Telling the World
When you’re getting ready to launch into space,
you’re sitting on a big explosion waiting to happen.
~ Sally Ride
If a tree falls in the forest and no-one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?
If someone opens a private practice and doesn’t tell people about it, will anybody know?
Well, the first question might be more of a philosophical conundrum, the answer to the second is undoubtably NO! You have to tell people that you are open for business and ready to start seeing clients. If you don’t, no-one will know that you are available, and no-one will be sending you any business.
Friends and Family
A simple way to start is with the people that know and love you already – friends and family. These people are already your advocates and firm members of your cheering squad (hopefully).
I have provided a potential script to use when letting friends and family know about your practice here: –> Letter of Introduction – Friends and Family
You may want to use an altered version of this script with colleagues that you know in a more personal way. Additionally you can let this group know about your work through face to face interactions and through social media.
Colleagues and Community Members
I am always a fan of the personal touch so I still firmly stand behind getting out into the community and letting people see your face, shake your hand and hear from you about the work that you do. However, that is not always feasible. The next best thing is a letter of introduction.
This can be done through a mass mail-out or personalized letters/emails. Mass mail-outs take less effort because it is the same letter being sent to everyone and can cover more people, although sometimes are disregarded as advertising and not read.
Personalized letters take much more effort but can sometime yield better results. Both have advantages and disadvantages. You may want to do a combination of both depending on who you are targeting. I have provided a potential script to use when letting colleagues and community members know about your practice here: –> Letter of Introduction – Colleagues and Community
Above all, be yourself. Shout it from the rooftops in a way that feels true to you and your practice. I don’t recommend using these scripts word for word because…they aren’t your words!
Use these as inspiration and as a framework, but infuse who you are into them. This may be the first time someone hears about you. Make sure it aligns with the real you.
Action Item: Determine who is on your list to tell when your practice is ready for business.