Thanks so much to all of you who have contributed great questions in the last 6 weeks. It was fun and challenging to answer them.
At the beginning I said that the best question would win a Passionate Training. Little did I know that it would be very hard to decide which one was “the best” question. Lucky for me, technology keeps track of a how many people read a specific post.
I am therefore defining the best question as the one that most people were interested in.
Congratulations Gizelle. Your training is on the way and I hope you get a lot out of it. I will be really interested in hearing how it works for you in your small town in South Africa.
Any other questions, just post a comment … There is no training to win, but sharing and collaborating, we all win new insights.
Have you heard of Elizabeth Fletcher Brown? She interviews interesting people (many of whom are successful massage therapists) at Massagesuccessradio.com.
She is now offering an 8 week telecoaching program. It starts in two weeks (Monday March 10th or the 11th of you are in Australia).
There is a limit of only 20 massage therapists who can attend. That way she can really delve into specific issues of each participant.
Why do I recommend it? I have recently participated in a similar program. It has helped me to focus exactly on what I want to achieve. Reporting back to your peers each week gives you a whole different motivation to take action. It is the best way to stop procrastination and get you closer to the practice you envisage.
And the whole program is only $97. So if you have never tried to work with a group of peers, this is your chance to see its amazing results. And if you already know how much better you achieve your goals in a group, Elizabeth’s program might be for you.
If you decide to participate, please let me know how it goes for you.
My main problem seems to be keeping the majority of clients coming for more than 2 or 3 visits.
Is there a certain phrase or seed that can be planted in their minds from the initial contact that will have them returning for week after week month after month?
Find out Why
As a first step, I would want to find out why they are not coming back.
Have you healed them so well that they do not feel they need it?
Are you doing something they don’t like (maybe become too familiar)?
Do they feel it is getting too expensive?
How to find out? Call them and talk to them a certain time after they have been with you.
Take the Lead in Making Contact
Either they tell you something that you can change for the better. Or you might actually find that your calls result in many of your clients coming back.
Turn that into a system where you make contact in a variety of ways.
Most humans are lazy. Taking action is an effort. So you need to take away the effort for your clients to come back.
Here are some possibilities:
Book them into the next appointment when they leave
Call them a certain time after their last visit, inquire how they are feeling, offer a new appointment
Book them into a recurring spot (e.g. Wednesday at 10am every fortnight)
Sell a pack of 10 appointments for a reduced price (payable upfront)
But the most important first step is to find out why they are not coming back. If there is anything you can learn from that to improve your service, you’ve gained a lot.
How can a therapist overcome the resistance to wanting to promote themselves and the mindset that suggests that actively promoting themselves is somehow a bad thing?
However, it is worth thinking about some more, because it is a huge issue with many natural health practitioners.
Where does the resistance come from?
Its source might be found in the fact that many practitioners start out because they develop a love for a particular treatment as a client. That prompts them to learn the skills to administer that.
When they finish many feel that they are not experienced enough. This is communicated through potential clients who react with uncertainty or worse. (I think this communication happens on an unconscious or energetic level.)
And therapists pick that up (unconsciously) thus heightening their insecurity.
To stop getting rejections, they avoid promoting themselves.
So I don’t think many practitioners think it a bad thing to promote themselves. The reluctance comes from protecting their emotional balance.
Focus on the Benefits
That is the single most important suggestion I have. Stop thinking about promoting yourself. Forget selling your services. Keep one thing in mind: How can you benefit the people around you best?
The first thing this does is to help you to listen better. Understanding other people, asking for more details to get the full picture, delving into their beliefs.
If appropriate or asked, think of whether you can help them.
Helping them does not even have to mean with your services. It could be giving them another contact. It could mean suggesting a product or doing a specific thing.
Solving a problem for your target market
It also means offering your services, promoting yourself.
This is where target market comes into play. The more clearly you have defined who your clients are and what problem you are solving for them, the better you will become at exactly that. That increases your certainty and the easier it will be to promote your services in that area.
We plan to move out of the city into a rural area in the next 6 months, is it worth trying to build up my practice before that, and learn some skills (not to mention, building my confidence) that will make it easier for me to build my practice again once we move? by Catherine
A common problem is smoothing out the peaks and troughs where one week is very busy followed by a very quiet week. What do you suggest for achieving or a more consistent workflow? by Krishna
I’m about to take on my first staff member - how can I best ensure their loyalty to me, as well as maximise client loyalty to my business, rather than the new therapist (and any other therapists that follow!)? by Paula
New practice - unsure of repeat biz as yet. by Rodney
If you’ve got anything to add, ask away in the comments (or send me an email). I will answer your question and you have the chance to win a Passionate Training.
Here is something for you, if you live on the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
As you might know, I have stopped running the training seminars face to face a while back. Luckily someone has stepped up to it now. Krishna Everson from Vitality Options is offering a half-day workshop on 4 March and a full-day on 17 March.
She has 20 years experience in advertising and health marketing. In the last few years she has build a thriving mobile massage service with her husband.
For all those that are not on the Sunshine Coast, I will start a review of the different online trainings that are available over the next few weeks. There are so many out there, all at different costs and with a different focus that I think it is good to compare what they have to offer, so you can make a choice what is best for you.
If you’ve had any good or bad experience with a program, please let me know. Or if you have produced a training and would like me to review it for our readers, just get in touch.
The first most obvious difference is that a spa has more money to invest into marketing. The individual massage practitioner is on a tighter budget.
But the biggest and more important difference is the way, relationships are formed.
Spa Marketing
A spa needs to develop a strong brand.
The team changes, employees come and go. It is therefore important that a relationship is built between the client and the brand of the spa.
What is brand? On the surface it is the logo and name. It is the presentation of the spa in all advertising material.
However much more important and deeper than that, it is all that the spa stands for. For example one decision that is reflected in the brand is whether the spa wants to provide high quality or a quick service (with no waiting).
That needs to be reflected throughout the experience of clients. How are they welcomed? How are they treated (personal or as a number)? Do they have their personal massage practitioner or are a range of people providing different services?
Any brand attracts certain clients. So the better the brand of a spa reflects its clients, the better it will do. And the more consistent it is, the better will the right clients be attracted.
If you want to know more, try this blog on spa marketing.
Massage Marketing
An individual health practitioner needs to develop a strong network.
In a way, the brand is you. So the better you are able to reflect your true self, the more happy you will be with your work. And clients will notice and refer.
Because of that, networking is so essential. It is building strong relationships within your community. Not to get everyone as a client, but to have people who know and respect you for who you are. I have written on it in The Best Way to Promote Yourself.
So even though spas have a bigger marketing budget, individual massage practitioners have a much easier way to promote themselves, by just being yourself and connecting with people.
It does not just have to be on massage marketing, it can also be spa marketing or marketing for any natural health modality. Just enter a comment with your question and I’ll answer it (and you get the chance to win one of the massage marketing trainings).
On a different note, I want to share with you something from another project I am working on: a website for freelance writers. Why am I sharing that now? Because I have just entered a competition with a short piece of writing. Nothing fancy, just to be part of it. Here it is:
Did you know that the Passionate Training is accredited for Continuing Education points? Not just in massage, but across a whole range of natural health modalities.
All you need to do is pass the 5 tests and you will receive your certificate of attendance.
Massage Continuing Education enough?
A lot of practitioners I encounter spend a lot of money on learning new modalities and refining massage skills. This is no doubt an important investment to keep abreast the newest developments.
However, if you do not have enough clients to serve, the additional knowledge will not help anyone.
Action focused training
That is why I developed the Passionate Training. Its main difference to other programs: It is completely focused on action. There are exercises spread over 25 days (you can of course do it at your own pace).
If you have any questions about the training (or any feedback for the ones who have done it) please leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you.
When you listen to your clients, you will get inspiration as to what they want. React to that. Service and satisfy them.
Whatever you do, remember that massage (or your modality) is your main service. Do not dilute that by peddling other stuff. Instead offer it as an added service.
Joining a networking marketing company can be useful, as they often provide services beyond just providing the products (e.g. the invoicing, the shipping, holding stock, etc.) . However the training they provide is on selling as much of their products as possible, often to the detriment of the seller’s relationships.
So keep your focus on your main service and use the other massage products to satisfy your clients wishes (and to gain additional income).
Here is something for you, if you live on the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
