May 25, 2025 • 24 mins
Every therapist, no matter how strong their marketing is, will experience slow seasons. The consults drop off. The inbox quiets down. And your brain? It starts to spiral: "Did I mess something up?" "Do I need to change everything?" This episode is here to remind you—those dips aren’t failures. They’re part of the rhythm of running a private practice.
In this grounded and timely episode, I walk you through the real reasons your practice might slow down (hint: they’re often not your fault) and how to respond with confidence instead of panic. We’ll explore how to interpret these quieter seasons, what not to do, and how to re-engage with your marketing in a way that’s strategic, not frantic.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:
1️⃣ The top four causes of slow seasons—and why they usually aren’t about your marketing, fees, or niche.
2️⃣ The biggest marketing mistakes therapists make during a dry spell (and what to do instead).
3️⃣ How to trust what you’ve already built while making intentional tweaks that actually move the needle.
Resources & Links Mentioned:
- Confident Copy: walkerstrategyco.com/cc
- The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com
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Explore more marketing support for therapists: The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com
About Marketing Therapy
Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by Anna Walker—marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co—each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Anna Walker (00:00):
Hey, hey, welcome back to Marketing Therapy, episode six.
Today we're talking about somethingevery single therapist will eventually
face, even the ones with amazingwebsites and great marketing systems
and full caseloads, A slow down, adry spell, a season where the consults
(00:20):
stop coming in like they used to, andyour brain, it starts doing the thing.
Did I mess something up?
Should I lower my fees?
Do I need to change my niche, mywebsite, absolutely everything?
Do I need to burn it downand work at Starbucks?
I can only state these thoughtsbecause I know I've had them myself.
(00:42):
When you're in these times,it feels like a problem.
It feels quite honestly like failure.
But here's the truth.
This is not a glitch in your business.
This is part of it.
Even with great marketing,slow seasons happen.
(01:05):
The question is not, if you'll hitone, the idea that we see out there,
oh, just get your marketing perfectand you'll never have a slump again.
That's not real.
Every single clinician will face this.
So it isn't if it'll happen, it'show you'll respond when you do.
(01:25):
So today, I think you'll findthis episode very timely.
I want to help you reframe whatslowdowns actually mean and
what to do when they show up.
Now, here's what I seehappen all the time.
A therapist builds a beautifulfoundation for their marketing.
They get referrals.
Hopefully they launch a website.
(01:46):
Things pick up theircaseload, starts to fill.
Life is good,
and then it slows down.
The inquiries get quieter.
The inbox is crickets.
Fewer inquiries, even fewer consults.
People not following up after yousend them an email, empty spots
(02:07):
that weren't there a few monthsago, and their immediate reaction.
Something must be wrong with me.
Something must be wrong with my business.
I've had so many clients andstudents reach out in this exact
moment, especially the ones whowere doing really, really well for
a stretch because it is unnerving.
I remember one therapist we workedwith, we wrote and designed her website.
(02:30):
We got it live.
She received an influx of clients.
I'm talking at least acouple a week for a while.
She was fully booked inthe first few months.
Then about six months later, I signed ontomy email and I had a message from her.
She was in a panic.
She said, it's dried up.
I haven't gotten a referral.
In weeks, can we meet somethinglike something must be broken.
(02:54):
So we did.
We hopped on a call.
We looked at the data.
We looked at her website analytics.
We looked at what, what was going on.
We reviewed her marketing andthe actions she was taking.
And here's what I told her.
Ultimately, nothing here's broken.
Everything is as it should be.
Ultimately, this is just a dip.
(03:16):
She hadn't changed anythingabout her marketing.
Her messaging was still on point.
Her visibility was still very consistent.
And sure enough, a month later,I had another email from her.
You were right.
Things are picking back up.
I just needed to ride it out.
This is the part that's so hard fortherapists and understandably so,
(03:38):
because when you're not doing anythingdifferently and your consults slow
down, it has to mean something, right?
We make it mean things.
It must be your fee.
It must be your marketing.
It must be your niche.
It must be you because the truthis marketing, your practice
is very, very personal, right?
You are the business, so when it feelslike it's not working, it can feel
(04:00):
like you are not working, and that'sreally when the fear creeps in and
that old voice starts to say, maybeyou're actually not cut out for this.
Maybe this can't work anymore.
Maybe things really weretoo good to be true.
But just because the inquiry sloweddown doesn't mean you did anything
(04:21):
wrong or are doing anything wrong.
That's what I really wanna unpack today.
To do that, let's talk about what'sactually behind a slow season.
'cause there are a couple differentthings that influence this because
while your first instinct might beto blow up your niche or redo your
website, or run back to grad school foranother certification, drop your fee.
(04:43):
There's a good chance thatnothing is actually that wrong.
There are plenty of reasons yourreferrals might dip, and none of them
have to do with your personal failure.
One of those is seasonality.
I mean, we talk aboutthe summer slump, right?
The summer holidays.
These are the times of year that tend tocome with just slower traffic in general.
(05:07):
Not just for therapy practicesactually, but for many industries.
Clients are traveling, they're distracted.
They might be intentionally pausingtherapy for whatever reason.
This doesn't mean they'renot gonna come back.
It just means they'rein a different rhythm.
They're in a different season,and your practice will be too.
Another cause of slowdowns canbe those client transitions.
(05:31):
Where it's not about fewer inquiries,it's just about more graduations
because you're so good at your work.
So your current clients are wrappingup, they're making big moves, they
might be deciding to discharge,and suddenly you've got a bunch
of those open spots all at once.
That can be very, very unnervingbecause you're glad to see them
go because they're doing well.
(05:51):
But who's gonna fill those spots?
Right?
Another common cause, and I know many ofus are feeling this recently, are economic
or more kind of collective shifts,like more global higher level shifts.
Because sometimes, all of the time, quitefrankly, there are larger forces at play.
(06:11):
There's the economy, socialshifts, global events.
Even, natural disastersand things like that.
Certainly the flooding in North Carolinaimpacted so many clinicians over there.
The fires we had in California, thereare so many forces at play that are 100%
out of your control, and these thingsreally affect how people invest in care.
(06:34):
This doesn't stop the need fortherapy, but it does usually shift
their decision making timelines.
No doubt about that.
I can actually think of a clinicianwe served in Colorado who you may
remember a number of years ago, alarge wildfire came through right
around New Year's Eve, I think it was.
And she just now, I think we're three orfour years removed from that, continues
(06:55):
to see folks coming in, seeking out traumawork with her because of that disaster.
So while there was certainly animmediate slowdown, if we're looking
at just this individual event dueto people being displaced, the need.
Was also displaced.
It was just later.
Okay.
So it shifts things.
The other, and this is just kind ofthe catchall cause for slowdowns are
(07:19):
just those natural fluctuation cutare just those natural fluctuations.
Sometimes the slowdown is just a slowdown,a dip in the wave, and it doesn't
always have to be a dramatic cause.
It's would be so nice ifreferrals were linear.
(07:40):
You did this, you got thismany, you did this, you got this
many up and up and up we go.
But it's not, we treat ourbusinesses often, like they
should be linear, they should beformulaic, booked out every month.
Same number of inquiries, same number ofconversions, very predictable patterns.
But you know, as well as I do that, thatis just not how human behavior works.
(08:04):
So your slowdown that you're in rightnow, that you'll face in the future,
it could be due to one, two, maybe.
All of these factors, and sooften therapists return to
their marketing as the cause.
Well, clearly my marketing wasn't goodenough to save me from this slowdown.
(08:24):
Here's the reframe.
Even really strong marketingdoesn't eliminate the ups and downs.
It helps you ride them.
Okay?
It's not about making you immune tothis, but it's about shortening the dip.
It's about giving you tractionand confidence in the midst
of it, but not immunity.
(08:45):
And honestly, you wouldn't want it to.
I really do think eventuallyyou'd probably get tired of the
robotic business that you built.
Business is meant to be responsive.
And that really means having tolearn to lead yourself through
seasons that feel uncertain.
This is so much about what youdecide to do with this time,
(09:10):
because all four of those thingswe just went through the different
causes of slowdowns, you can'tcontrol a single one of them.
So what can you do?
Let's say you've hit a slow season,you're seeing fewer inquiries.
Your calendar has morewhite space than you'd like.
And your brain is screaming, fix it.
(09:31):
Fix it.
The urge to do something, to doabsolutely anything to control.
This is real.
But so often when I see therapistsact from a place of panic, they
almost always create more chaosand usually not many more clients.
There's a couple common reactions.
(09:51):
I tend to see one of those,I've sort of teased it.
They discount their rates.
This one happens fast.
If fewer people are reaching out,then I must be charging too much.
So drop the rate if your rateswere aligned before the dip,
if you were booking clients atyour current rate before this.
The slowdown is not apricing problem, my friend.
(10:13):
This is a season not a signal toundercut your value or to start cutting
corners on what you pay yourself.
Dropping your fee out of fear onlyerodes the confidence you've worked
so hard to build in yourself andultimately in your clients as well.
The second thing I so often see justblowing up your niche, like dropping
(10:38):
a stick of dynamite into your nicheinto your website, that kind of thing.
This can look like I've been waytoo specific, or I should start
working with more kinds of clients,or I should change who I say I help.
I'll see people post in Facebookgroups, what niche is getting
the most clients right now?
That's not the rightquestion to be asking.
This response is not strategy.
It is scarcity.
(10:59):
If your niche was working before, theanswer is not to water it down right now.
In fact, vagueness in a slowseason usually backfires because
you stop being memorable.
And you start sounding likeeveryone else in the time when
you most need to be standing out.
The next really common thingI see clinicians do, they
(11:21):
start trying everything.
We're talking 10 new marketingstrategies added to the docket.
This is the therapist versionof just flailing in the water.
You sign up for all the new directories,you start a blog, dust off your Instagram,
you've been meaning to come back to.
You start maybe running ads.
Boosting your Facebook posts, Googlinghow to start a group or become a speaker,
(11:46):
and then you wonder why none of it sticks.
The metaphor, I always come backto around this when someone's
drowning, and I don't wanna sayyou're drowning, but stay with me.
When someone's drowning.
They don't need to flail.
In fact, that's going to hurt more.
They need to float and eventually theyneed to make calm and purposeful strokes
(12:10):
to start swimming again.
So your job in a slow season is not topanic, it's to pull the right levers.
I am not saying you sitaround and let this slow down.
Be passive.
There are likely things you can do.
But what you shouldn't do is startpulling absolutely all of them and doing
all of them halfheartedly, and thenwonder why you're not getting results.
(12:36):
So if you're feeling that internalpressure to do more or try
everything, I wanna encourage youto take a breath and ask yourself,
is this a focused stroke right now?
Or a frantic splash?
If the latter, here's whatI want you to do instead.
Because when panic creates chaos,
(13:00):
cut because panic so often createschaos both in your marketing
but also just in your mind.
Whereas strategy, purposeful strokes,that's what creates momentum.
And the best thing you can do in a slowerseason is to get honest, to stay calm,
and to start pulling the right levers.
(13:22):
Here's what I want you to do instead.
One, I want you to trustwhat you've already built.
If you've been in my world for awhile, you have heard me say this,
marketing doesn't just stop workingovernight and thank goodness, hear me.
If it has worked before, there's avery good chance it can work again.
(13:43):
You have spent months.
Or even years planting seeds withyour marketing, building referral
relationships, showing up in yourcommunity, getting found on Google,
establishing credibility in your niche.
Those seeds don't just vanish.
They're still there.
They're still growing.
They're still working behind the scenes.
(14:05):
Your job right now is totrust that foundation.
Trust those seeds, trust thework you've already done and
build on it with intention.
The next thing I want you to do is Iwant you to revisit what you currently
have out there in your marketing.
Ask yourself, is my websitestill reflecting what I do best?
(14:25):
Is my site today profile still alignedwith the clients I want to attract?
Sometimes small but intentional updatescan make a really, really big difference.
I'm talking a clearer headline,a better niche statement, a
more confident call to action.
Not necessarily starting over, butsharpening, looking at them, improving.
(14:46):
Optimizing
the next thing to do.
Re-engage the people around you.
If you have been in practice for awhile, there are people in your world you
already know and who already trust you.
Colleagues, former clients, pastreferral partners use this quieter
(15:08):
season to reconnect with them.
This is not to pitch to them, this isnot to hustle and you know, get your
name out there in that kind of slimy way.
It's to genuinely check in.
It's about making use of thisquiet time in a fruitful way.
Your work is relationship basedand relationships take tending.
So what have you been letting witherand how could you return to that?
(15:33):
I've seen so many therapists booknew consults simply by showing up
again in their existing network.
Number four, explore pivots,not full reinventions.
Maybe you try out anew awareness strategy.
Maybe that's your purposeful stroke.
(15:53):
Maybe you decide to investin a low risk ad campaign.
Maybe you put together a couple ofblog posts for the next few months.
Maybe you reshare older contentthat performed well in the past, but
you haven't thought of in a while.
Maybe you finally start theproject you've been putting off.
If nothing else, maybe you use this timeto refresh your message to get support.
(16:20):
So many of our students and clientsjoin our program, sign on with us during
their slow seasons, and then they endup coming out the other side of the
dip with more clarity, more momentum.
Yeah.
Not because they needed to overhaul,but because they needed to optimize.
What levers can you pull?
What is within your control that youcould change, build upon improve?
(16:47):
What I want you to see here is that youhave more control than it feels like
you do right now, and that's really whatthe fear and anxiety comes from, right?
Is this feeling of not being ableto control the inquiries coming in.
And while you can't force clientsto show up, you can create the
conditions that make it easierfor the right ones to say yes.
(17:12):
I think one of the most important mindsetshifts you can make in times like this
is that marketing is not a project.
It is a relationship.
And just like any relationship, it needstending and attention and reconnection,
especially when things feel quiet.
Like I mentioned, that can meanreconnecting with your network, showing
(17:33):
up, staying visible, staying top of mind.
It might be nurturing connectionwith potential clients even if
they're not ready to reach out yet,with past clients who you haven't
touched base with in a while,
the thing to remember is thatthe action you take now is
not about today's consults.
(17:54):
It's about tomorrow's.
It's about three months from now.
Someone might see your blog post,your website, your profile update
today and reach out next month.
That's still working.
That's still movement, evenif you can't see it yet.
I remember one therapist, okayan alumni of ours from Confident
Copy who told me she re-listenedto a training I gave during.
(18:18):
A slow summer about the summerslump, and she said it completely
shifted the way she approached thosequieter months instead of spiraling.
She told me that she got intentional.
She reconnected with old contacts, sherevisited the curriculum and confident
copy to refresh her homepage, and shefocused on getting seen in some new ways.
(18:39):
And by the time fall rolled around,she was actually full with better
fit clients than previously.
That's what staying in relationshipwith your marketing looks like.
Marketing is not a project.
It's not something that is one and done.
It is a relationship.
So how can you be tendingto that relationship?
(19:04):
Now, I wanna close this episodeby letting you know that what I'm
sharing with you here is the sameadvice I've had to take myself.
This isn't just something that Iteach, it's something that I have
had to walk through and I'm currentlywalking through in many ways that
relationship to my marketing.
For much of the time that I've run WalkerStrategy Co since 2019, things have
(19:27):
been really consistent, almost eerily.
So I did this and got this output.
I did this and I got this output.
It kind of had that roboticnature I was mentioning earlier.
We had really strong foundations.
We delivered great work.
We are well known in our industry.
The marketing systems webuilt, they just worked.
(19:48):
It was awesome until they didn't, andI'm not talking about a like came to
a screeching halt, falling apart way,but I do mean this slow, creeping way.
That left me thinking, huh,this feels a little different.
And at first, please know, I resistedthe living daylights out of it.
(20:10):
I told myself, no way this worked before.
We've been successfuldoing this for years.
Why should I have to change anything?
I had a sense of entitlementthat I reflect back now on and
can see very, very clearly.
But the voice that said I shouldn't haveto evolve was also the same voice that
was keeping me stuck there, and I reallyrealized I needed to take my own advice.
(20:34):
So you know what I did?
I got back in touch with my business.
I stopped kind of phoning it in.
I looked at the data.
I got my hands dirty.
I reengaged with strategy.
I started testing, and I'm nottalking big, dramatic pivots.
If you've been in my world fora while, you probably haven't
noticed a whole lot of changes.
These were thoughtful tweaks,clarifications, optimizations, that
(20:58):
sharpening I'm talking about, andthe results came and are coming.
But even more than the results.
What's been really cool for me is, theother thing that came back was energy.
I have this excitement,momentum, clarity in my business
(21:21):
I haven't had in a long time.
I am more connected and engaged andexcited about it than I've been in
years, and I want that for you too.
Whether you are a few years in or justgetting started in this process, whether
this is your first dip, whether this isyour first dip or your fifth, you can
(21:45):
weather this not by overhauling, not bychasing or hustling or throwing spaghetti
at the wall, but by staying present andletting your marketing evolve with you.
Being open to evolution, being willing.
To move away from a sense ofentitlement in your marketing.
(22:06):
If you take one thing fromtoday's episode, let it be this.
Slow seasons are not asign that you're failing.
They're a signal to pause, toget curious, and to evolve.
You don't need to burn it alldown and work at Starbucks.
You don't need to start over.
(22:26):
You just need to stay grounded.
And trusting in what you've alreadydone, and then take strategic
and thoughtful action from there.
This is really ultimately why we don'tteach one size fits all marketing at
Walker Strategy Co, because sustainablegrowth doesn't come from chasing the
(22:47):
trendy tactics or constantly reinventingyourself or doing the thing that someone
just said is actually working for them.
It comes from clarity, from intention,and from that willingness to evolve
without spiraling, without panicking.
You're not alone here.
(23:08):
This is part of the process.
It's uncomfortable, but it'spart of it, and now you get
to decide what you do with it.
You're more than capable,you're resourceful, and you're
more resilient than you think.
Thanks for tuning in.
I will see you next time.
Hey, hey, welcome back to Marketing Therapy, episode six.
Today we're talking about somethingevery single therapist will eventually
face, even the ones with amazingwebsites and great marketing systems
and full caseloads, A slow down, adry spell, a season where the consults
(00:20):
stop coming in like they used to, andyour brain, it starts doing the thing.
Did I mess something up?
Should I lower my fees?
Do I need to change my niche, mywebsite, absolutely everything?
Do I need to burn it downand work at Starbucks?
I can only state these thoughtsbecause I know I've had them myself.
(00:42):
When you're in these times,it feels like a problem.
It feels quite honestly like failure.
But here's the truth.
This is not a glitch in your business.
This is part of it.
Even with great marketing,slow seasons happen.
(01:05):
The question is not, if you'll hitone, the idea that we see out there,
oh, just get your marketing perfectand you'll never have a slump again.
That's not real.
Every single clinician will face this.
So it isn't if it'll happen, it'show you'll respond when you do.
(01:25):
So today, I think you'll findthis episode very timely.
I want to help you reframe whatslowdowns actually mean and
what to do when they show up.
Now, here's what I seehappen all the time.
A therapist builds a beautifulfoundation for their marketing.
They get referrals.
Hopefully they launch a website.
(01:46):
Things pick up theircaseload, starts to fill.
Life is good,
and then it slows down.
The inquiries get quieter.
The inbox is crickets.
Fewer inquiries, even fewer consults.
People not following up after yousend them an email, empty spots
(02:07):
that weren't there a few monthsago, and their immediate reaction.
Something must be wrong with me.
Something must be wrong with my business.
I've had so many clients andstudents reach out in this exact
moment, especially the ones whowere doing really, really well for
a stretch because it is unnerving.
I remember one therapist we workedwith, we wrote and designed her website.
(02:30):
We got it live.
She received an influx of clients.
I'm talking at least acouple a week for a while.
She was fully booked inthe first few months.
Then about six months later, I signed ontomy email and I had a message from her.
She was in a panic.
She said, it's dried up.
I haven't gotten a referral.
In weeks, can we meet somethinglike something must be broken.
(02:54):
So we did.
We hopped on a call.
We looked at the data.
We looked at her website analytics.
We looked at what, what was going on.
We reviewed her marketing andthe actions she was taking.
And here's what I told her.
Ultimately, nothing here's broken.
Everything is as it should be.
Ultimately, this is just a dip.
(03:16):
She hadn't changed anythingabout her marketing.
Her messaging was still on point.
Her visibility was still very consistent.
And sure enough, a month later,I had another email from her.
You were right.
Things are picking back up.
I just needed to ride it out.
This is the part that's so hard fortherapists and understandably so,
(03:38):
because when you're not doing anythingdifferently and your consults slow
down, it has to mean something, right?
We make it mean things.
It must be your fee.
It must be your marketing.
It must be your niche.
It must be you because the truthis marketing, your practice
is very, very personal, right?
You are the business, so when it feelslike it's not working, it can feel
(04:00):
like you are not working, and that'sreally when the fear creeps in and
that old voice starts to say, maybeyou're actually not cut out for this.
Maybe this can't work anymore.
Maybe things really weretoo good to be true.
But just because the inquiry sloweddown doesn't mean you did anything
(04:21):
wrong or are doing anything wrong.
That's what I really wanna unpack today.
To do that, let's talk about what'sactually behind a slow season.
'cause there are a couple differentthings that influence this because
while your first instinct might beto blow up your niche or redo your
website, or run back to grad school foranother certification, drop your fee.
(04:43):
There's a good chance thatnothing is actually that wrong.
There are plenty of reasons yourreferrals might dip, and none of them
have to do with your personal failure.
One of those is seasonality.
I mean, we talk aboutthe summer slump, right?
The summer holidays.
These are the times of year that tend tocome with just slower traffic in general.
(05:07):
Not just for therapy practicesactually, but for many industries.
Clients are traveling, they're distracted.
They might be intentionally pausingtherapy for whatever reason.
This doesn't mean they'renot gonna come back.
It just means they'rein a different rhythm.
They're in a different season,and your practice will be too.
Another cause of slowdowns canbe those client transitions.
(05:31):
Where it's not about fewer inquiries,it's just about more graduations
because you're so good at your work.
So your current clients are wrappingup, they're making big moves, they
might be deciding to discharge,and suddenly you've got a bunch
of those open spots all at once.
That can be very, very unnervingbecause you're glad to see them
go because they're doing well.
(05:51):
But who's gonna fill those spots?
Right?
Another common cause, and I know many ofus are feeling this recently, are economic
or more kind of collective shifts,like more global higher level shifts.
Because sometimes, all of the time, quitefrankly, there are larger forces at play.
(06:11):
There's the economy, socialshifts, global events.
Even, natural disastersand things like that.
Certainly the flooding in North Carolinaimpacted so many clinicians over there.
The fires we had in California, thereare so many forces at play that are 100%
out of your control, and these thingsreally affect how people invest in care.
(06:34):
This doesn't stop the need fortherapy, but it does usually shift
their decision making timelines.
No doubt about that.
I can actually think of a clinicianwe served in Colorado who you may
remember a number of years ago, alarge wildfire came through right
around New Year's Eve, I think it was.
And she just now, I think we're three orfour years removed from that, continues
(06:55):
to see folks coming in, seeking out traumawork with her because of that disaster.
So while there was certainly animmediate slowdown, if we're looking
at just this individual event dueto people being displaced, the need.
Was also displaced.
It was just later.
Okay.
So it shifts things.
The other, and this is just kind ofthe catchall cause for slowdowns are
(07:19):
just those natural fluctuation cutare just those natural fluctuations.
Sometimes the slowdown is just a slowdown,a dip in the wave, and it doesn't
always have to be a dramatic cause.
It's would be so nice ifreferrals were linear.
(07:40):
You did this, you got thismany, you did this, you got this
many up and up and up we go.
But it's not, we treat ourbusinesses often, like they
should be linear, they should beformulaic, booked out every month.
Same number of inquiries, same number ofconversions, very predictable patterns.
But you know, as well as I do that, thatis just not how human behavior works.
(08:04):
So your slowdown that you're in rightnow, that you'll face in the future,
it could be due to one, two, maybe.
All of these factors, and sooften therapists return to
their marketing as the cause.
Well, clearly my marketing wasn't goodenough to save me from this slowdown.
(08:24):
Here's the reframe.
Even really strong marketingdoesn't eliminate the ups and downs.
It helps you ride them.
Okay?
It's not about making you immune tothis, but it's about shortening the dip.
It's about giving you tractionand confidence in the midst
of it, but not immunity.
(08:45):
And honestly, you wouldn't want it to.
I really do think eventuallyyou'd probably get tired of the
robotic business that you built.
Business is meant to be responsive.
And that really means having tolearn to lead yourself through
seasons that feel uncertain.
This is so much about what youdecide to do with this time,
(09:10):
because all four of those thingswe just went through the different
causes of slowdowns, you can'tcontrol a single one of them.
So what can you do?
Let's say you've hit a slow season,you're seeing fewer inquiries.
Your calendar has morewhite space than you'd like.
And your brain is screaming, fix it.
(09:31):
Fix it.
The urge to do something, to doabsolutely anything to control.
This is real.
But so often when I see therapistsact from a place of panic, they
almost always create more chaosand usually not many more clients.
There's a couple common reactions.
(09:51):
I tend to see one of those,I've sort of teased it.
They discount their rates.
This one happens fast.
If fewer people are reaching out,then I must be charging too much.
So drop the rate if your rateswere aligned before the dip,
if you were booking clients atyour current rate before this.
The slowdown is not apricing problem, my friend.
(10:13):
This is a season not a signal toundercut your value or to start cutting
corners on what you pay yourself.
Dropping your fee out of fear onlyerodes the confidence you've worked
so hard to build in yourself andultimately in your clients as well.
The second thing I so often see justblowing up your niche, like dropping
(10:38):
a stick of dynamite into your nicheinto your website, that kind of thing.
This can look like I've been waytoo specific, or I should start
working with more kinds of clients,or I should change who I say I help.
I'll see people post in Facebookgroups, what niche is getting
the most clients right now?
That's not the rightquestion to be asking.
This response is not strategy.
It is scarcity.
(10:59):
If your niche was working before, theanswer is not to water it down right now.
In fact, vagueness in a slowseason usually backfires because
you stop being memorable.
And you start sounding likeeveryone else in the time when
you most need to be standing out.
The next really common thingI see clinicians do, they
(11:21):
start trying everything.
We're talking 10 new marketingstrategies added to the docket.
This is the therapist versionof just flailing in the water.
You sign up for all the new directories,you start a blog, dust off your Instagram,
you've been meaning to come back to.
You start maybe running ads.
Boosting your Facebook posts, Googlinghow to start a group or become a speaker,
(11:46):
and then you wonder why none of it sticks.
The metaphor, I always come backto around this when someone's
drowning, and I don't wanna sayyou're drowning, but stay with me.
When someone's drowning.
They don't need to flail.
In fact, that's going to hurt more.
They need to float and eventually theyneed to make calm and purposeful strokes
(12:10):
to start swimming again.
So your job in a slow season is not topanic, it's to pull the right levers.
I am not saying you sitaround and let this slow down.
Be passive.
There are likely things you can do.
But what you shouldn't do is startpulling absolutely all of them and doing
all of them halfheartedly, and thenwonder why you're not getting results.
(12:36):
So if you're feeling that internalpressure to do more or try
everything, I wanna encourage youto take a breath and ask yourself,
is this a focused stroke right now?
Or a frantic splash?
If the latter, here's whatI want you to do instead.
Because when panic creates chaos,
(13:00):
cut because panic so often createschaos both in your marketing
but also just in your mind.
Whereas strategy, purposeful strokes,that's what creates momentum.
And the best thing you can do in a slowerseason is to get honest, to stay calm,
and to start pulling the right levers.
(13:22):
Here's what I want you to do instead.
One, I want you to trustwhat you've already built.
If you've been in my world for awhile, you have heard me say this,
marketing doesn't just stop workingovernight and thank goodness, hear me.
If it has worked before, there's avery good chance it can work again.
(13:43):
You have spent months.
Or even years planting seeds withyour marketing, building referral
relationships, showing up in yourcommunity, getting found on Google,
establishing credibility in your niche.
Those seeds don't just vanish.
They're still there.
They're still growing.
They're still working behind the scenes.
(14:05):
Your job right now is totrust that foundation.
Trust those seeds, trust thework you've already done and
build on it with intention.
The next thing I want you to do is Iwant you to revisit what you currently
have out there in your marketing.
Ask yourself, is my websitestill reflecting what I do best?
(14:25):
Is my site today profile still alignedwith the clients I want to attract?
Sometimes small but intentional updatescan make a really, really big difference.
I'm talking a clearer headline,a better niche statement, a
more confident call to action.
Not necessarily starting over, butsharpening, looking at them, improving.
(14:46):
Optimizing
the next thing to do.
Re-engage the people around you.
If you have been in practice for awhile, there are people in your world you
already know and who already trust you.
Colleagues, former clients, pastreferral partners use this quieter
(15:08):
season to reconnect with them.
This is not to pitch to them, this isnot to hustle and you know, get your
name out there in that kind of slimy way.
It's to genuinely check in.
It's about making use of thisquiet time in a fruitful way.
Your work is relationship basedand relationships take tending.
So what have you been letting witherand how could you return to that?
(15:33):
I've seen so many therapists booknew consults simply by showing up
again in their existing network.
Number four, explore pivots,not full reinventions.
Maybe you try out anew awareness strategy.
Maybe that's your purposeful stroke.
(15:53):
Maybe you decide to investin a low risk ad campaign.
Maybe you put together a couple ofblog posts for the next few months.
Maybe you reshare older contentthat performed well in the past, but
you haven't thought of in a while.
Maybe you finally start theproject you've been putting off.
If nothing else, maybe you use this timeto refresh your message to get support.
(16:20):
So many of our students and clientsjoin our program, sign on with us during
their slow seasons, and then they endup coming out the other side of the
dip with more clarity, more momentum.
Yeah.
Not because they needed to overhaul,but because they needed to optimize.
What levers can you pull?
What is within your control that youcould change, build upon improve?
(16:47):
What I want you to see here is that youhave more control than it feels like
you do right now, and that's really whatthe fear and anxiety comes from, right?
Is this feeling of not being ableto control the inquiries coming in.
And while you can't force clientsto show up, you can create the
conditions that make it easierfor the right ones to say yes.
(17:12):
I think one of the most important mindsetshifts you can make in times like this
is that marketing is not a project.
It is a relationship.
And just like any relationship, it needstending and attention and reconnection,
especially when things feel quiet.
Like I mentioned, that can meanreconnecting with your network, showing
(17:33):
up, staying visible, staying top of mind.
It might be nurturing connectionwith potential clients even if
they're not ready to reach out yet,with past clients who you haven't
touched base with in a while,
the thing to remember is thatthe action you take now is
not about today's consults.
(17:54):
It's about tomorrow's.
It's about three months from now.
Someone might see your blog post,your website, your profile update
today and reach out next month.
That's still working.
That's still movement, evenif you can't see it yet.
I remember one therapist, okayan alumni of ours from Confident
Copy who told me she re-listenedto a training I gave during.
(18:18):
A slow summer about the summerslump, and she said it completely
shifted the way she approached thosequieter months instead of spiraling.
She told me that she got intentional.
She reconnected with old contacts, sherevisited the curriculum and confident
copy to refresh her homepage, and shefocused on getting seen in some new ways.
(18:39):
And by the time fall rolled around,she was actually full with better
fit clients than previously.
That's what staying in relationshipwith your marketing looks like.
Marketing is not a project.
It's not something that is one and done.
It is a relationship.
So how can you be tendingto that relationship?
(19:04):
Now, I wanna close this episodeby letting you know that what I'm
sharing with you here is the sameadvice I've had to take myself.
This isn't just something that Iteach, it's something that I have
had to walk through and I'm currentlywalking through in many ways that
relationship to my marketing.
For much of the time that I've run WalkerStrategy Co since 2019, things have
(19:27):
been really consistent, almost eerily.
So I did this and got this output.
I did this and I got this output.
It kind of had that roboticnature I was mentioning earlier.
We had really strong foundations.
We delivered great work.
We are well known in our industry.
The marketing systems webuilt, they just worked.
(19:48):
It was awesome until they didn't, andI'm not talking about a like came to
a screeching halt, falling apart way,but I do mean this slow, creeping way.
That left me thinking, huh,this feels a little different.
And at first, please know, I resistedthe living daylights out of it.
(20:10):
I told myself, no way this worked before.
We've been successfuldoing this for years.
Why should I have to change anything?
I had a sense of entitlementthat I reflect back now on and
can see very, very clearly.
But the voice that said I shouldn't haveto evolve was also the same voice that
was keeping me stuck there, and I reallyrealized I needed to take my own advice.
(20:34):
So you know what I did?
I got back in touch with my business.
I stopped kind of phoning it in.
I looked at the data.
I got my hands dirty.
I reengaged with strategy.
I started testing, and I'm nottalking big, dramatic pivots.
If you've been in my world fora while, you probably haven't
noticed a whole lot of changes.
These were thoughtful tweaks,clarifications, optimizations, that
(20:58):
sharpening I'm talking about, andthe results came and are coming.
But even more than the results.
What's been really cool for me is, theother thing that came back was energy.
I have this excitement,momentum, clarity in my business
(21:21):
I haven't had in a long time.
I am more connected and engaged andexcited about it than I've been in
years, and I want that for you too.
Whether you are a few years in or justgetting started in this process, whether
this is your first dip, whether this isyour first dip or your fifth, you can
(21:45):
weather this not by overhauling, not bychasing or hustling or throwing spaghetti
at the wall, but by staying present andletting your marketing evolve with you.
Being open to evolution, being willing.
To move away from a sense ofentitlement in your marketing.
(22:06):
If you take one thing fromtoday's episode, let it be this.
Slow seasons are not asign that you're failing.
They're a signal to pause, toget curious, and to evolve.
You don't need to burn it alldown and work at Starbucks.
You don't need to start over.
(22:26):
You just need to stay grounded.
And trusting in what you've alreadydone, and then take strategic
and thoughtful action from there.
This is really ultimately why we don'tteach one size fits all marketing at
Walker Strategy Co, because sustainablegrowth doesn't come from chasing the
(22:47):
trendy tactics or constantly reinventingyourself or doing the thing that someone
just said is actually working for them.
It comes from clarity, from intention,and from that willingness to evolve
without spiraling, without panicking.
You're not alone here.
(23:08):
This is part of the process.
It's uncomfortable, but it'spart of it, and now you get
to decide what you do with it.
You're more than capable,you're resourceful, and you're
more resilient than you think.
Thanks for tuning in.
I will see you next time.
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