Make the Most of Massage

Category: Start/Grow Massage Business (0 – 30K)

  • 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.

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    It’s free:-)

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  • 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 Business Success Story: Fear Works

    Massage Business Success Story: Fear Works

    You’re not good at all the things needed to sustain and grow your massage business.

    Okay, that was a little rude…but it’s true, right?

    When I opened my practice I stunk at marketing and a whole lot more.

    We’re not talking character flaws here. We’re talking too many hats to wear as a business owner.

    And if you’re like me, you’re going to find ways to avoid the things you’re not good at until something really bad happens.

    Massage Business Options

    The easy fix to all of this is to hire people to do the jobs you’re under-qualified to do. But that comes with a price. Literally. Great if you can pay it. But for most, subbing out all the jobs except for actually doing the massage itself is not an option.

    But I have another solution for you. Just a warning: It’s more Judge Judy than Judge Joe Brown.

    Ready?

    Here it is:

    I’m going to scare the crap out of you.

    That way you’ll stay on track and get better at the jobs you’ve been avoiding.

    If you’re more of a carrot person than a stick person, check out this post by Michael Hyatt. It will help to keep that carrot in front of your face. (Then come back here and get a shot of fear for good measure:-)

    Let’s start with some light scaring.

    Contracting Massage Business

    The problem with being your own boss is that the consequences of your actions or inactions are not always seen right away.

    For example, imagine your massage business has slowly been contracting for the past six months. You know you should do something, but you’re not sure what to do.

    Instead of taking action you’re able to push the situation out of your mind because it’s not an emergency.

    A few more months go by and things have drastically changed for the worse. Your best client has lost his job and isn’t coming in. Now you have an emergency.

    Finally, you work on bringing more clients in, but a month of hard work only nets a handful of new massages. Yikes! You’re stuck in the precarious position of hanging on by your fingernails, hoping your marketing efforts pay off in time.

    Another Solution

    Now imagine that when you see your massage business shrinking you hire Deana to be your boss. Deana gives you instructions to build an email list with existing and new clients.

    One month goes by and Deana asks you how the email list is going.

    Well, Deana, I haven’t started it yet.

    At month 2 you give her the I had a lot of massages to do this month.

    Okay, we can all see where this headed. But before month 3 rolls around, you know you have to do something right now or you’ll be looking for another job, and that’s precisely when you jump into action.

    Think of fear as Deanna, the boss who is going ride your ass and/or fire your ass.

    The trick is to find the fear that will motivate you.

    I’ll do my best to help.

    Let the Sh**ing Begin

    The Sign Marathon

    When my wife, Lisa, and I, opened up PressurePerfect Massage, I didn’t want to put out the money for signage because we had already spent a lot on other start-up costs. Months went by before I contacted sign companies. When I finally settled on a sign company, it took them months to get our banner done and another month to get it from them.

    Since they were the worst sign company ever, I decided to make our road sign myself. You guessed it, more months for me to get that done.

    By the time all signs were up, a year plus had gone by and by my estimates we had lost over $3000 in revenue.

    The Website Debacle

    During our early years, I had avoided doing a massage business website myself because the DIY options were limited and you pretty much needed a programmer to build your website.

    Eventually, we made a massage for website barter-arrangement with our friend who was a computer programmer but who had never built a website.

    The project moved at glacial speed. We missed holiday advertising, gift certificate sales and any Internet presence for six months. We couldn’t fire our friend because we hadn’t hired her. And we couldn’t nag her to death because we might lose a friend.

    I estimate that we had lost about $2000 in revenue and 82 of my hairs (pulled out) because Lisa and I gave up control over our website construction by not hiring someone.

    By the way, do you think Deana would have fired Wifey and me? Uh-yeah.

    A SEO Seizure

    If you have trouble falling asleep, say this word Search Engine Optimiza—zzzzzzz…oh, sorry…Optimization, also known as SEO. Yeah, what a yawn.

    Years back we were ranking low in Google Places and organic searches and needed SEO big time.

    Of course, I decided to do it myself. Me actually doing it wasn’t the problem. Me starting to do it was. I dragged my feet for months because I was intimidated by the process. By the time I actually got it done, months and months had gone by where we didn’t even rank in a local search.

    There’s more…

    Remember PressurePerfect Massage with no outside signs? Well, in 2014 we had rolled Mark Liskey Massage into PressurePerfect Massage, but I didn’t redo some of the SEO to reflect the change, not out of laziness—out of ignorance. I just hadn’t dug deep enough in SEO.

    No outside sign and no web presence because the SEO wasn’t right. Can you say: trying to go out of business.

    Scared?

    Just in case you need a little more:

    Source: Frances Proctor

    Seriously, not having persistent and adequate motivation to do something you don’t want to do is a problem when you’re your own boss. Don’t let yourself get in a hole that you can’t get out of.

    This is what you can do right now:

    1. Admit that you’re not good at all the jobs you have to do in your massage business.
    2. Hire someone to do them or do them yourself.
    3. If you decide to do them yourself, do them!!!!!!

    Sit down and take the time and learn what you need to know

    1. When you detect avoidance behavior, refer back to my list to scare the poop out of yourself.

    This article can also help keep you accountable: A Business Lesson that Hurt: How Not to Fool Yourself.

    It Works

    Now, I constantly use “healthy” fear to keep me on track to getting better at the jobs that I’m not good at but need to do until I can sub those jobs out.

    If you need healthy fear, advice or more information about a challenge you have with massage, jump in my email group. Once you join, you can tell me what you need and I’ll get the right information in front of your eyeballs.

    It’s free.

    You can unsubscribe whenever you want.

    And I promise not scare you anymore.

    Sign up below:-)