April 12, 2025 • 7 mins
Feeling like you're just one of way too many therapists in your area? Wondering how to stand out in a saturated market — especially when licensing laws are loose and the competition feels endless? In today’s Ask Allison, I’m diving into how to shift away from a scarcity mindset and how to own your expertise while serving your ideal clients. Prefer video? This episode is also available to stream on our YouTube channel!
Sponsored by TherapyNotes®: Use promo code Abundant for 2 months free
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison.
Y'all ask the questions about having a
fun and thriving practice and I answer them.
We have a worksheet for you today so
you can bring this answer into your life.
You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash
links where you'll also be able to ask
any questions you have for Ask Allison.
If you want more support, we've got some
free trainings in there too.
(00:28):
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check
out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask
Allison library.
Welcome back to Ask Allison.
Here's today's question.
What do you do when your location is
absolutely saturated with therapists?
We have bad licensing laws that allow unlicensed
people to practice.
(00:49):
I know I'm not supposed to have scarcity
mindset, even in my niche and with a
duals master's degree in 25 years plus in
the field, inching down, working with athletes, anxious
athletes.
I'm local to Boulder, Colorado, where there are
plenty of athletes, but 10 times more therapists.
So before I answer this, I'd like to
thank Therapy Notes for sponsoring Ask Allison.
We've talked about them for years.
(01:09):
You probably know their features by heart just
like I do, but I want to talk
to you about what actually sets them apart.
And that's that they genuinely care about your
experience.
That's not the case for all of these
EHRs.
It's not just about troubleshooting.
They actively implement user suggested features like therapy
search, secure messaging, clinical outcome tracking, real-time
insurance checks, smooth super bills.
(01:30):
Everyone at Therapy Notes believes in the product
and wants you to love it too.
And they're independently owned.
That means no venture capital, no pressure to
prioritize investors over customers.
And this independence allows them to keep their
prices fair to focus on innovation and to
prioritize customer experience.
With over a hundred thousand therapists already on
board, they've proven that you don't have to
(01:51):
compromise success for quality.
Ready to see for yourself?
Then try Therapy Notes free for two months
with the code abundant at therapynotes.com.
All right.
So this is not what most people want
to hear, but if you're in a market
that has tons of therapists and you're having
a hard time building your caseload, it's a
sign that you need to improve your marketing
significantly.
(02:12):
Most of these therapists do not specialize in
working with anxious athletes like you do.
There are definitely not 10 times more athlete
-specific therapists than there are clients.
So in your position, I would recommend making
sure that your niche is extremely clear on
your website.
I don't want you to talk about another
single type of client beyond athletes with anxiety.
Then I want you to reach out to
(02:33):
anyone that your ideal client is likely to
interact with regularly.
Trainers, coaches, fun run leadership, gym owners, sports
dieticians, running club organizers, sports medicine docs, physical
therapists, primary care providers.
You get the picture.
I want you to meet with as many
of those people as you can and form
relationships with everybody who felt like a good
personal fit to you.
(02:54):
Be extremely clear about your other marketing strategies.
You know a great website and networking are
the two non-negotiables for me.
That means you have three other marketing strategies
that you can use to be tailored to
your ideal client so that it makes it
as easy as humanly possible for them to
find you.
For example, if you're using social media, make
sure you're posting the right amount of times
(03:15):
per week, that you're using your stories, and
then you're only talking about things that your
anxious clients care about.
You're not posting a quote or a bunch
of still images because that is not best
practices for social media.
Make sure you're using things like reels at
least three times a week.
Make sure you're responding to each and every
comment in some way and that you are
(03:35):
not using your DMs in a way that
could get you in hot water with your
license.
Consider posting in athlete-specific Facebook groups when
promotions are allowed.
Don't let fear of being seen keep you
from building this business and helping your people.
Do not let saturation slow you down.
So many people say their area is saturated
or their niche is saturated and use that
as an excuse to not take action.
(03:56):
So if your marketing best practices are no
more than five strategies, you're doing the right
things, you know exactly what you're doing, when,
how, consistently, you're going to get found and
you're going to get full.
I want everybody who is struggling to get
full right now to get really honest with
themselves about the level of work that they're
putting in to get clients in the door.
(04:17):
It's not backbreaking work, but it is work
that requires consistency, intention, and real thoughtfulness about
what ideal clients are looking for.
There's a time several years ago when you
could really like half-ass it and still
get full, but we are not in that
time anymore.
By putting in just some thoughtful work, you'll
(04:38):
be able to get the ball rolling on
your practice and eventually you will not have
to work so hard on attracting clients because
you will have already built up your reputation.
If your market is saturated within your niche,
that's a great thing because it means there
are people seeking what you do, and I
want that to fuel you.
There are enough people out there seeking therapy
for athletes and the people who work with
athletes stay full enough to make a living
(05:00):
and not quit.
That's what saturation is communicating to you.
I want you just as full as you
want to be, and in order for that
to happen, you have to make it abundantly
clear to your ideal clients that you are
confident, that you're competent, that you care.
And whenever you're working on marketing strategy, I
want you to think, what is the most
competent, confident, caring version of myself?
(05:22):
How do I communicate that?
We can all tell when marketing strategies are
just a box to be checked.
They don't work so well as a result.
You can tell when something's been chat GPT'd
exclusively without heavy editing or a real voice
that it's coming from.
If marketing feels really gross or skeezy or
salesy and it just doesn't feel right to
(05:42):
you, then I really want you to reframe
how you're thinking about it.
The marketing is a service.
It makes it easy for people to find
you.
Without marketing, your potential clients are going to
miss out on getting to work with you,
and you're going to miss out on having
a successful business.
Marketing done right, it's a win-win, and
it is not in any way creepy.
So for all of you in saturated markets,
(06:03):
congratulations.
You're in an area that values therapy, and
all you have to do is market well
to get the very few clients that you
actually need to have a successful business.
Remember, you don't need a thousand people.
You don't need a hundred people.
You just need a couple dozen at the
very most, and your marketing can absolutely bring
them in if you do it right.
(06:24):
If you need help marketing in this way,
then I would love for you to join
the Abundance Party.
This is what I teach in great detail
in a way that really helps you select
the marketing strategies that make the most sense
for you and your clients and teaches you
how to do them the right way so
that you're using your time efficiently and effectively.
It's not a program you have to pay
thousands of dollars for, so comment or DM
(06:44):
the word party.
I will send you a link.
And today's free worksheet is Common Marketing Strategies
for Therapists.
You can get that and all the other
free worksheets.
If you send me a comment or DM
the word sheets, we'll send it right to
you.
All right, have a really great day.
If you're ready for a much easier practice,
(07:05):
TherapyNotes is the way to go.
Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo
code ABUNDANT for two months free.
I hope that helped.
If you have questions for Ask Allison, or
you want to get your hands on the
worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com
slash links.
(07:26):
If you're listening, you probably need some support
building your practice.
If you're a super newbie, grab our free
checklist using the link in the show notes.
I'd love for you to follow, rate, and
review, but I really want you to share
this episode with a therapist friend.
Let's help all our colleagues build what they
want.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison.
Y'all ask the questions about having a
fun and thriving practice and I answer them.
We have a worksheet for you today so
you can bring this answer into your life.
You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash
links where you'll also be able to ask
any questions you have for Ask Allison.
If you want more support, we've got some
free trainings in there too.
(00:28):
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check
out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask
Allison library.
Welcome back to Ask Allison.
Here's today's question.
What do you do when your location is
absolutely saturated with therapists?
We have bad licensing laws that allow unlicensed
people to practice.
(00:49):
I know I'm not supposed to have scarcity
mindset, even in my niche and with a
duals master's degree in 25 years plus in
the field, inching down, working with athletes, anxious
athletes.
I'm local to Boulder, Colorado, where there are
plenty of athletes, but 10 times more therapists.
So before I answer this, I'd like to
thank Therapy Notes for sponsoring Ask Allison.
We've talked about them for years.
(01:09):
You probably know their features by heart just
like I do, but I want to talk
to you about what actually sets them apart.
And that's that they genuinely care about your
experience.
That's not the case for all of these
EHRs.
It's not just about troubleshooting.
They actively implement user suggested features like therapy
search, secure messaging, clinical outcome tracking, real-time
insurance checks, smooth super bills.
(01:30):
Everyone at Therapy Notes believes in the product
and wants you to love it too.
And they're independently owned.
That means no venture capital, no pressure to
prioritize investors over customers.
And this independence allows them to keep their
prices fair to focus on innovation and to
prioritize customer experience.
With over a hundred thousand therapists already on
board, they've proven that you don't have to
(01:51):
compromise success for quality.
Ready to see for yourself?
Then try Therapy Notes free for two months
with the code abundant at therapynotes.com.
All right.
So this is not what most people want
to hear, but if you're in a market
that has tons of therapists and you're having
a hard time building your caseload, it's a
sign that you need to improve your marketing
significantly.
(02:12):
Most of these therapists do not specialize in
working with anxious athletes like you do.
There are definitely not 10 times more athlete
-specific therapists than there are clients.
So in your position, I would recommend making
sure that your niche is extremely clear on
your website.
I don't want you to talk about another
single type of client beyond athletes with anxiety.
Then I want you to reach out to
(02:33):
anyone that your ideal client is likely to
interact with regularly.
Trainers, coaches, fun run leadership, gym owners, sports
dieticians, running club organizers, sports medicine docs, physical
therapists, primary care providers.
You get the picture.
I want you to meet with as many
of those people as you can and form
relationships with everybody who felt like a good
personal fit to you.
(02:54):
Be extremely clear about your other marketing strategies.
You know a great website and networking are
the two non-negotiables for me.
That means you have three other marketing strategies
that you can use to be tailored to
your ideal client so that it makes it
as easy as humanly possible for them to
find you.
For example, if you're using social media, make
sure you're posting the right amount of times
(03:15):
per week, that you're using your stories, and
then you're only talking about things that your
anxious clients care about.
You're not posting a quote or a bunch
of still images because that is not best
practices for social media.
Make sure you're using things like reels at
least three times a week.
Make sure you're responding to each and every
comment in some way and that you are
(03:35):
not using your DMs in a way that
could get you in hot water with your
license.
Consider posting in athlete-specific Facebook groups when
promotions are allowed.
Don't let fear of being seen keep you
from building this business and helping your people.
Do not let saturation slow you down.
So many people say their area is saturated
or their niche is saturated and use that
as an excuse to not take action.
(03:56):
So if your marketing best practices are no
more than five strategies, you're doing the right
things, you know exactly what you're doing, when,
how, consistently, you're going to get found and
you're going to get full.
I want everybody who is struggling to get
full right now to get really honest with
themselves about the level of work that they're
putting in to get clients in the door.
(04:17):
It's not backbreaking work, but it is work
that requires consistency, intention, and real thoughtfulness about
what ideal clients are looking for.
There's a time several years ago when you
could really like half-ass it and still
get full, but we are not in that
time anymore.
By putting in just some thoughtful work, you'll
(04:38):
be able to get the ball rolling on
your practice and eventually you will not have
to work so hard on attracting clients because
you will have already built up your reputation.
If your market is saturated within your niche,
that's a great thing because it means there
are people seeking what you do, and I
want that to fuel you.
There are enough people out there seeking therapy
for athletes and the people who work with
athletes stay full enough to make a living
(05:00):
and not quit.
That's what saturation is communicating to you.
I want you just as full as you
want to be, and in order for that
to happen, you have to make it abundantly
clear to your ideal clients that you are
confident, that you're competent, that you care.
And whenever you're working on marketing strategy, I
want you to think, what is the most
competent, confident, caring version of myself?
(05:22):
How do I communicate that?
We can all tell when marketing strategies are
just a box to be checked.
They don't work so well as a result.
You can tell when something's been chat GPT'd
exclusively without heavy editing or a real voice
that it's coming from.
If marketing feels really gross or skeezy or
salesy and it just doesn't feel right to
(05:42):
you, then I really want you to reframe
how you're thinking about it.
The marketing is a service.
It makes it easy for people to find
you.
Without marketing, your potential clients are going to
miss out on getting to work with you,
and you're going to miss out on having
a successful business.
Marketing done right, it's a win-win, and
it is not in any way creepy.
So for all of you in saturated markets,
(06:03):
congratulations.
You're in an area that values therapy, and
all you have to do is market well
to get the very few clients that you
actually need to have a successful business.
Remember, you don't need a thousand people.
You don't need a hundred people.
You just need a couple dozen at the
very most, and your marketing can absolutely bring
them in if you do it right.
(06:24):
If you need help marketing in this way,
then I would love for you to join
the Abundance Party.
This is what I teach in great detail
in a way that really helps you select
the marketing strategies that make the most sense
for you and your clients and teaches you
how to do them the right way so
that you're using your time efficiently and effectively.
It's not a program you have to pay
thousands of dollars for, so comment or DM
(06:44):
the word party.
I will send you a link.
And today's free worksheet is Common Marketing Strategies
for Therapists.
You can get that and all the other
free worksheets.
If you send me a comment or DM
the word sheets, we'll send it right to
you.
All right, have a really great day.
If you're ready for a much easier practice,
(07:05):
TherapyNotes is the way to go.
Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo
code ABUNDANT for two months free.
I hope that helped.
If you have questions for Ask Allison, or
you want to get your hands on the
worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com
slash links.
(07:26):
If you're listening, you probably need some support
building your practice.
If you're a super newbie, grab our free
checklist using the link in the show notes.
I'd love for you to follow, rate, and
review, but I really want you to share
this episode with a therapist friend.
Let's help all our colleagues build what they
want.
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