Make the Most of Massage

Author: Mark Liskey

  • Build a Professional Massage Therapy Website: A Cost-Effective DIY Guide

    How to Build a Professional Massage Therapy Website

     

    How do you quickly build a massage website (or a blog) that brings in clients without paying for a web designer and a SEO expert?

    (1) Pick a website host/builder.

    (2) Keep the massage website design simple and write engaging content.

    (3) Do basic (not complicated or time-consuming) SEO for a local search.

    Easier Than You Think – Why DIY is the Best Option

    Knowing what to do (the three things I just mentioned) is the hard part.

    Doing the actual website is the easy part.

    But before we get into the specifics, I have to tell you that my massage website history has left me more scarred than my childhood.

    Just joking, ma. 

    You did good!

    My Massage Website Trauma

    Early on, I bartered with programmers for my website. Let’s just say that things never got done in a timely manner—or at all!

    My business suffered big time because I didn’t have control over my website.

    About 10 years ago, I did my first Do-It-Yourself (DIY) website.

    The experience was mildly better than working with a disinterested designer.

    Unfortunately, the website builder I was using was clunky and not straightforward.

    At the end of the day I had a website, but I had to put in an insane amount of hair-pulling-out hours to get it done.

    But it’s not like that now.

    Website builders nowadays are simple to use and the end product looks great.

    Still with me on the DIY website?

    Good.

    Now let’s address the next thing that may be freaking you out.

    Blog or Website?

    You may have read that you need a blog for your website.

    You don’t.

    Engaging content and basic SEO will carry the day.

    However, if you want to have a serious blog because you like to write or you want to provide more information to your clients (and potential clients) or it’s part of your marketing strategy, go here.

    If you just need a website or if you need a website with a blog playing a minor role (1 post per month) then you’re at the right place.

    Before we get started, you need to know that links in this guide are affiliate links.

    So, that means if you purchase through a link I get a commission—but you don’t pay more for going through a link. 

    Affiliate commissions support my work, and I appreciate and count on the support. But no matter if you purchase through my link or not, I’m here to answer any questions about websites. Just email me at mark@makethemostofmassage.com

    Okay, let’s get crackin’!

    Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Website

     

    Step #1: Pick a Website Host/Builder

     

    If you already have a website, skip to Step #2. If not, you next need to consider a domain name for your website.

    Choosing a Domain Name

    First, you want to own your domain name because you need to control your business name online. 

    Guess what? If you have a “free” massage website through a professional organization, like AMTA, ABMP, or Massage Magazine, you may not own the domain name to your website. If that’s the case and you decide to leave that organization, you don’t take the domain name (and potentially the website) with you.

    Sometimes, depending on the professional organization’s relationship with the website provider, your domain name may be a subdomain of the professional organization you’re with or the website provider they use. For example, your URL may look like this: www.ashleysmassage/massageprofessionalorganization.com.

    That means your website address will not match your business name. This doesn’t look good to clients and it makes marketing/advertising complicated.

    I know this firsthand. A while back, I had a free website through Google. My website was okay looking (not really according to my wife, Lisa), but my website URL made things waaay complicated.

    For instance, was I really going to put www.markliskeymassage/googlesites.com on my business cards? Actually, I did. It looked crappy and no one ever went to my website.

    The sad thing is that I knew better, but I wanted someone else to take care of all the details, like getting the domain name.

    Why?

    I guess it’s pretty much the same answer for everybody. Fear of the unknown.

    That’s when you start imagining all the things that could possibly go wrong, like Omg, I just bought MarkLiskeySucksAtMassage.com instead of MarkLiskeyMassage.com!

    But, seriously, you’re not gonna screw it up.

    Picking a domain name is easy with Weebly and Wix or any website builder company. You just need to come up with the ______.com name.

    If your massage business is your actual name, you’re domain name is likely to be available.

    If you’re business name is different than your actual name and someone already owns that domain name as a .com, you’ll be alerted and alternatives will be suggested.

    For example, if your business is Jones Massage and jonesmassage.com is taken, then available alternatives might be jonesmassage .net or jonesmassage.biz.

    Yes, .com is preferable because it’s most familiar to people, but .net will work. Our Berwyn, PA USA office is a .net and does fine in the local search.

    You could also try adding a word or changing your business name if you business name is not available as a .com.

    For example, if your business name is Great Relief Massage and greatreliefmassage.com is taken, you could try greatreliefmassagetherapy.com.

    Don’t get too far away from the business name that you want on your sign and/or what is your legal business name, but there is room for experimentation.

    If you need a second set of eyeballs on your domain name selection, email (mark@makethemostofmassage.com) me.

    Get a Real Real Domain Name and Build Your Website

    How do you get a real domain name? Go with a web host service. It’s the cheapest way to build a website and it’s not hard to do.

    What is a Web Host?

    A web host provides storage space and the technologies for a website or web pages to be viewed on the Internet. The web host services I recommend provide free website builders.

    Wait! How about just using a website builders like Wix and Weebly? Both are good options to create a website. But if you want to save money, have more control over your website and have additional websites at no extra charge, then go with one of the affordable web hosting services in this article.

    Picking a Website Host/Builder

    This post that I wrote, Cheapest Way to Build a Website, will provide you with my recommendations and give you all the information you need to pick the web host that is best for you.

    Now, let’s build a website.

    Step #2: Design a Simple, Effective Website

    Ultimately, the design is not what’s going to bring in clients.

    Okay, you don’t want an god-awful, ugly design that repels clients.

    But if your website is simple and clean, you’re good content will carry the day.

    Also, “simple” is a huge time-saver. 

    You’re not going to be spending gobs of time trying to get a template design do exactly what you want it to do.

    For an effective website, you only need these tabs (pages): HOME, ABOUT, and SERVICES.

    Nail the simple but professional design, knock the content out of the park and you’ll have a website that brings in clients.

    Once you’ve picked your template or theme, it’s time to…

    Write engaging content.

    When I say “write engaging content” I mean write 3 pages–About, Services and Homepage–that make the potential client want to pick up the phone and call you.

    Let’s start with your About Page.

    About Page

    I’m just going to say this: You’re About Page is freakin’ important.

    Why?

    Because the customer wants to know who’s doing the rubbing.

    And the About Page is your opportunity to gain the trust of the potential customer.

    It’s also where you can stand out from the competition–especially the massage spas.

    The faces on their About Page are always changing.

    Your About Page face never changes.

    It’s always you delivering the same great massage and customer care for each client in your own unique way.

    Let the potential customer know this.

    This article will show you how to do that: How to Write an About Page.

    Just as important as your About page is your Homepage

    Homepage

    Your Homepage is your first impression page.

    And you have to engage the viewer or she won’t check out your About page and/or Services page.

    How are you going to engage the viewer?

    I have a very simple strategy that you can do.

    I explain it all here: How to Write a Homepage.

    The last page you’ll need is a Services page.

    Services Page

    Again, not a big, hairy deal.

    Here’s what ours looks like for PressurePerfect. Search to see what your competition in the area is saying on their Services page.

    Don’t make it complicated. Just describe your services in a way that’s welcoming, but not overly sales-y.

    And if you’re confused about how much you should charge, check out this article: How to Much Do I Charge?

    So, you now know or have an idea of what you want to write on your website.

    The last thing to do is…

    Step #3: Basic SEO for Local Search

    The Local Search is the search result that comes up first on the screen when someone types in “massage” in the Google search box.

    You want to come up in the top 3 in the local search for “massage” in your area.

    Why?

    Because that is what automatically displays without the user having to click “More Places”.

    There are some basic things you need to do to start ranking higher in the Local Search.

    If you have a place to do massage, you’ll want to claim your business at Google My Business (GMB). GMB, a list of local businesses, appears at the top of the screen when someone searches for a term, like “massage”.

    So, first, you want to be on that list.

    Second, you want to rank as high as you can on that list. This article will help you optimize your GMB page.

    That’s all you need to do for now.

    You have a welcoming massage website that’s going to start ranking in the local search.

    Now you can start to concentrate on other important marketing things and we can tweak your website as we go.

    Massage Website Quick Review

    1. Choose a website host/builder. 
    2. Write engaging About, Home and Services pages.
    3. Optimize your GMB page. 

    Not sure a DIY massage website is for you?

    My door is always open to talk:-)

    Just let me know what’s going on.

  • Massage Injury Prevention: How to Save Thumbs + Index Fingers

    Massage Injury Prevention: How to Save Thumbs + Index Fingers

    At first, this is not going to sound like a massage injury prevention guide for your thumb and index fingers, but it really is.

    Ready?

    Your client, Taro, is waiting on the table. When he was changing you had grabbed a quick snack, but then remembered that you nails were like daggers.

    You frantically fumble for your nail clippers but know if you don’t get in that room like now, Taro is going to be major grumpy. You decide that you only have time to cut 3 nails per hand. Which 2 nails on each hand are you going to leave uncut?

    Let me see if I can guess…

    …hmm…

    …could it be these two?!

    Let’s take this a step further. Here are two hands. The fingers are numbered 1 – 5, starting with the thumbs.

    If you taped your 4th and 5th fingers to your palm, could you do a massage?

    Yeah, no problem, right?

    Now imagine that 1, 2 and 3 are taped down to your palm. That massage ain’t happening, is it?

    For me, fingers 1 and 2 do the most massage work. Finger number 3, the middle finger, comes in third. Finger 4 gets used some. And finger 5 is basically along for the ride unless I’m squeezing which I rarely do (Trap Release Without Squeezing).

    Years of Overuse Can Cause A Massage Injury

    Now imagine what happens after 20 or so years of primarily using fingers 1 and 2. It’s a massage injury waiting to happen, right?

    Here’s a common sense but under-utilized strategy that will set you on a course to saving your thumb and index finger.

    The strategy is: Take the workload off the overworked parts. Also known as use overworked parts less.

    How to Prevent a Finger Massage Injury

    Experimenting with Fingers 4 and 5

    For the longest time, when it came to massage, fingers 4 and 5 were decorations on my hand.

    But when fingers 1 and 2 started to feel persistently tight, I started experimenting with offloading some of the work to fingers 4 and 5.

    At first, it was like trying to eat with my non-dominant hand. But after a few months, fingers 4 and 5 started to adapt, and fingers 1 and 2 got happy again.

    Substituting fingers 4 and 5 for fingers 1 and 2 has its limitations, but the substitutions work particularly well in these situations:

    Three Ways to Use Fingers 4 and 5

    Supine Occiput Work

    This is the best starting point for engaging fingers 4 and 5 more and using fingers 1 and 2 less.

    Why?

    Because you don’t have to press hard with fingers 4 and 5 to do this technique. The weight of the client’s head resting on your fingers creates the pressure. And slightly pressing up with fingers 4 and 5 is a great way to start to strengthen them.

    Temporalis, Masseter, and Pterygoids Work

    From a requiring strength standpoint, working jaw muscles is a more advanced move than the supine occiput work. I would start by getting some reps in with fingers 4 and 5 on the body of the temporalis.

    Then I’d work in the masseter and pterygoids.

    Sinus Work

    When you’re ready to fine tune your pressure with your 4th fingers, try them out on sinus cavities. It’s definitely challenging at first, but like anything else, it gets easier after a few attempts.

    Cervical Work (Light to Medium Pressure)

    When you resign yourself to learning how to spread the workload out to prevent a massage injury, it’s only natural to experiment. I find that it’s during heavy massage weeks, when body parts get tired, that I experiment the most. This move came about when I had a lot of necks to do in one week.

    I’m combining finger 4 and my thumb on the opposite hand. This combination is good for light to medium pressure.

    Going to the Next Level

    If you want to take spreading the workload out to the next level, try substituting fingers 4 and 5 for other tasks that finger 1 and 2 do.

    For instance, when I’m doing a massage, this is how I usually get cream from a massage cup.

    Finger #2 working hard.

    Here’s what I try to do now.

    This is a minuscule task in the grand scheme of overuse. But in this case, it’s not about changing an action to prevent a massage injury. Instead it’s about making you feel more adept using finger 4. When I do things like this, I want to use fingers 4 and 5 more often in daily life. Here’s what I mean.

    Spilling Over Into Life

    The other day my wife was watching me type, or as she put it “pound the keyboard”.

    What can I say, I GET EXCITED WHEN I WRITE!

    But she also made another interesting observation. She pointed out that I was only really using 3 fingers on each hand to type.

    Guess which ones?

    Yep, fingers 1, 2  and 3.

    Well, of course, I can’t let this go. So, I’m fixing this by forcing myself to use fingers 4 and 5 about 15%ish of the time when  I type. I hate it because it really makes me slow down. But I know I’ll like the end result.

    At this point, I need to talk about obnoxious thumb pain. If you’re in a state where your thumbs are aching all the time, you’re going to want to seriously consider these suggestions.

    Other Ways to Save Your Thumbs and Index Fingers

    This is my favorite:

    1. Use a T-bar or an L-bar.

    The T-bar…

    …and L-bar

    …are my top choices for massage tools. For one, they have a simple design which means you can hold them in a variety of ways. Over-designed tools lock you into one or two holds.

    T-bars and L-bars are the ultimate thumb savers because they literally substitute for thumbs. And they don’t stress thumbs because you can hold them in many different ways.

    Here’s a quick T-bar and L-bar intro: Save Your Hands: Use a T-bar and L-bar.

    1. Use knuckles and fingers in combinations.

    Combining body parts is foundational to saving your thumbs. When you combine body parts, you brace and stabilize joints and spread out the workload.

    If you want to get started combining body parts, begin here: How to Do Very Precise Pressure

    The last thing you need to know is that you have to experiment.

    Embrace the Experiment to Prevent a Massage Injury

    Experimenting live (on a client) is a little scary because we’re not sure how it feels to the client.

    You can lessen the chances of the client saying “Ouch! What the hell are you doing?!” by first working on people who can give you immediate feedback, like friends.

    I never use this approach for this reason: I’m a wimp. If something hurts during a massage, I want it to stop hurting. So, automatically, I start experimenting with different techniques until the pain goes away.

    Introducing a New Technique

    So, when I introduce a new technique, I look for warning signs with the client, like a leg twitch, as an indicator to determine if what I’m doing is okay.

    And I don’t spend a lot of time using that new technique at first. Rather I introduce it briefly, look for client reactions, and then reintroduce it in small doses. It slowly becomes a tool in my toolkit when I know clients like the technique and I’m comfortable with it.

    Joyriding with Fingers 4 and 5

    Ready to take fingers 4 and 5 for a spin?

    I’d start with supine occipital work. Then I’d try out jaw work, and when I felt comfortable with that I’d fine-tune my finger 4 touch with sinus work.

    If you’re thumbs and index fingers need a serious break, try using a T-bar, L-bar or body part combinations.

    Now you have the information that will help you prevent a massage injury to your thumb or index finger. And if you’re currently in pain, experiment. You just need to find the way out.

    Get Help With Your Specific Pain Issue

    If you need more help with saving your hands (and the rest of your body) when you massage, consider reading my DIY book, The Pain-Free Massage Therapist.

    About seven years ago my body was falling apart after 20+ years of massage. I gave myself a year to figure out how to massage pain-free, and if I couldn’t, I’d have to find a new career.

    In that year I discovered the things I was doing wrong for my body in the massage room. But the process to becoming a pain-free massage therapist was not as simple as replacing one technique with another. It involved changing my thinking so that I caught trouble before it happened along with knowing how to adjust when I was in pain.

    This book is your head start. You don’t have to come up with the strategies and techniques to save your body. You just need to try out the ones I recommend. Keep the ones that work for your body; pass on the ones that don’t.

    The book comes with a website link where you can access free how-to-massage-pain-free videos. You can purchase the book on Amazon.

    Purchase Book

    If you have any questions or want to talk about your specific pain issues, email me mark@makethemostomassage.com 🙂

     

  • Why MTs Succeed: Massage Business Relationships

    Why MTs Succeed: Massage Business Relationships

    What’s the difference between a thriving massage practice and a surviving massage practice?

    Massage business relationships. Thrivers knows how to develop them. Survivors—not so much.

    Most of us tend to ignore them.

    For good reason: A business relationship is a little weird.

    To sustain one, you can’t just keep talking about the weather nor do you want to be sharing deep, dark secrets.

    Business relationships are in this awkward middle. They’re not superficial. They’re not super personal. And if you you don’t have experience with them, you’re going to do what I did and make them something they shouldn’t be.

    Massage Business Relationships Mistake #1: Superficial

    Years ago I wanted to build massage business relationships. So I made a list of doctors, PTs, and other health practitioners in my area. Then I called them.

    “Hi, this is Mark Liskey. I have a massage business down the road from you. I was wondering if I could talk to Dr. Goaway…oh, she doesn’t take calls…could I drop off some of my business cards?…fantastic, I’ll drop some off tomorrow.”

    Checkmark next to Dr. Goaway on the list. Cards to her the next day. Bam! Let the referrals roll in!

    Crickets.

    Why?

    Because Dr. Goaway didn’t care. Why would she? I hadn’t had a meaningful interaction with her.

    Massage Business Relationships Mistake #2: Too Personal

    Other times, I went the “let’s be buds” route.

    Years back I contacted a chiropractor. We hit it off. I did demo massages at his office, promoted him to our clients, and went out of my way to get to know him.

    All was peachy and getting peachier until one day at his office I heard him express his unsolicited political views to a patient.

    As time went on, I noticed he did this quite frequently. It was almost as if his practice was a platform for him to rail against X, Y and Z.

    Some patients agreed with him, others put up with him, while others asked him to stop (he didn’t).

    Can you say unprofessional, un-therapeutic and offensive?

    Pulling out of that business relationship was complicated and left a little bit of a rift between the two of us.

    Aim for the Middle

    Eventually, I started to realize that the most successful business relationships I had contained these two elements: I strongly connected to the other business person over one or two shared values that related to work AND I didn’t go out of my way to explore the relationship outside the business context.

    For me, shared work values are (1) pride in the work one did, (2) a desire to help clients/patients get better, and/or (3) a compassion for people in general.

    A Success Story

    Here’s a massage business relationship that was a winner

    A while back I contacted personal training studios in my area and I offered to work on the owners for free. (Check out How to Build a Massage Business for $0 for more help with setting up demo massages.)

    Out of five businesses owners, two bit. Of the two, one business owner had moved into corporate fitness exclusively. The other business owner, Rita, came in for a demo massage.

    While Rita was vetting me (getting a massage), we connected on how to get and keep clients out of pain.

    After the massage, she encouraged another personal trainer who worked for her to get a demo massage from me.

    As the momentum built I offered to do demo massages at Rita’s studio. Rita was more than happy to have me there—especially because she wanted me to work on some of her clients that were in pain.

    Rita started sending me clients and our business relationship grew.

    Do I know how Rita votes?

    Don’t want to know.

    Do I know who Rita’s best friend is?

    I know it’s not me.

    Do my wife and I go out with Rita and her spouse for dinner?

    Never gonna happen.

    And yet our business relationship is just fine because we both value doing everything we can to get and keep clients out of pain.

    When You Can’t Help Yourself

    Have there been times when one of my business relationships turned into a good friendship?

    Yep, a few over the years. Justin, a personal trainer, was one of them.

    The relationship got tricky at times.

    For example, if Dr. Suzi Sunshine hadn’t sent me a referral for awhile, I would think, Okay, time to do some demo massages at her office to get things moving again.

    But if my good friend Justin hadn’t…hmm…what the hell was that all about?!

    Is he mad at me?

    Did he find another MT to refer to?

    Better not have or he’ll be painting is apartment all by himself next week…butthead…

    At the end of the day, our business relationship survived because we prioritized our friendship and didn’t obsess over the business part, which probably didn’t make it the most productive business relationship in the world.

    The Quick Version

    If you’re new to massage business relationships, here’s what I recommend doing:

    1. Recognize when and why you connect with someone. It’s a go if the connection is related to getting clients better, pride in your work or compassion in general.
    2. Don’t set out to be friends.

    Think of massage business relationships as being on a scale. Superficial is on one end. Good friends on the other. Shoot for the middle mark.

    1. If a friendship happens, just know it’s going to be a little more complicated to figure out—but not impossible.

    To start building business relationships so that you can establish an A-team of health practitioners and get the referrals cranking, check out Start a Massage Business: Connect with the Right Physical Therapist.

    Contact Me

    If you have a business relationship question or any massage business question, let me know–mark@makethemostofmassage.com.

    Email Group

    Join my email group. I’ll send you links to the information you’re looking for. It’s free and you can unsubscribe anytime you want. Sign up below:-)

  • How to Get Massage Clients: Nurture the Connectors

    How to Get Massage Clients: Nurture the Connectors

    Your cats are eating dog food. And you desperately need more money. The only way you know how to get massage clients is through referrals.

    Here’s how that has worked in the past: you did a good job, and some clients referred their friends and family to you.

    Unfortunately, this approach takes months and months to generate referrals.

    How to Get Massage Clients by Working Your Client List

    A proactive approach would be to go through your massage client list and find reasons to engage the referrers (people who have referred a client(s) to you).

    “Hey, Mary, it’s Mark. Just calling to see how your shoulder’s doing (subtext: why haven’t you been in to see me?), and I wanted to say thank you for telling Rita about me a few months ago (subtext: send me more clients, please…oh, yeah, NOW would be good…).

    The problem with working your clients for referrals is that you can only go to the well so many times before it starts to look unprofessional.

    Referral Program

    You could have a referral program where you incentivize clients to send you referrals, but, honestly, are you going to do that?

    Not me.

    It’s a little awkward when you’re both running the incentive program and getting the referrals. In other words, it’s a lot easier to say “refer to us” (a company) rather than “refer to me” ( a “me”).

    But there’s another way to get referrals quickly and without stretching too far out of your comfort zone. And that is to develop referrers outside of your client list.

    How?

    Through connectors.

    How to Get Massage Clients by Finding the Connectors

    Connectors bring us together with referrers or people who can lead us to referrers and/or more connectors.

    Zzzzz…zzzzz…oh, sorry, that sentence put me to sleep, too. Let’s try this again.

    Let’s say Kisha puts you in contact with Alexandra, her chiropractor, and Alexandra now refers a client to you.

    Kisha is a connector.

    Or, Ramit introduced you to the Enya, the head of the borough council. And Enya introduced you to other council members, and through those connections you orchestrated a local charity event which brought a lot of attention to your business.

    Ramit and Enya are connectors.

    The Compounding Effect of Connectors

    It doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination to see how this connector thing could grow. Connectors send you outside your client list into pools of other referrers and connectors. Those people connect you to other people and so on. This massage marketing strategy has feet.

    Who Do You Call First?

    So let’s make this less hypothetical. You look at your schedule book and see that you have two crappy weeks coming up. In addition, you need to make an extra $200 a month.

    So you start to go through your client contacts, hoping to dredge up some referrals. Who are you going to call first?

    The client who is both a referrer and a connector.

    Why?

    Because this combo person has the potential to immediately throw a referral your way and lead you to referral sources.

    How to Find the Combo Person

    You’re going to find the combo person by making a list. Grab a piece of paper and in the center write down the names of the clients who’ve referred you a client and the names of the clients who’ve connected you to a potential referral/connector source.

    Next, write “referral” to the right of the name of each person who has referred a client to you.

    Then write “connector” to the left of the name of each person who has introduced you to someone who could lead you to a referrer or marketing opportunity. Your list should look something like this:

    Now circle the names that have a both “connector” to the left and “referrer” to the right.

    These are the clients you call first because they have the most potential for immediate and sustained impact.

    Next, of the remaining names who are either a “connector” or a “referrer”, rank them according to referral or connectivity potential.

    You now have a plan to help you get massage clients through referrals. Start with the circled (combo) names. Then work on the rest according to how you ranked the names on your list.

    How to Work the Plan

    Working the plan doesn’t have to be stressful. First, you need to find a reason to call, text or email the clients on your list.

    If you don’t have a lot of history with a client, here are some conversation starters (assuming that you’re actually going to do and mean what you say):

    “Just checking in to see how you’re doing…”

    “Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be away in June for two weeks, but I’ll be seeing clients both weekends before…”

    “I saw this article and thought of you…”

    “I’m starting an email list for clients where we send out…”

    “Thanks for helping me out…”

    How to Get Massage Clients: Advanced Engagement Ideas

    If you have some history with the client, you’ll want to get more specific with your outreach.

    Here’s what I did with combo people on my list:

    Offer a Free Gift Certificate

    Lauren is a runner. She’s a great connector/referrer and comes in regularly. I gave her a free gift certificate for the support she provided when I was involved in a charity event.

    Give Time and Attention

    Travis is a personal trainer. When it comes to taking care of his clients, he’s like a mother hen (in a good way). He constantly refers his clients to me and is always hooking me up with other health professionals who share our health philosophy.

    For Travis, I’ve carved out more time in my schedule so that we can talk about how we can best help our mutual clients. I really enjoy our conversations and it deepens our business and personal relationships.

    Here’s what I did with my top referrer on my list:

    Provide Additional and Pertinent Information

    Trish is a runner with a recent IT band issue. I normally do a follow-up after I work on her, but this time I did some extra research and talked to her running coach.

    Consequently, I was able to provide Trish with good information that helped her make some difficult decisions regarding her training.

    Be the Promoter

    Also, think about this: Do any of the people on your list have a business or work for a business that you can promote? If so, think about how you can help them?

    I often do videos. I either interview the person I’m going to promote or have that person do an instructional video for my clients. I post the videos on our Facebook page and/or send the video link out to our email list.

    Be the Connector

    You could also help that person out by being a connector yourself.

    One of my connectors hooked me up with a chiropractor. The chiro and I hit it off.

    The chiropractor was thinking about opening a practice in town. I offered to get him exposure through a local trail race my brother-in-law was spearheading. If he participates as a vendor, he’d have an opportunity to connect with athletes, other business owners and health professionals.

    How to Get Massage Clients Referral Style In a Nutshell

    Working your list to get massage clients basically boils down to this:

    1. Engage clients who are both connectors and referrers first.
    2. Rank the rest of the clients on the list and engage them in the order you ranked them.
    3. Rinse and repeat with the new people you add to your list.

    Here are some ways you can engage your clients:

    Merge Authenticity with Strategy

    If, at this point, you’re feeling a little out of your comfort zone with working your list, I get it.

    I was fired as a Business Development Consultant because I wouldn’t schmooze. I quit a job as a massage therapist director at a franchise spa because I absolutely refused to sell products and services under the guise of evidence-based health, when little proof was offered.

    If I was forced to do those jobs again, I still wouldn’t schmooze or mislead (lie to) customers. Those weren’t the comfort zones that needed to be stretched.

    Here comes the “but”.

    But if your livelihood is solely dependent on your efforts as an entrepreneur, at some point you have to find a way to be authentic and strategic at the same time.

    Work the List

    Engaging clients who are referrers and/or connectors is the perfect scenario to work things out.

    Take your care, kindness and love and pour it into the relationships of the clients who are both connectors and referrers. Then do the same with the rest of the connectors and referrers on your list.

    When I do this, I find that maintaining my integrity and making more money aren’t mutually exclusive.

    And my cats are a lot happier:-)

    DIY Next Step

    If you’re good to go with your massage business and are just adding marketing strategies to your marketing toolkit, this article will be helpful: Massage Marketing Tips: How to Pick Winners.

    If you’re getting confused, overwhelmed and/or stuck, here are two options to consider:

    Massage Business Accelerator Course

    This is a straightforward, online course that teaches you how to take your existing massage business to the next level. You can find out more information about the course by clicking on the button below.

    Accelerator

    Or Email Me

    mark@makethemostofmassage.com

    We can email chat. Sometimes it just takes an ear and a suggestion to get moving in the right direction.