Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68009
ABMP OFFERS A FREE WEBSITE TO EACH MEMBER. TO LEARN MORE, VISIT ABMP.COM. Cold Calling Step out and introduce yourself and your services to the world. Go into target businesses with a smile and a brochure. You'll already have written out and practiced the basics of what you're going to say, and it will be something like this: "Hi, I'm Hans Forya, your newest local massage therapist. How you doing?" Exchange some pleasantries and find out who the manager or owner is. Get their name and use it. "I just wanted to leave you with my flyer describing my services in detail. I've got a clinic on Eighth Street, but in case you're interested, I do events for businesses like yours, too. Please keep me in mind the next time you have a sale or a customer appreciation day. I provide massage therapy for employees, too, if you have employee appreciation days or health and safety days." Say this last bit a little louder. The staff will perk up and buzz about it after you leave. Congratulations!") No need to oversell it. Just let them know you're paying attention, caring, and conscientious. When I started out, I delivered flyers to my neighborhood. Free parking is a big draw to a clinic. Being able to conveniently walk there is even better. Later on, I hired a teenager to run the flyers around while I worked. I wrote my newsletters then, but that was a million years ago when there was no Internet. Now, I would pay the nominal fee to the post office to deliver postcards with my website address and a gentle reminder "It's time to discover (or rediscover) the benefits of massage." Your website should communicate to clients and potential clients who you are and what benefits you can provide through your service. Make it easy for people to schedule appointments. Not ready for a website? Minimal websites aren't that pricey and you can add more bells and whistles later to make yours more interactive. Failing that, blogs are free. Blog on massage therapy. Again, emphasize why readers should receive massage, not so much how you do it. A list of courses you've taken will mostly be a blur they don't understand (like when my mechanic starts talking about what's under the hood of my van). Avoid jargon. Update your blog frequently so people will have a reason to come back often. Advertising in your local paper can be expensive (and indistinguishable from all the other people trying to sell stuff ). Write a helpful column and submit it to the editor. Be the expert on something and people will start recognizing your name. That's the difference between advertising and promotion. Promotion is free and more effective because writing earns you and your practice more credibility. 6. HOST AN OPEN HOUSE A colleague of mine was very successful with this route. She mailed postcard invitations very cheaply, blanketing nearby neighborhoods. (Don't forget your database as well. Your best prospects are friends and family of existing clients.) A lesser strategy is simply to advertise that you exist and invite patrons to call for an appointment … some day. To boost your responses, go bigger by giving more. The better strategy is to hold an open house at your clinic so you can take that opportunity to inform and educate and, once again, delete the fear factor. You want the merely curious to confidently graduate into your clientele. Show them what you do with talks and demonstrations. Be sure to ask attendees to RSVP so you know how many to expect, allowing you to plan an adequate event. If you get more than you can handle, sign up the crowd for an alternate date. You can host an open house anytime. In one clinic, we held a customer appreciation day with a tropical theme, complete with Hawaiian shirts and plastic Dollar Store leis. The clients loved it. We raised money for charity. I baked muffins, chatted with new people, and converted some new clients with demos. Canadians in February are all dreaming of palm trees, so that theme worked well. What will your theme be? 7. FIND YOUR NICHE When we start out, we'll do any kind of massage we're qualified to do. When I began, I was even scared to set office hours. If someone wanted me there at 7:30 a.m., I said "Sure, whatever you want." When they asked if I did sports massage, sure whatever you want. Just let me work, so I can pay the bills. It's better to choose a narrow, under-serviced need, and fill that need. It's easier to sell specifics. (After a haphazard start, I became the therapist to see if you have multiple sclerosis.) visit massageandbodywork.com to access your digital magazine 47