We’ve all had them. You can’t please them; they are always late then have the audacity to complain about your massage room, the oils, the curtains, your music, or whatever they can think about that doesn’t meet their standards of perfection. They’re never come for their appointment on time, they leave their money ‘at home’, they never refer anybody to you….the list goes on.

I had a client once who was always clinging on to her Asthma for an excuse for everything. After 20 minutes into the appointment she arrived late (couldn’t find her puffer), doesn’t apologise (why should she, she was an asthmatic) and still expected her hour treatment (because Asthmatics need a full hour) and then criticised me for not using X,Y,Z technique, after all her last massage therapist did it (she die of asthma if I didn’t and it would be my fault)….I wanted to strangle her. But I didn’t because I wanted her business.

Then one day she forgot her purse at home (her puffers made her do it) and said “I’ll be back in ten minutes with the money.” I didn’t see her again. By this time I was so sick of it that I wrote her a letter. I was polite yet assertive. In a nutshell I was sick of being walked on and treated without respect. After all her breathing had never been better like when she was seeing me…I don’t mean to big note myself but it was just a fact. I deserved better.

About a week later I wrote her a letter explaining that I felt disappointed and hurt that she didn’t pay me because it was like she did not value me or the good work I was doing and to please pay within 7 days of getting this letter otherwise I shall seek legal action. As any normal business person would.

Well you can imagine what her reaction was. Because I’d spoken to her in an assertive way she was very angry after all she could have had an Asthma attack and died. She accused me of being unfair and didn’t want to see me again. Phew! I was so glad. She sent me a cheque pretty quickly though. And that was all she had to do. Frankly I didn’t want her back. And I was not being aggressive, I was being assertive. (There is a huge difference.)

Question: What went wrong? Why did this person give me grief?

Answer: because I let them.

I just wanted to make my massage business to work and I thought I had to accept new clients just because they gave me business. I thought that a big part of making my massage business work was accepting clients that came my way…ANY clients.

But I learnt something very different (and extremely valuable) from that experience. That was to value myself as a person and a massage therapist. So I made the decision to never let another client treat me like that again. I would recognise the signs of a “difficult” client and nip it in the bud, so to speak and stop it from getting stressful. (After all the difficult client doesn’t feel stress; YOU DO!)

I devised a mental formula to prepare me to terminate difficult relationships without delay. As soon as a new client displayed any of the signs of being a difficult client, they were referred to someone else instantly. I had a mental checklist and used it actively. Since then I was able to recognise difficult clients and make the conscious choice of self value and my life would be so much better. After all who needs it for $70?

If you have had an experience like this then you know the headache they can cause you. So the first thing to bringing fabulous, regular, appreciative clients into your life and get rid of the difficult ones, or disconnect them from your life. To do this you need to recognise the signs of a difficult client.

Checklist to avoid:

• A ridiculously late arrival for the treatment without any apology or acknowledgment that they have inconvenienced you.
• Forgets their money or doesn’t have enough at the end of the massage treatment (let you get the whole massage through and then tells you they don’t have enough money on them).
• Criticizes you in some very subtle way (this is called ‘invalidation’ such as “are you still using that cheap massage oil?”)
• Always compares you to their other massage therapist out loud in conversation with you, implying they were better and they are just seeing you because the other person went out of business, town etc, etc
• Tells you that they would like to make an appointment but suggests that you give them half price because eventually they will tell people about you, which somehow qualifies them for a huge discount. (This really means they do not value you.)
• Rings five minutes before the appointment to cancel then gets annoyed because they can’t have an appointment on a time you don’t work (like 10pm Friday night.)

Believe it or not their behavior is not personal. These people are like this because they don’t like themselves and have a difficult time with self value and respect. This manifests into insecurity and a difficulty in relating to other people in an honest and respectable way. They have not learnt to show others respect. They are like this to everyone, you just have the unfortunate situation dealing with them right now.

If a client displays ANY of these things you can handle it effectively for yourself by making the decision to be assertive. My advice to you is that they are just not worth the stress or headache. You are a valuable person and a very important massage therapist who deserves the very best that clients can give you and should not take any less, consider yourself to accept anything less. You are here now, doing something incredibly good for humanity so value yourself for it.

And think of this; if you charge $70 per massage treatment then you are putting up with all of this for $70. Is it your happiness more to you than $70? If it is, tell these people to see someone else. You are worth more.

Best wishes,
Amy Roberts
www.massagetherapysuccess.com

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If you have just graduated as a Massage Therapist and want to start up your practice from home here are some ways you get started.

First of all, let me say that starting from home is an excellent way to keep overhead costs down, build up a solid client base in the control of your own environment and there are no traveling times to and from work.

Before I give you these important directions to follow lets look at this first, otherwise you won’t be able to do anything: The hardest thing about getting starting is developing momentum. This factor is so underestimated. It’s very easy to sit back and say “it’s all too hard” and rely on clients to come to you without any effort. It can be hard because you have to be very self motivated and be willing to put the time in to start this momentum.

So what are some ways to make this “gaining momentum” easier?

Write down in a special book (blank) that every day you will commit to a minimum of at least one hour dedicated to the pursuit of getting clients. If you work better with routine, then say to yourself “okay everyday, Monday to Friday, between 10 am and 11am I am going to work actively at getting clients.”

See how that feels already? Already you have formed a picture in your mind of yourself actually doing that. That picture can grow into reality and form into your life. That mental image is the basis of getting what you want. It’s very important.

The next thing to do is to have a very clear picture in your mind of what you want to be experiencing. In your special book (I call this my “inspiration book” its really a business planning book, but you can call it whatever name works to get you going) you can then ask yourself a question:

What are some of the ways I can start getting clients today?

Your response might be “contact the local Physical Therapy Center and introduce myself, and leave a brochure or flyer there.” It’s a small gesture but it might lead to something else later.

Make sure though, that the clients you want to treat actually go to the Physical Therapy Center. No point marketing yourself where your potential clients have no intention of going. I want to make that point as clear as the palm of your hand.

Follow-Up

The next thing to do is to make sure you follow up and follow up with these people or places you contact. It’s SO important to keep tabs on what your results are from your contact so that you know what’s getting you clients and what is not.

There is no point contacting a swimming center over and over again over a 4 month time frame, and leaving brochures there if you get absolutely no clients from that. There’s no sense “flogging a dead horse” as the saying goes.

This is why you must keep tabs. All you have to do for this is to write in your special book how many times you have contacted them over what period of time and whether you got any response from the swim center or not. If you did special offers and incentives to the swim center over a 6 month period, and gave your “all” and got absolutely nothing back, move on.

If you contacted the Physical Therapist a few times and had two clients from them and those clients came back and referred you other clients over a six month period, to compare, then you know that source is a good source to work on. Perhaps then you can contact the Therapist with a thank you card and some incentive for them to keep referring you their clients. It might be free massage, it might be something else. Whatever it is, make sure you do it and give them something they will like. There is no point rewarding them for the business they have given you with a nice bottle of white wine if they dislike alcohol! Just find out from their receptionist or colleague first. It’s just a bit of sneaky detective work that will go along way.

When do you stop your daily hour commitment to getting clients?

You never actually stop working on your massage business to get clients, you’ll always be doing it. That’s just business and if you’ve been in it for as long as I have (since 1994) or for twenty minutes you must realise that the act of marketing is just as important as the massage itself.

The more you build up the busier you will be and that time you spend may go from one hour a day to three hours a week, but whatever time it is, make should you do it and commit to it.

Don’t worry if you take a bit of time to actually gain this momentum, just make sure you commit to it and follow through. Because the thing about starting to take action like this is actually making a promise to yourself and, on a personal level, enhancing your self esteem as well.

My best wishes to you,

Amy Roberts
www.massagetherapymarketingsuccess.com

I received an email today from one of my students and wanted to share that with you.

“To be honest, this has been a lot of hard work.  I am just starting out, do not have a client base to work from so much of what you are advising, I have not been able to really complete 100%.
I have nonetheless really gotten a lot out of the exercises, by creatively applying those segments that pertain to self representation.  For example, since I don’t have past clients to use, I have been working on those parts of your manual that help with communicating my speciality and how to design my vouchers and business cards.
I work full time at a job that pays the bills so in reality, your course is helping to instill good habits before I get busy and mess up.
Thank you for creating this course.”

It gives me such joy to read an email like this, because I can see how someone benefited from it. I also really appreciate the honesty that it has been hard work. Maybe I have to take out the “Effortlessly” from the title.

But then I wonder how this hard work compares to learning to become a massage therapist. I am sure this is easier or at least less time consuming.

Just Starting Out

I have had that question a few times: “I am just starting out and have not got any clients yet. Can I still do the training?”

1. Yes, because it will give you a much smoother start to opening you practice.
   A lot of the exercises are designed  for you to get clarity around your clients and what you are offering them. For that you do not need past clients.
2. Some parts of the training integrate building your relationship with past clients.
   That part is just to get someone up to speed to be able to implement the really important follow-up systems for the future.
3. I am certain that everyone who is a natural health practitioner has worked on other people. It does not matter whether it was paying clients, family, friends or even other students. They can give you great input.

So yes, the training is great when you are just starting out. And it might feel like hard work while you do it, but it pays off really well when the clients start coming.

More Advanced Marketing Training

I have started to review some other marketing trainings that are available. Some of them are fantastic once you have build the foundations and you want to build your practice. I will share my reviews soon.

Do you think it’s worth running a natural health ‘open evening’ to discuss health issues and as an aside promote my practice? I’m a massage therapist, reflexologist and Reiki practitioner.

Hannah, that is a great idea and it is very much worthwhile.

Here are some things to think of:

• Plan it on an ongoing and consistent basis
  Running evenings like that as a once-off might not bring the results you are looking for. Over time, people get to value them and tell their friends.
• Give your participants value
  They need to leave, blown away by what they have learned and how that has positively impacted on their lives. (Could just be emotional support to deal with a specific long-term problem, does not have to be a quick fix).
• Target your market well
  Choose topics that you can help with and let the people you want to treat know. As an example if you work with older people, hold the evenings in retirement villages.
• Invite your friends
  A bigger group is always more exciting for the participants. The networking they do can be a benefit as well. Also, having the support of people who love you helps.
• Invite other complementary health practitioners
  Guest speakers can deepen the conversation.
• Use it for PR
  Remember the post about creating newsworthy actions.

Something else to consider is whether to charge for these evenings or keep them free. Free might bring more people, but they might not value it as much.

I ran events like that for health practitioners, talking about different marketing topics. I charged $5. Looking back that was too little, because it did not translate into direct sales and gave a lot of what they wanted already.

With a harder sales approach (e.g. offering a discount if they purchase something that evening) it might work. I don’t use that because I do not think that it builds positive long-term relationships.

So if you do not expect quick sales, but want to build your network long-term, it is a great way of achieving it.