How to market like a psychotherapist

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How to market like a psychotherapist
By Melissa Karnaze for Copyblogger
September 15, 2009

To market like a psychotherapist, you can start with these five basic steps:

1. Don?t think in simplistic terms of selling products or services. Find the ideas and attitudes that you are really trying to sell. You?re not manipulating people to buy; you?re presenting them with ideas and attitudes that they can choose to adopt.
2. Before you can persuade, you have to thoroughly understand your ?patient.? With the web at your fingertips, you can conduct your own polls, take Twitter?s pulse, or use web analytics to study your traffic. Thoughtful research helps you to be more empathetic toward your prospects, because you listen to and care about their concerns, questions, and interests.
3. Be mindful of the professional literature in your field. Psychotherapists go through years of professional training to learn the best-respected theories and modalities. Make an ongoing study of the best research and thinking on persuasion.
4. Instead of viewing your work as selling or marketing, see it for what it is: a comfortable conversation on a couch, about topics that are important to everyday people.
5. Share the ideas and attitudes that benefit your customers. Psychotherapists market ?welfare? emotions because they want people to lead happier, more effective lives. Learn to market the ideas that you see helping your customers do the same.

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