Poof! A new client appears. It's Magic!

My 3 year old told me about his magic hat today. Driving him back from
preschool he told me he was playing magician with the other kids and
made twigs appear from his magic hat. Poof!
Got me to thinking about my experience with a lot of struggling therapists who felt like they
had put a ton of energy into developing their skills as MT's, but were
having a hard time getting new clients to come in the door. They were
expecting the same kind of magic. "I will become the most skilled
massage therapist the world has ever seen and "POOF!" new clients will
appear and be lined up around the block waiting to see me..."
So they tried "Networking" - meeting people upon people, upon people and trying
to talk them into getting on their table. Didn't work so well. I still
hear a lot of MT's trying the same approach with the same result.
There's a critical perspective and understanding of acquiring new clients that
many people miss. I learned it the hard way too. Massage Warehouse
didn't grow to 100,000 customers overnight. It took years and lots of
focused energy, a focused strategy and lot of money to get there. We may
have had the best prices anywhere and the best selection, but we still
had to market the heck out of our business to get new customers and
grow.
So what did I learn that would benefit you and every other massage therapist trying to grow their active client list? A deep
understanding of how people make decisions and eventually get to the
point of taking action. The short version is this: Getting new customers
is NOT a one step process, it's a multiple step process.
If you talk to someone you meet "Networking", you have just created what they call
in the world of marketing, a "lead". The odds are not in your favor that
you'll be able to get that person on your massage table from that one
interaction. Problem is, most therapists give up after that first
interaction. The idea is to take that lead, and through a strategic
plan, develop a relationship with that person along with a heightened
level of confidence and trust until one magical day, that client "feels"
comfortable taking action and booking an appointment with you. (And not
getting that person to that point is just fine too. Not all leads will
make it to becoming clients, you'll be lucky if 20% do, so keep chugging
along until one day you've reached the magic number of clients and you
can just about stop "networking". (Another future post on that magical
step)
So what's the plan? I'll give you a not so hypothetical example of something that I did when I was a therapist that worked well for me.

Here Goes: Meet someone, start talking, share I'm a massage therapist, stay on the topic a little while, find out they've been to a
massage therapist before for a leg injury (strained Hammy) and that
they're training for a triathlon. Talk about triathlons for a bit, then
get their e-mail address before I leave, telling them I want to send
them an article I just read on hammy stuff.
Immediately take some notes after I leave to remind myself of our conversation. In the next
week, I e-mail the lead and share an article I "found" on the importance
of strengthening opposing muscle groups and how active assisted
stretching (part of my massage skill toolbox) can really help bodies
perform better and reduce the risk of injury. Ask how the training is
going and if he is doing any group long runs on the weekend. Hear back -
all is well, thanks for the article, long run Sunday morning planned
with a group of buddies.
How about I meet you guys afterwards and take you through some of the stretches. I think you'll be amazed at the
difference it makes. Sure he says, we'll see you in the parking lot.
Do the meeting. Everyone stretched, they're happy to learn something new
and feel great. I mention that I'd like to get them all a copy of an
article on some more stretching routines they can do themselves at home
that my other clients have found very helpful. Cool. Groovy. E-mails for
everyone.
Back to the office, e-mail them the article, along with one on the benefits of massage for distance runners. Mention that I'm
running a marathon preparation special for runners -$30 for your first
hour and then get a free massage if you buy a package of 4.
I hear back from 3 of the 8 guys and book them. I make sure to treat them right
and offer them a free massage if they send me two referrals. (yeah - I
know who they're running with each week, and I've already met them.)
You starting to get the picture? You MAKE your luck by:
1) Listening more than you talk.
2) Offer something of value for free to develop the relationship (This may go on for a long time...)
3) Push the bounds of the relationship just ever so slightly when an opportunity presents itself.
4) Offer more value for free (know when to pull the plug and let a lead go)
5) Create an offer so compelling that they would be silly to refuse.
6) Get them on your table, develop the trust and confidence your new client has given you.
7) Use their confidence and trust with an incentive, to bring more people in your table.

One step process? No way? Does it work? Absolutely. Are you driven enough,
creative enough, and sensitive enough to others that you can make it
work for you. Probably.

Mark Volkmann
Dedicated to helping the Artists of Massage
www.massagesuccess.ning.com