Show Notes

Kayla: Welcome back to the Designer Practice Podcast. I’m your host, Kayla Das.

For therapy practices, consultation calls are the first therapeutic step you go through with a client as you start your assessment of your client’s needs.

But did you know that consultations are also the last step of the marketing process and can either make or break your chance of moving prospective clients from the consultation stage to a paying session?

In today’s episode, Jessica Harris, licensed clinical social worker and business strategist, will share how to get clients from consultation calls without being salesy.

Hi, Jessica. Welcome to the show. I’m so glad to have you here today.

Jessica: Hi, thank you. I’m super excited to be here today, too.

Kayla: And I want to give everyone a heads up if they haven’t already noticed, I am a little sick today. Hopefully the next episode, I sound a little better. So, I’m going to apologize in advance for that.

Jessica, before we dive into today’s episode, please introduce yourself, where you’re from, and tell us a little bit about your own practice journey.

Jessica: Yeah, so I am Jessica. I am in Utah. I’m an LCSW, like you said. I started a private pay practice. I filled up myself with my caseload in four months, and so since then, I hired six other therapists. We get anywhere from five to ten new full-fee private pay clients every single week at the practice and it’s just been so successful that I then decided to start coaching other therapists because I was just getting a lot of questions like, “Well, how’d you grow so fast?” “How in this economy, especially, are you able to get full-fee private pay clients?” And so now I also coach people through my coaching program, how to have a thriving successful private pay practice.

Kayla: Fabulous. So, I’m so excited to talk about today’s episode because I know that consultation calls is the first step that therapists have in the therapeutic process, but we don’t always look at it as like a marketing tool either. So, why are consultation calls important when it comes to marketing a private practice?

Jessica: Yeah, so often people spend so much of the time focusing on just getting clients to actually find them that they lose a lot of the clients that are finding them.

And so, consultation calls, especially when you’re just cash pay, is really important to show the value, show what you have to offer, give them all the options if you don’t accept insurance, because there can still be some great options for them. To make sure that you’re not losing those precious clients that do find you, especially when it’s harder for clients to potentially find you.

Kayla: That makes so much sense. I’ve connected with therapists and even talked to different business coaches throughout the years who are back and forth between, should I put consultation calls into my practice? Should I not put consultation calls into my practice? There’s almost two sides. I’m definitely on the side of we should put consultation calls in practices and it sounds like you are on that same side as well.

But why do you think that there’s like this balance between knowing that it’s so important to the marketing process, that people struggle with, should I put it in or should I not put it in?

Jessica: Yeah, I think because it can take time out of your schedule and they are typically free. And so people who are like, “well, I don’t have time for that. I’m not getting paid for that.” When in reality, if they can get clients from their consultation calls, each new cash pay client is potentially worth thousands of dollars if they continue to rebook. And so, I think people with that mentality of like, okay, “I’m going to invest a little bit of time on this consultation call to potentially make thousands of dollars and help this client,” where so often clients are like, “Oh, I don’t know if I want to do a therapy appointment yet.”

But when they hear your voice, they hear what you can help them with. They feel more at ease where they’re like, “okay, even though this is a scary step, I’m willing to do this.” So yeah, I’m a huge advocate. And one other thing is sometimes people have really long consultation calls constantly. And so of course that’s going to deter them. And I teach people how to make them really simple. My consultation calls with potential new clients are like almost never longer than 10 or 15 minutes. So, they can be simple and short as well.

Kayla: I love that. And I agree with you 100%. I look at consultation calls as being the know, like, and trust factor, right? They’ve already found you but now they want to meet you. Now they want to really hear what you have to say. And if you don’t have a consultation call, then they don’t have this opportunity to ask the questions that they might have.

People want to really trust that you are the best person for them. And not everyone is going to put 150, 200 dollars on the table without chatting with you first. So, I believe consultation calls are really important for that reason, because it helps people build trust in you.

So, before they even get on a consultation call, are there things that therapists can do to help improve the consultation call booking?

Jessica: Yes. And that’s a great point that you bring up because so often people are like, well, I’m not even getting very many consultation calls. And so the few that I do get, I can convert and we’ll talk about that. But the other aspect is they’re missing the opportunity for consultation calls because the booking process on their website or wherever they find them is not smooth. And what I mean by that is maybe they don’t have very many call-to-action buttons on their website saying book a free consultation call. Maybe when they do, it takes them and I see a couple of different things with the program members that I work with. They either only have a spot to email and not having the phone number as a required form on their contact form. And then they lose a lot of people because people don’t respond to email as much as they do to a phone call or a text message. And so that is one huge piece that people miss.

The other piece that people miss with a consultation call is they have a link to a calendar of like, book a consultation call with me. And then their calendar only has availability one or two days a week, Wednesday, Thursday mornings, for example. And the person was like, well, I’m working like, okay, well, if I can’t even get a consultation call in with them, I’m assuming that’s probably when they’re also only available for therapy sessions. I’m going to move on to the next person when in reality, they might have plenty of times open. And so, in that case, I always tell people if you’re going to have them actually book the consultation call, you better have like a full calendar of multiple different spots of some morning time, some afternoon times, maybe some late afternoon times on multiple different days.

Or, and you could do both, you could also have the option of like book a call or leave a contact form with your information and it also has the phone number on it so that you can reach out to them as well.

Kayla: That is such a great point and sometimes we think, “Oh, I want to do other things in my day, and I only want to put a couple slots here and there,” you might have all this availability, but yeah, if a client lands on there, and they only see one or two spots, or your next spot isn’t until three weeks from now, chances are, they’re probably going to keep looking because they just believe, whether true or not, that you just aren’t as available as that they would need a therapist to be.

So maybe a therapist works part time. Is there a way that therapists can navigate that in a way that helps them book more calls?

Jessica: Yeah, great question. And I know, at least for me too, in my practice, like, when I was first starting, I had plenty of availability, but I didn’t necessarily want people just randomly booking calls at different times, interrupting my time with my daughter, that kind of stuff. So, I kind of went against what some people told me to do, of like, make sure you have the calendar. And I was like, no, I’d rather see the form. Call them back and text them when I can. And I’m also a huge proponent of like quick follow-up, so that’s another thing I haven’t covered yet. I usually try to respond within an hour if I’m available, sometimes I’m not because I’m in back-to-back meetings. But for sure within the day, but the sooner the better. So, there’s the quick follow up aspect.

But then there’s also if you are part time, have kids, want a flexible schedule, don’t want to have all this availability, just have them leave a contact form or say, text and call this number today. Or drop your information here and leave the form really simple because another thing people get lost on is if there’s too many spots to fill, at least for me I move on whenever there’s too many spots to fill. And so, when it’s just name phone number email if you want to and then like, what are you coming in for? And some people might even leave that blank.

So, I would say make the process really simple. And then you don’t have to have a calendar for them to book the consultation call, but you can, or you can have both options. Therapists that I’ve coached who will sometimes have both options as well.

Kayla: That’s a good point. Now I know listeners may use different systems, but I’m thinking that I use a platform called Jane App and my software system actually has an option where you could have a little disclaimer on the side. So, ” if you need additional times. They’re likely available. Contact us for this reason, or send them to a little fill out form, in case there isn’t enough time there for them.

Jessica: There is value for sure in someone actually booking a time for the consultation call. So, it’s not that I’m against that. I think that’s great as long as you have some flexibility. But yeah, I think a disclaimer sounds amazing to be like and “I also have more times and availability outside of this Just call or text this number or just leave a form here, and I will figure out another time to get back to you. So, I think as long as they know there’s other options That’s great.

Kayla: Yeah, and I just think if I was a client. If I landed on somebody’s page and they had two spots available and they didn’t have a disclaimer. I would assume that they didn’t have availability. But if they did have a disclaimer, I’m like, “Oh, they do have more availability. Well, maybe I could reach out,” right?

Jessica: Yeah. Absolutely. I’m all about, like, putting yourself in the client’s shoes. And, if I were a client, what would I want? And I always assume that that’s what other clients would want as well.

Kayla: Love it. Are there ways to help client conversion, so to speak? So that clients move from the consultation call to a paying client?

Jessica: Yes, absolutely. And the step in between what you have is the follow up on your website or wherever they reach out to the consultation call is that step in the middle of like how quickly are you reaching out? Like I said, and then also are you calling or texting them compared to emailing them?

I can’t tell you how many therapists I’ve helped where they’re like, “Oh, I stopped emailing them and I decided to call her, text them instead. And they’re actually answering now and I’m getting more conversions.” And I know many people are like, “Well, I don’t answer to random calls, so why would they?” But the one-time people do answer to random calls is when they barely put their number out there. So, for me, when I put my number out there, because I’m reaching out for something, I’m more likely to answer the phone cause I’m like assuming, “Oh, I just dropped my number an hour ago on these websites.” so I’m more likely to answer.

And then if not, most people are big on texting now nowadays. And so also leaving a text message. “Hey, this is, you know, so and so I got your contact form on our website. I would love to do a consultation call and chat with you. Do you have some free time today?” And then the people who don’t answer the phone call are a lot more likely to respond to the text message. So that is something that is important right before getting on the consultation call.

And the next step is the actual consultation call. First, I briefly frame the call, like, I’d love to hear what you’re looking for. We can just make sure that we’re a good fit to help you and answer any questions that you have.” And then you obviously dive into what they’re needing to come into therapy for. And then the biggest piece to a consultation call, and this can be done very simply and quickly, but you need to build value. And you do this by one, showing that you understand what they’re going through. And two, if you feel like you can help them.

Obviously, some people aren’t a good fit, and if that’s the case, you refer out. But if you genuinely feel like you would be a good fit, then build a value on how you would specifically help them and make sure turn off that therapist brain, keep that client language at the forefront and just talk about like, “Absolutely. Sounds like you’re dealing with x y and z symptoms. I know that can be really tough And I help you in x y and z way.” And if you think about and this is replacing yourself on the client’s shoes again comes into play If your client could wave a magic wand and have their dream outcome, what would it be? And you want to write that stuff down beforehand. And then you tell them this is what I help people to accomplish. And it’s usually so simple in terms of simple things, like, “Yeah, absolutely. I help people who are dealing with overwhelming emotions, like the intrusive thoughts, like you were talking about,” or whatever they were talking about. Or managing those day-to-day struggles in their relationship that feel overwhelming And what I help people with is, one, to have those day to day coping skills, and two, to find long term healing and peace, to really be able to manage your anxiety and heal from it in the long term, helping you get to the root of your issues. So that you’re not rehashing those same cycles over and over again.

And most people when I say that almost always, they’re like, “oh, yeah that’s exactly what I need.” Or there’s almost like this sigh of relief like “Oh, yes, I would love that.” You can feel the energy on the other side where the client’s like, okay, yes. And I’m not diving into CBT, EMDR unless they mentioned EMDR because some people do mention EMDR. I’m not delving into like all of the ways I’m going to help them with their trauma. Sometimes you might simply do that. And another question I ask is like, have you done therapy before? Is this your first time? And so, people bring up things that they liked in the past. I definitely incorporate that. But for some people, they’re brand new and don’t know those things.

So, I make sure to build the value where I keep it really relatable. And then once that value is built, then you can go into the scheduling and making sure you’re going over fees. And I know some people who don’t have the time to waste and want to bring up the fees, like the first thing on the consultation call, you can absolutely do that. My process is I assume that they know I’m a cash pay practice only. Unless they say otherwise. So, if their first question is, “Oh, and do you take insurance?” Then I will answer that for them. I’m not going to try and be salesy and pretend like I do and then don’t like I’m not here to be salesy as a therapist. But I just assume like it’s on all my stuff. And so, I’m just going to assume that they’re okay with it, build the value, go through that. And then I always go over it. And I make sure like just wanted to make sure you saw what the fees are. And sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. I go over it.

And then if they ask about insurance, and even if they don’t ask about insurance, I will always tell them. And just so you know, our practice only accepts out of network benefits, and what that means is if your insurance covers out of network, then we will provide you something called a super bill after your session. To you know reimburse you for some of the session and I always tell them like you have to double check with your insurance to make sure that that’s covered and I also give them the options and we take HSA cards or FSA cards or just any major debit or credit cards.

And I know that sounds kind of like a duh and a lot of people are like, “Oh yeah, I already do that too.” But there’s a couple different things in there that are important to note is one. I’m coming from a place of, this is what we do have. And some people come from a place of they’re like, “Oh, do you take insurance?” And people are coming from a place of like, “no, I’m sorry. I don’t actually.” And they’re almost coming from this place of what they don’t offer, versus I’m coming from a place of, this is what we do offer, and I’m unapologetic about it. And I know we’re not for everyone, and that’s okay. And of course, I still have that therapist heart where I want to help everyone, and I feel really bad when it sounds like they’re a good fit, and it won’t work out. And so, I do obviously have those emotions where I feel bad. But I also know that we might not be for everyone, and that’s okay. Because we’re able to pay the therapist really well, the therapists aren’t burnt out, they’re able to offer really high level of care to the clients.

And we have amazing, therapy practices in the area that do take insurance that we refer to. So that is one piece where it’s like I feel confident in the price and I’m coming from a place of “This is what we do offer” and I’m just assuming people kind of already saw that versus this is the beginning of the call. If I’m right away like, “Oh, by the way, we don’t take insurance, then people are like automatically in the insurance money mind.” And they might be like, oh, okay. Yeah. Never mind. But if I’m able to show them, like, we’re genuinely able to help you. And we’ve got really amazing therapists. And then they’re willing to pay the money. They know that it’s important to invest in their mental health.

Kayla: Something I want to also highlight for Canadian listeners because when we’re talking about insurances, obviously you’re speaking from the U. S. side. And U. S. listeners probably understood all of that. But for Canadian listeners, similar to the insurance pieces, really, it’s what you can tell your clients is although you may not direct bill to their insurance company, is that you can give them a receipt after so that they can submit to their provider accordingly.

Now, of course, similar to what Jessica said, is they need to take the responsibility to ensure that your profession is covered under their insurance to ensure that they’re able to process. But as a therapist in Canada, I never direct bill ed but I always provided a receipt for my clients, and I’ve never lost a client, because I was able to come up from that perspective of, “I can offer you this, right? And you could submit this and get your money back accordingly if your provider accepts social workers under your insurance. So, I just wanted to clear that up for any Canadian listeners who are like, what’s a super bill? What’s out of network insurances? So for Canadian listeners, it’s very much the same process, but it’s just we use different language here in Canada.

Jessica: Yeah, no, I’m glad you brought that up, and now I’m like, oh yeah, duh, like, I work with a lot of people in Canada. Obviously, I’m in the U.S., so a lot of people I work with are in the U. S. But yes, I’m glad you clarified that, and yeah, it’s like the same concept, but obviously different language there for sure.

Kayla: Yeah, so, do you have any additional advice, insights, or tips for listeners to help them move consultation call clients to paying clients?

Jessica: Yes, absolutely. I would say the last and most important part of the consultation call as well, is actually booking that appointment and getting them on the schedule rather than like, “okay, if you want to think about it or whatever kind of language there,” like they’re on the call, they left the form or called you or however they contacted you because they’re wanting to get in for therapy. And some of them are obviously hesitant or nervous or uncertain. Of they think they want it, but they’re not sure. And so on the call I always go ahead and schedule the appointment and ask them. And obviously sometimes people do need to think about it or they need to look at their options now that they’re thinking more about the money piece and that’s separate. Like if they truly need to think about it, that is fine. And once again, we’re therapists, we’re not salesy. I’m not like, “okay, but let’s just book this appointment and blah, blah, blah.” Like if they need to do that, great.

And I often do this even before I necessarily go through all the fees and all those options, unless they kind of ask too. But I’m like, great, it sounds like a good fit for either me or one of my other therapists, and I’ll go over that with them. Let’s book a time, and I get them on the schedule. I make sure I go over all of those final pieces, the price, the paperwork, all of that stuff. But, yeah, I never get any pushback from people scheduling, unless they’re like, “Okay, wait, I just want to hear about how much it is,” if they didn’t see it already. Or they’re on the schedule, but then they hear about like that insurance piece or the price piece. And they’re like, okay, hold on. And people will tell me two different things: people will either be like let’s still go ahead and book this appointment. I still want to hold this slot. But I just need to double check and most of the time those people still turn into clients. I would say maybe one out of five will end up calling back and like, okay, actually never mind. And then the second piece is if they are like, don’t book it yet, I am not sure, I do need to double check. Which don’t happen often, but they for sure happen. In those cases, I just tell them I’ll follow up with them in a day if they don’t get back to me. So, that is the other piece that I would say is actually just book the appointment with them.

And get the information that you need for their paperwork. I know every EHR might be a little bit different, but typically you just need their first, last name, phone number, email address, like really simple information. And that’s so much easier to get on the phone rather than like, “okay, now, shoot me a text or email me this information so I can email you the paperwork.” just get it all on the consultation call to make the process really easy for the potential clients.

Kayla: That makes complete sense. Thank you so much for bringing us through that.

Jessica, you help therapists. Can you tell us what you do and how therapists can reach out if they want to work with you?

Jessica: Yeah, absolutely. It’s such a passion of mine to help therapists. So, I have a program called the Therapist Private Pay Accelerator program, and it’s a 12-week program. And it’s basically just all the things people would need to know to fill up their caseload with clients.

And so, I teach all the different marketing strategies, all the strategies to making a website that is SEO friendly and attracting clients, getting people to actually find you. And I go through all of those steps to help people build that strong marketing foundation. And I guess what sets me apart too, from other marketing companies is I want to really empower therapists to have this knowledge themselves so that they learn how to do these things. They learn how to keep it simple. So, they don’t have to require hiring someone every single month for the next year or two to do these things and when they’re not paying them money, they’re not, getting those results still.

So yes, that is what I do. You can contact me in the link below to book a free consultation call with me. Speaking of consultation calls. I offer 45-minute consultation calls for people who are looking into wanting to grow their practice right now. And so, I offer that just to make sure it’s a good fit first. And you can also find me in my free Facebook group, The Therapist Private Pay Accelerator, or on Instagram at Empowering Therapists.

And I have a lot of free trainings that I offer too for people who don’t quite want to join my program yet.

Kayla: Fabulous. So, to connect with Jessica, check out kayladas.com/jessicaharrisconsult

that’s kayladas.com/jessicaharrisconsult

or simply scroll down to the show notes and click on the link.

Jessica, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today and sharing some of these great tips and strategies for how to follow up and get clients from consultation calls.

Jessica: Yeah, absolutely. It was a pleasure to be here. So, thank you.

Kayla: Thank you, everyone, for tuning in to today’s episode. I hope you join me again next time on the Designer Practice Podcast.

Bye for now.

Credits & Disclaimers

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