income was $34K. My price tag was way too high for those folks, and I didn't accept insurance. I had very few clients to say the least. That's when I started to branch out more in forensic work to compensate. Now that I have a new LLC in Texas, I am learning from my mistakes. I live in one of the richest suburbs in the Greater Houston area where places like plastic surgeons practice. I did market a bit too aggressively in Ohio, so I am not going to do that now. I have since started to email psychiatrists and family physicians around me to let them know my doors are open.

 

[psychedaboutpsych123]

This was all so helpful! Thanks everyone