Make the Most of Massage

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  • 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:-)

  • Hit Your Massage Number

    This post was going to be called How to Hit Your Massage Number.

    But I didn’t go with that title because before the how there needs to be a why.

    And that why needs to be compelling for one simple reason: If you stay connected with the why (the need to hit your number) then, more than likely, you’re going to hit your number.

    Let me explain.

    Hitting Your Massage Number

    First, by hitting your number I mean that you achieve the weekly number of massages you set as a goal.

    If you were in sales hitting your number would be straightforward.

    Your sales goal number would be put on a board or entered in a spreadsheet and you’d work to accomplish that goal.

    Pressure’s on.

    But you’re not a salesperson.

    There’s no sales board.

    There’s no spreadsheet.

    There’s no one there telling you to hit your number besides you—which makes it easy to lose sight of the need to hit your number.

    I get that.

    For a chunk of my massage career I wasn’t hitting my number.

    And I addressed the problem by lowering my number.

    That’s one way to hit your number, right?

    But not a good way because as I adjusted my number down, my income went down, too. And I struggled to make it as a massage therapist.

    Eventually, I became determined to hit my original number.

    And I did.

    Then I raised my number

    And I hit that number, too.

    Motivation Behind Determination

    So, just get determined and everything will work out, Mark?

    No.

    You have to be determined, but we all know determination is not as simple as flipping on a switch.

    Here’s what made me persistent in working towards hitting my number: Utter desperation.

    At the lowest point in my massage career I either needed to hit my number and climb out of a financial hole or find another career.

    That was a significant fire under my butt.

    What’s your fire?

    If you’ve been at massage for a few years and are barely making it, I’m going to give you some preemptive desperation (motivation) by telling you what’s ahead: More floundering until you quit.

    I’m such a nice guy…

    Seriously, I’m not trying to upset you.

    I’m just trying to light a controlled burn under your butt so that you don’t end up as desperate as I was.

    My How to Hit Your Massage Number Formula

    So, embrace the reality that you have to hit your number.

    Then define that number.

    How much do you need to make each work week this year? The following year?

    Next, implement basic marketing strategies, like the ones you can find in my free Jumpstart course.

    Stick with the plan for 6 months.

    Tweak it if you need to.

    Hit your number.

    Enjoy the success:-)

    P.S. Want my latest info? (It’s free.) Sign up here:

  • Which is the Best Massage Tool for a Massage Therapist?

    Which is the Best Massage Tool for a Massage Therapist?

    Which is the best massage tool for a massage therapist?

    That’s an easy answer.

    The massage tool that works best for you (the massage therapist).

    The harder question is: Which massage tool works best for you?

    To answer that question, you need to ask yourself more questions:

    1. Does the massage tool stress my hand when I use it for a few minutes?

    In 2018, I wrote a massage tools article for Massage & Bodywork Magazine. I wanted to write exclusively about the T-bar because it was my go-to massage tool.

    But the editor rejected that idea and asked me to do a comparative massage tools article. So, I went to the local massage supply store and played with the massage tools on display.

    I eliminated 80% of the massage tools for the article by simply pressing them into the display table. If I had hand or wrist discomfort and couldn’t figure out a way to grip the massage tool so that I didn’t—adios.

    By the way, I didn’t care if the packaging said “Voted Best Massage Tool for Feet” or “Designed by NASA Engineers!”, if it hurt my hand, it hurt my hand. Period.

    I should point out something here: Like any hand-held tool, a massage tool is going to bother something (your palm, fingers or wrist) if you hold it too long.

    That said, the massage tool that you don’t want to buy causes immediate discomfort when you hold it AND scores low on question #2.

    2. Can I hold the massage tool comfortably in multiple ways? 

    Basically, when you’re using any massage tool you will need to mix up your holds.

    As I mentioned above, if you hold anything one way for a long period of time (even a pencil), you are going to over-stress certain joints and muscles.

    When you use different holds you spread the workload (and stress-load) out.

    You can spread the workload out even more by becoming ambidextrous with the massage tool. Don’t worry about that right away. That will come with time.

    How do you figure out different holds?

    You allow your hands to experiment with different holds. I call this adapting to the massage tool.

    Adapting to the Massage Tool

    If the massage tool works well in the cervical erectors with one hand, but hurts your hand in the thoracic erectors because you have to tighten your hold, try using two hands on the massage tool.

    More about holding a massage tool here.

    So, adaptation isn’t only limited to holds. Adaptation should also influence how you use the massage tool.

    How you hold a massage tool and how you use a massage tool often work together.

    In other words, trying different holds will often result in you being able to use the massage tool in more areas than you first thought you could.

    In this video, I demonstrate various adaptation responses when using a long T-bar.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1uF_FkjBDs

    The last question to ask regarding which massage tool is best for you is:

    3. Is the massage tool only good for one pressure or can I use it for light, medium, and  deep pressure? 

    A lot of massage tools are fine for light pressure, but for medium or deep, not so much.

    To do medium and deep pressure, I advocate leaning your body weight into the massage tool, rather than pressing with your upper body.

    Massage tools with handles are ideal for leaning because they provide enough surface area to lean into.

    That’s why I’m not a big fan of the Jacknobber for medium to deep pressure.

    It doesn’t have a place for me to rest my hand comfortably. And it makes my hand ache when leaning to do medium or deep pressure.

    Putting it All Together

    All that to pick out one freakin’ massage tool, Mark!

    Well, finding one or two massage tools that are perfect for you are going to change how you do massage forever.

    When you do you’ll be able to increase your massage max while saving your body.

    Here’s the criteria I use for picking the best massage tool on the market (aka, the best massage tool for you):

    1. The massage tool doesn’t stress my hand when I lean into it for a reasonable amount of time.

    2. I can comfortably hold the massage tool many different ways.

    3. The massage tools is good for light, medium and deep pressure.

    How to Use Massage Tools Fearlessly and Effectively Online, Home-Study Course (2.5 CEU)

    If you get competent with massage tools you can increase your massage max (make more money) and brand your massage.

    It just takes knowing what to do and a little practice. Get competent with massage tools here: How to Use Massage Tools Fearlessly and Effectively (2.5 CEU).

  • How to Advertise Better Than Massage Envy

    How to Advertise Better Than Massage Envy

    Who do you think of when I say massage advertising?

    Jenny’s massage?

    Hardly.

    I think of massage spas, like Massage Envy.

    Massage spas have fat advertising budgets.

    Private practice MTs not so much.

    But we’ve got something else. And it’s a massage advertising dynamo when it becomes a habit: It’s the practice of building rock-solid relationships with other health practitioners.

    I’m not talking about a “I’m just gonna drop off my business cards” kind of connection.

    I’m talking about an ongoing, highly interactive relationship that (1) improves treatment outcomes, (2) makes clients happy because you’re all in (and they know it), and (3) spreads your name like crazy.

    Yeah, Mark, I already do that.

    For twenty years, I thought I was doing it. But then I learned that’s there’s another level to connecting with health practitioners that I wasn’t doing.

    By the way, connecting with health practitioners is something massage spas can’t do.

    For one simple reason: Their business model won’t let them.

    Imagine a Massage Envy owner telling one of her MT employees this: “Go ahead and text Bob (the client) to see how he did after his adjustment yesterday?”

    Or: “Did you check in with Tara’s PT yet to make sure that you’re on the same page?”

    Not going to happen.

    Why?

    A massage spa has to protect its business.

    If a MT walks or gets fired, a massage spa doesn’t want her to have access to a client’s information, like a cell phone number, for fear she might take the client.

    Also, we all know that massage spas tend to have a high MT turnover rate.

    And if a MT employee has a great therapeutic relationship with a client, built by going the extra mile, that client is likely to follow him when he leaves.

    So, incredo therapeutic rapport is actually a double-edged sword for a massage spa.

    The inevitable consequence of this business model is “above and beyond” gets dialed down and interchangeability gets dialed up.

    Which means we OWN strong relationships.

    Our advantage. Forever. Period.

    (Unless massage spas change their business model…psst…they’re not going to….they’re making way too much money doing it their way).

    To see the biggest business benefit from strong relationships with other health practitioners, you need to execute 3 steps (the 3rd one is the “next level” step).

    Here are the steps:

    Massage Advertising Through Strong Relationships

    Step #1: In-depth intake and permission to consult.

    I do a thorough intake with the client. If the client has a pain issue I’m going to be working on, I make sure that I know who she’s currently working with to resolve the problem.

    I then ask the client if it would  be okay if I talked to ———– (the health practitioner working with her).

    I’ve never had a client say no. And who isn’t happy knowing that everyone is working together on her/his behalf?

    Step #2: Email/call the health practitioner.

    From the get-go, I want the health practitioner I’m contacting to know that I’m there to support his/her work.

    Sometimes the person you contact may want to meet you. Whether you meet face-to-face or not at all isn’t important.

    The fact that you’re checking in and supplying your piece of the puzzle is the most important thing.

    Step #3: Do steps 1 and 2 with each client who has a condition/issue and is seeing another health practitioner for that same condition/issue.

    This is the step that will take your business to the next level and is the step that’s the easiest to screw up.

    Why?

    Because it takes effort to make steps 1 and 2 a habit and not a random act of kindness.

    Also, you won’t see the business benefits from your efforts right away.

    But if you stick with it, your name will start to spread among area health practitioners and within their patient/client bases.

    You know you’ve got a good massage advertising system in place when a client hears about you from two different sources.

    My acupuncturist gave me your card, then my friend, Joanne, said that she saw you last year for her back because her chiro recommended you.

    This is free (time as payment) massage advertising on steroids. And there’s an added bonus.

    The Added Bonus

    When you start connecting with a client’s health support team you learn a lot. And you become a better therapist.

    Massage Advertising Through Relationships in a Nutshell

    Own massage advertising by doing what the big players can’t.

    1. Deep dive into the intake and ask for permission to consult.
    2. Contact the appropriate health practitioner.
    3. Do this with each client who has a condition/issue and is seeing another health practitioner for that same condition/issue.

    It’s free massage advertising that massage spas can’t will never do.

    For more about how you can grow your business by understanding the business model of massage spas, check out: How to Compete with Massage Envy.

    Wait, Mark, too much info, I’m just starting to build my massage business.

    No problem, go here: Jumpstart.

    And if you’ve got a meh massage business (30K or less a year) and need to crank it up, go here: Accelerator.