a community of practitioners

Why do Massage Therapists shy away from suggesting clients return/rebook?

Massage Therapists shy away from suggesting clients return/rebook, even when they know the client will see better results with a few subsequent sessions.

As a massage business coach, the therapists tell me they usually these main reasons:
#1. They feel inadequate in determining an effective therapy plan, so don't know how many more are needed and the frequency.

#2. Lack of confidence

#3. Not wanting to appear too pushy or salesy...

What stops you from scheduling a few sessions in a row for your client when needed?

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by lee kalpin on October 21, 2010 at 12:03pm

I agree that therapists don't want to seem too pushy or high-pressure. Perhaps they have not had enough training in setting out and suggesting treatment plans. I do treatment plans: I tell the client what I could do for them and how long/ what frequency of treatment I would suggest - I think this is an important part of my therapy.
But I put it as a suggestion - not as a high-pressure sales pitch.
And after several treatments we go back to the original assessment and determine how far we have come toward reaching the treatment goals.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lisa on October 21, 2010 at 5:35pm

For me, it's more comfortable to educate the client on the importance of regular massages for whatever it is they are coming to me for, and then give a GREAT massage. I feel that, that alone should be enough for the client to come back. I don't like to schedule it at that moment because I myself don't like to "feel pressured" to respond to that. It makes me feel uncomfortable when I'm in that scenario so I don't put my clients in that scenario.

I will say that my repeat client is very high, although they may not be repeats that come in every week. some come in every 2 weeks some every month, some a little longer. but they DO come back. Whether that's considered successful I suppose is subjective. But for my practice, since I also work a full time job, I'm able to afford the ability in taking my time to build up my practice. Although, I think even if I wasn't, my approach would be the same. It's what fits my personality. And I truly believe that being truthful to myself, whether it's in my hands-on or marketing, is what will dictate my success. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. It's finding what works for us individually that is important.

just my .02