Hello... Newbie in Phoenix

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Permalink Reply by Rusty Z - The HypnotiComic on December 28, 2008 at 6:54am

Unless you have the resources to hire someone to take care of that aspect of your business, you'll have to learn to tolerate the marketing and promotion side of the house. I would start by giving myself the suggestion that "marketing is an exciting and necessary part of success in my practice."

Permalink Reply by Pattie Freeman CH.t, MST on January 25, 2009 at 9:48pm

Word of mouth...how long have you been doing hypnosis?

Permalink Reply by Dr. Tom Virden on September 24, 2009 at 7:11am

I'll agree with Pattie on this...that word of mouth is probably your best friend. However, it takes a bit of time to build a solid reputation, so please be patient. Most businesses (private practices included) lose money the first year, but stick with it.

Some of the best ways to get your name out there is to host talks/demos. Contact libraries, social/special interest groups, and the like to see if they're interested in having you present for an hour (you can do this for free). Heck, I recently gave a 1-hour presentation on hypnosis (with a few suggestibility tests) for a high school psychology class. If you're mildly interesting, come of as a friendly person, and send them home with something they can feel, your audience will spread the word for you.

My other favorite means of advertisement is via a website. You don't have to be a web genius to do this for cheap. I have an inexpensive webhost, used a freeware program to pretty much build my site for me (any of the blogging programs works wonders), and even began podcasting.

One of the best bits of advice I received from a psychologist who was brilliant in selling herself (ironically, a former student of mine...how typical...the student becomes the teacher). She noted that finding a needed niche was very helpful to developing her clientele. Your niche should foremost be based on a particular passion of yours, but also represent a significant need in your area. My first niche of choice was so "narrow" that clients were few, far between, and usually couldn't afford my services. The need simply wasn't there. I took a look around my area and spoke with the Drs. in my clinic and tried to match my background with what they saw the most in their offices. I have a background in psychopharmacology, substance abuse, psychotherapy, and hypnotherapy and the physicians had a whole mess of chronic pain patients.

Ergo, working with people dealing with issues of chronic pain seemed perfect, so I spoke to a few of the physicians and they send lovely referrals to me (though I admit, my waitlist is thinning at the moment).

Hoping this helps at least a bit!

Tom