Make the Most of Massage

Author: Mark Liskey

  • Send Your Massage Clients Away and Make More Money

    Send Your Massage Clients Away and Make More Money

    When I first opened my massage practice, I was a strict neuromuscular massage therapy (NMT) practitioner. I believed that NMT could get any client out of pain. Period.

    Twenty years later, things have changed for one reason: I get better results for certain clients when I collaborate with and/or refer to other health professionals and experts. An added bonus to collaboration is that my massage practice grows.

    Why I Became a NMT Purist

    One of the things that drew me to neuromuscular therapy is the idea that I could resolve clients’ pain and soft tissue conditions using a “scientific” framework. (I use the quotes because NMT is actually based in theory, not hard science.)

    If a client didn’t get better, I’d go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate my course of action.

    Hmm…maybe I should I work the right longus colli 3X more than the left longus colli…

    Why I Became a Multi-Disciplinary Guy

    But often after re-evaluating, I’d find myself deeper in the rabbit hole because the new thing I had tried on the client also didn’t work.

    I wish I could say that I got out of the rabbit quickly. But it didn’t happen like that.

    The move towards the light of day was gradual and promulgated by failure, like a hammy that didn’t resolve or a neck that got worse. Eventually the failures added up to where I had to admit that my purist approach to massage wasn’t working. And, finally, I started looking for answers elsewhere.

    Losing Money in my Massage Practice—NOT

    I began to connect and collaborate with chiropractors, PTs, personal trainers, exercise physiologists, functional exercise therapists, orthopedists, podiatrists, acupuncturists, and sports coaches.

    On a whole, my more challenging clients improved when I took a multi-disciplinary approach and collaborated or referred out to other health professionals and experts.

    From a business standpoint, this sometimes meant I lost clients because they started to go to someone who could help them better than I could.

    But, interestingly, this didn’t mean I lost money.

    Why?

    Some of those practitioners who I referred clients to, referred clients back to me. In addition, those practitioners indirectly or directly connected me to other health practitioners and my referral network grew.

    And there’s more…

    The more I collaborated with other health practitioners in my referral network, the more they connected “massage” as a component of care for their own patients/clients/athletes and “Mark” as the person who should be doing the job.

    The Long and Short Roads

    If you want to start or expand your referral network there’s a long and short way to do this.

    The long way is to let the system grow naturally without a plan.

    The shortcut is to narrow your focus and build connections within a niche market.

    A niche market can be defined as a group of potential customers who have specific characteristics and a common need.

    Anyone who goes to the gym and works out is a general market. Crossfit is niche market.

    A niche market makes the world smaller. That means your name will spreader faster than if you were trying to make connections in a big market.

    Referral Network Shortcut for Your Massage Practice

    Here’s my referral network shortcut recipe:

    1. Develop a niche market.

    Here’s how you do that: A Niche Market = More Clients.

    1. From that niche, connect with other health practitioners who will collaborate with you to help your clients in that niche.

    Here’s what I did: Start a Massage Business: Connect with the Right Physical Therapist

    1. Promote yourself by being accessible and demonstrating value.

    I’m a big fan of demonstrating value through demo massages: How to Grow Your Massage Business With $0.

    Not a Huge, Hairy Deal

    If this is starting to feel like a big, hairy deal, let’s back up.

    When I couldn’t help certain clients, I reached out to other health practitioners and experts. They started to refer back to me. And my network of health practitioners and experts grew.

    Then I focused on helping clients in a niche market and in-coming referrals really took off.

    This showed me that if I focused on a niche market, I could really increase the number of referrals coming my way.

    Here’s what you need to do to grow your massage practice with a referral network:

    1. Pick a niche market,
    2. Connect with other experts servicing that niche market,
    3. Promote yourself by being accessible and demonstrating your value.

    P.S. It works. If you follow these steps you’ll serve your clients better and your massage practice will grow. And if you need more guidance, sign up for my email group. I’ll let you know when new articles, tutorials, downloads and videos are out. The subscription is free and you can unsubscribe anytime.

  • How to “Email” in More Clients

    How to “Email” in More Clients

    If you don’t have any money to advertise, there is one thing you absolutely need to do: Email marketing. In other words, you can email your clients about massage specials, important information and personal recommendations.

    Take a deep breath. I’m going to make it easy for you to get rolling.

    Here we go!

    Eliminating the Cheese Factor

    First, you need to get your clients’ email addresses. Here’s how I’ve taken the cheese factor out of asking my clients for their email addresses:

    1. We have a line for an email address on our intake form. And 90%-ish of our new clients provide an email address on the intake.
    2. After the massage, I let the client know that we periodically email specials out. And then I ask the client if she wants to be on the email list.
    3. I go through my cell contacts of existing clients. If I don’t have an email address for one, I will call or text her. Here’s what I say/write: “Hi, _______, I’m going to start sending out emails when I’m running a special. Just wanted to know if you’d be interested in receiving that information?”

    Get a Free Email Marketing Service

    Next pick an email marketing service. An email marketing service makes it easy to send out all emails at once and there are free versions out there. I use Mailchimp.

    Once you pick out your email marketing service, start inputting email addresses to create an email list.

    Keep the Momentum

    It doesn’t matter if you have 1000 clients or just 1 client on your email list, you need to send out your first email to get the ball rolling. Here are 3 evergreen emails that you can cycle through:

    1. Special/Discount:

    The list of specials is endless. For instance, you could offer a Birthday Discount, Monday Special (or whichever day that tends to be a slow work day), or a Client Appreciation Thank You. Below is the copy for our Client Appreciation email that we sent out. If you like it, feel free to use it.

    Subject Line of Email: We’ve lost it–$59 massage!

    We’ve haven’t really lost it. We’re just excited because we have something special for you.

    It’s been a year and a half since we opened our doors at PressurePerfect(TM) massage and you guys have been awesome! You’ve been loyal customers, provided fantastic feedback, and have encouraged us to carry on with our “against the grain” business model of no tipping, no memberships and no up-selling.

    It’s with this heartfelt appreciation that we’re offering you a special discount voucher of $59 for a 60 minute massage.

    You can purchase this special discount voucher now through May 27th by simply calling 610-955-6695. If you reach our voicemail (which could be the case because we’re often busy doing massage), just leave a message and someone will get right back to you asap to take your order.

    Vouchers need to be used between now and July 1. After July 1, the purchase price of the offer ($59) can be used towards the normal price of a massage ($80). Maximum of 2 vouchers per client please.

    Thank you and we look forward to seeing you!

    2. Information That Can Help Your Clients:

    Only send out information that you think your clients’ can use. If you send out information without keeping your clients’ in mind, they’re going to ignore your emails. Here are some client-centric email ideas: self-massage techniques, stretches for lower back, a link to an article on warming up before working out. Here’s a link to a self massage video that I sent out to our clients.

    3. Personal Recommendations:

    Recommending other health professionals can help your clients’ achieve their wellness goals. It’s also a way to connect with other health professionals and build referral sources. I only recommend services that I’ve vetted and/or use myself. Here is the copy that we used when we introduced Bernie, a kick-butt chiropractor, to our clients:

    Hi Everybody,

    Over the years, we’ve connected with some great health practitioners in the Phoenixville area. And we wanted to share their expertise with you. That’s why we asked our colleagues to provide you with a quick health tip that could have instant impact in your life.

    We’d like to start with Dr. Bernard Stern, DC. He’s a chiropractor right here in Phoenixville. We love Dr. Stern because he’s passionate about what he does, his adjustments are super-thorough (30 minutes with each patient) and he’s all about helping patients take control of their health.

    Without further ado, here’s the video of the exercise tip that he wanted to share with you:
    An Exercise to Help You Stay Young

    Hope you found his tip helpful. If you think you have a chiropractic issue and want to talk to him, you can reach him at 610-755-1886.The initial consult & adjustment is $40. After that each chiropractic session is $20. He’s not a fan of websites, but his Yelp reviews speak for themselves.

    Here’s to getting and staying healthy!

    Lisa and Mark

    How Often Should I Email?

    Start sending emails once a month. After 3 months, think about every other week.
    If 10% – %20 of your clients buy one of your specials, that’s great. Remember that a client who isn’t buying your specials doesn’t mean he’s not spreading your name to his friends and family. Your emails remind him why he likes you (and your work) so much.

    Making a Living Versus Building a Business

    Having clients’ cell phone numbers is he basis for making a living. Having their email addresses is the raw material for growing a business for FREE.

    You can get over the cheese factor of asking for a client’s email address by having an email friendly intake form. Ask an existing client for her email address by saying: “Hi, _______, I’m going to start sending out emails when I’m running a special. Just wanted to know if you’d be interested in receiving that information?”

    Select a free email marketing service. Then input the email addresses and start sending group emails using evergreen emails: Special/Discount, Information, and Recommendations. And always encourage your clients to share your emails with family and friends when it makes sense.

    Commit to sending group emails, at least, once a month. And remember that your email is like an internet billboard. Your clients may not always buy your special, but they will constantly be reminded of you. And the potential to spread your name increases.

    Free Course to Jumpstart Your Massage Business

    If you’re just starting a massage business and aren’t making 30K a year working for yourself take this free course: Jumpstart.

    If you’re trying to take a meh massage business and make it a dream massage business, go here: Accelerator.

    Ways to Save Money and Build Your Practice:

    Massage Insurance: Who has the Cheapest Massage Insurance

    Website: Cheapest Way to Build a Website.

    Rent a Massage Room: How to Rent a Massage Room for Cheap.

    Questions?

    I am here. Email me a mark@makethemostofmassage.com! 🙂

    Sign up For My Email Group – Get My Latest Info

     

  • Improve for Free GMP Ranking – Optimize Your GMP Page

    Here’s what you need to do to have your business show up higher in the local search listings when someone does a search for massage in your area. By the way, it’s free and not hard to do.

     

     

  • The Boss Trap

    Recently my wife, Lisa, and I helped organize vegan restaurant week in our town. We had to talk to a lot of restaurant owners and in the process we became more familiar with their business operations. One restaurant owner, Billy, was struggling to get everything together for us. Like many small business owners, he was operating short-staffed and he was wearing many hats.

    Billy hadn’t thought through the payment/reservation process for the event. He wanted people to make reservations and pay for his special dinner on his Facebook page, but there were a lot of variables that had to be factored in. For example, the special dinner was running on multiple days and for long periods of time that weren’t necessarily the same time length on each day.

    I had suggested just taking the reservations and credit card payment over the phone, but he didn’t want to do that.  So, Billy, with very limited experience on Facebook, went ahead with setting up payment and scheduling on Facebook. When he finished, his Facebook page looked like a car with way too many bumper stickers on it, and his checkout wouldn’t allow someone to make more than one seat reservation.

    Okay, now would he be willing to take reservations over the phone?

    Yes, but his business answering machine didn’t work anymore. Customers had told him that before, but he never fixed it.

    Okay, could he fix the answering machine?

    Actually, no, he was on vacation and wouldn’t be able to address that issue for a couple of days.

    His solution: It will wait until I get back.

    Wait ‘til the boss hears about that!

    Yeah, about that boss….

    Welcome to the boss trap. When you work for you yourself, you are the final decision maker and you’re not accountable to anyone else except yourself.

    From a “how you want to live your life” standpoint, that’s great. You don’t have anyone breathing done your neck. You can live life on your terms and mitigate your stress. On the flipside, if you’re only listening to yourself, don’t complain if your business is not all you want it to be or you feel stuck.

    By the way, I am the poster child for the boss trap.

    A small explosion goes off in my head every time I’m involved in a group project and I have to listen to other peoples’ opinions. To be honest, I don’t think it’s about me wanting to boss other people around. In fact, I want them to go away. It’s more about me not having the final say and not wanting to be told what to do.

    “I am the boss of me” is my boss trap.

    Regardless, the boss trap has hampered my business progress throughout my life. Here’s a simple example: The scheduling system that we were using was glitch-y and wouldn’t let us adjust the time in between clients for each massage therapist.

    We needed to look for a new system. So, initially, boss Mark…

    (a) started a spreadsheet where he compared scheduling systems

    (b) called scheduling systems when he had questions about their features

    (c) Both a and b.

    (d) avoided the decision by finding something else to do.

    Yep, it was “d”. As soon as I saw that the process of picking a new scheduling system was going to be a big, hairy deal, I was out. And who was going to stop me or say anything. That would be nobody since I was the boss.

    Here are other times in my massage career where I got caught in the boss trap:

    • It took me over a year to put up our marquee sign at our one office. I was afraid I was going to mess it up and have to pay for a new one, so I avoided putting it up. The sign brought in about one client per week. That’s a $3000 to $5000 missed opportunity.
    • I had a friend do our business website in exchange for massage. That took about a year to get done because she was busy and I didn’t want to bother her. Not sure how to measure that lost revenue.
    • Before that I had a client build my neuromuscular massage website in exchange for massage. That was a two year project that never got done because I avoided confrontation. I measure that one not in terms of financial loss but in terms of hair pulled out.

    But things changed for me when we hired a great massage therapist, Sarah. Sarah had worked in the corporate world for 10 years, and it quickly became apparent that she had business skills that could be utilized in our business. So it was a no-brainer to get Sarah involved with the operations of the business. When she did, we started to get more traction.

    Why did we get more traction?

    Let’s circle back to the scheduler. I had brought Sarah in on the scheduler project. So, initially with the scheduler, I did my typical boss trap behavior and avoided rolling up my sleeves to reach a decision. But it didn’t take me too long to realize that I would soon have to explain to Sarah why I’m not moving forward on a decision. Both Sarah and I were invested in this process. Now I had some accountability.

    F***.

    So, the next thing I did was to…

    (a) avoid Sarah

    (b) take a vacation

    (c) bitch and moan

    (d) put on my big boy pants and work towards a decision

    Okay, so it was “c” and “d”, but the point is that I knew it needed to be done and that I was the hold up. Sarah was testing out the systems I was asking her to test out, but I wasn’t putting everything together and narrowing the field.

    I jumped back in and we now have a scheduling system that meets the business’s needs.

    It’s really hard to get out of the boss trap because it’s complicated. You’re a boss of yourself for a lot of reasons. And in Billy’s case, it’s mainly about creating a business that is basically about him. I don’t think he wants to get out of the boss trap—and that’s fine—but when shit blows up in his face, he shouldn’t look surprised. And since we now know that we’re dealing with someone in the boss trap, at next year’s event, we will limit Billy’s involvement to what we know he can manage.

    So are you in the boss trap?

    You can get out.

    Start by leaving a comment below or shooting me an email:-)