We often hear that we need to niche down to make money. That if we niche down, that will help our businesses and help prevent burnout. But how do we niche down when we don’t have the luxury of too many clients?
It seems counter-intuitive not to take clients because they do not fit our narrow parameters. It becomes a big problem to reduce clients and niche down while we are trying to build a business, pay our bills, and eat. I would suggest that it can be done, but it must be
done strategically and over a six-month period.
If you work for an agency or someone else, you may at times take clients that are assigned to you whether they fit your wheelhouse. Even in my group practice, there are times when I need one of my therapists to take on a client that might not be 100% in their specialty. There are also occasional times that clients will call into the office and request a specific therapist, and we try to honor that request.
As you build your business, define the clients that you really enjoy working with. Which clients do you dread coming into the office? Which ones do you look forward to? There are also clients that you understand and can work with, but they might not be the perfect match. Think about your training and the education in that specialty you enjoy how many clients are you getting in this area?
It can take six months to a year to develop a caseload of the clients you want to work with. Use that time to write blogs and web copy directly to those clients. Use your social media accounts to get your information out there. Find speaking engagements that help you showcase your knowledge. Some organizations in our community where we have found work well include PTA/PTOs, school events, women’s clubs, Rotary, Chambers of Commerce, health events, and doctor’s offices. We have provided information on subjects like child abuse, ADHD, preparing your child for school, mental health and diabetes, college students, stress reduction, suicide prevention, and what is therapy like in the room? Each topic we have presented on we typically get one to five new clients. These clients are part of the niches we serve.
Additionally, we have been careful when we work with insurance companies to fill out our paperwork carefully and only select the specialties that we want to work with. I know sometimes there is a tendency to want to check more of the specialties boxes just to get on the panel, but then you will get a client that you are not the right fit. Please resist the temptation to do so. This system is not 100% foolproof, and sometimes you will have clients referred to you that say they are coming in for one thing, but then it becomes apparent that their concern is something very different. However, most of the clients are checking you out before they call, and certainly before they come to see you. I have many clients tell me they came to see me because on my video and that they felt I would understand them more than another therapist.
Once you have a full caseload of clients that are paying your bills, you have the luxury to screen the incoming clients for those clients that best fit your area expertise as space becomes available. Most therapists have clients at different stages in the treatment cycle, and you can replace these completed clients with new ones that want to work on issues that you have the most knowledge about. Usually, on my caseload, I only have one or two finishing treatment within a month. Therefore, the number of new clients in a month that I need is relatively small. Which then makes your job much easier.
Give yourself some time to get the system working for you, and then you will have an entire caseload of clients that you are doing your best work.
Check out also my video on Niching Down But I Need To Eat