Make the Most of Massage

Author: Mark Liskey

  • How to Talk Yourself into Success

    How to Talk Yourself into Success

    I’m not a motivational speaker, and I don’t aspire to be one. But for a minute, I’m going to sound like one. There’s something that I say to myself that helps me achieve my most pressing massage business goal, and I think it can help you.

    Here’s what I say: What can’t get done, must get done.

    So, what were you thinking after you read that?

    Was it “Sounds interesting. How does that work, Mark?” or was it “Go peddle that nonsense somewhere else, Mark”.

    There’s no judgment here. I’m just trying to make a point that both responses have an emotional component to them.

    “Sounds interesting…” is hopeful, right?

    “Go peddle…” not so much.

    Your emotional response will probably dictate whether or not you try my advice.

    The same is true with finishing projects. Emotions can stop you or start you.

    Ever have a 1 day project that took 10 days or 100 days…or a 1000 days to complete?

    When a Massage Business Goal Takes Too Long

    Time for me to fess up. It took me almost a year to put up our outdoor office sign.

    Here’s my brain then: I can’t order the lettering for the sign until I measure the size of the existing sign…but I can’t measure the existing sign because I need a ladder and I don’t have a ladder, so I’d have to borrow my dad’s ladder, but I can’t borrow my dad’s ladder because I don’t think it will fit into my car and I can’t borrow someone else’s car because I’m so busy with work and work projects…so I can’t put the sign up until I get more time so that I can borrow a car to haul my dad’s ladder…

    How to Change the Conversation

    But what if I had said to myself: “Listen here, buddy, this is how we’re approaching this massage business goal today: What can’t get done (the sign), must get done.”

    The conversation in my head may have went this way:

    So you can’t find the time to borrow a car to get your dad’s ladder?

    Right.

    Did you see if the ladder would fit into your car?

    Well…no…

    So, you don’t know if that ladder will actually fit into your car?

    No.

    Guess what’s the first thing you’re going to be doing today?

    Seeing if the ladder fits into my car.

    Uh-huh.

    The real barrier wasn’t that the ladder wouldn’t fit into my car. (By the way it did.) The real barrier was that I was nervous that I was going to mess up the job because I had never made a sign before, and I didn’t want to waste money.

    In other words, the real barrier for completing the sign project wasn’t something beyond my control. It was an emotional barrier.

    Scale Emotional Barrier to Complete Massage Business Goal

    Here’s an example of how my new thinking has helped me.

    Recently, I was having SEO nightmares with one of my websites. Basically, I had changed the business name a few years back and hadn’t updated the information with the search engines.

    When I started to move on this project there were complications with the update, like verification. For example, Bing sends you physical mail with a verification code.

    The problem with that was our name and address had worn off our office mailbox, and I was way too busy with clients, articles, new classes, marketing and life in general to find time to fix the mailbox situation…

    But then I pulled out the “what can’t get done (website SEO), must get done.”

    Guess what?

    It got done.

    To be honest, I’m not even sure what the emotional barrier was. I just knew that “being too busy” was not a legitimate show stopper. And I was now on automatic pilot to getting things done.

    In fact, over the past few weeks, my check marks for jobs completed has increased dramatically.

    With every check mark I get an endorphin reward and my desire to continue with this way of thinking gets stronger.

    How I Accomplish a Massage Business Goal

    Want to give it a try? Here’s what I do:

    1. Pick one project to focus on for the week that you haven’t been able to finish.

    If you pick to many, you’ll get overwhelmed.

    2. Buy into “what can’t get done, must get done” for the week.

    So, if you start to have mission creep, remember that you’re only going to do this for a week. if it doesn’t work after a week, you can opt out forever.

    As you continue on, you’ll start to figure out the steps needed to get the job done. At that point you’ll be able to tease apart the emotional barriers from things beyond your control.

    3. Work through the emotional barriers.

    The emotional barriers can be overcome. They MUST be overcome for you to move forward. Get just one itty-bitty win, a small massage business goal accomplished, and that will give you enough fuel to get the next win.

    4. Bask in the emotional rewards after you finish the project.

    This is an important step because it reinforces the desire to repeat the process.

    Gloat, dance, high 5 yourself, think about all the great things that happened because you completed the project—and the thought “what can’t get done, must get done” will be connected to success.

    Can you say productivity machine!

    Source: Ajale.com

    If you try this experiment, let me know how it goes.

    P.S. By the way, you can get my updates, links, videos and articles immediately when you join my email group. It’s free and you can unsubscribe anytime:-)

     

     

  • Sell Without Selling: Gift Certificates

    If you’ve tried to be a salesperson and it’s absolutely not you, don’t sweat it. There are ways to sell massage without really “selling”. Gift certificates play an important role in the sell-without-selling game plan.

    I’m Not a Salesperson

    When I was young, I had a sales job at a local equity theater. I stunk at sales calls. The only reason I wasn’t fired was because my boss liked me.

    The best sellers had devised their own scripts, and some were 100% convinced that Mr. Jones on the other end of the line was making a huge mistake if he decided he wasn’t going to buy a subscription. That was definitely not how I thought.

    Fast forward to today in my massage business: some things haven’t change. For instance, I don’t believe everyone’s highest health priority should necessarily be a massage.

    But the one thing that did change for me was that I found ways to sell my service and market my business without feeling cheesy. Enter gift certificates.

    I Hated But Now Love GCs

    I’ve had a love/hate relationship with gift certificates (GCs) over the years. I loved when the money came in, but I hated doing the massage long after the money had been spent. Maybe that’s why for the longest time I never had GCs in my office. When a client desperately wanted to purchase a GC from me, I would “borrow” (steal) one from my wife, Lisa. She kept plenty in her office:-)

    A GC as Part of a Sales Approach

    Lisa saw the value of GCs early on, but I didn’t until I moonlighted at a massage spa. Customers would swarm in around the holidays to purchase GCs. Not only did the massage spa sell a lot of GCs, some of those customers became clients.

    Homing in on the idea that GCs sell themselves, here’s a way to use GCs in a sales approach:

    Business situation: A new client comes in for an intro massage. You would like her to be a repeat client and/or refer someone to you.

    Pitch:  You work on her. That is your sales pitch.

    Close: She pays you at your desk. On the desk is a sign that reads: Gift Certificates Available.

    As long as the sign is visible, why not let it do the talking for you?

    Advertising Strategies with GCs

    I also began to see how GCs could be used for advertising.

    1. Do a Massage GC Raffle.

    We frequently do demo massages at All Kinds of Fast (AKOF), a local running store. Recently, we co-sponsored their Holiday Lights run through our town. Besides bringing our hands to do free massages, we brought raffle items, including a massage gift certificate.

    Of the 40 participants at the event, about 20 entered the massage raffle. A person who put her name in the massage raffle walked over to my table. She wanted some work done on her hip. Great! I worked on her, never mentioning anything about our business.

    After I was done, she did the run. When she got back she walked over to the Massage Raffle jar and saw that it was filling up with raffle tickets. Then she came over to me and asked if I had a GC to buy. Why yes, I think I do. She bought two.

    Here’s what else our massage GC raffle accomplished at the Holiday Lights Run event:

    1. It helped us get noticed at the event.
    2. It showed AKOF that we’re invested in our business relationship with them.
    3. It provided us with the opportunity to gain a client (recipient of the massage GC).

    (By the way, our GCs are transferable—in case the person who won it, wants to gift it.)

    There’s more. GCs can be a way to invest in a client.

    2. Donate a GC to a Fundraiser/Charity. 

    Some of my clients are involved with charities and fundraising. In the past, anti-GC Mark would begrudgingly donate a GC to his client’s charity if and only if the client asked for one. Now, pro-GC Mark asks the client before she asks him.

    Why? From a business standpoint, I’m strengthening rapport with my client. Rapport goes a long way if a lot of your advertising is word-of-mouth.

    Also, in my experience, more often than not, GCs won or purchased at a charity event (e.g., silent auction) are not redeemed.

    Lastly, I have to admit, I feel a heck of a lot better not being Scrooge.

    3. Apologize with a GC.

    Have you missed an appointment with a client? Did the AC break on a 102 degree, mid-July day in the middle of a massage? Did car exhaust ever come into the massage room during a massage? These are some examples of when I’ve given a GC to client for problems that occurred on our end.

    Some look at this as lost revenue. I see it as a saved reputation.

    4. Say Thank You with a GC.

    GCs are a great way to say thank you. “Thank you” is different than bartering. The thank you GC is offered with nothing expected in return.

    For example, I gave a client a massage GC for promoting our business. She in turn gave it to her running coach as a gift. It doesn’t matter to me whether she uses it or her coach uses it. From the second I gave her the GC, I demonstrated that I was investing in our client-therapist relationship, and that’s what was important to me.

    A GC = Your Hands On (The Client) Advertising

    GCs are more than just a way to bring in quick cash. They are a business currency, and they represent your labor exchange. When redeemed, you are literally selling with your hands.

    To have GCs as part of your sales and advertising toolkit, make sure you have signage that lets people know that you have GCs.  Also, make sure that you have GCs on hand whether you’re at a massage event or in your office. I carry GCs with me in my car—especially during the holidays.

    To advertise your business using GCs, do a massage raffle, donate a GC to your client’s fundraiser or give one to someone as a thank you.

    Remember the car exhaust in the massage room incident I had mentioned? I gave that person a massage GC for that smoky massage. She was very appreciative, has become a return client and talks us up around town.

    You don’t have to give up on the idea of having your own business  because you’re not a salesperson NOR do you have to pretend you’re someone you’re not in order to sell massage.

    Utilize sales tools, like GCs, in a way that works with your personality.

    Here’s another article for the non-sales person within: You Have to Sell…Sorry.

    Other Tools

    Jumpstart for starting a business: Jumpstart.

    Accelerator for growing a meh business: 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.

  • How to Compete with Massage Envy

    I have a “that’s good, but wtf?!” feeling towards national massage spas, like Massage Envy.

    The “good” part is that they provide steady work.

    The “wtf?!” part is everything else: Low wages, a churn and burn business model, and the soul sucking break room where if you weren’t already miserable walking in, you will be before you walk out.

    These massage titans are ubiquitous.

    Massage Envy has 1200 locations, 1.5 million members and are in 49 of 50 states in the US.

    And they have massive budgets for marketing.

    Meanwhile, the independent massage therapist is rolling change to see if she has enough money for a website. (BTW, your rolls of quarters can buy a cool website. Click here.)

    This is an absolute unfair fight.

    It’s like David going up against Goliath, but instead of having a sling and a rock, David’s got a straw and a spitball.

    Independents should be running for the hills.

    But here’s the thing, as much as massage spa franchises have dominated this decade, they haven’t stamped out independents.

    In fact, this independent and other independents that I know have gotten stronger.

    How?

    For me, I did two simple things:

    (1) I copied the things that Massage Envy et al. did well.

    (2) I double-downed on being better at the things not in their wheelhouse.

    Here’s my fall and rise story.

    [bctt tweet=”Do what massage spas do well. Capitalize on what they don’t do well.” username=”Mark LiskeyMarkLiskey”]

    The Juggernaut 

    I took a major hit when Massage Envy and Hand & Stone moved into my area.

    I didn’t realize the pull they would have and some of my own clients left me to try them out.

    Antonio was one of them and he had been with me for a long time.

    As I watched the massage spa industry grow and my business shrink, I started looking for side hustles to cover my income drop.

    Massage and side hustles worked for a couple of years until my side hustles dried up.

    Then I was back to facing the reality of Mark, a competent massage therapist, not being able to make it as an independent in the changing world of massage.

    The Awakening

    After being talked through a little self-defeatism by my wife, Lisa, I started to ask myself questions, like: Why did Antonio switch to a massage spa? What could I do to get him back?

    For the next two years I got to know the massage spas business model very well, and that’s when I figured out what I needed to do to compete with Massage Envy.

    The first thing I needed to do was to imitate what they did well.

    Massage Spa Strengths

    Do #1: Prompt Response Time

    Massage spas kick butt when it comes to appointment turnaround. Typically, you can get an appointment on the same day you call.

    Though I was not, and did not want to be, an on-demand therapist, I realized that I needed to tighten up the whole scheduling process.

    In fact, over the years, I had remembered Antonio complaining about how hard it was to get an appointment with me.

    When I did these things, I saw an uptick with booked appointments:

    1. Answered my business line whenever I could,
    2. Checked my voicemail more frequently,
    3. Took care of appointments as they came in rather than in one chunk (like at the end of the day),
    4. Offered a texting option for old and new clients.

    Do #2: Track New Business and Client Retention Numbers

    Everything about massage spas is numbers.

    Numbers don’t lie.

    They tell you the truth about the health of your business.

    If I had paid closer attention to my “new clients” and “client retention” numbers instead of relying on my Spidey senses, I would have been able to react faster than I did after the massage spas moved into town.

    Do #3: Offer an Intro Massage Price

    One local massage spa did Groupons a while back. Potential clients poured through their doors. Though most did not become members, some did.

    So, I did an experiment with Groupon, Amazon Local and LivingSocial. And 15% to 20% of the customers I saw turned out to be repeat business.

    Hmm..a hundred people walk through my door and 15 to 20 become new clients. Not bad.

    A special introductory massage price works the same way. You offer a lower price than your normal rate to get clients through the door. Massage spas, such as Massage Envy and Hand & Stone, offer intro specials.

    For me, the intro massage special has worked great. It draws people in and since my intro rate is higher than what my massage would be priced through Groupon, the basement bargain shoppers usually stay away.

    A great bonus to an intro rate massage is that anyone who comes in—no matter if she becomes a return client or not—has the potential of spreading the word about my business.

    This has been a greatest no-cost way to advertise.

    Massage Spa Weakness

    Though massage spas do a lot of business things right, they don’t (and can’t) do one thing better than you. They can’t make the massage experience as caring and personal as you can.

    1. DON’T Make Efficiency Your Number One Goal

    If you’ve ever worked in a massage spa, you know that things move fast. For instance, if the massage is 50 minutes, you may only have 10 minutes to get one client out of the room and the next one in.

    That’s not too relaxing for you or the client—but that’s the business model massage spas use because efficiency equals profitability.

    Efficiency has its drawbacks though.

    For one, massage spas have a hard time keeping MTs because they burn them out. That means the client may not get his favorite MT when he comes in for his next massage.

    Efficiency also means that a front desk person is in charge of sales, scheduling and collecting money. But who is going to be more invested in making sure that a client’s experience is top-notch, a front desk person who probably doesn’t know a whole lot about massage or a massage therapist whose livelihood depends on it?

    2. Care Better Than They Do

    Once I got this, I started to tweak what I did at my office so that there was a crystal clear distinction between how I took care of a client and how a massage spa took care of a client.

    This is standard in my massage practice:

    1. I allot 30 minutes for a new client intake and 15 minutes between each massage.
    2. From intake to end of session, I focus on caring for the client.

    When I was doing my research on two brands of massage spas I studied their intakes. It was immediately apparent that on both intakes quite a few of the questions were designed to find the sales barriers that the front desk needed to overcome in order to sell the client a membership.

    Our client intake form was/is/always will be client-centric.

    I want the information that will allow me to do the best job possible.

    If I do a good job, my work will sell itself.

    You can download our intake here: [download id=”618″] Feel free to use it (or parts of it) for your business.

    1. I follow up.

    With new clients and anyone in a pain situation, I do a post-session follow-up via text or phone call. This is where going the extra mile can pay off big in terms of getting a client out of pain and building therapeutic rapport.

    It is a huge differentiator between what we do and what spas do.

    Massage spas don’t want MTs who work for them to follow up with clients.

    Why?

    Because they’re afraid that their MTs will steal clients.

    Boom.

    Advantage independents.

    We win (should win) with therapeutic rapport every freakin’ time.

    Bring it Massage Envy!

    If you’re an independent or want to be an independent it’s time to play hard ball with the massage spas.

    After all, they’ve already done the heavy lifting in terms of making people aware of massage through their extensive advertising.

    And they’ve been at it long enough that people know what they’re getting.

    That means they have some unsatisfied customers.

    You can snag these wayward clients using massage spa tactics like offering an intro price and knowing your numbers (new business and client retention) so that you can stay motivated to pursue new business and on top of what you need to do to keep new business.

    Then do what they can’t do: Provide stellar therapeutic rapport and above-and-beyond customer care.

    Don’t rush your clients.

    Do follow-ups.

    Let your care and concern come through in your intake, interactions and advertising.

    Good massage work with exceptional customer will sell.

    Boiled down to it’s essence, my competing with Massage Envy strategy comes down to this:

    Massage Envy does the advertising to bring customers in.

    We steal ’em.

    And now you know how:-)

    P.S. Antonio is back.

    Guess who answers texts promptly and makes sure that Antonio knows that he’s appreciated:-)

    Need more help competing with Massage Envy?

    If you just starting out or don’t make more than 30K a year on your own, go here: Jumpstart.

    If you’re paying the bills, but need to take it to the next level go here: Accelerator.

     

  • How to Make Pressure Work For You

    How to Make Pressure Work For You

    I’m 100% on my own when it comes to making money in my massage practice or any other business that I have.

    That means I have to sell, produce and deliver to eat.

    No one gives me sick days or vacation days.

    No one pays for my insurance.

    Without me it all falls down.

    And, yes, I wear Depends.

    Okay, so I don’t where Depends, but the pressure of working for myself sometimes makes me feel like I need them.

    But there’s a good side to pressure, too.

    Pressure forces me to figure things out.

    Here’s what I mean.

    Pressure and Having a Massage Practice

    Say you take the leap and go out on your own.

    Okay, now you have the cost of rent, equipment and supplies.

    Someone (you) just lit a Bunsen burner under your butt.

    And there’s a good side here to pressure, Mark?

    Maybe not at first, but as you start to figure things out, the bad pressure stops feeling bad.

    “Figuring things out” is not a metaphor.

    It’s the constructive things you do to help you accomplish a goal or succeed.

    “Figuring things out” is not magic.

    It’s accomplished through trial and error.

    And I’ve done my share of error.

    The business my wife, Lisa, and I started a few years ago, PressurePerfect, had a rough start.

    I had completely miscalculated how I was going to bring in new clients. And we weren’t making enough money.

    You could say my butt was getting well-done and I was about to turn off the gas to the Bunsen burner (close shop) until I finally threw myself into something I hated—marketing.

    Eventually, I discovered a way to market that was cheap and fit my personality.

    The Bunsen burner was not on high anymore.

    And the pressure was good (manageable).

    Pressure = Massage Practice Success

    Was the stress from the pressure of a failing business worth it?

    Yep.

    Here’s why. That pressure drove me to grow PressurePerfect at that one location.

    Now, the pressure of having to do all the administrative, facilities and marketing jobs myself is now driving me to grow PressurePerfect in a different way where Mark has less to do.

    Bad and Good Pressure Come Together

    I wish I could just kick bad pressure to the curb.

    But it doesn’t work like that for me.

    Let’s say I want something.

    Like more money.

    So, then I do something to get more money, like demo massages.

    Demo massages trash my schedule and create bad pressure.

    I run around like crazy for a few months—and fight with our cats.

    But I know how to use demo massage as a marketing tool and in a few months, my weekly income bumps up.

    And the pressure feels less sucky.

    But being over-committed is still excessive pressure. So then I figure out how to put my demo massages on maintenance mode without losing any referrals.

    Bad pressure is now good.

    So to me, getting to good is a process.

    Without the sucky pressure part, I wouldn’t be motivated to figure things out.

    Make Pressure Work for Starting Your Massage Practice

    If you’re thinking about starting a massage practice and have done your homework (like you have a plan to get clients), don’t let pressure scare you away.

    Let the Bunsen burner do it’s job and embrace the bad feeling of pressure.

    But know it will turn to good pressure once you make adjustments to lessen the intensity of the pressure as you achieve or after you achieve your goal.

    Need help with paying that rent? Here’s how I bring in more clients: Massage Marketing Tips: How to Pick the Winners.

    P.S. I have an email group.

    It’s free and I send you my latest info about making more money, building a massage practice and staying out of pain.

    Sign up below:-)