Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68009
MARKETING YOUR PRACTICE Let's assume you don't have a big budget to market your business. You do have the gift of time from a less-than- full schedule so the strategies will be time-intensive rather than expensive. You also have entrepreneurial moxie on your side (or you better get some). Don't worry, entrepreneurship will develop as you take action. The tips below are action items designed to get you out of your clinic and among your potential clients. Once you're an established therapist with a full schedule, you'll probably have less time to use these approaches and can graduate to more time-efficient but more costly strategies. Therapists with a solid clientele either look to hire more therapists, grow franchises, or let your website do more of the work. You don't have the budget for a large advertising campaign, yet. Try these strategies and soon you will. 1. MAKE AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT Sometimes massage schools oversell the ease with which their graduates can make a mint. As a result, new therapists are often pushed to expect success too quickly. It can happen, but if you're determined to work for yourself immediately it can take some time to develop a large clientele to reliably fill your schedule. The entrepreneurial mind-set is that you can make it on your own through sweat equity. If that means you have to keep a part-time job to finance your dreams and groceries for a while, so be it. (If you think that retail job is beneath you now that you're officially a professional, frankly, that's a bad sign.) You have a lot of work to do, so don't pay too much attention to people who predict doom and gloom. Pessimists don't even try. They just snipe at you from the sidelines and they make lousy entrepreneurs. Successful businesspeople fuel their enthusiasm with optimism. Hearing the word no doesn't make them feel bad and they don't come at the challenge with a heavy sense of entitlement. Smile. You just made yourself look better and it didn't cost you a thing. If you're still reluctant to jump, think how enthusiastic you are about massage therapy and how many more people you will soon be able to help. Always remember that your ultimate goal is to help others. The money will come from caring and that's not something you ever have to apologize for. Head on straight? Good. Now you can get to work. rate dragging down your income for a long time. Fees should be determined by what you need to cover your costs and what the market will bear. I'm all for giving out short demonstrations for free. You're giving potential clients a taste of what the work is like. Demos bring you into their comfort zone and eliminate the prospect's fear factor. Try doing demos at health fairs or with an allied noncompeting profession; consider your dentist's or chiropractor's waiting room. Everywhere you go, there is potential to spread the word. Now, how to do that elegantly? You have a lot of work to do, so don't pay too much attention to people who predict doom and gloom. Pessimists don't even try. 2. DO DEMONSTRATE. DON'T DISCOUNT It's a popular strategy, but I don't encourage anyone to use discount programs to lure in new clients without seriously considering the ramifications. In the longer term, you may have difficulty raising that discounted fee with those clients who simply came in because they were being undercharged. Worse, you could end up with a practice full of people receiving discounts. Too many massage therapists already undercharge (especially when they are first starting out). Don't forget that fee increases tend to be slow and incremental, so you can be stuck with that low base 44 massage & bodywork july/august 2009 3. GET A MASSAGE CHAIR All massage therapists should have a massage chair as standard equipment. They allow you the mobility to get out of your office and among the people who are your potential clients. The chair makes you accessible. It's your most powerful promotional item besides your hands-on skills. Don't fret about the price. Massage chairs are inexpensive and pay for themselves quickly. Better, they can bring you a lot of work where you wouldn't ordinarily work. That kind of exposure will get your practice off the ground.