Ferris Consulting

The Top Ten Strategies For Growing Your Collaborative Practice

These strategies are my top ten favorites excerpted from my article "The Top Ten Strategies For Growing Your Collaborative Practice".  See the link below to read the entire article.
 
1.  Mine existing referral sources: Your existing referral sources are your best opportunity for growth.
 
2.  Be visible: Put your biography on the websites of organizations in which you have membership, including the IACP web site.   
 
3.  Highlight Collaborative Practice on your web site.
 
4.  Create a professional and organized client education packet.
 
5.  Create a concise, consistent and focused message about Collaborative  Practice
 
6.  Network with collaborative professionals
 
7.  Embrace the value of "collaborative team"
 
8.  Focus on creating an exceptional "Client Experience"

9.  Take ownership for growing your Collaborative Practice
 
10. Internalize the value of Collaborative Practice
 
To read the entire article and sign-up for our newsletter visit http://www.ferrisconsult.com/articles.iml?article=10

You Need A Core Message

A core message is what you say when someone asks "Why do you do?".  When I ask this question in my workshops more than 95% of attendees answer by telling me what they are, i.e. "I am a lawyer, a mental health professional, a divorce coach, a financial specialist, etc." Or they reply, "I am a family law attorney and do collaboration, litigation and mediation."

How many times have you answered the "what do you do" question by telling someone "what you are" versus the "value you provide?"  This is because people hearing these statements may have a preconceived notion of what a mental health professional or divorce attorney does, or is like.

Kevin Fuller from Dallas responds to the question with "I help people resolve their disputes while keeping their personal and economic dignity intact."

Jennifer Tull of Austin says "I help people make a smooth transition from being married to being single in the way that is most beneficial for them."

These statements were memorable. And the people saying them have thriving practices.  Write down the benefits that clients experience while working with you and use this information to craft your core message.

Why You Must Have A Vision

A vision is an image of your desired future. It is the picture of the future you want to create, described in the present tense, as if it were happening now. A statement of your vision shows where you WANT to go and what you will be like when you get there.  Emphasis is on the word "want." This is an important distinction because focusing on the word "want" encourages you to let go of your thinking what your business "should" or "could" look like.

A focused vision gives you direction and helps you to make important choices on how you spend your time and resources so they are in alignment with your goals.  Define your vision and create a "road map" for getting there. Your vision and "road map" will guide your day-to-day, week-to-week and month-to-month activities so you are doing the work that will result in achieving your practice vision.

What Matters To You?

Ask yourself today, “What matters most to me? What do I want to accomplish?

The answer to these questions will help you make choices that are in alignment with your values, passion, and goals.  What helps me is to start each day asking the question, “What am I going to do today to close the gap between what I am doing and what matters to me?”

At the end of the day, I ask myself, “What have I done today that is consistent with this value? What do I need to do more of? Is there anything I have done that does not reflect this value?”

You will see results by simply increasing your awareness of what is important to you and how you spend your time.

Commitment Is The Foundation For Growth

I have discovered, while working with collaborative professionals, that the key to outstanding growth in a practice comes from the choices professionals make about how they are going to spend their time and money and with whom they will spend it. Successful collaborative practitioners have made a concrete choice about their commitment to growing their collaborative practice and it is this commitment that has provided the foundation for their success.