Summary
Brent joins us to illustrate the importance of simplicity, clarity, and social proof when branding and marketing your business while educating listeners on how to avoid cluttered and confusing website designs that result in lower conversion, diminished brand reputation, and loss of sales. Brent is an expert in helping counseling & mental health practices grow. If you’re looking to build out a sales funnel or increase leads as a counseling practice owner, reach out to Brent at https://brandyourpractice.com/
How to Help Mental Health Professionals to Launch, Market & Grow Their Private Practices?
There are a lot of businesses that struggle in their marketing and they don’t have a marketing plan or what they have is robbing them of potential clients and revenue. What Brand Your Practice is offering is to create a sustainable and profitable growth business plan so they do not get burned out. At the end of the day, they should have money in the bank with a marketing strategy.
Insight for business owners who are not skilled in marketing and clear messaging
Sales funnels are essential for any successful business. They are the foundation for clearly communicating your brand message and creating a lasting impression on potential customers. A strong brand message starts with a script – the words on the page. Just like in a movie, no production can begin without a script. Once the script is written, it’s time to assemble your team of actors, set designers, videographers and cinematographers to bring your message to life. Investing in a well thought-out sales funnel is the key to ensuring your business’s success.
Imagine trying to film a movie without a script/words first. What is the conflict? Is the hero going to win the day? It’s almost like a house without an architectural plan. That is similar to business and that is the brand message first.
How to bring the brand messages in life?
You might be struggling with the right words to compel your customers to purchase your products or services. First make your brand message, then build the perfect website to tell the story of the problems you solve for your clients.
People come to your website with a problem they need help with, so make sure you provide a clear and concise description of the problems you can solve. You can create lead generation PDFs or video series for those who may not be ready to make a purchase yet.
To nurture relationships, you can also use pop-ups. For instance, on a child therapist website, we can put a pop-up that says “15 Signs of Childhood Anxiety and How You Can Help” to encourage people to download it.
By providing clear, helpful descriptions of what you can do for your customers, and by offering helpful PDFs and videos, you can create a powerful and engaging website that drives people to take action.
This will put them in a nurture campaign when they are ready to buy or they are ready to call and schedule an appointment or fill out a form. Because you have already positioned yourself as the guide to help and solve their problems. So a sales funnel takes care of all of it.
5 things that you need to optimize websites and find common missing pieces about them:
There are 5 essential things that a website homepage needs to convert clicks to the clients.
The idea is from Donald Miller, he’s the author of StoryBrand and Business Made Simple and several other books.
(1) Grunt Test
When someone lands on your website, you have a header, like 3 seconds for them to be able to grunt out what you do, how it can make their life easier/better and what they need to do to buy it. So if they can’t grunt out those things in 1st to 5th seconds, then your messaging is all off and you are confusing people.
The rule is simple: if you confuse people, you will lose them. Confusion is the number one enemy of any business, and the best way to combat it is to make sure your header and content are as clear and straightforward as possible, so that people can quickly understand what your business does and how it can make their life better. Otherwise, they will leave your site and go to one of your competitors.
(2) Using Images
When it comes to using images for business, it’s important to make sure they reflect what success looks like and how they relate to your product or service. That’s why it’s best to avoid pictures of buildings, cats, or people walking through fields holding hands. Instead, choose images that show people happy and smiling, as this will create a much better connection with your audience.
Moreover, it’s crucial to ensure that the images you use have something to do with your product or service. Otherwise, your audience may get confused as to how the image relates to your business.
So, when selecting images for your business, make sure they reflect success and have an appropriate connection to your product or service. This will create a much stronger connection with your audience and ensure your message is heard.
If you’re looking for pictures that look authentic and reflect the true identity of your company, consider using candid photos of your employees! Have them stand against a wall and smile, or show off a specific skill – it’s an easy and natural way to show off your company’s success. If you’re not comfortable with candid shots, stock photos are always a great choice, too. However, make sure to choose photos that look natural and genuine – this will ensure that your audience will be able to connect with the images. At the end of the day, showing off your company’s success is the most important thing!
(3) Clear Call to Action
Your call to action button is like a cash register at a store – you want it to be clear and visible so people can easily find it and make a purchase. Make sure your button is distinctive and pops out from the rest of your site, so people know exactly what to do when they arrive at your page. Keep things simple and clear, and your call to action button will help sell your service.
(4) Having a simple 3-step plan
Step one: fill out this form or schedule a consultation.
Step two: we’ll see if you are a good fit.
Step three: you want to begin with some success there. So step three could be like “begin to experience less anxiety in your life”.
Just a 3 step plan will clarify a lot. Don’t assume that your potential client knows how to do business with you, especially when it’s in the mental health world. Where a lot of people have never gone to counseling and they are like “how does this work?”
Donlar Miller says people don’t always choose the best products to buy. They buy the ones that are most clear. So the more clear you can make your product, the more clear you have a plan that lays out how to engage with them and more clear they are going to click on your call to action.
(5) Authority and Credibility
Amazon has shown us as consumers how to shop for items we want to purchase; we type in the product, evaluate the ratings (stars) and number of reviews, and then make our decision on whether or not to buy based on those reviews.
Do you have any social proof of your website? Do you have any sharing two or three sentences of what their life looks like now after they’ve worked with you? Having testimonials from happy customers is key in boosting not only your website’s credibility but also helps potential new customers make the decision to work with you over someone else.
Bonus TIP!
Social proof is important and social media can be a big asset to you. But that’s not all, videos are now a must-have for any business in order to stay competitive. If you’re in healthcare and not using videos, it’s time to catch up!
The most important thing to customers is trust, and so is the biggest barrier. Trust that you’re going to know how to help them and that they can actually believe and trust you.
Video is an excellent way to reach a wider audience and address their concerns. In fact, your phone also functions as a video camera, so all you need to do is hit record! You don’t even need a lot of fancy equipment.
Tells us a Story of StoryBrand and how Brand Your Practice was launched
Brent’s Statusmen the owner of Brand Your Practice, 5 years ago, he was wondering how he can find a framework on branding like clear messaging. The rest from him:
My wife, Susan, used to work at a larger mental health private practice but she wanted to open her own practice to serve just kids and be 100% private pay. We didn’t have any marketing background or savings, but we had a music background and a divinity degree. Living in Chicago is expensive and Susan was pregnant with our son, Simeon. We needed to make this private practice work if we wanted to stay in the city.
My entrepreneur idea was to find a few frameworks to operate in. Four years later, Susan’s private practice has 10 clinicians, a large office here in Hinsdale and is thriving. We love our new life, but it was a challenge to get there. With hard work, dedication and creativity, we made it happen!
I was intrigued by the idea of helping Kid Matters Counseling, my wife’s private practice, to create an effective digital presence. This motivated me to develop Brand Your Practice, a system to help private practices in the mental health field create a professional, modern website. From there, I have been able to expand my services to many other practices around the country.
I have now systematized the entire process, creating a comprehensive marketing stack for private practices. I have a deep understanding of what makes a website successful, and I know exactly what needs to be done to create an impactful online presence. No longer do I need to do the work myself; I’m confident that I can guide any practice in the right direction.