Make the Most of Massage

Category: Jumpstart Marketing

  • How to Use “Care” to Build a Massage Business

    How to Use “Care” to Build a Massage Business

    This is how I thought years ago when I didn’t have enough clients coming in: I’m a massage therapist with zero massage marketing skills. 

    No biggie, I’ll hire Ashira to do my marketing.

    Oh, wait, she charges more than d0-it-for-free.

    So, I was left with two choices: Hide my table from the repo man or start to market myself.

    I decided to dip my toe into marketing and after a while I discovered something pretty cool: I didn’t have to be a marketer to market.

    I just needed to take my massage skills and turn them into massage marketing skills.

    So, I clicked my heels together three times and said “There’s no place like home”.

    I know, turning massage skills into marketing skills sounds like something that only happens in Hollywood, not real life.

    But it does happen in real life.

    In fact, we’re going to take one of your massage skills and turn it into one of your massage marketing skills right now.

    Ready?

    I bet you care about your clients.

    I’ll go one further. I bet you care about your clients a whole lot.

    You show that care through fantastic therapeutic rapport and by doing a kick-butt massage every time.

    You see where I’m going here.

    Caring for your client is one of your massage skills.

    And it can be turned into one of your massage marketing skills by simply up-ing the care.

    Here’s how you can up your care:

    1. After the massage explain your findings.

    In other words, let clients know what you did and what you found.

    Your levator scapulae was tight. Your lower-back required less pressure than y0ur upper-back. Your traps felt good.

    Clients will appreciate that you’re going the extra mile to help them.

    2. Call new clients 2 days after the massage to see how their doing.

    Not only is this a good PR strategy, it’s a good way of gauging whether what you did was helpful.

    Did you feel relaxed? Are you in less pain? Do you move better?

    If there answer is yes, then they’re probably coming back to you.

    If no, decide if a different massage approach would be worth a try. If so, explain what you’d do differently next time.

    3. Be available.

    Who has my cell number?

    Everybody.

    Clients.

    Potential clients.

    Running coaches.

    Store owners.

    Physical therapists.

    Chiropractors.

    Personal trainers.

    Straight from the pages of “7 Habits of Highly IN-effective People”, right?

    But here’s my counter.

    No one abuses having access to me.

    Clients only text when they want a massage. And being accessible to other business owners, managers and sports coaches has allowed me to build an array of referral sources.

    Can granting more access get difficult to manage?

    Sometimes.

    But I’d rather be challenged with managing interactions that keep a healthy business going rather than in a position where the only person calling my cell is my mom.

    4. Care about other businesses and their clients/customers.

    Nothing says caring than giving your business buds something to give their customers/clients.

    Here’s what I give the customers of my business buds: limited, free massage.  Here’s how I do that: How to Grow Your Business With $0.

    5. Find businesses that share your core value of caring.

    This sounds like fluff, but it’s 100% not.

    When you align yourself with other businesses that share your core value of caring for clients and customers, you get solid and steady referrals forever.

    Why?

    Because those business allies know that you’re going to take care of their customers/clients/patients as well as they do.

    And there’s more…

    When you hook up with businesses that share your value of caring for the client you get connected with their business allies who share the same value. And your  network of businesses who provide extraordinary customer care grows. As it grows you’ll have more opportunities to do business in an environment where you thrive.

    You Have Massage Marketing Skills

    Don’t fight it.

    You care.

    And you can’t turn it off.

    So why not just turn that spigot wide open and grow your business by caring even more?

    Talk to your clients after the massage. Tell them what you’ve found. Make recommendations.

    Call them a couple days after the massage to see how they feel.

    Give your cell phone number to random strangers. (Just seeing if you were paying attention.)

    Make yourself accessible.

    Care about other businesses’ customers by doing something of value for them, like demo massages.

    Align yourself with other businesses who go out of their way to care for their customers and jump on the opportunities that arise from these relationships.

    Fired up?

    I am.

    Building a business that is authentic to my way of being makes me seriously do this:-)

    Need more help?

    If you’re just launching your massage business or thinking about launching your massage business, this free course will help you get the job done: Jumpstart.

    If you have a meh business that’s making 30K or less, this program will take your business to the next level: Accelerator.

    Want my latest info?

    Join my email group.

    You get my weekly info.

    It’s free:-)

    Sign up below:

  • How to Make Your Rainmaker

    How to Make Your Rainmaker

    You need massage clients. And what’s killing you is that you’re a good massage therapist. Clients should be beating down your door, right? The problem is you’re not a rainmaker (someone who brings in the business).

    I get it.

    Back in the day, I had my NMT certification and felt really good about my massage.

    So I opened my massage room door so that fitness center members could peer in and see me sitting on my massage stool at my desk, my head ensconced in a massage halo as angels sang: Come forth clients!

    But there was no coming forth. I mean there were trickles and spurts, but no flooding.

    So guess what I did?

    I got more massage skills and training!

    And I sat on my stool in my massage room and waited some more…and I got the same results.

    But now I have clients.

    What’s changed?

    One thing.

    I became the rainmaker.

    Yay, for me.

    Sad for me is that it took me a way long time to bring in the business.

    By the way, you don’t get that time back. So, don’t procrastinate and flounder like I did.

    If you really want a massage business become the rainmaker NOW.

    How?

    Rainmaker Step #1: Accept the Rainmaker Role

    First, you have to accept that YOU are responsible for bringing in clients.

    That’s a big deal, especially if you are used to being an employee or a subcontractor.

    But if you want a massage practice, it’s all on you, sista.

    And getting the work is as vital to your business as doing the work.

    In other words, you have two equally important jobs: 1. Massager. 2. Rainmaker.

    When the work isn’t coming in, you’re sucking as rainmaker.

    Get better at it.

    But wait, Mark, I’m not good at marketing and advertising and outreach.

    You’ll improve.

    Okay, honestly, Mark, I don’t like that crap.

    I know you don’t. It’s not my dream job either. But here’s the thing, being a rainmaker doesn’t mean you have to sell your soul or even do something you hate.

    Being a rainmaker means that you fill your schedule.

    How you get clients to come in is entirely up to you.

    Step #2: Make Your Rainmaker

    What I do as a rainmaker is exactly what I do as a massage therapist.

    I care.

    Through caring I connect.

    And the connecting makes the rain happen.

    For example, when a client is working with a PT, I contact the PT so that we can coordinate care.

    Total win/win.

    The client gets the best care I can provide, and now the PT knows my name.

    Caring doesn’t need to be face-to-face.

    If a potential client lands on our website, she knows that we care about her because she’ll see self-massage videos, an introductory offer and a blurb  about a scheduling practice that let’s her know that she won’t be rushed.

    She calls and connects.

    Can I just say that I’m getting a lot of warm fuzzies here because I can care and connect in both capacities as rainmaker and massage therapist.

    The two roles are perfectly aligned.

    My core values guide me in both.

    Bam!

    I’m getting warm fuzzies thinking about the warm fuzzies I get because my rainmaker and massage therapist are joined at the hip.

    Okay, back to the business of rainmaker making.

    First, if you want a massage business you have to accept the job of rainmaker.

    Then from your brain you have to make your rainmaker.

    And here’s the trick: Don’t make your rainmaker from something you’re not, but rather make your rainmaker from something that is fundamentally you.

    If you think your rainmaker is like my rainmaker then this article should help you out.

    Need some more help in general? Email me at mark@makethemostofmassage.com or check out the Accelerator online course.

     

     

     

  • Stalking Bernie (for Referrals)

    If you feel trapped in your massage job, you need to build a trapdoor. Start by creating an independent referral base.

    What is an Independent Referral Base?

    An independent referral base is person (persons, group) who refers massage clients directly to you. This means that you have the option to schedule and collect payment from the referrals yourself.

    Sometimes you may think that you have an independent referral base, when you actually don’t.

    Early on in my massage career I worked for a chiropractor. At first, my client base grew only because the chiro was feeding me his patients. But then some of those clients started to refer their family and friends to me.

    This was not an independent referral base because the referrals were doing business through the chiropractor, not me. And if I wanted to continue to work for the chiropractor it needed to stay that way.

    I Got the Itch

    As time went on, I got the itch to venture out on my own, but I had reservations. For one, not only would I lose my source of introductory clients if I left the chiropractor’s practice, I would also lose potential referral sources (the intro clients who continued with me and referred clients to me).

    And though I knew some of my clients (his patients) would follow me to my own practice, I wasn’t guaranteed that any of them would be referral sources.

    Because of my referral situation, I felt trapped.

    Building the Trapdoor

    Fortunately, the chiropractor’s office was in a fitness center. And since I liked working with pain and injury cases, I started to get know the personal trainers. One trainer, John, became a good referral source because he valued massage.

    One day when John was tired of hearing me gripe about my work situation, he said: “Dude, I’ll send ‘em to your apartment to get a massage.”

    It was an aha moment! I had a trapdoor.

    Target Someone

    The quickest way to create an independent referral source is to target someone. (In a good way.)

    First, identify a potential referral source that might like the type of massage you do. By the way, you don’t need to specialize in a modality to establish an independent referral base.

    Next start to build a relationship. For example, my massage fits well with chiropractic. And for 15 years, Heather, a chiro and my friend, referred her patients to me. But recently she retired.

    So I started to search the area for a chiro that didn’t have massage tied into his business. And
    I found one. Bernie.

    I have to admit that I needed to stalk…I mean be persistent with Bernie to get a return call. But after we talked, we scheduled a time where I would do demo massages on his patients. One demo lead to more demos. And soon the referral spigot was on again.

    Don’t Wait Until You Have a Place

    What if you don’t have a place to work on the referrals? Have them go to where you work until you have something set up.

    That hurts a little, I know. It feels like you’re giving your money away to your employer. But here’s what you get in return: a client.

    If you decide to go out on your own, it’s likely that the referral client will follow you. And if you decide to stay the course at work, you can have peace of mind knowing your independent referral source spigot is turned on if/whenever you are ready to see some clients on the side.

    My Crude But Effective Trapdoor

    After my aha moment with John, I started seeing the clients he referred to me in my apartment while I continued to work at the chiropractor’s office. (Jack, my cat at the time, only jumped on the table once.)

    My trapdoor was crude, but it worked. Shortly after that I opened my first office in a new fitness center where John had set up home.

    Your Trap Door

    If you’re feeling trapped, build a trapdoor. Target a potential independent referral source. Connect. Then get your hands on her/him or her/his customers/patients/clients. Show ‘em what you got. Then decide how you want to handle the referrals.

    As you’re developing your referrals source, plug it into an overall marketing plan, like this one: Massage Therapist How to Get Clients – My 6 Step Plan.

    Need More Help? Here’s a Free Course.

    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.

  • Massage Advertising Idea on the Run

    Need a massage advertising idea that is free and easy to do?

    Put a picture with a caption on your Google My Business (GMB) page using your cell.

    When I was scraping along as a massage therapist, I used to think that if only I could get in front of potential clients I’d win a percentage over and have all the clients I could possibly want.

    And you know what, I was right (yeah, I surprised myself, haha). By the way, operating now during Covid-19 doesn’t mean you can’t acquire clients. You just need to do the best job you can screening clients. (Here’s a Covid-19 screening questionnaire.)

    Groupon seared this numbers game concept into my brain.

    Before my Groupon experiment I had an okay practice. It was enough to pay the bills, but clients weren’t coming out my ears.

    I ran the Groupon, testing the idea that more customers coming in would translate into more repeat clients because I would convert customers to clients at a specific rate.

    And I did—about 15 percent.

    I need to mention that until you see the conversion rate working, it can be discouraging.

    Why?

    Because your first conversion may be your 30th customer. Remember the conversion rate is an average.

    But here’s the upside of relying on an expected conversion rate: It can also help you to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

    How so?

    When that 10th customer doesn’t come back because she can’t actually afford your massage, you know that the 11th or the 12th or the 13th customer could be your next repeat client because statistically you know that your conversion rate will be somewhere around mine with Groupon and much higher with referrals.

    Which brings me back to putting pictures on your GMB page: It’s part of an advertising process that will bring in more customers for you to convert into clients.

    The difference between Groupon and GMB customers is that GMB customers are not necessarily looking for a deal, which could make for a higher conversion rate. (I don’t have any stats on this yet.)

    Adding a picture to your GMB page may seem like small potatoes in terms of bringing clients in, but it’s much more than that.

    An Easy Massage Advertising Idea

    1. If you add a picture to your GMB page weekly, you’re establishing a weekly marketing behavior.

    Overtime that behavior will turn into a habit.

    Not a bad thing, especially since we, massage therapists, are not marketers by nature.

    2. Adding a GMB pic is an easy entry point for marketing.

    What could be easier than putting a picture on your GMB page?

    Nothing.

    3. GMB pics are part of a bigger GMB marketing strategy.

    The big GMB marketing strategy is this: Do everything Google tells you to do with your GMB page so that you check all their boxes and make Google happy since Google is responsible for GMB ranking in a local search.

    What’s a local search?

    This is a local search:

    You want to be in the top three so that no scrolling is needed.

    4. By deciding which picture to take and adding a caption to that picture you’re forcing yourself to exercise your marketing muscles.

    Besides being an easy way to exercise your marketing muscles, it’s fun, too.

    5. Adding pics will make your GMB page look better than your competitors.

    Why a potential customer calls you after looking at your GMB page and not a competitor probably can’t be boiled down to one thing.

    It’s the gestalt, the totality of experience.

    Pictures on your GMB count towards that totality.

    6. Putting a pic on your GMB page builds your marketing confidence.

    Want an instant feeling of marketing competence and satisfaction?

    Take a pic and put it on your GMB page.

    7. Pics on a GMB page are free marketing.

    Free is good, especially when you’re starting a business or trying to grow an existing business.

    Free is not good when it’s complicated.

    Adding a pic to your GMB page is not complicated, and I’m going to show you how to do that right now.

    Put A Pic On Your GMB Page

    First, if you haven’t claimed your business on GMB, go here.

    Fill out your basic information.

    Next, get the Google My Business App for your phone.

    This is where the fun starts to happen at work.

    Below is my step-by-step (there’s a video tutorial at the end of this article if you’re more of a video-kinda-person).

    1. Take a picture.

    Of what?

    Look around the office and start to think about what might be important to show a client.

    Here are some ideas: the massage room, an intake form, a client (if the client is willing to have her/his pic on your GMB page), things you are doing to ensure that your room is as Covid-19 safe as possible, front entrance of the building, your sign, or special oils you may use.

    Got your pic?

    Okay, next you are going to…

    2. Open your GMB app on your phone.

    3. Click + Post.

    4. Click “Add photos/videos”.

    5. Click in the box that says “Add photo or video”.

    6. Click “Choose from gallery”.

    7. Choose your pic.

    8. Then click in the “Add a caption” box.

    Why am I making you add a caption?

    Because it will help you exercise your marketing muscles. Yes, you have marketing muscles. They just need to be pumped up.

    A caption needs to be engaging. Being informative can be engaging. So, can being funny.

    Funny? I’m not Chris Rock, Mark.

    Not stand-up funny. Funny as in a chuckle or a smile.

    Yeah, we can squeeze the stress out of this muscle.

    This pic below is an informative pic and I’m targeting the people who accept a certain level of risk with getting a massage, but are hesitant to go to someone they haven’t worked with before. I want them to understand that we’re trying to mitigate all risks that we can affect on our end.

    Couldn’t be easier, right?

    Just add a pic to your GMB page after you’ve disinfected and are waiting for your room to air out.

    Here’s the video tutorial:

    Every week I’ve got more tell you about safety and making massage money during Covid-19. If you want to know when my next article is out, jump on my email list. It’s free:-)

    Need Help?

    If you want to work with me to get your business off the ground, the easiest and cheapest way is to sign up for the Accelerator Program.

    It has the GMB plan that I used to build and grow my business. It also has my referral building (word of mouth) plan as well as all of my free (or very low cost) tactics for building a business using strategic effort rather than paid-for advertising.

    Lastly it has me in it–3 months of email support. Email me with any questions have you and we’ll get it done together.

    Accelerator