Being in private practice brings up all kinds of insecurities. I mean, nothing makes us feel less like we know what we're doing than being faced with decisions we've never had to make before. And what's even more intimidating, is that the success of our practice lies heavily on our ability to invest more time, energy, and money into the things that are bringing us results and to know when to cull the things that aren't working.

And this couldn't be more true than when it comes to marketing.

Spreading the word about your practice, filling the spots on your calendar, and putting butts on your couch is essential for the growth and sustainability of your business. But to do this, you have to know exactly what is working to attract new leads to your therapy practice and how you are converting those leads into paid clients. It's about developing a strategic and measurable plan that you can track and tweak as necessary.

Without a marketing plan such as this, you might as well be basing your livelihood on trial and error. But that doesn't mean you have to equate strategy with ruthlessness. Your desire to grow a profitable practice does not have to be mutually exclusive from your calling to help those in need. In fact, before you ever begin to develop a marketing plan, you should do some soul-searching first.

This way, you can be sure that when you decide to give your all to certain marketing strategies, you can be sure they feel good and align with your integrity.

It's not impossible to be business-minded and calculated about where your clients come from while still honoring your calling to help, heal, and serve. You just need to touch base with yourself first and make sure your strategy comes from a place within. A great way to do this is to start with some personal questions.

Questions like: