Have you ever talked to your clients about the difference between a scarcity consciousness and an abundance mentality? Here’s the example that I use for my clients. I’ll assume at some point in the past you’ve been to a buffet. Now imagine that you’re sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant. In front of you is another person with a plate full of food. If your focus is only on that plate and that person, that seems to you like all the food in the room. You covet what’s on their plate, you’re certainly hungry. This person says if you can be patient, they’ll share some of what they’ve got with you. The miracle here is just the shift in perception: lift your head up, turn it away from the table and you’re immediately able to see the abundance of food that’s waiting for you to go and pick what you’d like. What a difference!!
I was lucky enough to have a colleague with a successful private practice talk me through growing my private practice. We discussed what marketing strategies work, and what sort of language to use when speaking to your ideal client. She shared with me that there’s a counselor in a referral group that she utilizes through social media who always responds to requests for specific referrals with the following: “I specialize in that, and I’m taking new clients” with her contact information. It’s not very confidence inspiring to hear that someone specializes in everything, and the very definition of specialist indicates that that’s probably not true. What happens to us when we market from the mindset of scarcity?
Scarcity Consciousness Could Simply Be Defined As Fear Of Not Having Enough.
Say I don’t want to hone in my website or Psychology Today profile for the specific type of client I am most equipped to treat and I most enjoy working with. Marketing a private practice that’s general in nature may give me the sensation that I’m going to grow and get bigger because I’ll see anyone, but I might not be full. So what gives? Nothing about my profile grabs the reader. I’m certainly not going to be able to market myself in this way. I can’t market myself to other professionals as a competent therapist who specializes in everything. They simply won’t buy in.
So Then What Happens To Our Practice As We Market Our Skills From An Abundance Mentality?
Finding your niche was recently described to me as “the intersection where your passion and the needs of your community meet”. Speaking specifically to our ideal clients’ pain points gives them the sensation that we understand. We understand what they’re suffering with, and it inspires hope and confidence that we’re equipped to actually help them! There are more than enough people in your community that need your precise, specialized, and unique skill set. Don’t let the fear of not being full unconsciously keep you from standing out to your ideal client. Get support, get specific, and create an abundant private practice that meets your needs and your clients!
Elizabeth Pace is a therapist and clinical supervisor in private practice in New Orleans, Louisiana. What she loves the most about private practice is supporting others as they question their old ideas about “doing it right” and start to cultivate a newer awareness about the kind of life they want to fearlessly pursue. Another passion is advocating for and advancing the counseling field through presentations on professional development, financial literacy, and coaching others towards the personal and professional goals that bring them joy, excitement, and financial stability!
You can visit Elizabeth’s website here!
