Setting Up A New Practice

HI,
I'm planning on setting up a new hypnosis clinic in Fort Worth in the coming new year. I've been self employed for...well, so long I'm not sure I want to say! I currently have a professional counseling business, and offer retreats, workshops, etc. I plan on keeping the clinic separate from my practice to encourage other mental health practitioners to refer for hypnosis treatment. I will work the clinic some but mainly will have contract hypnotists working for me. I'm currently considering location and I'd love some input on the following questions.
1. Is there a particular demographic that seeks hypnosis more often? women, men, middle class, working class, all, etc.?
2. Retail space or office space? If office space should it absolutely have a visible sign outside?
3. Where would you locate your space? busy intersection, trendy part of town, out of the way?
4. What are your favorite ways to market a new business?
5. What do you think the biggest mistake people make starting a new hypnosis business?

Thank you very much for your consideration and help.
Rebecca

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Permalink Reply by Richard Nongard - NLPBoard.com on December 5, 2008 at 6:54pm

1.) The demographic will depend on the location of the therapist, price, and the a/s/l of the therapist. Different people respond to different people. I always advertize though with a demographic in mind of 30-60 age group in newspapers where people can afford to pay for services. To me this deomographic wants to change and has the resources.
2.) I had retail in my old location, now I have office space. I opted for office space because I found the premium I paid for retail did not translate into clients.
3.) Medical center area, epsecially since you are licensed. Or since you are in a BIG city, an area of town served by nich advertising. Perhaps close to Lake Worth. Any nice office park with a lot of other offices is good, one can generate a lost of referrals for the other professionals nearby.
4.) Google AUDIO ads on radio, local CLASSIFIEDs. If I were you I would not pass up an ongoing ad on the pagpage of both the FW Weekly and the Dallas Observer.... Just run it weekley forever.
5.) Practicing like a psychotherapist rather than a hypnotit. By that I mean, they come for one thing, pay for one thing and thats it. I do not address or work on other issues. My job is not to help them get to the top of the Maslovian escalator, but rather to find a solution to a specific problem. It is the ultimate brief therapy.
And of course, I think another error is trading dollars for hours rather than selling solutions.

Glad your here! And hopefully others will give you some good opinions also!

Richard

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Jeffers M.Ed., LPC, CCH on December 7, 2008 at 12:30am

Hi Richard,
Thanks for the lone reply! As always your feedback is generous and extremely helpful.
Much appreciated,
Rebecca

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Permalink Reply by Katherine Zimmerman on December 7, 2008 at 7:39am

Hi Rebecca,

My favorite ways to market my practice have been speaking to groups and teaching.
I have cut a section from my book for you:
Public speaking
Public speaking is the cheapest and most effective form of advertising. Not only do you have a chance to educate a group about your specialty but they also meet you in person. It is reassuring to people to find out that holistic practitioners are just like everyone else.
What, no public speaking skills? Take a speech or drama class, attend Toastmasters, use self hypnosis for confidence and practice on anyone who will listen. For those of you not in the field of hypnotherapy, find a hypnotherapist and offer your expertise as a trade for hypnosis for public speaking. It is an extremely useful business skill and it will expand your practice. In 1989 I was terrified to speak in public. How I overcame that terror is discussed in the chapter on Teaching for Fun and Profit.
Here are some guidelines to writing effective speeches. Have a catchy opening. Make no more than three main points for a 30 minute speech. Tell stories about personal experiences or those of your clients (anonymously) to make your points. People respond well to stories. If you are speaking for a company, request the names of their five top employees. Ask each of the five twenty questions that you have prepared in advance. For example, have they had presenters before? What did they like and not like about the presentations? Your goal is to learn as much as you can about the group.
Be sure to personalize each speech that you give. I once spoke to the UC Davis Medical Center Burn Support Group. The group consisted of burn survivors and their families and friends. There were fifty people at this meeting. They were interested in self hypnosis as a tool for relaxation, developing a positive outlook, accelerating physical healing, relieving stress and as a coping mechanism. I kept these points in mind as I wrote.
The group was very interested in the presentation and everything went well. However, there was a bit of a flaw in the presentation. The group facilitator asked if I would do a short guided relaxation so that they could experience what I had been describing. I used my favorite, short guided meditation–it asks the listener to imagine a candle about three feet in front of them and to focus their attention on the flame. I then asked them to bring that flame into their foreheads, and so on. I asked a group of burn survivors to bring a flame into their heads! After the presentation, the gentleman who had arranged for me to speak laughingly asked if I had considered the effect of fire on burn survivors. Thank goodness he could see the humor in the situation! I was embarrassed but no harm was done. Always consider the unique needs of your own groups.
Offer to speak to groups in your area. Develop the body of a talk and modify the content for each group so that you are not writing from scratch each time. Your local Chamber of Commerce can provide you with a list of service organizations. These organizations will be delighted to have a free speaker. I have heard several opinions on whether or not to show up for the meal. From one colleague I heard that it is hard to chat with them over a meal, perhaps spilling food on your dress-up clothes and then get up and make a professional presentation. It is better to say, I cannot make the meal, what time shall I be there to speak?
The second opinion I heard is that people in some organizations might be offended if you do not want to eat with them and chat informally. Use your best judgment.
Excerpt from Business Solutions
copyright 2006 Katherine Zimmerman

I also market my practice by teaching classes. I started with a self hypnosis class (which I continue to teach 19 years later) and branched out from there. Many of my students have said that they wouldn't have come in for private sessions if they hadn't taken the class first. I advertise my classes when I speak to groups, by posting flyers and sending a press release to the newspaper.

I agree with Richard: office space is more affordable and is a better fit for us. I target the same age group as Richard although I also love working with teenagers.

I prefer a location that is quiet and easy to find, preferable with free parking. I had an office for about 6 years in Midtown Sacramento. Very trendy but awkward to get to and no parking lot so everyone had to feed the meters.

The biggest mistake that I see is that people give up. There is a huge market for our work which was in evidence when the local paper ran an article about hypnotherapy last December. You can read the article by going to my website: http://www.trancetime.com/media.html I'm still getting calls. And many of these new clients have said that they wanted to find a hypnotherapist but didn't know who to call. I'm still in business (and thriving) after 19 years because I am persistent and professional.

There is also a group on HypnoThoughts on How to Build a Private Practice. Hope that helps.

Katherine Zimmerman
www.trancetime.com

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Permalink Reply by Roger Moore on December 7, 2008 at 8:27am

Richard and Katherine have said it well. Most of my clients are women in the age of 30 - 70. I am a particular fan of being in a medical setting. My Seattle office is 17 floors of dentists & MD's in the Medical Dental Building which is back to back with Nordstrom's. My clients get to come to me and shop at the same time! I am a big believer in networking with other health and wellness professionals and making sure that every health club knows me.

The biggest mistake: Giving up.

Roger Moore
Hypnosis Health Info

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Jeffers M.Ed., LPC, CCH on December 7, 2008 at 9:23am

Katherine thank you for all the valuable information and for taking the time to share.
Rebecca

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Jeffers M.Ed., LPC, CCH on December 7, 2008 at 9:24am

Roger,
Thank you....it makes sense to be around a made to order network....and thankfully, I don't give up easy!
Rebecca

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Permalink Reply by Cindy Walker on December 7, 2008 at 12:30pm

Wow.. thanks for requesting help! I am moving to AZ and plan on starting a new Hypnotherapy practice there. This information has been very helpful. THANK YOU! for sharing. Cindy

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Permalink Reply by Craig Eubanks on December 7, 2008 at 4:04pm

There are some great replies on this topic. You could easily create a marketing plan just from them.

One thing I would add is, to always think in terms of Lead Generation & Follow Up. And to be sure to MEASURE everything! As a small business owner you need to know if the resources you spend (money, time, etc.) on any given marketing piece, advertisement, or event pays off. Calculate your ROI (Return On Investment) for each thing you do.

It may seem like a pain-in-the-butt, however it will save you thousands of dollars and hours of time. (For me personally, the time is worth way more than the money).

I have an article on my blog about which numbers to track:

The 5 Most Important Numbers For Hypnotherapy Marketing

Also, if you aren't sure what I mean by Lead Generation, I have numerous articles on the topic on my blog here:

http://hypnosismarketingtips.com/category/lead-generation/

Finally, if you have specific question on Internet Marketing, I invite you to join the Internet Marketing for Hypnotists group here on Hypnothoughts. And you'll find many questions already answered on such topics as email, autorepsonders, social media, Google Adwords, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Internet Marketing for Hypnotists group

Cheers,

Craig Eubanks
HypnosisMarketingTips.com

P.S. I will be teaching sessions in the Global Hypnosis Summit on marketing if you are signed up for it.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa J. Roth on December 7, 2008 at 9:49pm

I think an office setting is best. Why pay for the added fees associated with retail space? My demogrraphics are approx. 60% women and 40% men. Most of my clients are late 20's and up. Most are well educated professionals and business owners. But, that is the type of client I try to attract. One hypotherapist here in town sees a lot of working class people--but she complains that they don't have money to finish the sessions needed. I charge my fees for packages of sessions up front so that I don't have that problem. Better to weed them out ahead of time rather than fight for money later on.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Nongard - NLPBoard.com on December 8, 2008 at 5:44am

I do what Melissa does, and charge for a solution upfront, rather than individual sessions....
see my rates ar www.TulsaHypnosis.com

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Herron-Goldman on December 8, 2008 at 6:03am

So far I've had a 50/50 male/female split. Most of my clients are in their 30s, followed closely by 60s, then 40s. A lot are retirees, but then again this is Florida!

I have office space in a busy downtown retail area. I get most of my new clients from my sandwich board (very cheap), and then the yellow pages (not so cheap). Because I'm on the second floor visiting is discreet, but my sign is not.

Make sure you are not in a stand-alone building or in a small strip mall. People stop by because they were in the area anyway and didn't have to worry about parking. So be near a variety of busy things.

I think my biggest mistake so far is inconsistency. But my husband's in the Army, I've been really sick, and traveled a lot. That said, I'm usually covering office expenses and sometimes turn a profit.